In one aspect, a computer-implemented method for estimating ink use by a printer is provided. The method involves receiving, by a computer, a request for a comingled print job comprising a plurality of print jobs to be carried out by the printer. The method also involves traversing, by the computer, pages of the comingled print job and identifying, for each page of the comingled print job, a print job of the plurality of print jobs to which the page belongs. The method also involves for each of the plurality of print jobs, calculating, by the computer, an estimated total amount of ink required for printing the print job. The method also involves communicating, by the computer, to a client terminal, the estimated total amounts of ink required for printing the plurality of print jobs.

Provided is a printing method for performing printing using a serial printer. In printing of a print image including a line image, the printing method includes a raster line forming step of forming each of raster lines configuring the image, by a plurality of pass operations. In the formation of each of the raster lines, when printing of a region corresponding to edge pixels of the line image by a first pass operation, which is one of the plurality of pass operations, is first printing, and printing of the region corresponding to the edge pixels by a second pass operation that is different from the first pass operation, of the plurality of pass operations, is second printing, a brightness of the printing by the second printing is higher than a brightness of the printing by the first printing.

An image processing apparatus generates image data for an image forming apparatus having a recording head with recording elements in a first direction that forms an image on a recording medium by ejecting ink from the elements toward the medium fed in a second direction perpendicular to the first. The apparatus has an acquiring unit that acquires multi-valued input image data having a uniform tone, a conversion unit that converts the input image data into halftone image data indicating a dot pattern, by using a dither matrix, and a correction processing unit that executes a density unevenness correction process in accordance with properties of each of the elements. The properties of the elements are obtained by reading a chart image formed based on the halftone image data. The dither matrix is a dispersive dither matrix with a size of Sx rows corresponding to the second direction, Sx, a natural number.

An information processing method obtains image data representing an image laid out on a page, and sets, in the image, a target region on which to perform predetermined processing to change a pixel count, based on layout information pertaining to a layout of the image on the page. Based on this setting, the predetermined processing is performed on the target region in the image.

A method of printing an image using a printing system having first and second printheads supplied with a same ink. The method includes the steps of: allocating first lines of the image to the first printhead; allocating second lines of the image to the second printhead; dithering the first lines of the image using a selected first dither mask; dithering the second lines of the image using a selected second dither mask; printing the dithered first lines of the image using the first printhead; and printing the dithered second lines of the image using the second printhead. The first and second dither masks are selected based on a relative alignment of the first and second printheads.

Example implementations provide a controller for controlling printing of a printer, the controller comprising: an input interface for accessing an image to be printed; an image processor to identify at least one selected feature within the image; and circuitry: a. to control printing of said at least one selected feature using a respective print operation; and b. to control printing of said image, other said at least one selected feature, using a further respective print operation; c. said respective print operation being different to said further respective print operation.

A printer includes a printing device including a print head, a first moving device, and a second moving device, and a controller. The controller is configured to generate first partial-dot-data by executing a first generating process with respect to first partial-image data and generate second partial-dot-data by executing a second generating process with respect to second partial-image-data. In the second generating process, the controller determines a degree of reduction in density by the second generating process to a first degree of reduction in a first case where a particular condition including a code condition that is satisfied when the second partial-image includes at least a portion of a code image is satisfied, and determine the degree of reduction in density by the second generating process to a second degree different from the first degree of reduction when the second partial-image does not include the code image.

In one aspect, a computer-implemented method for estimating ink use by a printer is provided. The method involves receiving, by a computer, a request for a comingled print job comprising a plurality of print jobs to be carried out by the printer. The method also involves traversing, by the computer, pages of the comingled print job and identifying, for each page of the comingled print job, a print job of the plurality of print jobs to which the page belongs. The method also involves for each of the plurality of print jobs, calculating, by the computer, an estimated total amount of ink required for printing the print job. The method also involves communicating, by the computer, to a client terminal, the estimated total amounts of ink required for printing the plurality of print jobs.

The present invention obtains image data representing an image laid out on a page, and sets, in the image, a target region on which to perform predetermined processing to change a pixel count, based on layout information pertaining to a layout of the image on the page. Based on this setting, the predetermined processing is performed on the target region in the image.

An image processing apparatus includes a processing unit that converts first input image data for a first region and second input image data for a second region to reduce a difference between first region recorded image density and second region recorded image density, and generates dot position data of a dot to be generated in each of the first and second regions based on the dot data after the conversion processing. The acquisition unit acquires edge information indicating a first object pixel edge of an image pixel for the first region and a second object pixel edge of an image pixel for the second region. Based on the acquired edge information, conversion and generation processing are performed in such a manner that a color signal of an edge pixel is increased/reduced to a degree lower than a degree to which a color signal of a non-edge object pixel is increased/reduced.