Abstract: Discrimination of the type of a recording medium with high accuracy is obtained by using the intensity of a specular reflection light from the recording medium and a feature of the recording medium surface derived from an image of the recording medium surface as discrimination parameters. In particular, the accuracy in discrimination between plain paper and ink-jet coated paper and between photographic glossy paper and a glossy film is improved. Also, the type of the recording medium is discriminated based on a detected value of the intensity of the specular reflection light from the recording medium and a parameter representing surface conditions of the recording medium which is derived from an image information made up of a plurality of pixels corresponding to a predetermined area of the recording medium surface.

Abstract: This invention is to transmit read image data to a host device using a transfer mode which guarantees a predetermined band and does not perform error check or retransmission time suitable for the original purpose of prescanning. When a prescanning instruction is received from a host computer (112), a scanner (115) is driven to read an original image, and thinning/interpolation and compression are performed. In addition, transfer through a communication interface USB to the host computer (112) is performed in the isochronous transfer mode which guarantees a predetermined band within a periodically continuous time and does not perform retransmission in response to error occurrence, thereby realizing high-speed transfer.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus having: an input unit for inputting image data; a unit for producing a plurality of parameters from a region consisting of data for the input object pixel and peripheral pixels; and a discriminating unit for discriminating to what extent the region preferably, just the object pixel is to be regarded as character image or halftone image, in accordance with correlation of the plurality of parameters.