How to assess image quality within a workflow chain: an overview

Image quality assessment (IQA) is a multi-dimensional research problem and an active and evolving research area. This paper aims to provide an overview of the state of the art of the IQA methods, putting in evidence their applicability and limitations in different application domains. We outline the relationship between the image workflow chain and the IQA approaches reviewing the literature on IQA methods, classifying and summarizing the available metrics. We present general guidelines for three workflow chains in which IQA policies are required. The three workflow chains refer to: high-quality image archives, biometric system and consumer collections of personal photos. Finally, we illustrate a real case study referring to a printing workflow chain, where we suggest and actually evaluate the performance of a set of specific IQA methods.