An apparatus includes a resolving unit configured to resolve input image data into image data for each frequency band, an acquisition unit configured to acquire skewness corresponding to the resolved image data resolved by the resolving unit, wherein the skewness is acquired from a histogram corresponding to each of the resolved image data, and an adjustment unit configured to determine image data to be processed, out of the resolved image data based on the acquired skewness acquired and perform gain adjustment on the determined image data.

An image heating apparatus includes a first heat generating element; a second heat generating element which is arranged adjacent to the first heat generating element in a longitudinal direction; and a control portion which controls power supplied to the first and second heat generating elements. When an image exists in a second region on the recording material heated by the second heat generating element but an image does not exist in a first region on the recording material heated by the first heat generating element, the control portion sets a control temperature of the second heat generating element when heating the second region, in accordance with a distance between an end section of the image in the second region and a boundary of the first region and the second region.

Various variable gloss reduction techniques are disclosed. In one embodiment, a gloss reduction technique is disclosed using a textured roller and a wiper impregnated with fuser oil to create a differential gloss pattern that reduces the gloss of an image printed on a substrate. In one embodiment, a gloss reduction technique is disclosed using a combination of heat and pressure to create a differential gloss pattern that reduces the gloss in specific regions of an image printed on a substrate. In one embodiment, a gloss reduction technique is disclosed using a differential gloss pattern to generate a security mark on a printed image to prevent against copying or fraudulent misrepresentation of the image.

A print control apparatus includes a generating unit that generates color image data based on gloss-control image data, the gloss-control image data containing a gloss control value for identifying a type of a surface effect being a visual or a tactile effect applied to the recording medium and for identifying a region to which the surface effect is applied in the recording medium, and generates clear-toner image data based on presence or absence of at least one post processing device connected to the printing device and based on a type of the post processing device; a post-processing control unit that controls the post processing device in accordance with the presence or absence of the post processing device connected to the printing device and the type of the post processing device; and an output unit that outputs the clear-toner image data.

An image processing apparatus includes a first obtaining unit obtaining color signals representing colors of an image, a second obtaining unit obtaining a gloss signal representing image gloss, a third obtaining unit obtaining a predetermined amount of a recording material, a first determination unit determining a recording amount of glossy recording material recorded in a first region, a second determination unit determining recording amounts of colored recording materials recorded in the first region such that a total amount of the recording amount of the glossy recording material recorded in the first region and the recording amounts of the colored recording materials recorded in the first region does not exceed the predetermined amount, and a third determination unit determining recording amounts of colored recording materials recorded in a second region based on the color signals and the recording amounts of the colored recording materials.

An image heating apparatus includes a first heat generating element; a second heat generating element which is arranged adjacent to the first heat generating element in a longitudinal direction; and a control portion which controls power supplied to the first and second heat generating elements. When an image exists in a second region on the recording material heated by the second heat generating element but an image does not exist in a first region on the recording material heated by the first heat generating element, the control portion sets a control temperature of the second heat generating element when heating the second region, in accordance with a distance between an end section of the image in the second region and a boundary of the first region and the second region.

An image forming apparatus includes: an image forming unit for forming a toner image and transferring the toner image to a sheet material; a fixing device for fixing the transferred toner image to the sheet material; a measurement device for measuring the gloss of the toner image fixed to the sheet material; a separator for separating the sheet material from the fixing device; and a controller which determines a performance of separating the sheet material from the fixing device based on an output from the measurement device and controls the operation of the separator.

When fixing is not necessary in a printing apparatus including a fixing unit, a sheet to be conveyed is allowed to avoid the fixing unit. Specifically, a fixing unit-bypass path is provided on a conveying path corresponding to the fixing unit. Further, when a surface treatment material is not applied to a sheet from a surface treatment material applying head, that is, when fixing processing is not performed by the fixing unit, a sheet is conveyed along a fixing unit-bypass path. Since a sheet is conveyed along an bypass path when fixing processing is not performed as described above, it is possible to prevent a sheet from being affected by heat or the like while the sheet passes through the fixing unit.

Whether a first heating region is actually a passing heating region or a non-passing heating region which a recording material does not pass through, is detected by the temperature detected by a temperature detecting portion, based on a difference between a detected temperature by a temperature detecting portion in a reference heating region, which is specified to a heating region including a conveyance reference position of the recording material, and a detected temperature in a first heating region which does not include the conveyance reference position and is specified to a passing heating region which the recording material passing through. In a case where it is determined that the first heating region is the non-passing heating region, a prevention control, to prevent overheat of the first heating region is performed in the heating processing of the recording material that passes the nip portion after the determination.

An image forming apparatus includes: an image forming unit for forming a toner image and transferring the toner image to a sheet material; a fixing device for fixing the transferred toner image to the sheet material; a measurement device for measuring the gloss of the toner image fixed to the sheet material; a separator for separating the sheet material from the fixing device; and a controller which determines a performance of separating the sheet material from the fixing device based on an output from the measurement device and controls the operation of the separator.