Example implementations relate to halftone image creation. An example non-transitory machine-readable medium can include instructions executable to determine a highlight core shape and a shadow core shape of a microcell within a supercell. The instructions can be executable to determine growth sequences for a plurality of pixels within the highlight core and the shadow core and between the microcell and other microcells within the supercell, divide each of the plurality of pixels into a plurality of subpixels, and create a halftone image for an unequal resolution printing device using a constrained direct binary search model and based on the highlight core shape, shadow core shape, growth sequences, and the plurality of subpixels.

An image processing apparatus generates dot data for printing an image on a printing medium by using dots of different sizes formed by a plurality of nozzles ejecting ink. The image processing apparatus includes a first acquisition unit that acquires dot data specifying printing or non-printing of each of the dots of a plurality of sizes for each pixel, a specification unit that specifies a dot having a strong possibility of being pulled by a dot having landed earlier on the printing medium of dots in the dot data, and a correction unit that corrects a dot specified by the specification unit in the dot data. The image processing apparatus can output an image whose banding is unlikely to be recognized by suppressing image defect due to a change of dots accompanying liquid droplet interference.

A printing plate includes a plurality of relief areas which stand proud of a floor of the plate, each of the relief areas having an uppermost surface to which, in use, is applied a liquid which is borne by the uppermost surface and subsequently contactingly transferred to a substrate material. A predetermined pattern of depressions define a corresponding pattern of islands within the uppermost surface. The depressions within the uppermost surface include at least primary depressions of a first size and substantially geometric first cross-sectional shape, and secondary depressions, being of smaller cross-sectional area than the primary depressions and having a second cross-sectional shape which is distinctly more elongate than the first cross-sectional shape.

To set a shading relationship between the plurality of shading inks having the same system color and different densities included in a plurality of kinds of inks, to perform provisional color separation processing to decide a color space value in a virtual color space in the second color system for every lattice point that defines a correspondence relationship between the first and second color spaces, to perform first processing of setting a position of the lattice point where a generation amount of the first ink at the lattice point can be maximized and an ink amount at the lattice point for a first ink which is one of light inks from a result of the provisional color separation processing, and then to perform second processing of setting an ink amount of the first ink and an ink amount of a second ink having a higher density by giving priority to a use of the first ink while maintaining a virtual color space value of the provisional color separation processing result for the first ink.

The present invention has a problem of suppressing liquid gathering of an interpolation dot which interpolates a discharge defective nozzle and preventing deterioration of image quality, and the problem is solved by the present invention including: an inkjet head configured to separately discharge a large droplet, a medium droplet, and a small droplet from each of a plurality of nozzles; and a control unit which forms an image in a single-pass system by discharging the medium droplets from the plurality of nozzles respectively, and forms an interpolation dot to interpolate a discharge defective nozzle by discharging a droplet from a different nozzle when the discharge defective nozzle is present, the control unit forming the interpolation dot to interpolate the discharge defective nozzle with the use of the large droplet and forming at least one adjacent dot which is in contact with the interpolation dot with the use of the small droplet.

Systems, methods, software for halftoning. In one embodiment, a halftone system receives a raster image comprising an array of pixels, and performs a multi-level halftoning process on one or more blocks of the pixels. The system identifies thresholds that distinguish different intensity levels. For each block, the system identifies a set of pixel values for the pixels in the block, performs a vectorized comparison of the set of pixel values to each of the thresholds to generate sets of comparison bits, and performs ternary logic operations with three of the sets of comparison bits as input to define a set of low-order bits and a set of higher-order bits for the pixels in the block.

In a data generating apparatus, a processor acquires offset information indicating a deviation in a colorant usage used by a specific print execution unit from a standard amount of usage. The standard amount of usage is a standard quantity concerning colorant used by print execution units. The processor controls the specific print execution unit to print a first patch image and generates first control data using first read data based on the first patch image. The processor generates corrected first control data using the offset information. The processor controls the specific print execution unit to print a second patch image using the corrected first control data and generates second control data using second read data based on the second patch image. The first and second control data is for common use in the printing processes performed on the print execution units.

Colorful printing using more colors based on data for printing with a single color or few colors is enabled. A printer control unit 15 includes a print data acquisition unit 15c, print data processing unit 15d, and print control unit 15e. The print data acquisition unit 15c acquires data for a print object and a command specifying the print position of the print object. Based on the print position specified by the command acquired by the print data acquisition unit 15c, the print data processing unit 15d applies a process setting an attribute of the print object, or a process replacing the print object with another print object.

An image forming system that classifies a block formed by Nb pixels included in image data into Nt groups including a group including a pixel of a highest gradation value and a group including a pixel of a lowest gradation value, generates, for at least one of the Nt groups, positional information that is information indicating positions of pixels that form the corresponding group, determines a block gradation value in accordance with a data amount that is smaller than a data amount that is used for expressing gradation values of the Nb pixels for each of the Nt groups as a target, based on a gradation value for each of pixels that form each group, tentatively determines, determines, for the block as a target, the dot arrangement using the tentatively determined dot arrangement and the positional information, and forms an image using the determined dot arrangement.

An image processing apparatus configured to generate, based on image data corresponding to a printing image, print data for causing a printer to execute printing includes an input unit (input device, display device) configured to receive, for each of the first ink and the second ink, an ink discharge correction volume for correcting an ink volume discharged from predetermined nozzles among a plurality of first nozzles and a plurality of second nozzles, and a print data generating unit (printer driver) configured to generate the print data based on the image data and the ink discharge correction volume input.