Optical data capture and quality assurance

A method and system for capturing and analyzing an image of a moving web of cigarette paper having a plurality of transverse banded regions. The captured images of the moving web of cigarette paper are analyzed to determine various characteristics of a population of cigarettes made with the cigarette paper. Each captured image is decomposed into a matrix of grey scale values associated with individual pixels of the image. The values are further processed to determine a width of a banded region on the cigarette paper. The average widths of banded regions, as well as the standard deviation of widths may be analyzed and correlated to freeburn and ignition propensity characteristics of a population of cigarettes formed from the measured cigarette paper.