System and method of determining if a surface is printed or a device screen

A method, comprising:

• acquiring a spectral wavelength signature of a surface;
• comparing the spectral wavelength signature of the surface to a known spectra;
• and
• operating a scanner to scan the surface in at least one of an illumination mode or a non-illumination mode based on the comparison of the spectral wavelength signature of the surface to the known spectra.

A system comprising, comprising:

• an image based scanner;
• and
• a processing unit coupled to the image based scanner, wherein the processing unit is configured to:
• cause the image based scanner to acquire a spectral wavelength signature of a surface;
• compare the spectral wavelength signature of the surface to a known spectra;
• cause the image based scanner to scan the surface in an illumination mode if the spectral wavelength signature is determined to correspond to the known spectra;
• and
• cause the image based scanner to scan the surface in a 50/50 duty cycle between the illumination mode and a non-illumination mode if the spectral wavelength signature cannot be determined to correspond to the known spectra.