5. A document audit trail method comprising the steps of: receiving document data representative of historical characteristics of an associated document, which document includes an indicia; converting between document data and indicia data representative of a visual representation of an encoding thereof; communicating the indicia data with an associated document processing device comprising at least one of a printed device, scanning device, copying device, facsimile machine, multifunctional peripheral, and client application; receiving a document processing instruction representative of a user-specified document processing operation for the associated document; generating document data in accordance with a received document processing instruction; sensing a property of an indicia of the associated document, which property includes data corresponding to a history of at least one document processing operation performed on the associated document; generating updated property data in accordance with a sensed property of the indicia in accordance with generated document data; applying a modified indicia, inclusive of encoded information relating to the user-specified document processing operation and updated property data, to the associated document in accordance with indicia data received from the sensing; and generating a tangible document output corresponding to received document data, which tangible document data includes the modified indicia.
5. A document audit trail method comprising the steps of: receiving document data representative of historical characteristics of an associated document, which document includes an indicia; converting between document data and indicia data representative of a visual representation of an encoding thereof; communicating the indicia data with an associated document processing device comprising at least one of a printed device, scanning device, copying device, facsimile machine, multifunctional peripheral, and client application; receiving a document processing instruction representative of a user-specified document processing operation for the associated document; generating document data in accordance with a received document processing instruction; sensing a property of an indicia of the associated document, which property includes data corresponding to a history of at least one document processing operation performed on the associated document; generating updated property data in accordance with a sensed property of the indicia in accordance with generated document data; applying a modified indicia, inclusive of encoded information relating to the user-specified document processing operation and updated property data, to the associated document in accordance with indicia data received from the sensing; and generating a tangible document output corresponding to received document data, which tangible document data includes the modified indicia. 7. The document audit trail system of claim 5 wherein the indicia applied to the associated document is in the form of a barcode.