Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image reader unit to scan a page to be printed, a security mark acquisition unit at least one security mark, an image process unit to perform image blending by applying parameters preset in the scanned page to be printed and the security mark, a control unit to provide the image process unit with the preset parameters, and an output unit to output an image blended of the image process unit.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus to copy a two-sided card is disclosed. The image forming apparatus includes a user interface unit to adjust a layout for copying both sides of the two-sided card, an image reading unit to read the both sides of the two-sided card and generates scanned images, a controlling unit to generate image data where the scanned images are laid out on at least one page according to the adjusted layout, and an output unit to output the image data generated by the controlling unit. Accordingly, the both sides of the two-sided card may be laid out and output in various types.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an input part for receiving image data; an image processor for image-processing the input image data; an output part for outputting data processed at the image processor; and a controller for controlling the image processor to process the image using one of a plurality of image processing modes having a toner consumption lower than a toner density to use when the toner density to use for outputting the input image data exceeds a preset reference density. The plurality of the image processing modes includes a boundary image processing mode which outputs only boundaries of objects in the image data. Thus, the toner used for the image forming can be saved.

Abstract: A scanning method of an image forming apparatus including free-scanning a page to be scanned, setting a scan data generation area to generate scan data on the free-scanned image, if a subsequent page is main-scanned, detecting a relative position of the scan data generation area from a scanned area of the main-scanned page, adjusting the scan data generation area using the detected relative position, and generating scan data for the adjusted scan data generation area, and an image forming apparatus to perform the same. Therefore, a plurality of pages can be precisely scanned or copied with a specific size.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus is provided which includes an input unit to receive an input image; an area determination unit to divide the input image into a plurality of areas, to compute a weight for at least one of a position, a density and a color of each of the plurality of divided areas and to determine an area on which a copy prevention pattern is to be superimposed among the plurality of divided areas; a generation unit to superimpose the copy prevention pattern on the determined area of the input image and to generate a copy prevention image; and an output unit to output the generated copy prevention image. Therefore, it is possible to select a position of a document into which the copy prevention pattern is to be inserted.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus is described. The image forming apparatus includes a pattern detection unit to detect whether an input image includes a specific pattern as a portion of the image, a conversion unit to convert the specific pattern into data in a predetermined format, an encryption unit to encrypt the data in the predetermined format and to generate an encryption pattern from the encrypted data, and an output unit to output an image that is similar to the input image except for the portion of the image, which includes the encryption pattern rather than the specific pattern in the output image.

Abstract: A head adjustment method of adjusting overlaps of a plurality of print heads, which are arranged in a widthwise direction of a print medium in an image forming apparatus, in the widthwise direction. The head adjustment method includes setting a theoretical input pattern image to be formed by the print heads, outputting a practical output pattern image on the print medium by driving the print heads according to the input pattern image, estimating practical overlap values of the print heads through the output pattern image, and adjusting degrees of overlap between the print heads according to the estimated overlap values.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: An apparatus and method of compensating for defective nozzles. Accordingly, in an image forming apparatus having inkjet nozzles (i.e., an inkjet printer), image quality deterioration due to defective nozzles (i.e., nozzles that cannot discharge ink) may be compensated for by replacing data after moving a printer head to an optimum position. Image quality deterioration due to defective nozzles may also be compensated by replacing data to be printed after moving at he printer head to the optimum position.

Abstract: An inkjet image forming apparatus and a method to control the same to correct characteristics of a plurality of print heads of the apparatus to have uniform characteristics includes a plurality of test patterns printed according to the timing of printing of dots through a row of odd nozzles and a row of even nozzles of each of the plurality of print heads and information of the drive timing corresponding to a brightest test pattern of the printed test patterns is stored. When a normal print operation is performed, a different drive timing is applied to each of the plurality of print heads based on the stored information, thereby compensating for the difference between the one or more characteristics of the print heads.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus to improve image quality. The image forming apparatus includes a window control unit to generate a window of a predetermined size using a lines per inch (LPI) value of a dithering mask and an angle, and to detect locations of a center reference pixel and neighboring reference pixels in the window, a weighting set unit to apply weighted values to the reference pixels based on locations of the detected center reference pixel and the neighboring reference pixels, and a control unit to determine a dot size of the center reference pixel corresponding to weighted values corresponding to locations of black pixels of the center reference pixel and neighboring reference pixels. Accordingly, image quality is improved by generating dots corresponding to a plurality of gray levels based on weighted values.

Abstract: A print system having an enhanced depth resolution of an image. The print system includes a host device to divide a gray image into basic block units, to determine whether the basic block units represent an edge area, to convert the gray image into binary data, and to output the converted gray image; and an image forming apparatus to determine whether the binary data received from the host device represents an edge area, to convert the binary data into a gray image according to the result of determination, and to print the gray image. As a result, depth resolution is enhanced, and print data transmission time is shortened.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus, including a halftone image converter to convert input image data having a plurality of bits per pixel into halftone image data having a binary pixel value corresponding to a bright pixel or a dark pixel, and a bit encoder to divide the halftone image data into blocks with a predetermined size, and to perform a bit-encoding operation by using the number of either the bright or dark pixels in the block to output encoded image data.

Abstract: A head adjustment method of adjusting overlaps of a plurality of print heads, which are arranged in a widthwise direction of a print medium in an image forming apparatus, in the widthwise direction.

Abstract: An apparatus and method of compensating for defective nozzles. Accordingly, in an image forming apparatus having inkjet nozzles (i.e., an inkjet printer), image quality deterioration due to defective nozzles (i.e., nozzles that cannot discharge ink) may be compensated for by replacing data after moving a printer head to an optimum position. Image quality deterioration due to defective nozzles may also be compensated by replacing data to be printed after moving at he printer head to the optimum position.

Abstract: A system and method of rapidly compressing and decompressing a binary image. The method of rapidly compressing the binary image includes initializing a 0 count value obtained by counting 0 blocks and also initializing a 0 output control value that is information on the number of continuous 0 blocks; estimating pixel values of a current block using binary values of a previous line continuously input immediately prior to the current line to be coded and also using screen mask values of the previous line; estimating binary values of the current block using the estimated pixel values and the screen mask values corresponding to the current block; comparing the estimated binary values with corresponding ones of the actual binary values of the current block to calculate errors and to thus generate an error pattern; and coding the current line block by block based on the 0 count value, the 0 output control value, and the generated error pattern.

Abstract: An encoding and decoding apparatus using a wavelet transformation and motion estimation is disclosed. The apparatus includes an input module for receiving an image data, a wavelet module for wavelet-transforming the image data received through the input module, an estimation/compensation module, a storage module for storing the image data being transmitted from the input module and transmitting the stored data in a request from the respective modules, an output module for outputting one bit stream by coupling the data being inputted from the wavelet module and a data corresponding to the motion vector being inputted from the storage module, and a control module for controlling operations of the respective modules. According to the present invention, though memories of small amount are used, whole image can be wavelet-transformed and a motion of a block can be estimated in real time when the encoding and decoding a moving picture at real time.