The disclosed computer-implemented method for performing dithering in non-linear space may include receiving, as an input, a non-linear sRGB-encoded data stream that includes pixel data that is to be displayed on a display screen. The disclosed method may next include generating a dithering mask for the non-linear sRGB-encoded data stream. Still further, the method may include dithering the non-linear sRGB-encoded data stream using the generated dithering mask according to a scalar dithering algorithm or a vector dithering algorithm. The method may also include linearizing the dithered non-linear sRGB-encoded data stream for display on the display screen, and may include providing the linearized RGB-encoded data stream to the display screen for display. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

Provided are an image recording apparatus, a dither mask, and an image recording method capable of reducing occurrence of concentration unevenness without decrease in productivity. In an image recording apparatus that repeats a main scan operation of relatively moving a recording head having a nozzle row with respect to a recording medium in a main scan direction to perform recording and a sub scan operation of relatively moving the recording medium with respect to the recording head in a sub scan direction, a nozzle jetting rate of each nozzle is controlled by a dither mask. The dither mask is subjected to threshold setting so that a sum of a sum of nozzle jetting rates of corresponding nozzles of respective nozzle groups used in recording a first half scan for recording each scan band and a sum of nozzle jetting rates of corresponding nozzles of respective nozzle groups used in recording a second half scan becomes a specific value that is in a defined allowable range, with respect to at least a part of a recording duty range.

A technique capable of keeping image quality and speeding up a halftone process is provided. An image processing device performs the halftone process on image data in which a pixel has a pixel value conforming to a bit count N. Bits conforming to the bit count N include higher H bits (where H is an integer satisfying an inequality of 1H<N) and lower L bits following the higher H bits (where L is an integer satisfying an inequality of 1LNH). The image processing device includes a first halftone processing unit configured to generate dot data indicative of a formation state of a dot, with respect to a first pixel allowing a determination of a formation state of a dot, based on the higher H bits in the pixel value and higher H bits in a dither mask.

An image processing apparatus includes at least one memory storing instructions and at least one processor executing the instructions to provide an input unit configured to input image data representing a color of an image, and information identifying high gloss and low gloss areas in the image, a first determination unit configured to determine, based on the image data, a recording amount of a printing material for forming the image on a recording medium, and a second determination unit configured to determine a dot arrangement of the printing material by halftone processing for the recording amount according to the information.

Wherein, in the first dither mask, when the first space is cut by the first plane, a plurality of threshold values in the first plane has a blue noise characteristic in the spatial frequency domain, and when the first space is cut by a second plane extending in a direction different from that of the first plane, a plurality of threshold values in the second plane has a blue noise characteristic in the spatial frequency domain.

A method of generating image data by acquiring first image data having a tone value of each pixel for each color and generating second image data. Generating the second image data by selecting a first pixel of the first image data; binarizing the tone value of the first pixel in response to a comparison result showing that the tone value of the first pixel is greater than the first threshold, binarizing the tone value of the first pixel in response to a comparison result showing that the tone value of the first pixel is smaller than the second threshold, and binarizing the tone value of the first pixel in response to a comparison result showing that the tone value of the first pixel is equal to or less than the first threshold and is equal to or greater than the second threshold.

An image processing apparatus includes an acquisition unit that acquires N-valued image data corresponding to an image including at least one object, and edge data indicating an edge area of the object, an image processing unit that generates M-valued (N>M2) quantized data where each of a plurality of pixels is associated with one of a value indicating that no dot is to be recorded and a value indicating that a dot is to be recorded, based on the acquired image data, using an image processing parameter, and a changing unit that changes at least one pixel among pixels that indicate the edge area of the object in the edge data and have the value indicating that no dot is to be recorded in the quantized data so that the at least one pixel has the value indicating that the dot is to be recorded.

A first dot pattern printed according to a result of quantization performed on a multi-valued grayscale value by using a first threshold matrix and a second dot pattern printed according to a result of quantization performed on multi-valued grayscale value by using a second threshold matrix are printed on a print medium in an overlapping manner. In order to generate the threshold matrices, a first initial pattern being a dot pattern corresponding to a first grayscale value and a second initial pattern being a dot pattern corresponding to a second grayscale value lower than the first grayscale value are generated for pixel regions of the first and second threshold matrices. Then, thresholds of the first and second threshold matrices are set such that dot patterns having continuity with the first and second initial patterns are obtained at grayscale values between the first and second grayscale values.

A copy-evident document and a method of printing a copy-evident document wherein a void pantograph is created including a first set of halftone elements and a second set of halftone elements different in modulation from the first set of halftone elements. An overlay including a white image with a plurality of halftone hole locations is preferably formed, wherein the halftone elements of the void pantograph are converted to the plurality of halftone hole locations. The overlay is then preferably merged with a background image, such that portions of the background image are visible at the halftone hole locations of the overlay when printed. The merged image is then printed on print media, wherein the portions of the background image that are printed are printed at locations where the holes locations are present in the overlay creating a copy-evident feature.

An information processing apparatus, in accordance with rising density in an extreme density range, determines a threshold for setting each pixel of a threshold matrix so as to consecutively grow an isolated dot corresponding to a halftone dot in a low density range to a first dot size for each submatrix, sets, when the size of isolated dots in a predetermined number of submatrices is grown to the first dot size, an intermediate position between the isolated dots in the predetermined number of submatrices; and determines, for each of one or more submatrices including a set intermediate position, a threshold to set for each pixel of the threshold matrix so that an isolated dot is consecutively grown until a second dot size smaller than the first dot size.