In an image forming apparatus that employs a laser scanning optical system that does not use an fθ lens, in the case where magnification correction by insertion/removal of an auxiliary pixel is performed based on the premise of digital PWM, an insertion/removal position of an auxiliary pixel is controlled in accordance with a purpose of each piece of image processing.

An image forming apparatus includes: a correction unit configured to correct a tone of each pixel in first image data in accordance with an image height on a photosensitive member, and output second image data; a halftone processing unit configured to determine exposed regions of pixels in an image by applying halftone processing to the second image data; and a scanning unit configured to form a latent image by scanning the photosensitive member with light that changes in scanning speed in accordance with an image height based on the exposed regions of the pixels. The scanning unit is further configured to perform partial exposure with respect to the pixels based on the exposed regions of the pixels, the partial exposure exposing partial regions of the pixels to light unlike entire exposure that exposes entire regions of the pixels to light.

A method of creating a bitmap for a printing plate, including defining an area of an image intended to print with a solid color, applying a halftone screen to the defined solid color area, and creating the bitmap embodying the halftone screen in the defined solid color area. The halftone screen pattern includes a plurality of dashes with a plus or minus 45-degree orientation, a plus or minus 135-degree orientation, or a combination of two or more plus or minus 45-degree and 135-degree orientations. Each dash or component dash thereof has a same number of two or more adjacent touching pixels in length and a number of one or more adjacent touching pixels in width, or the dashes are orthogonally arranged in rows and columns, or a combination thereof. Masks, plates, processes for making them, and print methods using the bitmaps are also described.

In some examples, a printing device component includes a memory device comprising compressed coefficients that, when decompressed by a printing device, form difference entries, wherein a difference entry of the difference entries represents a difference of a value of a corresponding entry of a halftone table and a value of a corresponding entry of a reference table. The memory device further includes healing parameter values specifying a healing process to apply to a reconstructed halftone table produced using the coefficients.

A printing plate having a printing surface for receiving ink, including a defined area of an image intended to print with ink and a surface pattern applied to the defined area. The surface pattern includes a plurality of rows each having a plurality of diagonally oriented line segments, each line segment corresponding to an ink-carrying relief structure in a raised area of the plate, the plurality of diagonally oriented line segments having orientations alternating between a positive angle in one row and a negative angle in an adjacent row, wherein each line segment has a first end aligned with a middle portion of and spaced apart from a first line of a first adjacent row and a second end aligned with a middle portion of and spaced apart from a second line of a second adjacent row.

A halftone raster image, suitable for rendering a continuous-tone image, which comprises a plurality of regularly tiled spiral dots. Said spiral dots comprise (i) image pixels arranged as a first arc (200) or as a plurality of arcs which together represent a first spiral (100), and (ii) non-image pixels arranged as a second arc (201) or as a plurality of arcs which together represent a second spiral (101), wherein neighbour halftone dots from said plurality of regularly tiled halftone dots represent a double spiral or triple spiral.

A method of creating a bitmap for a printing plate, including defining an area of an image intended to print with a solid color, applying a halftone screen to the defined solid color area, and creating the bitmap embodying the halftone screen in the defined solid color area. The halftone screen pattern includes a plurality of dashes with a plus or minus 45-degree orientation, a plus or minus 135-degree orientation, or a combination of two or more plus or minus 45-degree and 135-degree orientations. Each dash or component dash thereof has a same number of two or more adjacent touching pixels in length and a number of one or more adjacent touching pixels in width, or the dashes are orthogonally arranged in rows and columns, or a combination thereof. Masks, plates, processes for making them, and print methods using the bitmaps are also described.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming device to perform image formation and circuitry. The circuitry acquires, from a memory, a template image defining a user information area in which user information is input, acquires the user information based on a user input operation, processes the user information in accordance with a position and a size of the user information area, generates a combined image in which the user information is combined with the template image acquired from the memory, and instructs the image forming device to form the combined image on a sheet.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming device to perform image formation and circuitry. The circuitry acquires, from a memory, a template image defining a user information area in which user information is input, acquires the user information based on a user input operation, processes the user information in accordance with a position and a size of the user information area, generates a combined image in which the user information is combined with the template image acquired from the memory, and instructs the image forming device to form the combined image on a sheet.

An image forming apparatus includes: a nozzle head in which nozzles that form dots on a recording medium by ejecting ink onto the recording medium are arranged in a row in a first direction; a moving mechanism that moves at least one of the recording medium or the nozzle head relative to another in a second direction intersecting the first direction; an image acquirer that acquires image data for forming an image of dots on the recording medium; and a halftone processor that determines whether to form a dot at each pixel position of the image on the basis of the image data, wherein the halftone processor includes: an n-value processor; a grouping processor; a total value calculator; and a rearrangement processor.