An image processing apparatus comprises: an image forming unit configured to form an image on a recording medium using a plurality of color materials on the basis of first image data showing an image; and an estimating unit configured to estimate a characteristic of each one of the plurality of color materials in a target region on the formed image on the basis of second image data obtained by reading the formed image. The estimating unit selects an estimation processing unit to use from among a plurality of estimation processing units used for different estimation methods on the basis of a combination of the color materials in the target region.

An image processing apparatus comprises: an image forming unit configured to form an image on a recording medium using a plurality of color materials on the basis of first image data showing an image; and an estimating unit configured to estimate a characteristic of each one of the plurality of color materials in a target region on the formed image on the basis of second image data obtained by reading the formed image. The estimating unit selects an estimation processing unit to use from among a plurality of estimation processing units used for different estimation methods on the basis of a combination of the color materials in the target region.

There is provided a printing apparatus including an obtaining unit configured to obtain print data in which in imposition image data in which one or more images are imposed in a print region, a code for identifying each image in the imposition image data is embedded; a determination unit configured to determine an ink color to be used to print the code by excluding an ink color satisfying a predetermined condition from candidates for the ink color to be used to print the code; and a print control unit configured to print the code based on the print data obtained by the obtaining unit using a plurality of nozzle arrays for the ink color determined by the determination unit.

A clear ink includes resin particles, water, and a compound represented by General Formula (1) below. The resin particles have a volume average particle diameter of 50 nm or less. A dried film of the clear ink has glass transition temperatures (Tg) at 50 degrees Celsius or higher and at lower than 0 degrees Celsius.

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In the General Formula (1), R.sup.1 represents an alkyl group having 1 or more but 4 or less carbon atoms.

A discharge apparatus includes an ink accommodating unit that accommodates a clear ink, a discharge head including a nozzle configured to discharge the clear ink to a print target, a heating unit configured to heat the print target, and a wiping member configured to wipe a nozzle-formed surface of the discharge head including the nozzle. The clear ink includes water and resin particles having a volume average particle diameter of 50 nm or less. A dried film of the clear ink has glass transition temperatures (Tg) at 50 degrees Celsius or higher and at lower than 0 degrees Celsius.

Provided is an inkjet printing device including an ink storage unit configured to store an ink, an ejection head configured to eject the ink to form a print layer, and a heating unit configured to heat a material to be printed, wherein the ink is an aqueous clear ink including a resin and water, the inkjet printing device has a low gloss printing mode that is a printing mode for imparting low gloss, and a high gloss printing mode that is a printing mode for imparting high gloss, and the heating unit is configured to heat to satisfy the following formula T.sub.matte>T.sub.gloss, where T.sub.matte (degrees Celsius) is a temperature of a low gloss printing region of the material to be printed where the low gloss printing region is printed with the low gloss printing mode when the aqueous clear ink is deposited on the material to be printed, and T.sub.gloss (degrees Celsius) is a temperature of a high gloss printing region of the material to be printed where the high gloss printing region is printed with the high gloss printing mode when the aqueous clear ink is deposited on the material to be printed.

A networked product imaging system includes devices that provide the production of imaged goods. Sellers are easily integrated into the network with minimal or no inventory requirements. Customer requirements are provided to a central computing device (CCD) that has two-way communication with a plurality of geographically separated product image forming devices. The central computing device determines specifications for forming the image on the blank product in accordance with the customer's order. The central computing device selects a product image forming device from the plurality of geographically separated product forming devices for fulfilling the order, based upon factors that include the specification of the product image forming device available, the product image forming inventory and the blank product inventory available at the geographic location of the product image forming device. The selected product image forming device forms the image on the blank product at the remote location.

Provided is an image processing method for generating print data, the method including an ink amount generating step for generating CMYK data based on image data. The ink amount generating step determines the CMYK data based on a brightness L* calculated using a function f3(D) satisfying f1(D)≥f3(D) in a range of the gradation values D from a coordinates Pk to a coordinates Ps and also satisfying f1(D)≥f3(D) in at least part of the range.

Provided is an image processing method for generating print data, the method including an ink amount generating step for generating CMYK data based on image data. The ink amount generating step determines the CMYK data based on a brightness L* calculated using a function f3(D) satisfying f1(D)≥f3(D) in a range of the gradation values D from a coordinates Pk to a coordinates Ps and also satisfying f1(D)≥f3(D) in at least part of the range.

The invention relates to a print system comprising at least two page-wide arrays of ink jet print heads, positioned in a frame over a conveyor belt for transporting a substrate underneath the arrays, three sensors for reading markers on the conveyor belt and a control unit that is configured to derive control signals from encoder signals of the three sensors. Two sensors are directly connected to the frame and a third sensor is connected to one of the said two sensors by an element with virtually no thermal expansion, extending in transport direction. The control signals, comprising signals for controlling a transport speed of the conveyor belt and line pulses for the at least two print heads, are derived in such a way that an amount of thermal expansion of the frame is determined and an absolute print resolution is maintained.