Disclosed are an image processing device, a printing apparatus, an image processing method, and a program capable of making processing common among printing modes to simplify an entire image processing flow in image processing based on a plurality of printing modes with different definition. An image processing unit 14 includes an image size adjustment unit 20 which adjusts the size of an input image, and a halftone processing unit 24 which performs halftone processing on the input image size-adjusted by the image size adjustment unit 20 to generate a halftone image. The image size adjustment unit 20 adjusts the input image to the same size in two or more printing modes among a plurality of printing modes with different definition, and the input image of the same size is subjected to halftone processing in the halftone processing unit 24.

A computational halftoning process determines a halftoned image having halftoned pixel values by processing an array of input pixels. For each input pixel, an array of high-resolution printer coordinates is defined at a higher spatial resolution than the printer resolution, and a coordinate transformation is applied to determine a corresponding array of high-resolution dot coordinates. An array of high-resolution halftoned pixel values is then determined responsive to the code value of the input pixel by addressing a halftone dot function using the array of high-resolution dot coordinates. A halftoned pixel value is then determined by averaging the high-resolution halftoned pixel values.

An image forming device includes: a rasterizing section, a resolution converting section and a thinning section. The rasterizing section generates, by rasterization, image data having any one of standard resolution, resolution higher than the standard resolution and resolution lower than the standard resolution. The resolution converting section converts the resolution upon rasterization for the generated image data having the higher or lower resolution than the standard resolution into the standard resolution. The thinning section thins the image data having the standard resolution. When thinning the image data of which the resolution is converted higher than upon rasterization in the resolution converting section, the thinning section adjusts thinning strength to become larger upon thinning than when thinning the image data of which the resolution upon rasterization is kept as it is.

An information processing apparatus includes a scan image acquiring section configured to acquire a scan image generated by causing an image forming apparatus including a scanner to scan a first print medium; a code reader configured to read a first code image printed in a predetermined size on the first print medium from the scan image; a level setter configured to set an error correction level of a second code image based on whether the first code image is successfully read; code image generator configured to generate the second code image having the error correction level; and a printing controller configured to adjust a size of the generated second code image to the predetermined size and cause the image forming apparatus to print the second code image having the adjusted size on a second print medium.

A data generation apparatus is provided that generates pixel data for printing a 2.5-dimensional image and has: a conversion unit configured to convert the 2.5-dimensional data having a first resolution to pixel data having a second resolution by use of position information on a 2.5-dimensional region obtained from 2.5-dimensional data representing the 2.5-dimensional image; and an adjustment unit configured to adjust tone values of second-resolution pixels included in the 2.5-dimensional region represented in the pixel data by determining a tone value of a pixel in a center region including at least a center pixel and a tone value of a pixel in a marginal region which is inside of the 2.5-dimensional region and surrounding the center region using information on height characteristics at pixel positions of the second-resolution pixels.

As a result of the processing by the dot arrangement unit, dots are arranged so that in a first edge pixel group located in a first end portion of the object in the scanning direction and adjacent to a boundary between the object and an outside of the object, a ratio of arranging dots in the second regions is lower than a ratio of arranging dots in the first regions, and in a second edge pixel group adjacent to the boundary and located in a second end portion different from the first end portion and on a opposite side of the first end portion in the scanning direction, a ratio of arranging dots in the first regions is lower than a ratio of arranging dots in the second regions.