There are provided a printing system, a method of generating a halftone processing rule, a method of acquiring a characteristic parameter, image processing device and method, a halftone processing rule, a halftone image, a method of manufacturing a printed material, an ink jet printing system, and a program which are capable of reducing an operation load of a user and acquiring a halftone processing rule appropriate for the printing system. A characteristic parameter acquisition chart including a pattern for acquiring characteristic parameters related to characteristics of the printing system is output, and the output characteristic parameter acquisition chart is read by image reading means. The characteristic parameters are acquired by analyzing the read image of the characteristic parameter acquisition chart, and halftone processing rules that define the processing contents of halftone processes used in the printing system are generated based on the acquired characteristic parameters.

Provided are an image processing method, an image processing device, and an image recording apparatus capable of suppressing generation of beats, even in a case where streaky unevenness correction other than non-discharge correction of a recording element is performed, in any nozzle layout shapes. An image processing method comprises an abnormality detection step of detecting an abnormality for each recording element in a recording head in which a plurality of the recording elements are arranged; an invisibilization step of modulating densities of pixels to be recorded on a recording medium by the correction recording element including an abnormal recording element of which the abnormality has been detected to invisibilize a defect of an image, in order to correct the defect of the image resulting from the abnormal recording element depending on a detection result in the abnormality detection step; and a quantization step of quantizing an image to be recorded on the recording medium, and performing the quantization such that a peak frequency component of the quantization is located in a frequency band excluding a frequency band around a spatial frequency peak of a correction region that is a pixel group to be recorded on the recording medium by the correction recording element of which a density has been modulated by the invisibilization step.

There are disclosed techniques for error diffusion for printing.

For example, there is disclosed a device comprising a pixel selector, to select a pixel from an image to be printed, wherein the pixel is associated to a group of device state probabilities, wherein each device state probability describes a probability of choosing a particular device state, wherein each device state describes the quantity of each colorant to be used in correspondence of the pixel.

The device may comprise a device state determiner, to choose the device state for the selected pixel on the basis of the device state probabilities associated to the selected pixel. The device may comprise a feedback chain, to diffuse device state probability errors to pixels to be subsequently selected. The feedback chain may include a selected pixel error determiner, to determine device state probability errors for each device state probability of the selected pixel. The feedback chain may include a neighbouring pixel selector, to choose neighbouring pixels among the pixels to be subsequently selected. The feedback chain may include a neighbouring pixel error modifier, to modify, for each neighbouring pixel, the determined device state probability errors according to criteria conditioned by metrics and/or classification data associated to the selected pixel and/or a group of previously selected pixels and the relative position between the neighbouring pixel and the selected pixel. The feedback chain may include an error diffuser, to diffuse the modified device state probability errors to the neighbouring pixels.

An image processing apparatus configured to convert an input image into a halftone image to be output by a recording unit of an output apparatus includes a determination unit configured to determine a correction coefficient based on a characteristic of the recording unit for each of a plurality of pixels in the input image, a filter processing unit configured to perform filter processing on the correction coefficient using a low pass filter, a correction unit configured to correct a pixel value of each of the plurality of pixels in the input image based on the correction coefficient on which the filter processing has been performed, and a halftone processing unit configured to convert a corrected image output from the correction unit into the halftone image by dither processing. The low pass filter is configured to reduce a high-frequency component depending on the dither processing.

An information loss determiner in an image processing device determines whether character collapse has occurred in a simple binarized image. If character collapse has not occurred in the simple binarized image, an image processing determiner selects simple binarization processing as the image processing method of output image data. If character collapse has occurred in the simple binarized image, the process proceeds to photograph area size determination. If the ratio of a photograph area size is less than or equal to a predetermined value, the information loss determiner determines that character collapse has occurred in a posterization processed image. If character collapse has occurred in the posterization processed image, the image processing determiner selects grayscale processing. If character collapse has not occurred in the posterization processed image, the image processing determiner selects posterization processing.

An image processing apparatus generates and outputs a binarized output pixel value corresponding to an input pixel value; and includes a filter processing unit, a quantizer, and a buffer. The quantizer is configured to quantize a pixel value after a filter process performed by the filter processing unit and thereby generate the output pixel value. The buffer is configured to store for each pixel a difference between (a) a sum of the pixel value after the filter process and the input pixel value and (b) the output pixel value. Further, the filter processing unit performs a bandpass filter process on the basis of the difference stored by the buffer.

An image processing apparatus configured to convert an input image into a halftone image to be output by a recording unit of an output apparatus includes a determination unit configured to determine a correction coefficient based on a characteristic of the recording unit for each of a plurality of pixels in the input image, a filter processing unit configured to perform filter processing on the correction coefficient using a low pass filter, a correction unit configured to correct a pixel value of each of the plurality of pixels in the input image based on the correction coefficient on which the filter processing has been performed, and a halftone processing unit configured to convert a corrected image output from the correction unit into the halftone image by dither processing. The low pass filter is configured to reduce a high-frequency component depending on the dither processing.

A forming method for forming a three-dimensional object includes a generating step including, based on model data representing the object, generating cross-section data respectively representing cross-sections of the object that are different in position in a cross-section arrangement direction. An executing step includes discharging build materials respectively based on the cross-section data. When at least a portion of the object is to be colored: the cross-section data include colored region data respectively representing cross-sections of a colored region of the object that is to be colored based on a color of a surface of the object; the executing step includes forming the colored region using the build materials based on the colored region data; the model data represents the color of the surface of the object in a multi-level gradation; and each of the colored region data represents a color in a lower level of gradation.

An image capturing unit captures an image including an embedded image that is printed on the basis of image data in which at least a color component has been modulated according to additional information. An adjustment unit adjusts a white balance of the image captured by the image capturing unit on the basis of an adjustment value associated with the embedded image. A processing unit processes image data of the image captured by the image capturing unit whose white balance has been adjusted by the adjustment unit to read the additional information in the image captured by the image capturing unit.

n (n is an integer that is equal to or greater than 2) error diffusion processing units are respectively provided to correspond to division images obtained by dividing an image into n images in a main scanning direction, and at least a part of halftone processing on two division images is performed simultaneously. When one error diffusion processing unit that processes the division image which is positioned ahead in the main scanning direction processes one of rasters up to an end portion in the main scanning direction to obtain diffusion errors that are diffused into pixels in the neighborhood of an objective pixel, the one error diffusion processing unit delivers a forward-direction diffusion error to the other error diffusion processing unit. Furthermore, other error diffusion processing unit that receives the forward-direction diffusion error starts the halftone processing on one raster, obtains the diffusion error in an end portion in an opposite direction, and then delivers an opposite-direction diffusion error that is a diffusion error which is used by the one error diffusion processing unit in the halftone processing of a subsequent raster, among the diffusion errors, to the one error diffusion processing unit.