Entries |
Document | Title | Date |
20080198420 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS TO SAVE TONER AND METHOD TO CONTROL THE SAME - An image forming apparatus to save toner, which can increase the sharpness of printed data (for example, images or characters) on a printing medium while achieving toner saving, and a method to control the same. The image forming apparatus includes a determinator, a storage unit, and a halftoning processor. The determinator receives a command signal to print and then determines whether or not the received command signal is a command signal for a toner saving mode. The storage unit stores a halftone table in which an LPI higher than a normal LPI is set. If the received command signal is a command signal for the toner saving mode, the halftoning processor generates and outputs halftoning result by comparing gray level values corresponding to pixels of received input image data with grayscale values of the stored halftone table. | 08-21-2008 |
20080225342 | Method and system for encoding color images to black-and-white bitmaps and decoding color images - A method and system for encoding a color image into a monochrome halftoned image for printing, includes the use of a decoding mechanism to recover color information from the monochrome halftone image. A luminance channel associated with the color image can be utilized as the grayscale input to a half-toning process, while chrominance channels are utilized to determine displacements of the halftone dots. The color information can then be restored utilizing a template to measure the displacements of the halftone dots and hence the color information. Thus, the color information can be preserved without visual impact. | 09-18-2008 |
20080239401 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SELECTIVE BITMAP EDGE SMOOTHING - An image processing system utilizes an image type classification circuit to identify inputted image data as picture image data or text/graphics image data. A halftone circuit, operatively connected to the image type classification circuit, converts the inputted image data, identified as picture image data, to halftone image data. Moreover, a tile pattern circuit, operatively connected to the image type classification circuit, to replace the inputted image data, identified as text/graphics image data, with tile patterns. The tile patterns are encoded with a predetermined pattern. A bitmap rendering circuit combines the halftone image data with the encoded tile patterns to render a bitmap, wherein the bitmap can be used by a print engine to reproduce the image. | 10-02-2008 |
20080266608 | Image processing device and printing apparatus for performing bidirectional printing - The invention provides a printing method of performing printing on a print medium. The method includes: generating dot data representing a status of dot formation on each of print pixels of a print image to be formed on the print medium, by performing a halftone process on image data representing a input tone value of each of pixels constituting an original image; providing a print head and a platen; setting a platen gap as a distance between the print head and the platen to a single fixed value that is commonly applied to plural printing environments; and performing a main scan of the print head to form a dot in each of the print pixels on the print medium supported by the platen according to the dot data in each of a forward pass and a backward pass of the print head, for generating the print image. The performing includes combining dots formed on a first pixel position group with dots formed on a second pixel position group in a common print area to generate the print image, the first pixel position group including multiple print pixels as objects of dot formation in the forward pass of the print head, the second pixel position group including multiple print pixels as objects of dot formation in the backward pass of the print head. The generating dot data includes setting a condition of the halftone process to reduce potential deterioration of picture quality due to a positional misalignment between the dots formed on the first pixel position group and the dots formed on the second pixel position group. | 10-30-2008 |
20080278761 | Image processing method, image processing device, and computer program - Image data is acquired, it is determined whether the tone value specified by tone value information included in the acquired image data is equal to or greater than a predetermined tone value, and the tone value information is converted into a description that indicates a still smaller tone value if it is determined that the answer is negative. | 11-13-2008 |
20080278762 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND METHOD THEREOF - An image forming apparatus and a method of using the same, the image forming apparatus including: a detection unit to detect an edge of an input image; a categorization unit to categorize the detected edge, according to a gray value and line width; and a compensation unit to compensate the gray value according to the categorized edge type. | 11-13-2008 |
20080278763 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - When a second detector determines that a character image has a halftone (YES in # | 11-13-2008 |
20080285085 | Method for Controlling the Shapes of FM-AM Mixed Dots on a Multi-Bit Depth Imaging Apparatus - Disclosed is a method for controlling the shapes of FM-AM mixed halftone dots on the multi-bit depth imaging apparatus. In the prior art, since the reproduction of the shapes of the dots in various gradations is absolutely based on the theory of random error diffusion and is influenced by the dynamic controlling output mechanism for the multi-bit dots, it is hard to assure the controllability of the shapes of the dots in a certain gradation. Based on the prior art, the dynamic statistic algorithm with adjacent output gray levels is introduced to assure the controllability of the shapes of the dots and solve the problem of random change of the shapes of the dots due to the randomicity of the error diffusion. According to the disclosed method, the features of the multi-bit imaging apparatus can be achieved fully in light of the requirements of the dots on the basis of the original method for multi-bit FM-AM mixed screening using error diffusion based on dual-feedback. The effect of FM-AM mixed halftone screening can be achieved under low resolution with controllable shapes of the dots, The problem of granular sensation can be solved during the practical output of the mixed halftone dots so as to assure the smooth effect of the gradations. | 11-20-2008 |
20080291500 | THRESHOLD MATRIX GENERATING METHOD, IMAGE DATA GENERATING METHOD, IMAGE DATA GENERATING APPARATUS, IMAGE RECORDING APPARATUS AND RECORDING MEDIUM - In a matrix area, a plurality of linear areas each of which extends in a tilt direction tilted relatively to row and column directions are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the tilt direction without spaces, and the plurality of linear areas are alternatively assigned to first and second element groups along an arrangement direction. One element is specified in each element group and subsequently process of specifying an element farthest from specified elements, is repeated to acquire a turn-on order of dots with increase in gray level in one grayscale range and a turn-off order of dots with decrease in gray level in the remaining grayscale range, and a threshold value of each element is determined according to these orders. Thus, generated is a threshold matrix capable of reducing graininess in a halftone image with directionality in the tilt direction, and improving the reproduction of thin lines and characters. | 11-27-2008 |
20090002767 | Picture Color Tone Controlling Apparatus and Picture Color Tone Controlling Method for a Printing Press - The object of the present invention is to provide a picture color tone controlling apparatus and a picture color tone controlling method for a printing press wherein, also where different kinds of screening are used jointly to carry out printing, color tone control can be carried out with high accuracy. The picture color tone controlling apparatus for a printing press includes a printing characteristic information acquisition section for acquiring printing characteristic information of a printing press corresponding to different kinds of screening used for plate making of a printing picture, a screening information acquisition section | 01-01-2009 |
20090015870 | APPARATUS AND METHOD TO GENERATE A HALFTONING SCREEN AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS FOR SAME - An apparatus to generate a halftoning screen and an image forming apparatus. The apparatus to generate a halftoning screen includes a dot center setting unit to set locations of dot centers according to a plurality of grey levels of print data, and a screen generating unit to grow dots from the locations of the dot centers that are set for each of the plurality of grey levels of the print data. | 01-15-2009 |
20090021791 | Compression of grayscale image data using multi-bit halftoning - A method and system are provided for reducing the bit depth of grayscale imagery using multi-bit halftoning. The halftoned image data may be lossy or losslessly compressed and stored in memory or transmitted over a communication channel. At the time of printing, the images are decompressed and reconstructed to a grayscale image data using Sigma filtering to preserve edges. Preferably, different Sigma filters may be applied based on contrast information within a local neighborhood region. Fuzzy edge detection may also be used to preserve edge features and prevent smearing. | 01-22-2009 |
20090027729 | Method, apparatus and article of manufacture for modifying printing based upon direct on-the-fly media characteristic parameters - A method, apparatus and article of manufacture for modifying printing based upon direct on-the-fly media characteristic parameters is disclosed. The present invention on-the-fly directly measures a media characteristic parameter and performs real-time print modification in response thereto. The measured characteristic parameters include paper texture and composition, as well as adhesion and penetration of print. The modification of print in response to these measured parameters may allow a customer to maintain observed print quality with lower-cost materials. Adjustments may include the addition of coating, hot rolling, or adjustment of toner concentration. Measured parameters may include mottle, paper texture, and bleed through. | 01-29-2009 |
20090027730 | Halftone independent correction of spatial non-uniformities - A method and apparatus are provided for compensating for spatial non-uniformities in a printer by deriving a true spatial non-uniformity tone response curve (TRC) that characterizes the printer in terms of color output variation for each addressable pixel location in a spatial range. In a one-time offline process, the “true average” tone response curve is determined for a color channel and stored. The “true average” tone response curve defines an average true response for the printer across the printed output spatial range. A prediction of the true response as a function of the spatial location is derived by printing and scanning a specially designed halftone-independent target of binary patterns. The predicted tone response curve for each color channel and halftone is predicted using a binary printer model and stored, wherein the “predicted tone response curve” provides a model based approximation of the actual response for the printer for each addressable pixel location in the spatial range. Also stored is an “average predicted tone response” by averaging the “predicted tone response curve” over the spatial range of the printer. With the “true average” tone response curve, the “predicted tone response curve”, and the “average predicted tone response curve”, an estimate of the true tone response curve for the color channel can then be mathematically obtained, wherein the true tone response curve defines a predicted actual response for the printer for each addressable print location in the spatial range. The “predicted” and “average” tone response curves are obtained using the 2×2 binary printer model. | 01-29-2009 |
20090027731 | APPARATUS AND METHOD TO REVISE HALFTONED IMAGE AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS USING THE SAME - An apparatus and a method to revise a halftoned image and an image forming apparatus using the same. The apparatus includes an area dividing unit to detect a boundary edge area of an image, a halftoning unit to convert the image to a halftoned image, and a dot rearranging unit to rearrange dots of the boundary area to sharpen the boundary area. | 01-29-2009 |
20090034005 | IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, IMAGE READING APPARATUS, AND RECORDING MEDIUM - An image processing apparatus includes a counting section for counting pixels belonging to a chromatic text component and chromatic pixels belonging to a component other than the text component among pixels composing image data obtained by reading a document, a comparison section for comparing the counted numbers with respective predetermined values, a determination section for determining that the document contains a chromatic color when either one of the number of the pixels belonging to the text component and the number of the chromatic pixels belonging to the component other than the chromatic text component is not less than the corresponding predetermined value, and an image processing section for performing a process with respect to the image data in accordance with a determination result by the determination section. | 02-05-2009 |
20090059304 | METHOD OF GENERATING PATTERNS REPRESENTING A HALFTONE IMAGE - A method is described for generating patterns representing a halftone image, said method comprising the generation of a first set of patterns consisting of lines and curves dimensionally modulated so as to produce variations in tones reproducing the halftones of the image using an intaglio rendering technique. The method comprises the generation of a second set of patterns consisting of microstructures separate from the lines and curves of the first set of patterns, said microstructures being dimensionally modulated so as to produce variations in tones reproducing the halftones of the image. According to a first aspect of the invention, the microstructures consist of stochastic microstructures that can be likened to a grain. According to a second aspect of the invention, the microstructures consist of repetitive microstructures reproducing information that can be recognised by an observer, which repetitive microstructures comprise microletters and/or microsymbols. The second set of patterns is interlaced with the first set of patterns in such a way that the microstructures of the second set of patterns occupy the spaces between the lines and curves of the first set of patterns and so that the halftones reproduced by the second set of patterns supplement the halftones reproduced by the first set of patterns. | 03-05-2009 |
20090067006 | Tint block image generation program and tint block image generation device - A image generation device generates, on a print medium, an image including a first image portion and a second image portion. The device has a first screen processing unit which generates image data by an area modulation screen having a first screen ruling, for pixels of the first image portion; and a second screen processing unit which generates image data by an area modulation screen or a density modulation screen having a second screen ruling which is higher than the first screen ruling for pixels of the second image portion. And the first screen processing unit generates a halftone dot at a center of gravity position of an image of the first image portion in a cell corresponding to a halftone dot formation area in the area modulation screen processing. | 03-12-2009 |
20090091795 | MOIRE-FREE COLOR HALFTONE CONFIGURATION - Disclosed herein is a Moiré-free color halftone configuration for clustered dots. Unlike conventional methods, the disclosed method produces periodic hexagon rosettes of identical shapes. These exemplary hexagon rosettes have three fundamental spatial frequencies exactly equal to half of the fundamental frequency of the three halftone screens. The resultant halftone outputs are truly Moiré free, as all the fundamentals and harmonic frequencies are multiples of and thus higher in frequency than the rosette fundamental frequency. The halftone outputs resulting from the employment of the exemplary rosette design methodology provided herein, are also robust to the typical misregistration among color separations commonly found in color systems. | 04-09-2009 |
20090097073 | INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHOD THEREOF - A halftone screen which is applicable to a low-resolution electrophotographic printer is created. Hence, dot-lattice points arranged in a predetermined region are displaced using rotation processing, the predetermined region is partitioned into polygons each of which surrounds the dot-lattice point. Then, a threshold matrix used to grow a halftone dot, which is surrounded by each polygon, in a direction of the displacement is generated. | 04-16-2009 |
20090109490 | METHOD OF PRODUCING IMPROVED LENTICULAR IMAGES - An image comprising a plurality of interlaced images is provided, the image is halftone processed according to one or more processes, and the image is printed, for example, using an inkjet printer. The image is halftone processed according a predetermined function depending at least in part on a gray scale level for a given pixel and those nearby the given pixel. The predetermined function can operate on a continuous tone version or on a printed-dot model of the image and may include a predetermined error filter where error is distributed to pixels corresponding to the same interlaced image from which the error accumulates. The image may be post-processed to arrange dots and/or shift columns of pixels to minimize overlap error or modified to include extra pixels to align the interlaced images under the lenses. | 04-30-2009 |
20090116072 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD - An image processing apparatus comprises a processor for quantizing multi-gradation image data with regard to each of R, G and B to convert it into pseudo halftone output image data. First, the processor performs a first quantization for deciding a dot appearance pattern C | 05-07-2009 |
20090141310 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT - A halftone pixel detection unit detects pixels near center pixels of halftone pixels by comparing a density difference between a target pixel and each of neighboring pixels of image data with a predetermined threshold. A halftone pixel rearranging unit rearranges the halftone pixels detected by the halftone pixel detection unit relative to the target pixel and a halftone-area detection unit detects a halftone area based upon a pattern of the halftone pixels that is rearranged. | 06-04-2009 |
20090141311 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MULTI-COLOR PRINTING USING HYBRID DOT-LINE HALFTONE COMPOSITE SCREENS - A method and apparatus for generating a multicolor image using halftone screens employs a dot structure dot growth pattern for one or more of the colors and a line structure dot growth pattern for at least two or more of the other colors. | 06-04-2009 |
20090147315 | SYSTEM FOR HALFTONE SCREEN PRODUCTION - Method, apparatus and program product generates a threshold array that contains at least one halftone cell having overlapping or dissimilar dots. | 06-11-2009 |
20090168108 | Image processing device, image processing method, and recording medium - An image processing device has a normal output mode for output at a normal image density and a color material save mode for reducing color material consumption. The image processing device includes at least one of plural image processing units configured to perform color space conversion processing, black processing, γ conversion processing, and halftone processing, respectively. The at least one of the plural image processing units for color space conversion processing, black processing, γ conversion processing, and halftone processing includes plural processing units including a processing unit of low processing speed for relatively high image quality and a processing unit of high processing speed for relatively low image quality. In the color material save mode, one or more of the at least one of the plural image processing units for color space conversion processing, black processing, γ conversion processing, and halftone processing execute the processing unit of high processing speed. | 07-02-2009 |
20090174908 | METHOD OF PRINTING AND PRINTER - In an inkjet printer, a halftone image is generated from a grayscale original image with using a first threshold matrix, and the halftone image is printed with color inks having light curability on a base member with liquid repellency. A tint image with a dot area rate 1 to 40% is generated with a second threshold matrix where the number of halftone dots defined in a unit area in an image generated with the second threshold matrix is smaller than that in an image generated with the first threshold matrix, and the tint image is printed with clear ink having light curability. On the base member, halftone dots of the clear ink are distributed according to the tint image, and relatively large projections and depressions are macroscopically uniformly formed with lessening small projections and depressions of the color inks, to acquire a printed matter with uniform gloss. | 07-09-2009 |
20090185228 | REAL-TIME PROCESSING OF GRAYSCALE IMAGE DATA - In a digital reproduction system incorporating a single pass scanner, accurate image processing results from processing a subset of grayscale image data. More specifically, scanlines that correspond to the leading edge of a document are stored and processed to detect skew and to obtain an appropriate correction. The lead edge correction is then applied to the entire grayscale image. Accordingly, the present systems and methods eliminate skew from grayscale images in real-time. The corrected image is rendered to binary and stored in electronic pre-collation memory and cropping, masking and other image editing operations can be performed on the binary image data before the image is printed. | 07-23-2009 |
20090207452 | PRINTER HAVING A CONTROLLER METHOD OF PRINTING WITH LOW AND HIGH SPEED NOZZLE FIRING MODES - A method of page expansion and printing of image data received by a printer from a computer includes the steps of receiving the image data from the computer, the data having a bi-level black layer compressed in an EDRL (Edge Delta and Runlength) format and a continuous tone (“contone”) layer, and decompressing the respective layers in parallel. The method also includes the steps of halftoning contone layer data to a bi-level data and compositing the bi-level black layer over the bi-level data to form an image, and transmitting the image to the printhead having staggered nozzles designed to match a flow of paper through the printer. The method further includes the step of operating the printhead according to one of a low-speed nozzle firing mode and a high-speed firing mode to print the image on the paper, the low-speed firing mode having a firing rate half that of the high-speed firing mode. | 08-20-2009 |
20090213432 | PRINTER CONTROLLER HAVING JPEG AND EDRL CIRCUITRY - A printer controller is provided having page data input circuitry for receiving compressed and encoded page data for expansion processing, JPEG decoding circuitry for decompressing contone data in the received page data, EDRL expansion circuitry for decompressing EDRL-compressed bi-level image data in the received page data, halftoning and compositing circuitry for halftoning and compositing the decompressed contone and bi-level data, and a printhead interface for receiving the compositing data and for writing corresponding print data to a printhead of the printer | 08-27-2009 |
20090219578 | APPARATUS AND METHOD TO REVISE HALFTONE IMAGE, AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS USING THE SAME - A halftone revision apparatus includes a screening unit to screen an input image, and a revision unit to detect edge pixels in the input image, and to add a dot to a detected edge pixel according to a number of white pixels adjacent to the detected edge pixel. Therefore, edges in the halftoned image can be improved. | 09-03-2009 |
20090231629 | THRESHOLD MATRIX GENERATION METHOD, HALFTONE IMAGE GENERATION METHOD, AND HALFTONE IMAGE GENERATING APPARATUS - Each of moire elements which are repeat elements of first-order moire appearing by overlaying halftone images of first and second color components is positioned at one of candidate positions arranged at a moire pitch Pm in first and second moire directions orthogonal to each other. In a matrix area of a third color component, dot centers are arranged in a first tilt direction tilted relatively to the first moire direction by an angle of arctan((Pm)/(Pm)) and a second tilt direction orthogonal to the first tilt direction at a pitch of the square root of ((Pm | 09-17-2009 |
20090244632 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, AND IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD - An image processing apparatus includes (i) a repulsive force generating section for setting repulsive force values RVa and RVu of a quantized pixel according to an output pixel value of the quantized pixel, (ii) a repulsive force calculating section for calculating a repulsive force value RVC to be used in quantizing a quantization-target pixel by attenuating, according to a distance between the quantized pixel and the quantization-target pixel, the repulsive force values RVa and RVu set for the quantized pixel; and (iii) a threshold value correcting section for correcting a threshold value T used in quantizing the quantization-target pixel according to the repulsive force value RVC. This makes it possible to prevent an increase in the number of processing steps and amount of processing when an image is processed with an error diffusion method. At the same time, it is possible to prevent decrease in image uniformity and formation of a pattern unique to the error diffusion method. | 10-01-2009 |
20090257093 | Image Processing Apparatus - Described is an image processing apparatuses, which makes it possible to accurately remove a periodicity from a halftone dot pattern included in an image. The apparatus includes: a periodicity pattern analyzing section to acquire periodicity information indicating the periodicity of the halftone dot pattern; a smoothing area determining section to determine a smoothing area, constituted by either a pair of rectangular areas contacting with each other or a single rectangular area, based on the periodicity information; a spatial filter creating section to create a spatial filter within which the smoothing area is includible, and in which a weighted coefficient of each of pixels is established corresponding to an overlapping area of a concerned pixel overlapping with the smoothing area; and a smoothing calculation section that applies a convolution arithmetic calculation processing to the image data representing the processing objective image with the spatial filter. | 10-15-2009 |
20090262398 | HALFTONE IMAGE GENERATION METHOD, THRESHOLD MATRIX GENERATION METHOD, THRESHOLD MATRIX, PRINITNG PLATE MANUFACTURING METHOD, AND PRINTING PLATE - In a halftone image formed on a printing plate for letterpress printing, a minimum halftone dot has a square main cluster consisting of 9 pixels and four sub-clusters located around the main cluster radially, each of which is one pixel. Each sub-cluster contacts with only a vertex of the main cluster. Convex portions corresponding to the minimum halftone dots in the halftone image are formed on the printing plate. A convex portion corresponding to the main cluster is supported by convex portions corresponding to the sub-clusters to increase the strength of relief corresponding to the minimum halftone dot. Reliefs corresponding to the minimum halftone dots are normally formed regardless of a dot area rate of highlight area to thereby improve reproduction in printing of the halftone image. | 10-22-2009 |
20090262399 | BINARIZATION-USE-PATTERN GENERATING METHOD AND PRINTING APPARATUS - In the present invention, tetragons are generated, each of the tetragons being formed of four points of a point A(c, 1), a point B(a+c, b+1), a point C(0, d+1), and a point D(a, b+d+1) specified with arbitrary parameters satisfying the specified number of pixels n=2(ad+bc). From among the generated tetragons, a tetragon having an angle closest to a specified angle is selected, and two of the selected tetragons are placed adjacently to each other to generate the basic pattern. A lighting order is determined so that, continuously from a lighting order of pixels forming a first tetragon of the tetragons of the basic pattern in order of increasing distance from a specific point of the first tetragon, pixels are lit in order of decreasing distance from the specific point, and a rectangular pattern functioning as a binarization-use pattern is generated. | 10-22-2009 |
20090268252 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD - An image processing apparatus includes an image processor to perform halftoning with regard to an input image, and a controller which, if the input image is an output image printed through the halftoning, controls the image processor to perform the halftoning based on a second screen having a maximum angle difference from a first screen applied to the output image. | 10-29-2009 |
20090268253 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS - An image processing apparatus receives an input image signal generated by combining a plurality of image signals with different bit precisions, and generates an output image signal obtained by increasing the number of gradation steps of the input image signal by bit extension. The image processing apparatus includes an intermediate signal generation section which generates an intermediate signal according to the input image signal. The intermediate signal corrects the input image signal such that a pixel value corresponding to a halftone added by the bit extension is included in the output image signal. The image processing apparatus further includes a nonlinear filter to perform a nonlinear process on a pixel value of the intermediate signal. The nonlinear filter changes its filter characteristic based on a pre-synthesis bit precision of a pixel that is to be processed and included in the input image signal when the nonlinear process is performed on the pixel value of the intermediate signal corresponding to the pixel to be processed. | 10-29-2009 |
20090273812 | METHOD FOR HALFTONE IMAGE TRANSFORMATION, PRINTING AND HALFTONE MASK GENERATION - A printing method for printing an input image. Firstly, a halftone mask is generated. The input image is transformed into a halftone image through the halftone mask. The halftone image is then output for printing. The halftone mask is an array of N elements, and the following steps generate the halftone mask. An initial array of N elements is first provided. Thereafter, a first value is selectively assigned to an element in the initial array to generate a first array. The second to the N | 11-05-2009 |
20090284797 | Image Printing System, Image Printing Method, and Computer-Readable Medium - An image printing system which determines dot forming condition when printing an image containing a plurality of pixels by using dots of a plurality of sizes includes: a fine drawing detecting unit which detects a dot color fine drawing pixel having a dot color used for printing the image and positioned on a fine drawing portion having a drawing width equal to or smaller than a predetermined value; an edge area detecting unit which detects a dot color edge area pixel having a dot color used for printing the image and positioned at a distance equal to or shorter than a predetermined value from an edge of the image; a first dot allocating unit which allocates dots such that a dot of predetermined size in the dots of the plural sizes can be formed for the dot color fine drawing pixel during printing the image; and a second dot allocating unit which allocates dots such that a dot of a size determined according to the distance from the edge of the image in the dots of the plural sizes can be formed for the dot color edge area pixel not corresponding to the dot color fine drawing pixel during printing the image. | 11-19-2009 |
20090284798 | METHOD FOR SCREENING COLOR SEPARATIONS OF A LENTICULAR IMAGE AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING A LENTICULAR IMAGE ON A PRINTING MATERIAL - A method is disclosed for screening color separations of a lenticular image with a lenticular frequency of the lenticular lenses needed for viewing the lenticular image. An amplitude-modulated halftone image is calculated for each of the color separations at a screen angle and at a screen frequency, the tangent of the screen angle being a rational number. For a specific color separation, a screen angle relating to the direction perpendicular to the image strips of the lenticular image is defined, a pair of whole numbers whose ratio is equal to the tangent of the screen angle is determined, and the screen frequency of the color separation is calculated as the product of the lenticular frequency and the square root of the sum of the squares of the two whole numbers. For the purpose of producing lenticular images on a printing material, the color separations calculated in accordance with this method are in each case exposed onto a printing form, and the exposed printing forms are printed off in a press in the overprint on a printing material, so that a multicolor lenticular image is produced on the printing material. | 11-19-2009 |
20090290196 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, IMAGE FORMING METHOD, AND PROGRAM - The image forming apparatus includes a halftone processing section that executes halftone processing having a halftone processing period, a signal add-on section that adds the add-on signals on the input image signals subjected to the halftone processing, a position information acquisition section that acquires position information to determine a relative position of halftone dots by the halftone processing and the add-on signals in a first image area, the first image area is based on a common multiple of the halftone processing period and a minimum interval of the add-on dots, and the position information preventing the add-on signals added by the signal add-on section from crossing over the halftone dots, and an add-on control section that continues or repeats add-on control processing of the add-on signals, executed based on the acquired position information, in a second image area based on the common multiple and consecutive from the first image area. | 11-26-2009 |
20090296155 | COLOR REPRODUCTION SHARING METHOD AND COMPUTER-READABLE PROGRAM FOR CARRYING OUT SUCH COLOR REPRODUCTION SHARING METHOD - For sharing, as a second profile for a second output device, a known first profile for converting input device-dependent image data into first output device-dependent image data by performing a pre-gradation converting process, a color converting process, and a post-gradation converting process on the input device-dependent image data, a differential between a one-dimensional gradation conversion curve of a first color image output device and an inverse conversion curve of a one-dimensional gradation conversion curve of a second color image output device is determined by a differential generator, and then the first profile and a differential table are used as the second profile for the second color image output device. | 12-03-2009 |
20090296156 | Pitch based high quantization halftone dot linearization for rendering high quality color images - A device, system, and method for reducing the pitch-to-pitch variation of color using pitch-based linearization of halftone screens are presented. A selection of images is printed at different pitches, and each image is measured and tracked with its pitch. Pitch-based TRCs are constructed using patches, which may be scheduled during print run or during machine diagnostic process and halftone dots are constructed and uploaded in the image path for each pitch. The updated dots are then used to produce a linearized halftone image for transfer to a print surface which results in improved color balance. | 12-03-2009 |
20100002265 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A connection unit receives image data to be printed and image information on a type of the image data from an external device. A pseudo-halftone processing unit converts the image data into pseudo-halftone image data. When the image information received from the external device indicates that the type of the image data is a point-of-purchase advertising image, the pseudo-halftone processing unit performs a pseudo-halftone processing on the image data at a quantization level of three or more bits on a pixel and takes a growth order causing all pixels in a low-density area to grow averagely. | 01-07-2010 |
20100002266 | COLOR IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD OF THE SAME - The detected surface (patch section) of the sheet Ps for detection, the bulkhead plate | 01-07-2010 |
20100014121 | Printing Apparatus, Printing Method, and Recording Medium - There is provided a printing apparatus that prints an image constituted by a plurality of pixels. The printing apparatus includes a sum correspondence value calculating unit that calculates a sum correspondence value on the basis of a sum value of saturation evaluating values of pixels located within a rectangle in which a corner adjacent to an arbitrary pixel within the image and a corner adjacent to a reference pixel within the image become opposing corners for the arbitrary pixel, a rectangle sum value calculating unit that calculates a sum value within the rectangle on the basis of the sum correspondence value for adjacent pixels that are adjacent to four vertexes of an arbitrary target rectangle of the image for a target pixel located in a predetermined position within the target rectangle, an attribute determining unit that determines the attribute of the target pixel in the image based on the sum value within the rectangle for the target pixel, and a print control unit that prints image data for which image processing on the basis of the attributes of the pixels is performed. | 01-21-2010 |
20100020358 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING PRINTING - An order in which to delete bands is defined in advance according to a table of importance levels of bands. If the free storage space of a hard disk becomes equal to or lower than a threshold value after a new printer command of a band is stored, printer commands stored in the hard disk are deleted in units of bands in accordance with the defined importance levels of bands. If the free storage space of the hard disk becomes greater than the threshold value, new printer commands are stored in units of bands on the hard disk. In the controlling of the printing for second and following ones of the plurality of copies, printer commands stored on the hard disk are transmitted to a printer. However, printer commands that are not stored on the hard disk are again produced. | 01-28-2010 |
20100027074 | PARTITION HALFTONE FOR MULTI-TONE LEVEL OUTPUT DEVICE - An image processing system includes a printing device configured to print a halftone dot using multi-tone levels. The halftone dot is made up of a plurality of pixels, and each pixel is associated with a corresponding tone level. The image processing system further includes a processor. The processor is configured to receive a request to print a bitmap including one or more colors and to identify a grey level for each of the one or more colors. One of the multi-tone levels is associated with the identified grey level, and a halftone matrix is selected for the associated multi-tone level. Each of the multi-tone levels is associated with a different halftone matrix. The processor is further configured to compare the identified grey level with a plurality of pixel threshold values of the selected halftone matrix to determine the corresponding tone level of each of the plurality of pixels. | 02-04-2010 |
20100027075 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND PRINTING METHOD THEREOF - An image forming apparatus and a printing method thereof, the printing method including: generating continuous tone data corresponding to an image area of print data and binary data corresponding to a text area of the print data; generating merged data based on the continuous tone data and the binary data; and performing a half-toning of the merged data to generate final data to be printed on a print medium. | 02-04-2010 |
20100046035 | INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHOD - An information processing apparatus includes a first acquisition unit configured to acquire a frequency characteristic of a recording medium, a second acquisition unit configured to acquire a frequency characteristic of dot information, a dot density distribution calculation unit configured to calculate a dot density distribution based on the frequency characteristic of the recording medium and the frequency characteristic of the dot information, a correspondence generation unit configured to calculate a density of a binary image based on a density distribution of the binary image and the dot which corresponds to a halftone dot ratio and to generate a correspondence between the halftone dot ratio and the density, and a gradation correction generation unit configured to generate a gradation correction condition based on the correspondence between the halftone dot ratio and the density. | 02-25-2010 |
20100067057 | Method of halftone watermarking for hiding multi-tone watermark or two-tone watermark - A method is performed to hide a watermark in two halftone images or in a single halftone image. The halftone image contains information of the hidden watermark, and each pixel value of the halftone image is associated with a corresponding offset value. The offset value is determined according to a corresponding pixel value of the watermark and a corresponding pixel value of another halftone image. The offset value is used to compensate a corresponding input value and a corresponding original error value of the halftone image. | 03-18-2010 |
20100067058 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD - The present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus and an image processing method which print and output image data subjected to halftone processing with an appropriate density characteristic. The image processing apparatus generates a halftone image from a multi-value image using a threshold value arrangement, and generates a difference image between a halftone image having the density characteristic different from that of the generated halftone image and the generated halftone image. The image processing apparatus stores the generated halftone image and the generated difference image. The image processing apparatus determines the density characteristic for printing the halftone image, when determining to carry out printing with the density characteristic different from that of the stored halftone image, generates a halftone image by combining the stored difference image according to the determined density characteristic and the stored halftone image, and outputs the combined and generated halftone image for printing. | 03-18-2010 |
20100067059 | HALFTONE PRINTING WITH DIFFERENT SCREENS - A method of enabling preparing a printing system calibrated with a first halftone screen for printing with a second halftone screen. The calibration is represented by calibration data. Calibration data for the second halftone screen is produced from the existing calibration data of the first halftone screen without resorting to previous calibration data for the second halftone screen, based on correlation data which represent a first-order correlation between the halftone screens. | 03-18-2010 |
20100079811 | Systems and Methods for Efficient Halftone Screening - Systems, methods, and devices described herein provide schemes for performing halftoning operations on image data using a first halftone pattern with a first data width on a SIMD-capable processor with a second data width, wherein second data width is not an integral multiple of the first data width. In some embodiments, the method can operate iteratively and comprises deriving a halftone pattern for an iteration based on a start location in the first halftone pattern, wherein the derived halftone pattern can be of the second data width; loading image data for the iteration until the image data is exhausted, or until the image data occupies the entire width of a register in the processor; and performing halftone computations on the image data using the derived halftone pattern. | 04-01-2010 |
20100079812 | CONTENT-AWARE RESIZING OF UNIFORM ROSETTE COLOR HALFTONE IMAGES - As provided herein, there are supplied teachings to systems and methods for resizing a digital uniform rosette halftone image composed of multiple colorant separations, by using uniform rosette halftone tile parameters. One approach entails receiving into a digital imaging system, a digital uniform rosette halftone image and a desired resizing factor for that digital uniform rosette halftone image. Subsequently the system will define uniform rosette cells within the color uniform rosette digital halftone image. From the defined uniform rosette cells, a number of uniform rosette halftone tile seams are determined for manipulation. The orientation of the number of uniform rosette halftone tile seams is dictated by the received desired resizing factor. An energy map of the digital uniform rosette halftone image is determined according to an energy metric derived from the multiple colorant separations. The energy of the number of uniform rosette halftone tile seams within the energy map is determined so as to provide indication of at least one low energy determined uniform rosette halftone tile seam. A resizing of the uniform rosette halftone image by manipulating the at least one low energy determined uniform rosette halftone tile seam is performed so as to obtain a resized uniform rosette halftone image. The resized uniform rosette halftone image may then be printed on a printer. | 04-01-2010 |
20100079813 | CONTENT-AWARE UNIFORM ROSETTE COLOR HALFTONE IMAGE RESIZING USING ITERATIVE DETERMINATION OF ENERGY METRICS - As provided herein, there are supplied teachings to systems and methods for resizing a digital uniform rosette halftone image composed of multiple colorant separations, by using uniform rosette halftone tile parameters and iterative determination of energy metrics. One approach entails receiving into a digital imaging system, a digital uniform rosette halftone image and a desired resizing factor for that digital uniform rosette halftone image. Subsequently the system will define uniform rosette screen parameters to define uniform rosette Holladay halftone tiles within the color uniform rosette digital halftone image. From the defined uniform rosette cells, a number of uniform rosette halftone tile seams are determined for manipulation. The orientation of the number of uniform rosette halftone tile seams is dictated by the received desired resizing factor. The energy of the number of uniform rosette halftone tile seams is determined according to an energy metric so as to provide indication of low energy determined uniform rosette halftone tile seams. A resizing of the uniform rosette halftone image by iteratively deleting a number of the low energy determined uniform rosette halftone tile seam is performed so as to obtain a resized uniform rosette halftone image. The resized uniform rosette halftone image may then be printed on a printer. | 04-01-2010 |
20100079814 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND TONE CHARACTERISTICS CORRECTION METHOD - An image forming apparatus includes, for example, a pattern generating unit, image processing unit, image recording unit, and correction unit. The pattern generating unit generates a test pattern signal used to form a test pattern including a plurality of tone patches differing in tonality from each other. The image processing unit performs image processing on the test pattern signal according to a predetermined image processing mode out of a plurality of image processing modes related to tone characteristics. The image recording unit records the test pattern on a recording medium according to the test pattern signal processed by the image processing unit. The correction unit corrects the image processing mode based on a result of reading the test pattern recorded on the recording medium. In particular, the image recording unit records a background pattern around periphery of the test pattern. | 04-01-2010 |
20100085604 | SPOT COLOR PRINTING COLOR CONVERSION PROGRAM, COLOR CONVERSION DEVICE AND COLOR CONVERSION METHOD - Provided is a spot color printing color converting device including: an image data acquiring unit for acquiring image data in which the colors of pixels are represented by the gradation values of a first color coordinate system; a spot color list acquiring unit for acquiring a spot color list associating the gradation values of the first color coordinate system with the ink gradation values of a second color coordinate system specifying the gradation of ink colors for printing spot colors. | 04-08-2010 |
20100091332 | Image Forming Apparatus and Image Forming Method - An image forming apparatus includes an image data input unit to which image data is input, a latent image carrier, an exposure head having a luminous element disposed in a first direction, and an imaging optical system for imaging light from the luminous element onto the latent image carrier, and an image processing unit that screen-processes the image data by using a screen table having a first screen pixel formed by n (n is an integer number equal to or more than 1) luminous element spots in a first direction and a second screen pixel formed by m (m is an integer number different from n) luminous element spots in the first direction. | 04-15-2010 |
20100097659 | APPARATUS AND METHOD OF FORMING IMAGES - An image forming apparatus which provides a plurality of developers that have different densities for each color, and an image forming method thereof. The image forming method may include detecting a remaining amount of a first developer; and forming an image by expressing a gray scale of inputted data according to a multi-bit halftoning process using a second developer that is similar to the first developer in color and higher than the first developer in density if the remaining amount of the first developer is a preset value or less. | 04-22-2010 |
20100097660 | Print Engine Controller Utilizing On And Off Chip Memory For Dot Data Formatting - A print engine controller for a pagewidth printhead includes contone and bi-level decompression circuitry for decompressing a contone layer of compressed page data and a bi-level layer of compressed page data, respectively; halftoner and compositor circuitry for halftoning the decompressed contone layer to associated bi-level versions and compositing the decompressed bi-level layer over the halftoned contone layers; printhead interface circuitry for receiving the halftoned and composited data, and to generate therefrom print data suitable for printing by the printhead; and line loader and formatter circuitry for receiving dot data from the halftoner and compositor circuitry, loading dot data for a given print line into buffer storages, and formatting the dots of the given print line into an order required by the printhead interface circuitry. The line loader and formatter circuitry loads the dot data into a combination of on integrated circuit and external storage buffers. | 04-22-2010 |
20100103466 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, IMAGE FORMING SYSTEM AND PRINTING METHOD THEREOF - A printing method, and an image forming apparatus and image forming system to perform the method, the method including performing a multi-bit halftoning of a pixel of image data if the pixel is to be printed with a dark developer, performing a single-bit halftoning of the pixel if the pixel is to be printed with a light developer, and printing the halftoned image data. | 04-29-2010 |
20100128314 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR LINE WIDTH CONTROL AND PIXEL RETAGGING - A system and method for processing a digital image for rendering are provided. The method includes performing one or more Line Width Control (LWC) operations on digital image data including pixels having pixel values representing gray levels and tag states providing information for specialized rendering techniques thereby changing one or more pixel values resulting in one or more inaccurate pixel tag states, identifying and reassigning one or more inaccurate pixel tag states for improving the rendering of the resultant digital image. An apparatus, such as an image processing system, capable of performing line width control and tag reassignment is also provided. | 05-27-2010 |
20100128315 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, RECORDING MEDIUM, AND IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD - When a halftone frequency inputted to a diffusion coefficient storage section is a low halftone frequency, or when the halftone frequency is a middle halftone frequency or high halftone frequency and a zoom level is a middle zoom level or high zoom level, the same set of diffusion coefficients are selected. Moreover, when the halftone frequency inputted to the diffusion coefficient storage section is the middle halftone frequency or high halftone frequency and the zoom level is the low zoom level, individual sets of diffusion coefficients are selected for respective current pixels. A diffusion error calculation section calculates diffusion errors to be diffused to respective not-quantized peripheral pixels of the current pixel, based on a quantization error inputted from a quantization error calculation section and the set of diffusion coefficients selected from the diffusion coefficient storage section. | 05-27-2010 |
20100128316 | WHITE REGION IDENTIFICATION TO ACCELERATE IMAGE PROCESSING FOR COPIES - Provided herein is a method for accelerating the production of a standalone copy of a document by a peripheral device. The invention employs a white space map of the document to be copied. The map is generated by the ASIC chip, preferably at an early stage in the processing pipeline, and is used by the device to identify white areas of the outputted copy that do not require subsequent image processing calculations and do not require ink or toner markings on the paper. Use of the white space map allows the system to reduce the processing resources necessary to image process and subsequently physically print the copy, thus speeding up copy production. | 05-27-2010 |
20100157373 | Method and system for correlating of uniformity compensations across halftone screens - A method and system are provided for characterizing performance of a printer across a plurality of halftone screens. A first non-uniformity profile is generated by measuring printer performance. Cross-position differences between the first non-uniformity profile and selected corresponding cross-positions of a second halftone screen are detected. A scaling factor is computed relating the detected differences. Printer performance with the second halftone screen is predicted by applying the scaling factor associated with the second halftone screen to the non-uniformity profile of the first halftone screen. | 06-24-2010 |
20100177355 | POST RIP TRAPPING - Image data representing an image is obtained, raster image processing is performed on the image data, and then trapping is performed on the image data after raster image processing. The trapping may be performed based on a tag plane generated during the raster image processing, or the determination of which pixels to trap may be performed after the raster image processing. | 07-15-2010 |
20100177356 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING IMAGE IN DIGITAL PRINTER - Provided are a method and apparatus for processing image data in a printer, in which page description language (PDL) data is analyzed and generated as standard color data, the generated standard color data is converted to a plurality of printer outputting colors, image conversion processes are parallely performed on the printer outputting colors, and printing data is generated on a page-by-page basis based on the printer outputting colors to which the image conversion processes are performed. | 07-15-2010 |
20100182649 | Halftone independent device characterization accounting for colorant interactions - A model-based halftone independent method for characterizing a printer equipped with a plural of halftone screens comprises: printing a target set of basic patches comprised of a fundamental binary pattern independent of a halftone screen; measuring true color printer response from the target set; modeling a halftone independent characterization of the printer with the mathematical transformation using the measured response; modeling a first halftone dependent characterization of the printer with the mathematical transformer to generate a first predicted result using a selected halftone screen; comparing a measured response of the printer using the halftone screen with the predicted result to define a correction factor corresponding to the halftone screen; and modeling a halftone dependent characterization of the printer using a predicted response of the fundamental binary pattern and the correction factor. | 07-22-2010 |
20100182650 | Ink Restriction Determination - A method and apparatus as provided for determining, for an ink to be deposited on a substrate by a halftone inkjet printing process, a nominal coverage value (the ‘ink restriction value’), that corresponds to an amount of ink sufficient to fully cover the area of the substrate to be printed. This determination is effected by measuring the reflectance of the printed substrate for a range of nominal coverage values, and then using an automatic processing arrangement to determine, from the change of measured reflectance with nominal coverage value, the nominal coverage value at which continuous tone behaviour commences. | 07-22-2010 |
20100188708 | Method to utilize non-image area in image reproduction - The method conceptually applies a new halftone dot, here after referred to as the T-Dot, to raster images in the process of screening, where a bitmap of continuous tone is converted into a pattern of dots or halftone. In preparing an image to be printed, the method will adjust the surface area of the T-Dot by creating a non-image area inside of the T-Dot. The method facilitates precise control over the area of the printed halftone dot. | 07-29-2010 |
20100195160 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING DIFFERENTIAL GLOSS AND PRINT ITEM PRODUCED THEREBY - The invention describes a method to control differential gloss of halftone areas produced using substantially clear or low-pigmented toner. It is an objective of this invention to provide a method which allows to produce digital watermarks on paper without being limited in the gloss properties of the toner, the paper or and selected fusing technology. The present invention relates to a method producing clear, low density or highdensity watermarks using Glossmark technology using low-pigmented toner or clear toner. Glossmark technology is for controlling the differential gloss of an image using the steps selecting a first halftone image having a first anisotropic structure, selecting a second halftone image having a second structure different from that of the first halftone, applying the first halftone to at least some portion of the halftone image and applying the second halftone to another portion of the halftone image. | 08-05-2010 |
20100195161 | PRINT CONTROLLER - A print controller controls a print process in which black ink having permeability to a recording medium and chromatic color ink having permeability to the recording medium different from the permeability of the black ink are used to form an image on the recording medium. The subject pixel setting unit sets, as a subject pixel, one pixel that satisfies a first condition that the pixel is a black pixel, a second condition that a plurality of peripheral pixels that are located adjacent to the pixel and that surround the pixel include at least one chromatic pixel, and a third condition that gradation level of black changes discontinuously between the pixel and at least one of the at least one chromatic pixel. The bleed suppressing unit executes a bleed suppression process to a set of pixel data corresponding to the subject pixel to suppress bleeding of the black ink on the recording medium. | 08-05-2010 |
20100220362 | Performing halftoning by plurality of halftoning mechanisms - A controller is to receive a halftoning job having a number of pages. The controller is to divide each page into a number of sections. A number of halftoning mechanisms correspond in number to the number of sections into which each page is to be divided. Each halftoning mechanism is to perform halftoning on a different section of each page. At any given time, no halftoning mechanism is to perform halftoning on a same page on which any other halftoning mechanism is to currently perform halftoning. | 09-02-2010 |
20100225972 | VECTOR HALFTONING IN AN IMAGE PATH UTILIZING SUB-SAMPLED CROSS-CHANNEL IMAGE VALUES - This disclosure provides methods, apparatus and systems to generate vector halftone data for rendering an image on an image output device. According to one aspect, a method generates vector halftone data as a function of contone pixel data for a given colorant at its nominal resolution and contone pixel data for the other colorants at a relatively lower resolution. | 09-09-2010 |
20100225973 | LASER PRINT APPARATUS WITH DUAL HALFTONES - A printing system comprises a memory configured to store image data representing an image. The printing system comprises a processor configured to perform a first digital halftone process on a first portion of the image and a second digital halftone process on a second portion of the image. | 09-09-2010 |
20100231977 | SCREENING APPARATUS AND SCREENING METHOD - In CTP or CTF platemaking using the inkjet method, gap (discontinuity) or nonlinearity of tone is improved to realize superior gradation reproduction. | 09-16-2010 |
20100238508 | Halftone-independent scanner profiling - A method and system is disclosed for characterizing a color scanner comprising generating a halftone-independent target of color patches, printing the target on a color hardcopy device, measuring the target to obtain device-independent color values, scanning the target to obtain scanner color values, and building a scanner profile that relates scanned color values to device-independent color values. | 09-23-2010 |
20100238509 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD OF IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT - Dot patterns formed by two different half-tone processes of the plurality of tone processes for each color of CMYK and formed with/without the presence and absence of transparent toner overlap are created and test patches obtained by collecting the dot patterns are printed. The printed test patches are read to generate image data, and tone correction arithmetic is performed on the basis of the image data. Concentration in the case of the presence of transparent toner in a different half-tone process is predicted based on the dot patterns with the transparent toner overlap in the test patches and concentration in the case of the absence of transparent toner in a different half-tone process is predicted based on the dot patterns without the transparent toner overlap in the test patches. The tone correction arithmetic is performed based on the predicted values. | 09-23-2010 |
20100245925 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUM, AND PRINTING APPARATUS - An image processing apparatus is provided, the image processing apparatus including: an interpreting section that interprets instructions of a print control contained in print information, the instructions including a resolution instruction, a monochrome designation instruction indicating whether a monochrome designation is applied, and a page description language designation instruction; a selecting section that selects a binary-processing threshold matrix in response to at least the resolution instruction, the monochrome designation instruction, and the page description language designation instruction by any of ways including selecting and eliminating; and a binary-processing section that binary-processes a page description language contained in the print information by employing the binary-processing threshold matrix selected by the selecting section. | 09-30-2010 |
20100245926 | METHOD FOR SCREENING COLOR SEPARATIONS OF A LENTICULAR IMAGE, COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING A LENTICULAR IMAGE ON A PRINTING MATERIAL - A method for screening color separations of a lenticular image having a lenticular frequency of lenticular lenses for viewing the image, with a lens width l. An amplitude-modulated halftone image is calculated for each color separation at one screen angle with a rational number tangent and screen frequency. The screen has non-orthogonal screen cells spanned by vectors u, v for a specific color separation. A distance k is defined. Directions of vectors u, v relating to perpendicular direction relative to image strips of the lenticular image are defined for the specific color separation. First (n, m) and second (i, j) pairs of rational numbers are defined, to satisfy a system of equations: n*u | 09-30-2010 |
20100253980 | Image processing apparatus and image processing method for binary and multivalue halftoning - An image processing apparatus for converting a multiple gradation image into a binary or multivalue image by use of an area gradation method according to a screen cell is provided. The apparatus includes a receiving unit that receives an input pixel value of each pixel of the multiple gradation image and position information on the screen cell, an output unit that has a lookup table storing an output pixel value corresponding to the input pixel value in such a manner that an image is formed in which the output pixel value is increased or decreased with an increase in the input pixel value, and a screen line number is kept at a prescribed level with the increase in the input pixel value but a dot position is different, and that outputs the output pixel value at a pixel position on the screen cell corresponding to the position information by referring to the lookup table, according to the input pixel value and the position information received by the receiving unit. | 10-07-2010 |
20100259794 | METHODS AND ALGORITHMS FOR ADJUSTING GLOSS LEVELS IN PRINTERS - A printer configured to adjust gloss appearance of images includes a marking engine configured to render an image on a substrate from input image data; and a controller configured to: (i) correlate a minimum luminance value to be used by the printer based on a gloss selection; (ii) determine a black point compensation function based on the correlated minimum luminance value; and (iii) adjust luminance values for input image data using the determined black point compensation function. A method to adjust gloss appearance of images is also provided. | 10-14-2010 |
20100265549 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD - For reducing jaggies in second image data based on first image data, the second image data obtained by performing digital halftoning on each image signal of the first image data, and attribute data indicating the attribute of each pixel in the first image data, a determination signal indicating whether or not to perform smoothing processing is output based on the first image data, edge correction data for the smoothing processing is generated from the first image data, and whether or not to perform edge correction processing that uses the edge correction data is selected according to the determination signal and the attribute data. Moreover, the second image data and the edge correction data are compared for each image signal so as to output either one thereof according to the comparison result. | 10-21-2010 |
20100277770 | COLOR TRAPPING ON A HALFTONED BI-LEVEL BITMAP - What is disclosed is a novel system and method for color trapping on halftoned bi-level bitmaps. Color edges are detected and edge pixels that need to be trapped are identified. The number of pixels qualified as edge pixels eligible for color trapping can be up to a pre-determined number of pixels away from the color edge. Estimates for the continuous-tone values are obtained for the dominant colors on each side of the two-color edge. The contone value of the dominant color on the opposing side of the two-color edge is assigned to the qualified edge pixels. Qualified edge pixels are re-halftoned using their assigned contone value so that halftones for one color are extended beyond the edge into the other color. The re-halftoned edge pixels are combined with the original bitmap to produce a new bitmap for the image. The new bitmap is then provided to an image output device. | 11-04-2010 |
20100290089 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SELECTIVE SMOOTHING OF HALFTONED OBJECTS USING BITMAP ENCODING - An image processing system utilizes an image type classification circuit to identify inputted image data as picture image data or text/graphics image data. A halftone circuit, operatively connected to the image type classification circuit, converts the inputted image data, identified as picture image data, to halftone image data. Moreover, a tile pattern circuit, operatively connected to the image type classification circuit, to replace the inputted image data, identified as text/graphics image data, with tile patterns. Non-halftone cluster areas in the tile patterns are encoded with a predetermined pattern. A bitmap rendering circuit combines the halftone image data with the encoded tile patterns to render a bitmap, wherein the bitmap can be used by a print engine to reproduce the image. | 11-18-2010 |
20110007362 | Halftone Dot formation Method and Apparatus for Reducing Layer Thickness of Coloring Material Inside Halftone Dots, and Image Formation Apparatus - An image processing method generates a halftone-dot image by forming a halftone dot, which is represented by a set of one or plural output dots and corresponds to an intensity of an input image signal, while making a part of the dots constituting the halftone dot to be an actual non-output dot so as to reduce an amount of a coloring material of the halftone-dot portion. When the intensity of the image signal exceeds a predetermined value and is in a predetermined range, while maintaining contour dots, which are output dots contribute to formation of a contour of the halftone dot, to be the output dot, the image processing method makes a part of dots inside the contour dots to be the actual non-output dot. | 01-13-2011 |
20110007363 | Halftone Dot Formation Method and Apparatus for Reducing Layer Thickness of Coloring Material Inside Halftone Dots, and Image Formation Apparatus - An image processing method generates a halftone-dot image by forming a halftone dot, which is represented by a set of one or plural output dots and corresponds to an intensity of an input image signal, while making a part of the dots constituting the halftone dot to be an actual non-output dot so as to reduce an amount of a coloring material of the halftone-dot portion. When the intensity of the image signal exceeds a predetermined value and is in a predetermined range, while maintaining contour dots, which are output dots contribute to formation of a contour of the halftone dot, to be the output dot, the image processing method makes a part of dots inside the contour dots to be the actual non-output dot. | 01-13-2011 |
20110019236 | IMAGE DATA CREATION DEVICE, IMAGE DATA CREATION METHOD AND INK-JET SYSTEM - A host PC that creates image data used in an ink-jet printer capable of landing ink with a multi-pass method includes an image data creation means that creates the image data so that the ink jet printer forms an image with a halftone dot which is configured so that a relationship between a pass number and a dot pitch in a vertical scanning direction of an ink-jet head does not become an integral multiple relationship when the pass number is odd number, and a dot pitch does not become even number when the pass number is even number. | 01-27-2011 |
20110032573 | System and Method of Halftone Printing of Image Spot Colors Using Ranked Ordered Pairing of Colorants and Halftone Screens - Systems and methods of halftoning an image for extended-colorant printing image spot colors are provided which perform a quality ranking of a plurality of periodic halftone screens to be used in halftoning the image and an objectionability ranking of the colorants used to produce the one or more image spot colors. Halftone screen-to-colorant assignments are then made using a ranked ordered pairing of the ranked screens and ranked colorants. The image is halftoned using these assignments and the results can be printed or saved for future printing. Pixel tags can be used to identify the ranked ordered halftone screen-to-colorant assignments. | 02-10-2011 |
20110038007 | MOIRE-FREE COLOR HALFTONING METHODS, APPARATUS AND SYSTEMS - Disclosed are moiré-free color halftoning methods, apparatus and systems to digitally reproduce an original color image. The disclosed embodiments are particularly useful for rendering a color image with a color printing device. According to one exemplary embodiment, an image forming method utilizes three or four rotated hexagonal screens which can include regular shaped hexagon screens or convex tessellated hexagon screens. | 02-17-2011 |
20110038008 | MOIRE-FREE COLOR HALFTONING METHODS, APPARATUS AND SYSTEMS - Disclosed are moiré-free color halftoning methods, apparatus and systems to digitally reproduce an original color image. The disclosed embodiments are particularly useful for rendering a color image with a color printing device. According to one exemplary embodiment, an image forming method utilizes three or four rotated hexagonal screens which can include regular shaped hexagon screens or convex tessellated hexagon screens. | 02-17-2011 |
20110038009 | Method and System for Compensating Imaging Defect in Image Forming Apparatus - Disclosed is a method for compensating an imaging defect in an image forming apparatus. The method includes generating a raster image. Further, the method includes determining a compensating profile representing the imaging defect in the image forming apparatus. Furthermore, the method includes forming a defect-compensated image based on the raster image and the compensating profile. Also, disclosed is the image forming apparatus capable of compensating the imaging defect thereof. | 02-17-2011 |
20110043862 | DETERMINATION OF OPTIMUM MERGE LINE LOCATIONS - A method for forming a halftone image on recording media includes providing a recording head comprising a plurality of individually addressable recording channels. The recording head forms a plurality of image swaths, with each swath formed during a separate scan. A plurality of locations is identified within a representative unit cell of the halftone image. A quantified value for each location is determined based on a sub-scan misalignment associated with a proposed merging of two image swaths at the location corresponding to the quantified value. A merge location is selected from the plurality of locations, corresponding to a desired quantified values. The recording head forms the halftone image on the recording media while merging a first image swath and a second image swath at the selected merge location within a first unit cell of the halftone image. | 02-24-2011 |
20110051197 | BITMAPPED BASED TRAPPING METHODS, APPARATUS AND SYSTEMS - Provided are bitmap based trapping methods, apparatus and systems. According to one exemplary method, black trapping color image data is performed by estimating the continuous tone values associated with non-black pixels near a qualified black pixel and subsequently, the estimated continuous tone values are halftoned at the qualified black pixel locations and ORed with the original bitmap data. | 03-03-2011 |
20110051198 | System and method for inverse halftoning - The system and method for inverse halftoning using a partitioning look-up table (LUT) provides an improvement on a conventional LUT method for inverse halftoning, and a hardware implementation thereof. The method includes the partitioning of the single LUT into N smaller look-up tables (s-LUTs). After partitioning, N s-LUTs are generated, which can be stored in separate memory blocks, allowing parallel access to more than one s-LUT at any time. Such parallelization is not possible with only one LUT stored in a single memory block. Additionally, two or more templates (represented as r templates) with different pixels at position 0 can be retrieved from the halftone image concurrently. Further, the contents of the single LUT are partitioned into Ns-LUTs, thus the total entries in Ns-LUTs are equal to the entries in the single LUT of the conventional LUT based method of inverse halftoning. | 03-03-2011 |
20110096364 | Color Separation Table - Method of setting up a color separation table for a specific print system, comprising finding first NP (Neugebauer Primary) area coverages of a specific print system that correspond to color values, adding second NP area coverages by converting halftone data from at least one pre-determined pair of halftone data and corresponding color value to NP area coverages, and generating a color separation table arranged as input for a halftone process that comprises color values linked to the corresponding first and second NP area coverages. | 04-28-2011 |
20110096365 | Print Interface - Method of generating a CIElab to Neugebauer Primary area coverages interface for a print system, comprising selecting area coverages of Neugebauer Primaries and printing corresponding patches, measuring the CIE XYZ coordinates of the patches, converting the CIE XYZ coordinates to corresponding CIE Lab coordinates, and relating the CIE Lab coordinates to the NPacs. | 04-28-2011 |
20110102847 | ROTATED HALFTONE SCREEN GEOMETRY THAT AVOIDS BEAT-BASED BANDING - Disclosed are methods and apparatus for reproducing an image using one or more halftone screens for one or more respective colorants in the methods and apparatus reducing the beating of one or more excitation frequencies with one or more harmonic frequencies associated with the halftone screens. According to an exemplary method, one or more halftone screens are selected such that the fundamental frequency of an excitation frequency coincides with a harmonic frequency of a halftone screen. | 05-05-2011 |
20110102848 | MEMORY EFFICIENT HIERARCHICAL ERROR DIFFUSION WITH COLOR CONSISTENCY CONSTRAINTS - A halftoning process for printing digital images includes: receiving CMYK input pixel data that define an input pixel of an input digital image in terms of continuous tone input data values for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black colors, wherein I(C), I(M), I(Y), I(K) respectively correspond to the continuous tone input data value for the cyan, magenta, yellow, and black colors; converting the CMYK input pixel data to modified CMYKRGB* pixel data that define the input pixel in terms of error-adjusted continuous tone data values for the cyan, magenta, yellow, and black colors, and also in terms of red, green and blue colors, wherein I*(C), I*(M), I*(Y), I*(K), I*(R), I*(G), I*(B) respectively correspond to the error-adjusted converted continuous tone input data values for the cyan, magenta, yellow, black, red, green, blue colors; quantizing the modified CMYKRGB* pixel data to derive intermediate output CMYKRGB pixel data in which the cyan, magenta, yellow, black, red, green, and blue colors are each defined by either a first quantized value that represents no color or a second quantized pixel value that represents full color, wherein O′(C), O′(M), O′(Y), O′(K), O′(R), O′(G), O′(B) respectively define said intermediate output pixel data for the cyan, magenta, yellow, black, red, green, and blue colors, and wherein the intermediate output CMYKRGB pixel data define an output pixel that corresponds to the input pixel; converting the intermediate output CMYKRGB pixel data to CMYK output data in which the output pixel is defined in terms of CMYK output values O(C), O(M), O(Y), O(K) respectively for the cyan, magenta, yellow, and black colors, wherein each of the CMYK output values is defined by either a first output value representing no color or a second output value representing full color. | 05-05-2011 |
20110116135 | MULTIBIT DIGITAL HALFTONING - Digital halftoning processes for producing a halftone image include, for each pixel in the image: indexing a two-dimensional look up table using a position of the pixel, identifying a threshold value for the pixel from the two-dimensional look up table, creating an index that indexes a three-dimensional lookup table using the threshold value and the position of the pixel, and obtaining an output value for the pixel from the three-dimensional look up table via the index. The digital halftoning processes also produce a halftone representation of the image from output values for corresponding pixels. | 05-19-2011 |
20110116136 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING METHOD FOR CORRECTING REGISTRATION DEVIATION - There exists a problem that, for registration correction, carrying out less-than-one-pixel-basis correction and one-pixel-basis correction for an image after half toning using screen processing causes unevenness in density when it is hard for linearity of image density against a PWM to come out. Processing of interpolation is carried out so that the way how a halfdot is formed may always becomes the same after the interpolation processing. By applying a matrix in consideration of a dot direction which may be broken by the interpolation processing at the time of the screen processing, conversion in which a way of locating the half dot maintains relation of vertical inversion in a subscanning direction is carried out, and less-than-one-pixel-basis correction is carried out. | 05-19-2011 |
20110122450 | DETERMINING COMPOSITE COLOR FOR DITHERED OBJECT AND CONTONE OBJECT | 05-26-2011 |
20110122451 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD - An apparatus includes a processing unit configured to perform halftone processing for input image data and output halftone image data, a determination unit configured to determine a mixing ratio based on a difference value between a low frequency component of the halftone image data and a low frequency component of the input image data, and a mixing unit configured to mix the input image data and the halftone image data based on the mixing ratio. | 05-26-2011 |
20110134486 | Mechanism for Integration of Print Quality Enhancement (PQE) and Multi-Bit Halftone Data - A mechanism for integrating print quality enhancement (PQE) and multi-bit halftone data is disclosed. A system of embodiments of the invention includes a print control unit communicably coupled to a printer, the print control unit operable to process received multi-bit input print data for printing by the printer;\. The system further comprises a PQE card communicably coupled with the printer, the PQE card configured to separate multi-bit text and line art input data from multi-bit halftone image input data in the multi-bit input print data, ignore any of the identified multi-bit halftone image input data for purposes of applying PQE technology to the identified multi-bit halftone image input data, and apply the PQE technology to the identified multi-bit text and line art input data. Lastly, the system includes a print head communicably coupled to the printer, the print head operable to print multi-bit output created by the PQE card. | 06-09-2011 |
20110141525 | MULTI-LEVEL HALFTONE SCREENS - The present invention relates to methods of improving color image quality by optimization of the gray level screens including blending a plurality of gray level screens to reducing the color grain noise and maintaining larger color gamut for the pictorial color imagery in the color printing systems that utilize gray level (multi-level) printing. | 06-16-2011 |
20110141526 | Image output inspection system, image inspection apparatus, and computer program product - An image-output inspection system includes a printer controller that generates output image data subjected to halftone processing in accordance with an input image forming condition specified in a printer language, an image output device that forms an image on an image output medium on the basis of the output image data, and transmits the output image data, an image reader that reads the image output medium, and generates read image data, and an image inspection apparatus that is connected to the image output device, and generates correct image data by restoring image data before subjected to the halftone processing from the output image data, and determines whether a print state of the image output medium is good or not by comparing the correct image data with the read image data. | 06-16-2011 |
20110141527 | IMAGE PROCESSING DEVICE AND PRINTING APPARATUS FOR PERFORMING BIDIRECTIONAL PRINTING - A printing apparatus performs printing on a print medium. The printing apparatus includes: a dot data generator that performs a halftone process on image data, wherein the print image is formed by mutually combining print pixels belonging to each of a plurality of pixel position groups for which a physical difference is assumed at a formation of dots by the print image generator, in a common print area, and the halftone process is configured to determine the status of dot formation on each of the print pixels on an assumption of the physical difference. | 06-16-2011 |
20110157655 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD - An image processing apparatus includes a first halftone processor, a first filtering processor, a second filtering processor, and an evaluator. The first halftone processor generates first halftone image data from input image data using thresholds. The first filtering processor smoothes the first halftone image data using a first filter having a size corresponding to a cycle of the thresholds. The second filtering processor smoothes the input image data using a second filter having a characteristic corresponding to the first filter. The evaluator evaluates a moiré caused in the first halftone image data based on a difference between the first halftone image data smoothed by the first filtering processor and the image data smoothed by the second filtering processor. | 06-30-2011 |
20110164284 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHOD - An image processing apparatus determines the attribute of a pixel block, which is composed of a prescribed number of pixels extracted from image data, and the attribute of an area in which each pixel of the pixel block belongs. Then, based upon the determined attribute of the image block and the determined attribute of the area in which each pixel belongs, the apparatus subjects the image data to processing, pixel by pixel. | 07-07-2011 |
20110164285 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes an image forming station for forming a pattern image on a recording material; an image reading station for reading a pattern image formed on a recording material by the image forming station; and a tone gradation corrector for calculating a halftone dot area property on the basis of the density of the pattern image read by the image reading station and for executing tone gradation correction in the image forming station on the basis of the calculated halftone dot area property. | 07-07-2011 |
20110188088 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUSES, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUSES, AND COMPUTER READABLE MEDIA STORING PROGRAMS - An image processing apparatus includes: a calculating unit that sequentially selects pixels as a target pixel, on binary image data composed of plural color plates for each printing color after having been subjected to halftone-dot processing, and calculates a characteristic amount in each of plural preset areas around the selected target pixel on the basis of states of pixels in the areas; a determination unit that determines, on the basis of the characteristic amount in each of the areas calculated by the calculating unit, whether or not the target pixel is a pixel to be subjected to overlay processing; a decision unit that decides, for each of the color plates, a position of a pixel to be referred to when changing a pixel value of the target pixel, on the basis of a halftone-dot processing attribute for each of the color plates; and a changing unit that, if it is determined by the determination unit that the target pixel is the pixel to be subjected to the overlay processing, changes the pixel value of the target pixel of the image data of the color plate for a printing color to be changed in pixel value in the overlay processing, to a pixel value at the position decided by the decision unit. | 08-04-2011 |
20110211230 | HALFTONE DOT FORMATION METHOD AND APPARATUS, AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image processing method generates a halftone image by forming a halftone dot represented by a set of one or plural output dots corresponding to an intensity of an input image signal while making a part of the dots constituting the halftone dot to be an actual non-output dot so as to reduce an amount of a coloring material of a halftone-dot portion. The image processing method includes holding in a predetermined storage medium halftone-dot profile data for forming the halftone dot corresponding to the intensity of the image signal and gap-size profile data representing a size of a set of the non-output dot; and generating the halftone dot comprising a gap having a size based on the gap-size profile data, a size of the halftone dot being based on the halftone-dot profile data. | 09-01-2011 |
20110222125 | Pseudo-halftoning device, image forming apparatus, and image forming system - An image forming system includes a pseudo-halftoning device; an image forming apparatus that forms a toner image on a recording medium; and a reading apparatus that read the toner image on the recording medium, in which the pseudo-halftoning device is such that pseudo-halftoning is performed on a target image by using a threshold matrix set including a plurality of threshold matrices, one threshold matrix for use is selected from the threshold matrix set according to a position of the target image to be used in the pseudo-halftoning performed on the target image, the threshold matrices in the threshold matrix set are identical with one another in periodic structure but different from one another only in a gradation characteristic, and a threshold matrix to be used is determined based on toner-image information data obtained by reading the toner image by the reading apparatus. | 09-15-2011 |
20110222126 | INKJET PRINTER AND INKJET PRINTING METHOD - An ejection part ( | 09-15-2011 |
20110235126 | PRINTING DEVICE AND PRINTING METHOD - For each of a plurality of reference colors located at prescribed coordinates in a first color space (e.g., the RGB color space), there are associated, on an individual pixel row basis, correction vectors indicating correction amounts in the first color space. For each pixel datum of image data of first tone values (e.g., 256 tone values) of the first color space prior to a color conversion process, a correction process is carried out on the basis of the correction vector that has been associated with the pixel row to which a given pixel belongs, the correction vector also being associated with the reference color of a location surrounding the coordinates that indicate the pixel data in the first color space. The color conversion process and the halftoning process are carried out on image data composed of the pixel data that has been subjected to the correction process. | 09-29-2011 |
20110235127 | HALFTONE IMAGE GENERATION, DEVICE, HALFTONE IMAGE GENERATION METHOD, AND COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM FOR COMPUTER PROGRAM - A halftone image generation device is provided that, by partially selecting and blending a first halftone image obtained by halftone processing a specific image using a first method and a second halftone image obtained by halftone processing the specific image using a second method different from the first method, generates a third halftone image of the specific image. The device includes a detector detecting, from the first halftone image, a dot pixel in which a dot is disposed, and a blender blending the first halftone image and the second halftone image by, when a dot is not disposed in any of neighboring pixels in the first halftone image that neighbor the dot pixel, employing, as binary values of isolated-point related pixels in the third halftone image that are in a same position as the dot pixel and the neighboring pixels, binary values of the dot pixel and the neighboring pixels. | 09-29-2011 |
20110273746 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, AND IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD - A disclosed image processing apparatus performs an image processing operation to execute double-side printing on both sides of an image forming medium. The image processing apparatus forms a dot font including a dot pattern of a character in a character image that has undergone a halftone process using a predetermined coefficient for mitigating show-through when the double-side printing is performed; forms a correction dot for making a correction to reduce step-like irregularities along an outline portion of the character in the character image, which correction dot is formed based on an arrangement position, a color, and a dot size of the correction dot for reproducing a gradation that has undergone the halftone process using said predetermined coefficient; and combines the dot font and the correction dot. | 11-10-2011 |
20110286047 | IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD AND IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS - Upon setting of a halftone process of an initial setting, there is such a problem that graininess deteriorates due to an aging change or an environmental change. To solve this problem, an image processing apparatus executes a halftone process on a test image for tone correction and prints the processed test image; forms a tone correction table in accordance with read values from the printed test image; obtains graininess from a read value of a low density portion of a tone correction patch of the test image for the tone correction; discriminates whether the obtained graininess exceeds a predetermined reference level; and changes a setting of the halftone process so as to reduce the graininess when it is discriminated that the obtained graininess exceeds the predetermined reference level. | 11-24-2011 |
20110317221 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image processing section includes a density correction adjustment section, and in response to an instruction from a density correction process section to adjust a density correction process, the density correction adjustment section reviews a conversion value table which is used by the density correction process section to calculate an output correction value by conversion, so as to adjust the density correction process. | 12-29-2011 |
20110317222 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR DYNAMICALLY SOFT PROOFING HALFTONE IMAGES - Methods and apparatus are provided for dynamically halftoning image data, substantially in real-time. Halftone threshold values are calculated and stored in memory, and halftone output values are calculated for the portions of the image data that will be displayed on a display device. Halftone screen parameters may be modified, and new halftone screen threshold values may be calculated for any affected halftone screens. For unaffected halftone screens, the previously stored threshold values may be retrieved from memory. In addition, the portion of the image to be displayed may be modified, and the halftone output values of the new portion may be calculated and then displayed. | 12-29-2011 |
20120008170 | METHOD FOR CONTROLLING MULTICOLOR PRINT QUALITY - A method for controlling multicolor print quality including a) placing color patches onto a print substrate; b) combining primary colors C, M, and Y to form secondary colors and overprinting the secondary colors and an opposite primary color thereof in a pre-determined halftone % to yield neutral grey tone; c) comparing the neutral grey tone with a black “K” halftone as a monochrome gray reference in the color patches, and d) amending the color patches to control color changes. | 01-12-2012 |
20120033263 | Halftone Printing of Metal-Pigmented Inks to Produce Various Metallic Appearances - A system and method for producing a wide range of metallic appearances using halftones of a nano-particle metallic ink, such as, for example, nano-silver, are presented. In exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a nano-particle metallic ink, such as, for example, nano-silver, can be made to produce a range of appearances from, for example, bright silver to dull oxidized aluminum, by changing halftone level of the silver inks, changing the substrate surface properties and introducing small amounts of other colored inks, such as process or spot, in either an underprinting or overprinting of the metallic ink. In exemplary embodiments of the present invention, InkJet printing of a single metal-pigmented ink can be effected, and its metallic appearance can very quickly be adjusted to match a given package design. | 02-09-2012 |
20120062958 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING METHOD THEREOF - An image forming apparatus is provided. The image forming apparatus includes a communication interface unit which receives print data, a rendering unit which converts the received print data into a bitmap image by rendering, a binarization unit which generates binary data by carrying out halftoning with respect to the bitmap image, a data combining unit which generates multi-bit data by combining a plurality of successive binary data of the generated binary data, and a print engine which forms an image on a print paper using the generated multi-bit data. | 03-15-2012 |
20120081755 | COST-EFFECTIVE BINARY PRINTER MODELS FOR MULTI-COLOR PRINTERS BY IMPROVED REFLECTANCE MODELING AND PATCH CLUSTERING - Systems and methods are described that facilitate reducing a number of patches used in characterizing a color halftone printer via a binary color printer model. A binary printer model involves printing of a fundamental set of color binary patterns that encompass all possible halftone outputs. A k-center clustering technique is employed to automatically find and eliminate redundancies in the initial set of binary color patterns. Once the number of patches is reduced to an acceptable number, a multiplicative reflectance model is applied that better approximates the physical process and therefore improves accuracy. | 04-05-2012 |
20120086984 | EDGE REFINEMENT SYSTEM - An edge refinement system includes a computer-readable medium encoded with a computer program having computer readable code for identifying carrier cells among shadow cells and highlight cells of a segmented image, computer readable code for determining if a predetermined edge condition is met by each of the identified carrier cells, and computer readable code for re-classifying the carrier cell as a non-carrier cell when the predetermined edge condition is met. The edge refinement system further includes memory and a processor operatively coupled to the memory and to the computer-readable medium. | 04-12-2012 |
20120086985 | IMAGE PROCESSING DEVICE, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM - An image processing device includes a processor. The processor executes a screen process by using different screens for respective color components which are newly used in response to N colors ranging from a primary color in an output color space to a Nth color, in the output color space, obtained by mixing the primary color with other primary colors in order, where N denotes natural number equal to or larger than 2. | 04-12-2012 |
20120086986 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD AND STORAGE MEDIUM - There is provided an image processing apparatus comprising: a first halftone processing unit configured to perform halftone processing on multilevel input image data; a first filter unit configured to perform smoothing filter processing on the first halftone image data; a second filter unit configured to perform smoothing filter processing on the multilevel input image data; a first difference evaluation unit configured to calculate a difference between the converted first and second filter-processed data for each pixel as a first moiré intensity; a third filter unit; a fourth filter unit; a second difference evaluation unit configured to calculate a difference between the converted third and fourth filter-processed data for each pixel as a second moiré intensity; and a moiré intensity selection unit configured to select one of the first moiré intensity and the second moiré intensity. | 04-12-2012 |
20120105915 | CONTROLLER AND HALFTONE DOT SIGNAL GENERATING METHOD CAPABLE OF CONTROLLING GLOSSINESS OF IMAGE - An image glossiness controller has a main component color specifying unit that identifies a prescribed component color and output identification information thereof. A change in amplitude of a convexoconcavity of a toner layer of the prescribed component color is greatest among those of the other component colors when each of the component color toner is formed and fixed alone. Three or more halftone dot signal generators convert clear toner image information into three or more binary clear toner image signals corresponding to three or more component colors per component color pixel using multiple halftone dot characteristics, respectively. Each of the multiple halftone dot characteristics generating three or more binary clear toner image signals has a reversed phase from that generating three or more binary component color image signals. | 05-03-2012 |
20120113477 | LASER PRINT APPARATUS WITH DUAL HALF TONES - A printing system comprises a memory configured to store image data representing an image. The printing system comprises a processor configured to perform a first digital halftone process on a first portion of the image and a second digital halftone process on a second portion of the image. | 05-10-2012 |
20120120453 | METHOD FOR BINARIZING SCANNED DOCUMENT IMAGES CONTAINING GRAY OR LIGHT COLORED TEXT PRINTED WITH HALFTONE PATTERN - A method for binarizing a scanned document images containing gray or light colored text printed with halftone patterns. The document image is initially binarized and connected image components are extracted from the initial binary image as text characters. Each text character is classified as either a halftone text character or a non-halftone text character based on an analysis of its topology features. The topology features may be the Euler number of the text character; a text character with a Euler number below −2 is classified as halftone text. The gray-scale document image is then divided into halftone text regions containing only halftone text characters and non-halftone text regions. Each region is binarized using its own pixel value statistics. This eliminates the influence of black text on the threshold values for binarizing halftone text. The binary maps of the regions are combined to generate the final binary map. | 05-17-2012 |
20120127533 | METHOD FOR ACHIEVING HIGHER BIT DEPTH IN TAGGED IMAGE PATHS - A method adapts image data using more than eight bits per pixel to be compatible with devices using only 8-bit per pixel data. The method separates the higher bit depth data into an 8-bit image data stream, the balance of the bits are carried in a separate tag data stream. The 8-bit image data stream can be used in legacy devices that can handle only 8-bit data, and the tag data stream can be used in legacy devices that incorporate a tag data stream for their internal image processing. | 05-24-2012 |
20120127534 | ENCODING AND SCREENING ELECTRONIC INTEGRAL IMAGES IN PRINTING SYSTEMS - A method for encoding and screening electronic integral images in a printing system includes receiving an electronic integral image having a plurality of sub-images comprised of image data, wherein at least one sub-image is spaced apart from another sub-image by a background area; adding temporary image data to at least a portion of the background area image data based on image data of one or more surrounding sub-images so as to reduce the spatial variance across at least a portion of the electronic integral image and to make it more compatible to data compression without significant signal or data loss; and subsequently removing the temporary image data added to the electronic integral image so as to reconstruct an accurate representation of the electronic integral image. A system for encoding and screening electronic integral images is also disclosed. | 05-24-2012 |
20120127535 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD - An image processing apparatus for performing screen processing on input image data via passes may include a screen processing unit, a detection unit, and a correction unit. The screen processing unit receives image data as received image data and performs screen processing on the received image data to produce screen-processed image data. The detection unit detects a difference of low frequency components between the received image data and the screen-processed image data. The correction unit corrects the screen-processed image data based on a difference detected by the detection unit. On subsequent passes, a process of at least one of the screen processing unit, the detection unit, and the correction unit is repeated to convert the input image data to screen-processed image. | 05-24-2012 |
20120133991 | HALFTONE INDEPENDENT CORRECTION OF SPATIAL NON-UNIFORMITIES - A method and apparatus are provided for compensating for spatial non-uniformities in a printer by deriving a true spatial non-uniformity tone response curve (TRC) that characterizes the printer in terms of color output variation for each addressable pixel location in a spatial range. The “true average” tone response curve is determined for a color channel. A prediction of the true response as a function of the spatial location is derived by printing and scanning a specially designed halftone-independent target of binary patterns. The predicted tone response curve for each color channel and halftone is predicted using a binary printer model, wherein the “predicted tone response curve” provides a model based approximation of the actual response for each addressable pixel location in the spatial range. Also stored is an “average predicted tone response” by averaging the “predicted tone response curve” over the spatial range of the printer. | 05-31-2012 |
20120133992 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIUM - An image processing apparatus includes: a first colorant reducing unit that performs a first colorant reducing process that reduces colorant of black on second image data to output fourth image data representing tone values of the black separation on a per-pixel basis; a second colorant reducing unit that performs a second colorant reducing process that reduces the colorants of the colors other than black on a portion of third image data, the portion corresponding to the separations of the colors other than black, to output fifth image data representing tone values of each of the separations of the colors other than black on a per-pixel basis; and a combining unit that combines the fourth image data and the fifth image data to output sixth image data representing tone values of each of the separations of the colors including black on a per-pixel basis. | 05-31-2012 |
20120147429 | WATERMARK ENCODING VIA PIXEL SPACING MODULATION - Provided are methods, apparatus and systems related to watermark encoding via pixel spacing modulation. According to one exemplary embodiment, a method modulates the pixel spacing associated with an image to encode a watermark. | 06-14-2012 |
20120162718 | IMAGE PROCESSING IN CONTONE SPACE AND HALFTONE SPACE - Embodiments provide a method comprising receiving a continuous tone (contone) image, wherein each pixel of a plurality of pixels of the contone image comprises pixel data associated with a plurality of color planes; forming a pixel group that includes a target pixel and one or more pixels that are neighboring to the target pixel; for each pixel in the pixel group and for each of one or more color planes of the plurality of color planes, comparing pixel data of the corresponding pixel for the corresponding color plane with one or more threshold levels to generate threshold pixel data; generating one or more color plane pixel windows for the pixel group corresponding to the one or more color planes; and generating a pixel window for the pixel group. | 06-28-2012 |
20120182587 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ENHANCING A DIGITAL HALFTONE REPRESENTATION FOR PRINTING - A method for predicting an appearance of a rendering by a printer of a digital halftone representation of a continuous-tone image includes calculating a predicted absorptance value of a dot of a rendered halftone of the digital halftone representation. The dot corresponds to a pixel of the digital halftone representation. The predicted absorptance value is based on a configuration of pixel values of pixels in an immediate neighborhood of the pixel, and on a weighted contribution of a pixel value of each pixel in an outer neighborhood of the pixel. The method may be incorporated into a halftoning technique. Relating computer program product and data processing system are also disclosed. | 07-19-2012 |
20120188611 | COLOR SCREEN SETS - A method for designing a screen set for color halftoning includes selecting a screen set that includes at least two screens. The screens are applied to a uniform color image so as to form a set of corresponding colorant halftones. The colorant halftones are superposed to form a color halftone. A spatial frequency spectrum of the color halftone is calculated. Maxima of the spatial frequency spectrum that occur at two effective frequencies are identified, the two effective frequencies being located in two adjacent quadrants of a complex spatial frequency space. A magnitude of each effective frequency is compared with a predetermined frequency magnitude. The screen set is accepted for future application for color halftoning only if both effective frequency magnitudes are greater than the predetermined frequency magnitude. Relating computer program product and data processing system are also disclosed. | 07-26-2012 |
20120218606 | Image Processing Method and Image Processing Apparatus - An image processing method performs image process by using a supercell that includes a first cell forming a halftone dot, a second cell forming a halftone dot disposed adjacent to the first cell, and a third cell forming a halftone dot disposed further away from the first cell than the second cell, and in which the difference between a first angle where a first straight line, which connects the geometric center of the first cell with the geometric center of the second cell, crosses a reference line and a predetermined screen angle is larger than the difference between a second angle where a second straight line, which connects the geometric center of the first cell with the geometric center of the third cell, crosses the reference line and the screen angle. | 08-30-2012 |
20120218607 | COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR GENERATING 1-BIT IMAGE DATA FROM MULTIPLE-BIT IMAGE DATA - A computer program for, or method of, generating 1-bit image data from multiple-bit image data, by a process which comprises the steps of: receiving multiple-bit image data comprising multiple-bit pixel values; and deriving from the multiple-bit pixel values 1-bit image data comprising “on” and “off pixel values, each pixel value of the 1-bit image data corresponding to a pixel of an output medium, which pixel an output device would attempt to mark when printing the 1-bit image data if the pixel value were “on”, the 1-bit image data producing when printed an image constituted by dots, each dot corresponding to a plurality of pixel values of the 1-bit image data, which pixel values correspond to a block of M*N horizontally and/or vertically adjacent pixels of an output is medium, at least one of M and N being greater than one, wherein for at least some of the dots, where M or N is equal to one, a pixel value corresponding to a first or last pixel of a row of horizontally adjacent pixels, or to a first or last pixel of a column of vertically adjacent pixels, is “off, and where both M and N are greater than one, at least one pixel value corresponding to a pixel of a first or last row of horizontally adjacent pixels is “off and/or at least one pixel value 20 corresponding to a pixel of a first or last column of vertically adjacent pixels is “off. | 08-30-2012 |
20120224227 | PRINT CONTROL DEVICE, PRINT CONTROL METHOD, AND PRINT CONTROL PROGRAM - A print control device which controls a printing device to print a plurality of images on a long sheet-shaped print substrate includes a halftone switching section that switches between a dither method and an error diffusion method to be performed during halftone processing, and a halftone processing section that subjects first image data and second image data to the halftone processing, wherein the halftone processing section controls an initializing procedure for the second image data during the halftone processing, on the basis of a combination of the respective switched methods for the first image data and the second image data. | 09-06-2012 |
20120224228 | PRINTING CONTROLLER, PRINTING CONTROL METHOD, AND PRINTING CONTROL PROGRAM - A printing controller includes a reprint information acquisition section that acquires reprint information as information relating to a second image to be reprinted out of a plurality of first images having been printed on a printing medium, and an output section that prints the second image. The reprint information includes printing order information indicating a printing order position at which the first image corresponding to the second image was printed. When a plurality of second images are to be reprinted, the output section prints the second images on the basis of the printing order information. | 09-06-2012 |
20120224229 | PRINTING MEDIUM, INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, INFORMATION PROCESSING DEVICE - A printing medium that is capable of expressing vivid colors without increasing the number of colors and capable of suppressing a printing cost of a dot pattern printing, an information processing method, and an information processing device that use the printing medium are provided that make it possible to perform superposed printing of a graphic and a dot pattern with one color without using inks having different frequency characteristics. A dot pattern includes grid dots arranged in accordance with a predetermined rule for defining information with halftone dots that are superimposed and printed. The printing medium is printed in a way in which dots on the printing medium are detected from brightness information recorded in bitmap image data by a predetermined method and the dots are determined either as the grid dots that constitute the dot pattern or the halftone dots by an image analysis processing unit. | 09-06-2012 |
20120229863 | IDLE COLOR SEPARATION ALGORITHM - An algorithm to control a printer wherein the separation set that is created for each print job is stored and managed in a storage unit within either the printer of the device that transmits the print job to the printer. The stored image separations are ranked or prioritized based on the frequency with which a particular job is printed. When the printer goes into an idle mode, such as between print jobs, the algorithm executes a re-separation or recalculates of each of the stored separation sets in descending order of the popularity of the separation set. The recalculation then accounts for changes or updates in the printing conditions thereby making it likely that the most popular separation set has been refreshed with current density compensation data. | 09-13-2012 |
20120229864 | PRINTING DATA GENERATING APPARATUS, PRINTING DATA GENERATING METHOD, AND PRINTING DATA GENERATING PROGRAM - A printing data generating apparatus acquires image data; classifies, upon causing a printer to execute a printing process for printing a line in an N-th main scanning operation between lines printed in (N−1)-th or earlier main scanning operations and printing a print unit formed with a plurality of lines by performing Nmax main scanning operations, pixels on the plurality of lines into groups based on the image data such that each group includes the pixels that are to be printed in the same main scanning operation; identifies, among the groups, the group with the highest ink usage for printing the pixels of the group based on the image data; and generates, based on the image data, printing data for causing the printer to print an image represented by the image data by printing the pixels of the group with the highest ink usage in the Nmax-th main scanning operation. | 09-13-2012 |
20120229865 | METHOD OF HALFTONING AN IMAGE - A method of halftoning an image wherein a source file that represents the image in the form of a first pixel array, in which at least one input colour value that is given by a first number of bits is assigned to each pixel, is electronically processed to compute an output file in the form of a second pixel array in which at least one output colour value that is given by a second number of bits, said second number being smaller than the first number, is assigned to each pixel of the second pixel array, wherein the processing is performed in a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). | 09-13-2012 |
20120257256 | PROCESSING CONDITION SELECTING APPARATUS, PROCESSING CONDITION SELECTING METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM - A processing condition selecting apparatus, a processing condition selecting method, and a storage medium storing a program therein serve to evaluate the production aptitude of a print under a signal processing condition, based on image forming information with respect to the print and prescribed evaluation criteria, to thereby generate a display image visually representing the production aptitude of the print that has been evaluated. | 10-11-2012 |
20120257257 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS - Even when image processing such as halftone processing and zoom processing is performed, it is enabled to execute image processing at high speed. When controlling image processing which is performed by each of a first image processing portion and a second image processing portion in parallel and independently from each other for image data including a plurality of pages, a control portion performs execution control by selecting any of the first image processing portion and the second image processing portion for each page of the image data and causing the first image processing portion or the second image processing portion which is selected to execute the image processing for the page. | 10-11-2012 |
20120262760 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, METHOD FOR CONTROLLING IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, AND STORAGE MEDIUM - In a case where a reusable object extracted from a print job and is subjected to transformation processing upon reuse thereof, a print device executes halftone processing taking into account the transformation indicated by the transformation processing for the reusable object, and generates image data to store the generated image data in a cache. | 10-18-2012 |
20120274985 | PARAMETRICALLY CONTROLLED HALFTONE SPOT FUNCTION FOR AN IRREGULAR HALFTONE GRID - As set forth herein, computer-implemented methods and systems facilitate halftoning using a parametrically controlled spot function based on triangle tessellation, which in turn facilitates dot growth control of periodic halftone using an irregular seed structure. The spot function determines the shape of the halftone dot used to reproduce a given pixel. The spot function is well suited for growing halftone dots arrayed on a non-regular grid and can also be used for grids with regular order. The spot function includes adjustable parameters for controlling its sharpness and slope. | 11-01-2012 |
20120293842 | DIRECTIONAL HALFTONE METHOD WITH ENHANCED EDGE AND DETAIL RENDITION - As set forth herein, computer-implemented methods and systems facilitate halftoning by adapting 2 | 11-22-2012 |
20120307313 | Threshold Matrix Generating Method, Image Data Generating Method, Image Data Generating Apparatus, Image Recording Apparatus And Recording Medium - In a matrix area, a plurality of linear areas each of which extends in a tilt direction tilted relatively to row and column directions are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the tilt direction without spaces, and the plurality of linear areas are alternatively assigned to first and second element groups along an arrangement direction. One element is specified in each element group, and subsequently a process of specifying an element farthest from the specified elements is repeated, to acquire a turn-on order of dots with increase in gray level in one grayscale range and a turn-off order of dots with decrease in gray level in the remaining grayscale range, and a threshold value of each element is determined according to these orders. Thus, generated is a threshold matrix capable of reducing graininess in a halftone image with directionality in the tilt direction, and improving the reproduction of thin lines and characters. | 12-06-2012 |
20120314261 | HALFTONING METHOD AND APPARATUS - Techniques are provided that use one or more templates to improve the printing of non-saturated colored text and lines. Such templates are predetermined, fixed patterns which can be indexed or looked up via a code word with a fewer number of bits than in the corresponding template. Thus, such templates are used to increase the resolution or effective resolution of a display. In an embodiment, each template location represents a 4×4 region of binary pixels. The number of possibilities of template values is 2̂(4*4) or 65,536. However, in accordance with an embodiment, only 256 of these 65,536 templates are available and are indexed by an 8 bit contone video value. | 12-13-2012 |
20120320426 | Intelligent Halftone Mechanism - A printing system is disclosed. The printing system includes an image processor to selectively rasterize a plurality of objects, and to determine if a size of a first object is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold perform a single-cell halftone process on the first object if the size of the first object is less than or equal to the predetermined threshold and perform a super-cell halftone process on the first object if the size of the first object is greater than the predetermined threshold. | 12-20-2012 |
20120327477 | METHOD OF CHARACTERIZING AN IMAGING SYSTEM - A method of characterizing an imaging system is described includes printing a color chart having a plurality of predetermined color patches; measuring the color patches to obtain colorimetric data; initializing a Neugebauer model with the Neugebauer solids of said colorimetric data; optimizing the global parameters of the Neugebauer model; optimizing the parameters associated with Demichel terms based on the Neugebauer primary associated with the Demichel term; optimizing parameters that vary with device coordinates; and creating a characterization file for the imaging system. | 12-27-2012 |
20120327478 | Replacing A Defective Colorant - A system and methods for modifying the values of halftoned image pixels to replace a defective colorant with at least one non-defective colorant. | 12-27-2012 |
20120327479 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, AND COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUM - An image processing apparatus includes the following elements. A characteristic value calculator calculates characteristic values of a preset area set around a pixel of interest. A trapping determining unit determines, for each color plane of an N-valued image, on the basis of the calculated characteristic values, whether the pixel of interest is to be subjected to trapping processing. A pixel value calculator sets, for each color plane, a position of a reference pixel in a reference area, and calculates a pixel value for changing the pixel value of the pixel of interest on the basis of a pixel value of each color plane at the position of the reference pixel. A pixel-of-interest value changing unit changes the pixel value of the pixel of interest into the calculated pixel value when the trapping determining unit determines that the pixel of interest is to be subjected to trapping processing. | 12-27-2012 |
20120327480 | HALFTONE CORRECTION DEVICE AND METHOD, AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS USING THE HALFTONE CORRECTION DEVICE AND METHOD - A halftone correction device for an image forming apparatus including an intermediate transfer belt and performing halftone processes includes: a correction unit that performs halftone correction for each of the halftone processes using correction tables corresponding to the halftone processes; a pattern generation unit that generates on the belt halftone patterns based on at least one of the halftone processes; a measurement unit that measures image densities of the generated halftone patterns; an estimation unit that estimates, from the image densities of the halftone patterns, image densities of halftone patterns corresponding to the other ones of the halftone processes, by applying a relational expression as an estimation equation to patches of the halftone patterns having an equal image area ratio; and a table generation unit that generates the correction tables using target values and the image densities of the halftone patterns of the halftone processes. | 12-27-2012 |
20130010336 | VERSATILE MOIRE-FREE HALFTONE GEOMETRY THAT USES FREQUENCY VECTOR SHEARING - As set forth herein, computer-implemented methods and systems facilitate the generation of halftone screens for moiré-free color halftoning. A first fundamental frequency vector and a second fundamental frequency vector of a halftone cell are sheared using a selected shearing value. The shearing value is selected as an offset in a fast scanning or slow scanning direction. The selected shearing value satisfies various moiré-free conditions associated with the identified frequency vectors and is capable of being selected for multiple halftone screens. The halftone screens generated using the sheared frequency vectors are used for moiré-free halftoning. | 01-10-2013 |
20130016401 | HALFTONING RUN LENGTH ENCODED DATASTREAMSAANM Rijavec; NenadAACI LongmontAAST COAACO USAAGP Rijavec; Nenad Longmont CO US - Methods and systems herein provide for halftoning of Run length (RL) encoded datastreams. In one embodiment, a print controller identifies a packet within a RL encoded datastream. The packing includes a header and a block of continuous tone data. The print controller identifies an array of conversion values for converting RL encoded data to halftone data, and indexes the array using one or more bytes of the block of bitmap data. The print controller then outputs halftone data from the conversion array based on the index to convert the RL encoded continuous tone data of the packet to halftone data for a print engine. | 01-17-2013 |
20130027752 | CREATING AN IMAGE TO BE PRINTED USING HALFTONE BLENDING - A method for creating an image to be printed is provided. A first halftone pattern and a second halftone pattern for respective first and second periodic clustered dot halftone regions of the image are selected. The regions have respective frequencies and one of the frequencies is higher than the other frequency. A transition region is determined. The transition region includes a boundary between the two regions and includes additional portions of the two regions beyond the boundary. The two halftone patterns are blended with each other in the transition region based on a blending ratio of the two halftones where the blending ratio changes as a function of distance between the edges of the transition region. | 01-31-2013 |
20130038907 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF - An image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium by performing recording (N) times (N is an integer of 3 or more) in a same region on the recording medium, the image forming apparatus includes a recording data generation unit configured to generate recoding data corresponding to each of the recording and a halftone processing unit configured to convert the recording data into halftone image data by a dither method using a matrix of a dot dispersion type, wherein the halftone processing unit generates the halftone image data of the (k)th time in such a manner that dispersibility of a dot pattern is improved in which each of the halftone image data corresponding to recording performed up to (k)th (2≦p≦N−1) time is accumulated in the same region. | 02-14-2013 |
20130057923 | IMAGE PROCESSING SYSTEM, METHOD, PROGRAM, AND STORAGE MEDIUM - An image processing system that facilitates process of color universal design that enables people with color amblyopia to recognize color difference as image pattern without changing characteristic of coloration and gradation and people with no disabilities who look the same image to feel less discomfort. A hue determining unit | 03-07-2013 |
20130070303 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, METHOD, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, AND STORAGE MEDIUM - The present invention provides a novel image processing apparatus that facilitates obtaining high-quality image even in low resolution without driving up costs and lowering speed. The image processing apparatus of this invention includes the line width determining unit that determines whether or not line width in image with high resolution is one pixel. The adding unit adds one pixel either above or below the line in image converted to lower resolution and makes the width of the line two pixels. | 03-21-2013 |
20130114110 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF PRODUCING THRESHOLD VALUE MATRIX - An image forming apparatus for depicting a gradation image through halftones includes a threshold value generating unit for generating a threshold value matrix, and a comparison unit for converting the gradation image. The threshold value generating unit determines an order of gradations of pixels in halftones. The threshold value generating unit determines an order of standard dots. Further, the threshold value generating unit is configured to determine a priority order of gradations between the halftones. The threshold value generating unit further determines an order of the threshold values of the gradations of all of the pixels according to the order of the gradations of the pixels contained in the halftones and the priority order of the gradations between the halftones, so that the threshold value generating unit generates the threshold value matrix. | 05-09-2013 |
20130135684 | PRINTING SYSTEM - A host computer generates pseudo-pixels by grouping pixels together. RGB representative values are assigned to the pseudo-pixels, which are then transferred to a printer. Meanwhile, for pixels that configured pseudo-pixels having an edge strength selected so that the transfer data amount is less than or equal to a predetermined value, the host computer carries out a halftone process and then transfers the dot data generated as a result to the printer. The printer then prints based on the transferred dot data and the representative values. | 05-30-2013 |
20130135685 | PRINTING SYSTEM AND PRINTING SYSTEM PROGRAM - A host computer groups a plurality of pixels to generate pseudo pixels, assigns representative values in an RGB format to the pseudo pixels, and transfers the representative values to a printer. Further, the host computer performs halftone processing and transfers generated dot data to the printer for pixels constituting the pseudo pixel which includes edges therein or of which boundary is the edge. The printer performs printing by using the transferred dot data and the representative values. | 05-30-2013 |
20130148168 | VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WATERMARKING OF PRINTED IMAGES VIA 2ND GENERATION STOCHASTIC SEED FREQUENCY MODULATION - As set forth herein, computer-implemented methods and systems facilitate watermarking documents and/or images using 2 | 06-13-2013 |
20130155466 | IMAGE PROCESSING DEVICE, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image processing device includes storage units to store a first halftone pattern subjected to a halftone processing for a first color gradation value, a second halftone pattern subjected to a halftone processing for a second color gradation value, and a brush pattern. The device further includes shift units to shift each pattern read on the basis of a predetermined unit from each of storage units to a first direction toward a drawing start point on the horizontal line according to a drawing position on the horizontal line, further add each pattern to a second direction toward a drawing end point on the horizontal line, and output each on the basis of the predetermined unit. The device further includes a brush synthesizing unit to select, pixel by pixel, either the first halftone pattern or the second halftone pattern, according to the brush pattern. | 06-20-2013 |
20130155467 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, IMAGE FORMING METHOD, AND COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM - Disclosed is an image forming apparatus, including a pattern holding part configured to hold patterns with predetermined shapes and densities dependent on a brightness of a color image, and a control part configured to determine a brightness of a color area of the color image, select a pattern with a predetermined shape corresponding to the determined brightness from the patterns held in the pattern holding part, replace the color area with the selected pattern with a predetermined shape, convert the color image with the selected pattern with a predetermined shape into a monochromatic image, and output the monochromatic image. | 06-20-2013 |
20130163053 | 2nd GENERATION DOT-OFF-DOT STOCHASTIC HALFTONE - As set forth herein, computer-implemented methods and systems facilitate employing a single stochastic screen defined up to a specified transition level. The dots at the specified level are connected to form a triangle tessellation with an associated spot function. For up to three colorants, a vector screening technique is employed, which involves a first colorant dot being grown from the vertices, second colorant dot grown from the triangle center, and a third colorant dot grown from the side midpoints. Growth in this manner ensures separation of colorants up to a certain density level. In cases where fourth colorant is to be used at a given pixel, the fourth colorant can be added using methods typically used for clustered screens, such as stochastic screening of the lightest colorant, in order to mitigate color shift sensitivity issues. | 06-27-2013 |
20130176599 | Halftone Screen Generation Mechanism - A method is disclosed. The method includes generating a Continuous Tone Image (CTI) with all pixel values same as the first gray level and an initial Half Tone Image (HTI) with all pixel values equal to minimum absorptance level, computing a change in pixel error by toggling with all the possible output states and swapping with all neighbor pixels only if the stacking constraint is satisfied, updating the HTI with the maximum error decrease operation and continue to next pixel location till the end criteria is met. Once the end criteria is met, the updated HTI is saved as a final halftone screen for that gray level and copied as the initial HTI for the next gray level along with CTI pixel values updated to the next gray level till the final gray value is reached. | 07-11-2013 |
20130176600 | Halftone Calibration Mechanism Employing an Ink Model - A printing system is disclosed. The printing system includes a halftone calibration system that receives one or more un-calibrated halftones, generates one or more calibrated halftones using an ink model from the one or more un-calibrated halftones, analyzes a printed calibration screen of the one or more calibrated halftones, and performs a halftone calibration. | 07-11-2013 |
20130182290 | LASER PRINT APPARATUS WITH DUAL HALFTONES - A printing system comprises a memory configured to store image data representing an image. The printing system comprises a processor configured to perform a first digital halftone process on a first portion of the image and a second digital halftone process on a second portion of the image. | 07-18-2013 |
20130188225 | METHOD OF HALFTONING FOR ASYMMETRIC PRINT RESOLUTIONS AND A PRINTER - A method of printing an image by a printer having an asymmetric printer resolution includes multi-level halftoning the image by assigning a level out of a number of levels to each pixel of the image. The method further includes determining the number of levels on the basis of the asymmetric printer resolution, selecting for each level a collection of at least one binary pattern, each binary pattern consisting of a plurality of sub-pixels the number of which is determined by the number of levels, selecting for each pixel of the halftoned image a binary pattern from the collection selected for the level assigned to the pixel, transforming each pixel of the halftoned image into the selected binary pattern, and printing the binary patterns of the transformed pixels using the asymmetric printer resolution. A printer is configured to perform the method. | 07-25-2013 |
20130188226 | METHOD FOR SEMI-CORRELATED HALFTONING - A method for image processing a digital color image uses a single array of threshold values in a halftoning process if a total density value, which is found adding up the color density value for each of the process colors of a pixel, is lower than a predetermined density threshold. However, when the total density value exceeds the density threshold, the individual color density values are split in a basic part and an excess part, the basic parts adding up to the predetermined density threshold. In the halftoning process the basic parts still use the single array of threshold values, but the excess parts use uncorrelated arrays of threshold values that are associated with each individual process color. This provides for a balance between graininess at low color density and registration independent color rendering at high color density. | 07-25-2013 |
20130208321 | IMAGE PROCESSING DEVICE EXECUTING HALFTONE PROCESS BY USING DETERMINED PARAMETER - In an image processing device, a processor is configured to perform: (a) acquiring target image data representing an image including a plurality of pixels, where the target image data includes a plurality of sets of pixel data corresponding to the plurality of pixels, where the image includes an object having at least one pixel of the plurality of pixels; (b) detecting the object in the image based on the target image data; (c) determining characteristic data indicating a potential for an occurrence of banding in the object based on the target image data; (d) determining a parameter based on the characteristic data; and (e) executing a halftone process to determine, for each of the plurality of pixels, a dot to be found based on the corresponding set of pixel data by using the parameter. | 08-15-2013 |
20130215472 | Synthesis of authenticable color multi-halftone images - The present invention enables creating authenticable continuous tone color multi-ink multi-halftone images offering means of verifying their authenticity. The invention relies on color halftones, color separation into different ink surface coverages for different halftoning methods, mapping of an input gamut into a gamut defined by a set of inks, calculating the optimal boundary between region halftones created with different halftoning methods, and color multi-halftone image generation. The basic authentication is performed by examining the color multi-halftone image under a reference illumination and verifying that the message incorporated within the color multi-halftone is hidden and revealed under a different illumination. Authentication can further be performed by observing the color multi-halftone image both in reflection and transmission modes and verifying that in one of these modes the message is hidden and that in the other mode the message is revealed. | 08-22-2013 |
20130250363 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PRESERVING IMAGE QUALITY IN AN ECONOMY PRINT MODE - A system and method converts pixels of continuous image data to pixels of binary image data using a halftone screen corresponding to a predetermined reduced coverage percentage; determines if a target pixel of binary image data is a non-white pixel; compares a window of pixels of binary image data with a predetermined pattern of pixels of binary image data corresponding to the predetermined reduced coverage percentage; determines that the target pixel is a non-edge pixel; and reduces the number of non-white pixels in the binary image data based upon the determination that the target pixel is a non-edge pixel. | 09-26-2013 |
20130265611 | Hybrid Halftone Generation Mechanism - A method is disclosed. The method includes generating a Continuous Tone Image (CTI) with all pixel values same as a first gray level, generating an initial Half Tone Image (HTI) with all pixel values equal to minimum absorptance level and computing a change in pixel error for a first pixel. The change in pixel error is computed by identifying a first pixel indicated in a valid pixel map, toggling the first pixel with all the possible output states and swapping the first pixel with all neighbor pixels only if the stacking constraint is satisfied, updating the HTI with the maximum error decrease operation and continue to next pixel location till the end criteria is met. | 10-10-2013 |
20130265612 | Hybrid Halftone Generation Mechanism - A method is disclosed. The method includes generating a Continuous Tone Image (CTI) with all pixel values same as a first gray level, generating an initial Half Tone Image (HTI) with all pixel values equal to minimum absorptance level and computing a change in pixel error for a first pixel. The change in pixel error is computed by identifying a first pixel indicated in a valid pixel map, toggling the first pixel with all the possible output states and swapping the first pixel with all neighbor pixels only if the stacking constraint is satisfied, updating the HTI with the maximum error decrease operation and continue to next pixel location till the end criteria is met. | 10-10-2013 |
20130265613 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD OF IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, AND STORAGE MEDIUM - When an image processing apparatus of one aspect of this invention corrects input image data using correction values (misregistration correction amounts Δy), it determines whether or not image data to be corrected using amounts Δy includes a specific pattern which may cause density unevenness in an image to be formed. When the image processing apparatus determines that the image data includes the specific pattern, it modifies amounts Δy corresponding to pixels including the specific pattern of the amounts Δy using any of a plurality of different predetermined modulation amounts (modification values). Furthermore, the image processing apparatus corrects the image data for respective pixels using either the amounts Δy before modification, or the modified amounts Δy when the modification is done. | 10-10-2013 |
20130271793 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD FOR THE SAME - An image processing apparatus for forming an image by performing a plurality of times of recording on a same region of a recording medium by using a recording head including a plurality of recording elements for each of a first color material and a second color material, and a generation unit configured to generate recording data corresponding to each scan of the first color material and the second color material, wherein the generation unit generates, in a case where a defective recording element occurs among the plurality of recording elements for recording the first color material, recording data corresponding to each scan of the first color material by complementing a recording amount assigned to the defective recording element so that impact order between the first color material and the second color material is not changed. | 10-17-2013 |
20130286440 | Print Data Generation Device, Printing Method, and Program - When a skewness of brightness of a print target image is a first skewness, print data is generated such that an ink amount of a metallic ink is a first amount. When the skewness of brightness is a second skewness that is larger than the first skewness, a print data is generated such that the ink amount is a second amount that is larger than the first amount. | 10-31-2013 |
20130293928 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM - An image processing apparatus includes a halftone processing unit configured to apply halftone processing based on a dither matrix to image data, a correction unit configured, with respect to the processed image data, to shift a pixel of the image data in a sub-scanning direction at a correction position in a main scanning direction which is determined based on correction information for correcting a distortion due to a curve of a scanning line for forming an image according to the image data, and a resolution conversion unit configured to apply resolution conversion processing for lowering a resolution of image data to the corrected image data, wherein the dither matrix results in that the image data to which the resolution conversion processing has been applied includes matched portions of halftone dot patterns appearing in regions preceding and following the correction position in the main scanning direction. | 11-07-2013 |
20140055819 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, METHOD, AND COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIUM - An image processing apparatus includes memory that stores first pixel values in association with second pixel values for respective droplets which have been classified into multiple types according to size, one or more converters that convert pixel values in a received image, which correspond to the first pixel values, into second pixel values to generate an image for each of the respective droplet types, on the basis of the correspondences between the first pixel values and the second pixel values stored in the memory, a screening unit that screens the images for the respective droplet types converted by the one or more converters, and a compositing unit that composites the images for the respective droplet types screened by the screening unit. | 02-27-2014 |
20140063557 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING METHOD - An image forming apparatus and an image forming method are used to smoothly process an edge area of halftoning-processed binary data. The image forming apparatus may include a communication interface which receives printing data, a binarizer which performs halftoning with respect to the received printing data to generate binary data, an edge processor, and a printing engine which forms an image by using the edge-processed binary data. The edge processor calculates an edge strength of each white pixel of the generated binary data, determines edge candidates, determines whether an edge candidate is an edge, and substitutes a black pixel for a white pixel determined as an edge to perform edge processing with respect to the generated binary data. | 03-06-2014 |
20140071497 | IMAGE PROCESSING DEVICE CALIBRATING VALUE RELATED TO HALFTONE PROCESS FOR DETERMINING DOT FORMATION STATE - An image processing device includes a processor and a memory. The memory stores computer-readable instructions therein. The computer-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the image processing device to perform: acquiring a calibration value based on a plurality of test images that are printed on a recording medium, the calibration value indicating an amount of calibration; calibrating a target value by using the calibration value, the target value being used to determine a dot formation state of each pixel of an image in a halftone process; and generating print data by performing the halftone process on each pixel based on the calibrated target value. | 03-13-2014 |
20140092441 | IMAGE PROCESSING DEVICE CAPABLE OF SUPPRESSING DEFORMATION OF PRINTING MEDIUM - An image processing device performs: defining determination regions based on image data; executing a first color conversion for the image data using a first type of parameter to generate a first image; determining an estimated amount of colorant for each determination region, the estimated amount indicating an usage amount of colorant to be used for each determination region when the first image is printed; outputting the first image if the estimated amounts of colorant for all determination regions are smaller than or equal to respective threshold values; and executing a second color conversion for the image data using a second type of parameter to generate a second image if the estimated amount of colorant for at least one is greater than the threshold value, the usage amount of colorant for the second image being smaller than the usage amount of colorant for the first image. | 04-03-2014 |
20140092442 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD - Conventionally in a case of storing image data in an HDD, JPEG compression is executed to the image data for reducing the data size thereof and then the image data is stored. However, there are some cases where when the JPEG compression is executed to the image data including the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern and the like, degradation in image quality occurs. In regard to the image data including the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern and the like, the halftone processing is executed by the halftone processing unit without irreversible compression. Therefore, the image data can be stored in the HDD and like in a state of being small in a data size and with the image degradation restricted. | 04-03-2014 |
20140111830 | Compression of Halftoned Digital Images - Based on an m×n halftone matrix and an m×n pixel block of an image, an m×n halftone version of the m×n pixel block may be determined. An n-way interleave may be performed on rows of the m×n halftone version to create an mn×1 halftone segment. The mn×1 halftone segment may be compared to one or more halftone segments in a buffer. Based on the comparison, a literal code word and a representation of the mn×1 halftone segment may be output, and the representation of the mn×1 halftone segment may be written to the buffer. Alternatively, a repeat code word and a repeat value may be output, and at least one representation of the mn×1 halftone segment may be written to the buffer. | 04-24-2014 |
20140111831 | Systems and Methods for Tracing the Source of Printed Pages - Methods and systems are provided for tracing the source of a printed document. A method may include receiving a print job for printing a page having page content, generating a log of the print job, encoding the log using a mule image to produce a data-bearing halftone image, merging the data-bearing halftone image with the page content, and printing the merged data-bearing halftone image and page content to produce a printed document. | 04-24-2014 |
20140111832 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, IMAGE FORMING METHOD, COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT, AND RECORDING MEDIUM - An image forming apparatus includes: a first correcting unit that reads a gradation pattern output onto a predetermined medium and corrects a gradation conversion information; a second correcting unit that reads a gradation pattern formed on an image carrier included in the image forming apparatus and corrects a gradation conversion information; a detecting unit that detects a gradation characteristic of the gradation pattern formed on the image carrier at the time of execution of correction by the second correcting unit; and a determining unit that determines whether to execute correction by the first correcting unit on the basis of the detected gradation characteristic. | 04-24-2014 |
20140132992 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR GENERATING MULTI-BIT DEPTH HALFTONE AMPLITUDE-MODULATION DOTS - The present application discloses a method and an apparatus for generating multi-bit depth halftone amplitude-modulation dots. The method may comprise: scanning an input image to obtain a value of a current pixel P | 05-15-2014 |
20140139883 | COLOR IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD THEREFOR, AND PROGRAM FOR EXECUTING IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD - A color image processing apparatus includes an image forming unit configured to form a color image using recording materials of plural colors, an image processing unit configured to implement plural image processing methods that achieve plural types of pseudo-halftone representations, a color measurement unit configured to perform color measurement of the color image formed by the image forming unit, and a control unit configured to control execution of multi-color calibration in which the color measurement unit performs color measurement of a pattern image including plural multi-color patch images formed using recording materials of plural colors by using a smaller number of image processing methods than plural image processing methods used in single-color calibration for correcting reproduction characteristics of single-color images formed by the image forming unit and in which reproduction characteristics of a multi-color image formed by the image forming unit are corrected using a result of the color measurement. | 05-22-2014 |
20140146367 | GAMMA CORRECTION TABLE GENERATION METHOD OR IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD USING GAMMA CORRECTION TABLE AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF - A gamma correction table generation method includes: obtaining density information by reading, with a reading sensor, a density patch output by an image forming device in a range wider than a cell, the density patch including a plurality of cells disposed such that a part of the cells as a unit representing a tone overlaps with each other and dots included in each of the cells are separated from each other to an extent that no influence is exerted on each other on a recording medium which the image forming device outputs; correcting the density information according to a number of the cells in the density patch; and generating a gamma correction table based on the corrected density information. | 05-29-2014 |
20140146368 | IMAGING FORMING APPARATUS, METHOD OF IMAGE FORMING, AND COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM - An image forming apparatus includes a storage unit configured to store a rendering image having a plurality of tones, a communication interface unit configured to receive print data, a rendering unit configured to render the received print data to a bitmap image, a mergence unit configured to merge the bitmap image and the rendering image into a single mergence image, a binary coding unit configured to perform halftoning for the generated mergence image to generate binary data, and a print engine unit configured to form an image on a paper by using the generated binary data. | 05-29-2014 |
20140153055 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM - An image processing method includes receiving image data including a color lookup table, and rendering the image data without referring to the color lookup table for each pixel when a combination of color values defined in the color lookup table is a predetermined combination. | 06-05-2014 |
20140160532 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS - By using different conversion patterns from input gradation values to output gradation values for each coordinate inside a continuous region with a predetermined area, an image processing circuit is for halftoning which approximately expresses a number of gradations which is higher than the number of gradations which are output for each dot is optimized for each type of apparatus while being shared between types of devices where the number of gradations in the output gradation values is different. There is an image processing apparatus where the number of indexes is relatively high in a case which corresponds to a low gradation level which is a halftone level where the number of gradations in the corresponding output gradation values is relatively low. | 06-12-2014 |
20140160533 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD THEREFOR - This invention obtains a high-quality output image in which a jaggy or a disconnection of a thin line hardly stands out. An edge detection unit detects whether the pixel of interest is an edge pixel or a non-edge pixel. A screen processing unit performs screen processing for the pixel of interest to determine the output value of the N-level tone. A calculation unit performs filtering processing having a preset visual sense characteristic for an area including the pixel of interest to calculate the target value of the pixel of interest, and corrects the value of the pixel of interest so as to come close to the target value, thereby determining the output value of the N-level tone. The selector selects, according to the detection result by the edge detection unit, either the result from the calculation unit or that from the screen processing unit. | 06-12-2014 |
20140211264 | TECHNIQUES PERTAINING TO DOCUMENT PRINTING - Techniques pertaining to printing a document are disclosed. A computer server may receive decoded document metadata and locate a document in a document repository using the document metadata. The server may determine whether the document metadata is indicative of a most recent version of the document and, if not, retrieve the most recent version of the document. The server may also create a tag for the retrieved most recent version of the document comprised of up to date document metadata in which the tag data is embedded in a graphic that is merged with the most recent version of the document. The server may create a print job for the most recent version of the document and send the print job to a network enabled printer over a network connection. | 07-31-2014 |
20140211265 | ERASABLE PRINTOUTS INCLUDING ERASABLE FEATURES - A logic module is to identify whether to print a standard printout or an erasable printout. A print module is to print the erasable printout in response to the identifying by the logic module. The erasable printout includes an erasable feature not present in the standard printout. | 07-31-2014 |
20140268241 | IMAGE DATA PROCESSING APPARATUS, PRINT APPARATUS, AND PRINT SYSTEM - An image data processing apparatus processes previously halftoned data that has been halftoned so that a proportion of dot formation corresponding to gradation values of an image reaches a first dot generation rate, as image data representative of the image. The image data processing apparatus includes a re-halftone processing unit configured to carry out a re-halftone process by using an error diffusion technique based on first gradation values corresponding to ON-dots in the previously halftoned data, and an ON-dot gradation value setting unit configured to set second gradation values corresponding to the ON-dots in the re-halftone process using the error diffusion technique, such that the dot generation rate in the re-halftone process reaches a second dot generation rate different from the first dot generation rate | 09-18-2014 |
20140268242 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING METHOD - An image forming apparatus includes an image density detector, an image forming device, a rotator, an image density controller, and a timing correction data obtainer. The image density detector detects a toner density of an image formed on an image bearing member. An image forming device forms the image using a density adjustable element that adjusts the density of the image. The rotator forms an image pattern while the density adjustable element is changed, and a density thereof is detected by the image density detector. The image density controller controls the image forming device using a density correction data for the density adjustable element corresponding to a rotational period of the rotator. The timing correction data obtainer obtains timing correction data for correction of driving timing of the image forming device based on a change in the density of the image pattern detected by the image density detector. | 09-18-2014 |
20140320928 | HALFTONE SCREEN - A halftone screen may be used to transform a continuous tone image into a halftone image. Determining the halftone screen may include determining a first halftone tile for a first gray level, selecting pixel locations and increasing the intensity of pixels at the locations to activate the pixels to form a second halftone tile for a subsequent gray level. A filtered image may be generated from the second halftone tile, and pixels from the filtered image may be used to generate the halftone screen. | 10-30-2014 |
20140333969 | Printer Sample Feature Set - A system can comprise a memory to store machine readable instructions and a processing unit to access the memory and execute the machine readable instructions. The machine readable instructions can comprise a feature set extractor to extract a feature set from each of a plurality of digital images of print samples. The feature set can be a filtered feature set that includes a feature set characterizing a printer that printed a given print sample of the print samples. The machine readable instructions can also comprise a cluster component to determine clusters of the print samples based on the feature set of each of the plurality of scanned images of the print samples. The machine readable instructions can further comprise a printer identifier to identify the printer of the print samples based on the clusters of the print samples. | 11-13-2014 |
20140340716 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR FORMING A HALFTONE SCREEN - A method of forming a halftone screen comprising representing each of a first, second, third and fourth tone range of increasing darkness by forming a plurality of dots arranged in a grid; the dots representing the second tone range larger than the dots representing the first tone range; the dots representing the third tone range having a body section and at least one extension extending toward a or respective nearest neighbour(s), the extension(s) narrower in width than the body section, the dots representing the third tone range substantially the same size as the dots representing the second tone range; and the dots representing the fourth tone range having a body section and at least one extension extending toward a or respective nearest neighbour(s), the extension(s) greater in width than the extension(s) associated with the dots representing the third tone range. A halftone screen and a printing system are also disclosed. | 11-20-2014 |
20140347700 | COLOR REGISTRATION ERROR COMPENSATION IN COLOR PRINTING - A multicolor image can include multiple overlaid items including a black region covering a color region. Raster image processing adds the color data to color pixels of the raster data print page uniformly across the area of the raster data print page that corresponds to the color region of the multicolor image, and adds the black data to over-print pixels (where the black region covers the color region in the multicolor image). Such over-print pixels include both the color data and the black data. The color data (but not the black data) is removed from the over-print pixels that are positioned a preset pixel distance from non-black color pixels. The raster data page is output from the processor device to a printing engine, and the printing device prints the raster data page on print media to produce a physically printed reproduction of the multicolor image. | 11-27-2014 |
20140362414 | WATERMARK AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREFOR - A watermark and a manufacturing method therefor are provided. The watermark has a first region comprising amplitude modulation (AM) halftone dots and a second region comprising frequency modulation (FM) halftone dots, and each of the amplitude modulation halftone dots has ink portions and blank portions, each of which is located between the two ink portions in the same amplitude modulation halftone dot. The ink area percentage of the amplitude modulation halftone dots are dispersed by filling the blank portions into each of the amplitude modulation halftone dots, so that the density calibration of the amplitude modulation halftone dots and frequency modulation halftone dots can be omitted. | 12-11-2014 |
20140362415 | PRINTING APPARATUS, PRINTING METHOD, AND IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS - The printing apparatus includes a comparator, a threshold setting section, and an error diffusion section. The comparator compares a first threshold which is aligned with a dither mask and the image data. The threshold setting section sets a second threshold which is used in the error diffusion method to one of a low threshold and a high threshold according to results of the comparing, and sets the low threshold to a value which is smaller than a gradation range of the image data in at least a low gradation area when it is determined that the image data exceeds the first threshold. The error diffusion section generates the dot data and to calculate distribution to pixels in the vicinity of gradation errors by comparing correction data where error distribution in the image data is complete using the error diffusion method and the low threshold or the high threshold. | 12-11-2014 |
20140368886 | BLACK TRAPPING METHODS, APPARATUS AND SYSTEMS FOR BINARY IMAGES - Provided are black trapping methods, apparatus and systems for binary images. According to one exemplary method, black trapping color image data is performed by incorporating a set of trapping condition logical operations. Specifically, edge checking is based on estimated contone color values and density checking based on a binary bitmap. | 12-18-2014 |
20140376056 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHOD THEREFOR - Screen processing is performed on input image data. A boundary pixel adjacent to a white pixel in the input image data is detected. Output image data based on either the input image data or the screen-processed image data is selectively output for each pixel in accordance with the detection result of the boundary pixel. | 12-25-2014 |
20150015915 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM - An image processing apparatus configured to generate print data used for recording image data expressing halftone dots by an image forming apparatus includes an input unit configured to input image data expressing halftone dots, an obtaining unit configured to obtain color tone information indicating color tone for each pixel or for each area including a plurality of pixels in the image data, a conversion unit configured to perform multivalue conversion of the image data based on a degree of smoothing according to the color tone information, a color separation processing unit configured to perform color separation on the image data which has been multi-valued by the conversion unit, and a halftone processing unit configured to convert image data which has been color-separated by the color separation processing unit into print data. | 01-15-2015 |
20150055184 | System And Method For Print Density Adjustment To Reduce Banding - A method of operating an inkjet printer modifies image data for an image to be printed to reduce or eliminate variations in color intensity within the printed ink image. Intensity adjustment parameters are identified with reference to variations in a frequency of a signal generated by a sensor that corresponds to movement of a media web through a print zone in the inkjet printer. The image data is modified with the intensity adjustment parameters, and the image is printed with reference to the modified image data. | 02-26-2015 |
20150055185 | Halftone Mechanism - A method is disclosed. The method includes applying a human visual system (HVS) model to a Continuous Tone Image (CTI) and a initial Half Tone Image (HTI) to generate a perceived CTI and a perceived HTI and computing a change in pixel error for a first pixel by toggling the first pixel with all the possible output states and swapping the first pixel with all neighbor pixels. | 02-26-2015 |
20150070731 | BLENDED HALFTONE WITH MIXED DOT SIZES FOR OBJECT ORIENTED HALFTONES - A method, non-transitory computer readable medium, and apparatus for printing is disclosed. For example, the method selects a first frequency and a first angle for a low frequency halftone, selects a second frequency and a second angle for a high frequency halftone, wherein the high frequency halftone comprises a large dot cluster and a small dot cluster, tags each one of one or more objects in an image to be printed, selects a low frequency halftone or a high frequency halftone for the each one of the one or more objects that are tagged and prints the image in accordance with the low frequency halftone or the high frequency halftone that is selected for the each one of the one or more objects that are tagged. | 03-12-2015 |
20150077808 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ESTIMATING CONTINUOUS TONE VALUES FROM RENDERED BINARY INPUT - A method and system for estimating continuous tone values associated with input pixels in a color image are provided. The method includes receiving binarized halftone image data representing a color image, wherein the color image has a plurality of input pixels; and estimating the continuous tone values associated with each of the input pixels by: establishing a window comprising a pixel of interest and neighboring pixels in the binarized halftone image data, wherein the window comprises a plurality of sub-windows and wherein each sub-window has a plurality of predetermined number of rows and columns of pixels; and processing the binarized halftone image data in both a process direction and a cross-process direction using the window such that the processing is performed for one of the pixels in each of the rows within the sub-window and the processing is skipped for the remaining pixels in that row of that sub-window. | 03-19-2015 |
20150116780 | Halftone Dot Addition Apparatus That Reduces White Void and Break at Edge Portion of Image - A halftone dot addition device for adding halftone dots to halftone dot images includes an empty circle information acquiring unit and a halftone dot addition unit. The empty circle information acquiring unit obtains, in a Voronoi diagram having a generatrix corresponding to a halftone dot in a halftone dot image. The radius of an empty circle is a circle centering on a Voronoi vertex. The empty circle passes through the generatrix but not internally includes the generatrix. The halftone dot addition unit, if the radius of a target circle being the empty circle obtained, as a target, by the empty circle information acquiring unit is larger than a specific value, adds to the halftone dot image a halftone dot corresponding to a new generatrix, by adding the new generatrix to the inside of the target circle. | 04-30-2015 |
20150131128 | IMAGE PROCESSING DEVICE AND IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS - An image processing device includes a first and a second image processing module including an image processing unit, and a connection module that is connected to the first and second image processing modules, and moves an image data from one image processing module to the other image processing module. At least one of the image processing modules includes a weighted average processing unit that calculates, based on a weighting coefficient included in an attribute value, a weighted average of a pixel value of the input image data and a image processed pixel value, and an output unit which outputs at least one of the image processed pixel value and the weighted-averaged pixel value. | 05-14-2015 |
20150146261 | CONNECTED COMPONENT ANALYSIS WITH MULTI-THRESHOLDING TO SEGMENT HALFTONES - Methods and systems receive an input image into a computerized device, create different binary images by applying different threshold measures to the input image using the computerized device, and identify components of a first binary image of the binary images using the computerized device. Such methods and systems also compare pixels of each of the components of the first binary image with corresponding pixels of a second binary image of the binary images to identify pixel differences using the computerized device. This allows these methods and systems to identify halftone areas within the input image based on the pixel differences exceeding a limit using the computerized device. | 05-28-2015 |
20150324996 | IMAGE PROCESSING FOR PRINTING - Image processing for printing comprises identifying regions of an input image having characteristics of distinct printing requirements; classifying each pixel within each identified region based on the characteristic of the identified region; applying a colour mapping to each pixel according to the classification of the pixel to optimize each color mapping in accordance with at least one of plurality of attributes. | 11-12-2015 |
20150339556 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD THEREFOR - Whether a pixel in an image is included in a region with at least a predetermined number of lines is determined; with regard to a pixel that is determined to be included in the region with at least the predetermined number of lines, a pixel value is reduced at the same reduction rate whether the pixel is an edge portion or a non-edge portion, and with regard to a pixel that is determined to be included in a region in which the number of lines is smaller than the predetermined number, a pixel value is reduced in such a manner that a reduction rate is higher when the pixel is the non-edge portion than when the pixel is the edge portion. | 11-26-2015 |
20160004942 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, PRINTING MEDIUM AND STORAGE MEDIUM - An image processing apparatus that generates a halftone image by quantizing an input image includes: a holding unit configured to hold a threshold value matrix in which different threshold values are arranged; a pixel position determination unit configured to determine a candidate of a pixel position whose threshold value is to be rewritten based on each pixel value of a plurality of pixels included in a predetermined area for the predetermined area in the input image; and a threshold value determination unit configured to determine a threshold value of the pixel position determined to be the candidate by using at least one threshold value of a plurality of threshold values corresponding to the predetermined area. | 01-07-2016 |
20160026905 | COLOR CONVERTING APPARATUS AND A COLOR CONVERTING METHOD - As image processing apparatus includes a color converter | 01-28-2016 |
20160026906 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM STORING AN IMAGE PROCESSING PROGRAM - An image processing apparatus includes an area extracting unit, a specific halftone dot area detecting unit, and an encoding unit. The area extracting unit extracts a halftone dot area from an image. The specific halftone dot area detecting unit detects a specific halftone dot area, the specific halftone dot area being the extracted halftone dot area that includes a character and of which a variation range in a distribution of luminance and hue is less than a predetermined range. The encoding unit encodes the specific halftone dot area in an encoding manner different from an encoding manner for the halftone dot area other than the specific halftone dot area, the encoding manner for the specific halftone dot area providing higher image quality after encoding than image quality provided by the encoding manner for the halftone dot area other than the specific halftone dot area. | 01-28-2016 |
20160034798 | IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM - An apparatus that corrects multivalued data after halftone processing and which includes a line input unit configured to input multivalued data of a correction line to be corrected among the multivalued data, a detection unit configured to convert multivalued data of a precedent line that precedes the correction line by N lines into dot data and to detect a dot in the precedent line, and a line correction unit configured to correct the multivalued data of the correction line based on a number of linked dots from the bottom-end edge, and the number of linked detected dots is the number of dots that are linked in a sub scanning direction from the correction line down to the bottom-end edge, and the bottom-end edge is an edge at which the density becomes lower in the sub scanning direction and the lower of density values represents the background color. | 02-04-2016 |
20160072981 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR GENERATING DOTS IN IMAGE REPRODUCTION - This invention discloses a method and apparatus for generating dots in image reproduction, and relates to the field of image reproduction in the printing industry. The method comprises performing a binarization process on a threshold matrix of one or more basic dots according to level thresholds to obtain a set of level-binarization matrixes corresponding to the threshold matrix; determining substitution binarization matrixes and auxiliary binarization matrixes from the set of level-binarization matrixes; performing a Boolean operation on the substitution binarization matrixes and the auxiliary binarization matrixes to generate resulted binarization matrixes; substituting binarization matrixes to be substituted in the set of level-binarization matrixes with the resulted binarization matrixes; and according to the substituted set of level-binarization matrixes, forming a substituted threshold matrix, and generating shape-varied dots according to the substituted threshold matrix. The shapes of dots with some grayscale in basic dots are changed by Boolean calculation among binarization matrices, thereby achieving the purposes of changing the overall shape of the basic dots and constructing dots with complicated shapes using dots with simple shapes, so that it is simple and easy to implement. | 03-10-2016 |
20160080612 | COLOR IMAGE PROCESSING - A color input image comprising a plurality of pixels, each pixels encoded in RGB color space, is processed to convert the RGB pixels to another color space domain for printing the color input image. The number of colors within a cell of the input image is reduced. Each cell comprises an N×M array of pixels and the number of colors is reduced to a maximum of b source colors, wherein b is a positive integer equal to or greater than 2. Each of the resulting colors of each cell is calibrated to generate a printable color. The cells are then processed to convert the pixels of each cell into another color space, for example, to determine ink vectors, in another color space, for each calibrated color. | 03-17-2016 |
20160117577 | GAMMA CORRECTION TABLE GENERATION METHOD OR IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD USING GAMMA CORRECTION TABLE AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF - A gamma correction table generation method includes: obtaining density information by reading, with a reading sensor, a density patch output by an image forming device in a range wider than a cell, the density patch including a plurality of cells disposed such that a part of the cells as a unit representing a tone overlaps with each other and dots included in each of the cells are separated from each other to an extent that no influence is exerted on each other on a recording medium which the image forming device outputs; correcting the density information according to a number of the cells in the density patch; and generating a gamma correction table based on the corrected density information. | 04-28-2016 |
20160125278 | Raster Image Processor With Printhead Profile Compensation for a Multi Level Digital Printing Machine - System and method of calibration, screening, and compensation for multiple gray-level digital presses. Unequal quantization of the input range is employed with compensated overlapping of sub-ranges. Multiple instances of bi-level screening algorithms, tone modification functions, and a recombination algorithm are employed to produce calibrated screening on individual tone ranges. The method works with any bi-level screening algorithm and devices with any number of gray-levels. Quality imaging results from high detail, high tonal accuracy, low screening noise, and lack of printed artifacts. Dynamic re-calibration is facilitated. The elimination of the constraint of evenly spaced gray-levels has advantages of cost and yield for print head fabricators and digital press manufacturers. Multiple implementations are given for hardware and software embodiments. The present invention, which comprises a print profile for each colorant, is extended to comprise additional print profiles, as needed, specifying the print characteristic of a single or group of aberrant nozzles. | 05-05-2016 |
20160127608 | IMAGE PROCESSING DEVICE, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, AND PRINTING SYSTEM - An image processing device includes a first image generation unit which generates a first image obtained by applying a first low-pass filter to an input image, a second image generation unit which generates a second image obtained by applying a second low-pass filter to a halftone image, a third image generation unit which generates a third image representing a difference between the first image and the second image, a focused dot setting unit which sets a focused dot, a dot placement pixel determination unit which compares pixel values in the third image and determining a dot placement pixel for improving the uniformity of the gradation distribution in the third image, and a dot displacing unit which displaces the focused dot to the dot placement pixel and updates the halftone image. | 05-05-2016 |
20160182763 | COLOR SEPARATION | 06-23-2016 |