Abstract: A high quality gray scale (monochrome) image in which influences of “recorded color deviation” and “color transition” are suppressed is formed even in the case of a slightly uneven discharge amount. When a gray scale (monochrome) mode is set, in the entire range of a luminance signal, density signals corresponding to achromatic dots and small chromatic dots respectively are generated based on the luminance signal so that the density signal corresponding to the achromatic dots has a greater value than that of the density signal corresponding to the small chromatic dots. Accordingly, even a slight “recorded color deviation” that occurs when the achromatic dots are recorded can be corrected by the small chromatic dots having a hue opposite to the direction of color deviation, and a high quality gray scale image in which influences of “recorded color deviation” and “color transition” are suppressed can be formed.

Abstract: Print data is generated for being printed by an ink-jet printing apparatus, which has a first mode for high-speed printing and a second mode for high-quality printing, for performing multiple-pass printing by an ink-jet printhead provided with orifices for discharging ink droplets of large volume and orifices for discharging ink droplets of small Volume. When the print data is generated, a user is allowed to select whether specified image data should be printed in the first or second mode. When image data is converted to print data in accordance with the mode selected, the number of ink droplets of the small volume, which are used to print an area of high density or high saturation in regard to a prescribed color in the first mode, is set to be less than the number of ink droplets of the small volume used in printing this area in the second mode.

Abstract: Print data is generated for being printed by an ink-jet printing apparatus, which has a first mode for high-speed printing and a second mode for high-quality printing, for performing multiple-pass printing by an ink-jet printhead provided with orifices for discharging ink droplets of large volume and orifices for discharging ink droplets of small volume. When the print data is generated, a user is allowed to select whether specified image data should be printed in the first or second mode. When image data is converted to print data in accordance with the mode selected, the number of ink droplets of the small volume, which are used to print an area of high density or high saturation in regard to a prescribed color in the first mode, is set to be less than the number of ink droplets of the small volume used in printing this area in the second mode.

Abstract: This invention provides an image processing device and a printing apparatus that obviate the need for manual processing on the part of the user or operator and which can automatically perform an optimum image correction without using added information such as photographing information. For this purpose, this invention including: a highly chromatic color area detection unit to detect highly chromatic color area in an original image according to the input color image data; a concentration calculation unit to calculate a concentration level of the highly chromatic color area; and a print data generation unit to generate output color image data according to the concentration level of the highly chromatic color area.

Abstract: When image data output to an ink-jet recording apparatus for performing color recording using inks of a plurality of colors is to be processed, input image data is converted into data corresponding to colors of inks and gamma correction is applied to the data corresponding to colors of inks. In this gamma correction processing, the grayscale value represented by the data is decreased to reduce the amount of shot-in ink. In the present invention, gamma correction for data corresponding to a chromatic ink differs from gamma correction for data corresponding to an achromatic ink such that higher gray level data is decreased by a smaller factor than lower gray level data for the data corresponding to the achromatic ink.

Abstract: The color of magenta using newly developed magenta ink has characteristics L*?41, a*?82, and b*?24, and has differences ?L*?4, ?a*?0, and ?b*?26 from the conventional magenta ink, i.e., the lightness value is low, and the color difference b* assumes a very small value. When the color of red is reproduced using such new magenta ink, its lightness and saturation values are low, and subdued red is reproduced, i.e., a visually favorable color cannot be obtained. Hence, when a color included in a first color gamut is input, and the input color is converted into the color of a second color gamut narrower than the first color gamut, color conversion is made using a three-dimensional lookup table having red defined by. L*?45 to 50, a*?67 to 70, and b*?50 to 55.

Abstract: An image processing method which converts R, G and B multivalued image signals into color signals corresponding to coloring materials used for an image forming means, comprising the step of converting an achromatic color used to control a skin color and at predetermined brightness into a predetermined value. Thus, the skin color difficult to be satisfactorily reproduced can be easily converted into a desirable color by controlling the achromatic color. Moreover, the skin color on the various media can be approximately unified by setting the achromatic color having high brightness to be approximately the same even on the plural media respectively having different paper colors.

Abstract: An image processing method which converts R, G and B multivalued image signals into color signals corresponding to coloring materials used for an image forming means, comprising the step of converting an achromatic color used to control a skin color and at predetermined brightness into a predetermined value. Thus, the skin color difficult to be satisfactorily reproduced can be easily converted into a desirable color by controlling the achromatic color. Moreover, the skin color on the various media can be approximately unified by setting the achromatic color having high brightness to be approximately the same even on the plural media respectively having different paper colors.

Abstract: An ink jet printing method uses an ink jet ejecting portion for ejecting ink on a printing material and a print quality improving liquid ejecting portion for ejecting print quality improving liquid on the printing material. The application mode of the print quality improving liquid is different depending on the printing mode in which a printing operation is carried out.

Abstract: An image data transfer method for transferring image data to a recording device for effecting an image recording in accordance with the image data using a recording head having a plurality of recording elements, said method, includes a step of simulating a recording operation of the recording device in accordance with a predetermined condition; a step of providing correspondence between raster lines of the image data and recording elements to be used for recording the raster lines on the basis of a result of said simulating step; a step of effecting an image processing the image data for each raster lines having been made to correspond to the recording elements by said correspondence providing step; a step of transferring the image data having been subjected to the image processing to the recording device.

Abstract: In a printing system by using matrix pattern processing, a printing apparatus, a printing method and a data processing method are capable of uniforming the use frequency of each printing element and preventing the printing element from locally deteriorating while preventing noise or texture from occurring. In a system for printing an image on a printing medium in accordance with print data obtained through a development which develops quantized image data by using a pattern corresponding to the quantized level of the image data, more than one type of the pattern for one quantized level of the image data are prepared, and types of the patterns to be used when the image currently printed on the printing medium reaches a discontinuous area of the image are changed.

Abstract: Depending on whether or not a print mode indicates printing with a large-and-small-dot ink system, a dark-and-light-color-dot ink system, or the like, it is determined whether or not, for printed colors in an input signal that are primary colors (C, M, and Y), hues are adjusted by mixing two ink colors for large and small dots or for dark and light color dots. As a result, for images such as graphs which are desirably uniform, printed images free from granularity are obtained promptly even if hues cannot be adjusted. Further, for images such as photographs for which colors are desirably accurately reproduced, high-quality print results free from granularity and matching monitor displayed colors are obtained by selecting a mode in which hues are adjusted using small, light-color, and other dots which have reduced granularity, to adjust the hues of the primary colors without degrading print image quality.

Abstract: Print data is generated for being printed by an ink-jet printing apparatus, which has a first mode for high-speed printing and a second mode for high-quality printing, for performing multiple-pass printing by an ink-jet printhead provided with orifices for discharging ink droplets of large volume and orifices for discharging ink droplets of small volume. When the print data is generated, a user is allowed to select whether specified image data should be printed in the first or second mode. When image data is converted to print data in accordance with the mode selected, the number of ink droplets of the small volume, which are used to print an area of high density or high saturation in regard to a prescribed color in the first mode, is set to be less than the number of ink droplets of the small volume used in printing this area in the second mode.

Abstract: A distinction apparatus of a printing apparatus distinguishes data compression rate according to each of the data transferred from a host computer, and a mode selection apparatus selects a printing mode according to slow printing velocity when data compression rate is low and selects a printing mode according to fast printing velocity when data compression rate is high, and then the printing head can be controlled under printing velocity according to the selected printing mode.

Abstract: A printing information processing system provided in the present invention calculates the total of printing signal values for printing onto at least one boundary area of the upper and lower adjacent boundary areas included in the upper and lower adjacent scanning print areas formed by print heads, and responding to the magnitude of this total of printing signal values performs correction on the magnitude of the print signal value for printing onto the boundary by the use of the print signal for at least one area of the upper and lower adjacent boundary areas.

Abstract: For M (magenta) and C (cyan), in case of generating, e.g., ternary data of C0 to C2 and M0 to M2 respectively by using a look-up table on the basis of an error diffusion method, in a highlight portion of input M and C data (errors Ce and Me have been added respectively), a conversion space of correlating these data is used, while in a high-density portion, a conversion space of equivalent to ordinary error diffusion is used. Thus, in case of converting multivalued color image data into data of a less number of bits than the number of bits of color components constituting the multivalued color image data, it is possible to maintain excellent tonality on an entire image, and particularly to control graininess by preventing image quality deterioration in the highlight area.

Abstract: An image processing method which converts R, G and B multivalued image signals into color signals corresponding to coloring materials used for an image forming means, comprising the step of converting an achromatic color used to control a skin color and at predetermined brightness into a predetermined value. Thus, the skin color difficult to be satisfactorily reproduced can be easily converted into a desirable color by controlling the achromatic color. Moreover, the skin color on the various media can be approximately unified by setting the achromatic color having high brightness to be approximately the same even on the plural media respectively having different paper colors.

Abstract: A printing information processing apparatus based on the present invention forms a patch by forming adjacent positions for each of the test area and for reference area composed of a predetermined single-color within a color reproducible range in coloring material used for a plurality of test areas mentioned above and at the same time forms a plurality of patches by changing the gradation in the test area composed of at least one coloring material among the coloring materials equipped with the printing means at the time of printing operation based on the printing means equipped with at least one ordinary coloring material and a special color having a color belonging to color reproducible range based on the ordinary coloring material, and at least one side of both patterns shall contain the special coloring material.

Abstract: In the process of correcting a color deviation caused by output characteristic variations among different colorants in a printing apparatus, a method of printing a test pattern allows an appropriate and highly accurate visual detection of the color deviation. More specifically, the test pattern has a plurality of patches printed therein, each of which has placed adjacent to each other a test area to be checked for the color deviation and a reference area serving as a criterion for color deviation and which has the test area and the reference area repeated alternately. If the colors of the two areas look different during the comparison of only one pair of the test area and the reference area, the pattern of the two alternately repeated areas makes the colors of the two areas appear more uniform, alleviates a high color difference sensitivity and thereby enables easy identification of a patch that matches the accuracy of the correction performed according to the color deviation detection.

Abstract: In a correction processing that corrects a color deviation caused by output characteristic variations among print heads of a printing apparatus, the printing apparatus prints a test pattern that allows accurate detection of the color deviation by a visual check. More specifically, each of the patches in the test pattern is made up of two areas placed adjacent to each other. One of the two areas (upper area) is used as a test area for detecting the degree of the color deviation. Of the gradation values of C, M and Y, which make up the patch print data, the gradation values of C and M are changed among the patches making up the test pattern. The other area is used as a reference area printed with an achromatic color that represents a reference gradation value for the deviation detection. The gradation values of C, M, Y and K are determined so that a spatial frequency of dots formed in the reference area of each patch is close to the spatial frequency of the associated test area.