Image processing apparatus and image processing method

Abstract

Replacement processing is executed when the number of times of permission for a pixel corresponding to an ejection defective nozzle in a mask pattern is larger than a smallest number of times of permission, of the numbers of times of permission for pixels corresponding to ejection normal nozzles.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15 / 090,998, filed Apr. 5, 2016, which claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-079488, filed Apr. 8, 2015, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONField of the Invention[0002]The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method.Description of the Related Art[0003]Image printing apparatuses that print an image by repetitively performing print scanning that ejects inks while relatively moving a printing head having a plurality of ejection ports with respect to a unit area of a printing medium, the ejection ports ejecting inks being arrayed, and sub scanning that conveys the printing medium are known. In such image printing apparatuses, so-called multipass printing method is known, which forms an image by performing a plurality of times of print scanning f...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The invention aims to solve problems where ink may not be ejected properly during printing, which can result in poor quality. The invention allows for complement printing to occur when ejection failure occurs, ensuring that the ink is still ejected to one pixel region multiple times. This results in a higher quality printed image.

Problems solved by technology

However, according to the technology described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-175592, in a form of ejecting the ink to one pixel region a plurality of times using the image data having the multiple-bit information and the mask pattern, favorably complement printing may not be able to be performed in a case where the ejection failure of an ejection port has occurred.

If the ejection failure is caused in a certain ejection port, no information of the number of times of permission of ejection of ink being zero times exists in the pixels in the mask patterns corresponding to the ejection ports that can eject an ink to the same pixel region, the replacement described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-094662 may not be able to be executed.

Further, even in a case of using a mask pattern in which the information of the number of times of permission of ejection of ink being zero times is determined for x pixels, of the plurality of pixels in the mask patterns corresponding to the plurality of ejection ports that can eject an ink to the same pixel region, favorably complement printing may not be able to be performed.

Therefore, the replacement described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-094662 cannot be executed.

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