TWO APPROACHES WHICH USE MACHINE VISION TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE THE PROCESS AND QUALITY OF CONTINUOUSLY FLOWING WEBS ARE DISCUSSED. BOTH APPROACHES INSPECT 100% OF THE WEB FOR VISUAL IMPERFECTIONS. ONE APPROACH ADDRESSES THE DETECTION OF DISCRETE DEFECTS SUCH AS HOLES OR FOREIGN MATERIAL. THE OTHER APPROACH OBJECTIVELY CHARACTERIZES THE FORMATION OR CONSISTENCY OF THE WEB. COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE DEFECT DETECTION AND FORMATION ANALYSIS SYSTEMS CAN BE UTILIZED TO IMPROVE AND CONTROL THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS AND/OR IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF THE FINISHED PRODUCT.
