Image processing device, method, and program

Abstract

To provide an image processing device, a method, and a program that can prevent misidentification of an object included in image data when the image data is printed on a print medium.SOLUTION: An image processing device includes an estimation unit 15 that acquires image data to be printed on a print medium, generates print image data representing the print result obtained by printing on the print medium the image data or image data obtained by color-converting the image data for the print medium, and estimates the contents of objects contained in the print image data, a determination unit 16 that determines whether the contents of the objects estimated by the estimation unit 15 have been misidentified, and an image processing unit 11 that performs image conversion processing on the image data or the print image data when the determination unit 16 determines that the contents of the object have been misidentified.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, method, and program for performing image processing on image data to be printed on a print medium. [Background technology]

[0002] Generally, white paper is assumed as the printing target for printing image data. Therefore, when printing is performed on a printing medium having a color different from that of white paper, the desired color tone may not be achieved.

[0003] Therefore, Patent Document 1 proposes a method of detecting the color of the printing medium and performing a masking process based on the detected color information, thereby saving toner and matching the color tone of the printed image. Masking is a process in which, for example, if the printing medium is cardboard and has a color equivalent to the yellow component "15," the value of the yellow component is reduced by "15" from the image data.

[0004] For example, when printing image data that includes a photo of a red apple as an object on cardboard, better reproduction can be achieved by performing a masking process that subtracts the yellow component, which is the color of the printing medium, from the image data. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-270932 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, when printing image data that includes a photographic object that does not have a yellow component, for example a photograph of a pink peach, masking alone may result in the peach appearing as an apricot, resulting in a misidentification of the object.

[0007] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention aims to provide an image processing device, method, and program that can prevent misidentification of objects contained in image data when the image data is printed on a printing medium. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The image processing device of the present invention acquires image data to be printed on a printing medium, generates print image data representing the print result obtained by printing on the printing medium the image data or image data that has been color-converted for the printing medium, and is equipped with an estimation unit that estimates the content of an object contained in the print image data, a judgment unit that determines whether or not the content of the object estimated by the estimation unit has been misidentified, and an image processing unit that performs image conversion processing on the image data or the print image data when the judgment unit determines that the content of the object has been misidentified. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the image processing device of the present invention, print image data is generated that represents the print result obtained by printing image data or image data that has been color-converted for the print medium onto a print medium, the contents of objects contained in the print image data are estimated, and if it is determined that the estimated contents of the objects have been misrecognized, an image conversion process is performed on the image data, thereby making it possible to prevent misrecognition of objects contained in the image data when the image data is printed onto a print medium. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printing system using an image processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] Diagram to explain when the object is a logo [Diagram 3] A diagram to explain when the object is white text [Figure 4]Diagram to explain when the object is a photo [Diagram 5] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a process flow of an image processing apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printing device in the printing system shown in FIG. 1; [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example in which image data, in which an object is a photograph of a supermarket flyer, is printed on a print medium; [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printing system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 9] The figure shows the results of grayscale processing, two-level gradation processing, and abstraction processing on image data that contains a photo of a peach as an object. [Figure 10] 11 is a flowchart illustrating a process flow of a printing system according to a second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, a printing system 1 using a first embodiment of an image processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the printing system 1 according to the present embodiment.

[0012] The printing system 1 of this embodiment includes an image processing device 10 and a printing device 20. The image processing device 10 and the printing device 20 are connected via a wireless or wired communication line and are configured to be able to communicate with each other.

[0013] In the printing system 1 of this embodiment, the image processing device 10 classifies the types of objects included in the image data, and performs image processing on the image data according to the type of object. Then, in the printing device 20, printing processing is performed based on the image data that has undergone image processing. In particular, the printing system 1 of this embodiment performs printing processing on the surface of cardboard, and performs image processing on the image data taking into account color information of the surface of the cardboard.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, the image processing device 10 includes a classification unit 11, an image processing unit 12, a display unit 13, and an input unit 14.

[0015] The classification unit 11 acquires image data of the print target and classifies the type of object contained in the image data. The classification unit 11 of this embodiment identifies objects contained in the image data and classifies the type of the identified object (logo, white-filled text, or photo).

[0016] A logo is a character or mark, or a combination of characters and marks.

[0017] White-out characters are a type of character modification in which the background of the character is a mesh or solid color and the inside of the character is white-out. When printed, the inside of the character is not printed and is the color of the background.

[0018] Specifically, the classification unit 11 generates print image data for object classification that simulates the case where image data is printed on blank paper, identifies objects included in the print image data for object classification, and classifies the objects.

[0019] The identification and classification of objects is performed by, for example, performing machine learning on print image data of logos, white-filled characters, or photographs in advance to generate a machine-learned model, and inputting print image data for object classification to the machine-learned model. As a machine learning method, for example, a convolutional neural network (CNN) or the like can be used, but the present invention is not limited to this, and any known method can be used.

[0020] In addition, the method of identifying and classifying objects is not limited to the method using the machine-learned model described above, but may also be performed, for example, by adding an identifier indicating the type of object to image data and recognizing the identifier.

[0021] In addition, the classification unit 11 of this embodiment generates print image data for determining visibility by simulating the case where the image data is printed on a print medium, and judges the visibility using the print image data for determining visibility. The case where the image data is printed on a print medium is, for example, the case where the image data is printed on a chromatic print medium such as cardboard, craft bags, wood, and colored paper, and the print result is a result in which the color of the print medium is added to the color of the image data. Note that, when generating the print image data for determining visibility, color conversion may be performed for the print medium (for example, the color of the print medium may be subtracted from the image data). The color of the print medium may be detected by, for example, a color detection sensor 30 provided in the printing device 20, or the user may set and input using the input unit 14.

[0022] Specifically, the classification unit 11 calculates the brightness difference or hue difference between the background and object of the print image data for visibility assessment, and if these are below a predetermined brightness difference threshold or hue difference threshold, it determines that the visibility is poor, and if they exceed the brightness difference threshold or hue difference threshold, it determines that the visibility is good.

[0023] In this embodiment, the classification unit 11 judges the visibility, but this is not limited to the above. The print image data for visibility judgment may be displayed on the display unit 13, and the user may judge whether the visibility is good or bad, and input the judgment result using the input unit 14.

[0024] When the classification unit 11 determines that the visibility is poor, the image processing unit 12 applies image processing to the image data according to the type of object contained in the image data and the color information of the print medium.

[0025] Specifically, when the type of object included in the image data is a logo, the image processing unit 12 performs border processing on the image data to add a border to the logo.

[0026] For example, a case where a logo as shown in Fig. 2A is included will be described. In the logo shown in Fig. 2A, region R1 is reddish in color, region R2 is greenish in color, region R3 is blueish in color, and region R4 is yellowish in color. Fig. 2B is a diagram showing an example of the logo shown in Fig. 2A printed on a printing medium having a yellowish color. As shown in Fig. 2B, the color of region R4 of the logo is similar to the color of the printing medium, making it difficult to distinguish the boundary between the logo and the background, and thus reducing the visibility of the logo.

[0027] Therefore, in order to minimize changes to the color and shape of the logo included in the image data, the image processor 12 changes the color of the border of the logo so that the border between the logo and its background is visible. Specifically, a bordering process is performed on the logo included in the image data to add a border as shown in Fig. 2C. The color of the border may be a preset color (such as gray or black), but it is preferable to determine the color based on the color information included in the logo and the color information of the print medium.

[0028] Specifically, the image processor 12 sets the color of the borders of the regions where the color difference (color distance) between the RGB values ​​of the print medium and the RGB values ​​of the logo is smaller than a preset threshold range to an average color of the RGB values ​​of the print medium and the RGB values ​​of the logo, or, if the border visibility is poor with that color, sets the color to a color with a higher density or a lower brightness. This makes it possible to reduce the sense of incongruity in color while ensuring visibility of the borders. The borders may be added only to regions where the color difference is smaller than the threshold range (e.g., region R4 shown in FIG. 2A) as described above, or borders may be added to all borders of the logo as shown in FIG. 2C.

[0029] Moreover, the image processor 12 may increase the color density of the logo.

[0030] The RGB values ​​of the print medium may be detected, for example, by a color detection sensor 30 provided in the printing device 20, and the image processing unit 12 may acquire the detected color information, or the user may use the input unit 14 to set and input the color information of the print medium.

[0031] When the type of object included in the image data is outline characters, the image processing unit 12 performs color conversion processing on the image data based on color information of the print medium and color information of the background of the outline characters.

[0032] Fig. 3A is a diagram showing an example of image data including white-filled characters. The image data shown in Fig. 3A is image data in which the background of the white-filled characters is yellowish. Fig. 3B is a diagram showing an example of the image data including the white-filled characters shown in Fig. 3A printed on a printing medium having a yellowish color. As shown in Fig. 3B, since the color of the background of the image data and the color of the printing medium are similar, it becomes difficult to distinguish the boundary between the characters and the background, and the visibility of the characters deteriorates.

[0033] Since the character portion is generally a thin region, changing only the edge portion or only the color of the character will create a sense of incongruity from the original image data, so the image processing unit 12 of this embodiment performs color conversion processing to increase the hue difference or brightness difference in the color of the printing medium, including both the character portion and the background portion. Figure 3C is a diagram showing an example of the case where the image data shown in Figure 3A is subjected to color conversion processing and printed on a yellow-colored printing medium. As shown in Figure 3C, it can be seen that the visibility of the character portion is improved compared to Figure 3B.

[0034] Furthermore, when the type of object included in the image data is a photograph, the image processing unit 12 performs contrast enhancement processing on the image data to increase the contrast.

[0035] Fig. 4A is a diagram showing an example of image data including a photo of a peach as an object. Fig. 4B is a diagram showing an example of printing the image data including the photo of a peach shown in Fig. 4A by subtracting the color of the printing medium (a yellowish color). As shown in Fig. 4B, the brightness difference within the peach becomes small, the peach looks like an apricot, and the visibility of the peach becomes poor.

[0036] Therefore, the image processing unit 12 of this embodiment performs contrast enhancement processing on the image data to enhance the contrast inside the peach. Fig. 4C is a diagram showing an example of a case where image data obtained by subtracting the color of the printing medium (yellowish color) from the image data shown in Fig. 4A is subjected to contrast enhancement processing and printed on a yellowish printing medium. As shown by the arrow in Fig. 4C, the fruit included in the print result looks like a peach.

[0037] The display unit 13 includes a display device such as a liquid crystal display, and displays image data to be printed and the above-mentioned print image data for determining visibility.

[0038] The input unit 14 includes input devices such as a mouse and a keyboard, and receives setting inputs of color information of the print medium and setting inputs of the visibility judgment results for the visibility judgment print image data as described above.

[0039] The image processing device 10 includes a central processing unit (CPU), semiconductor memories such as a read only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM), storage such as a hard disk, and a communication interface (I / F).

[0040] An embodiment of the image processing program of the present invention is installed in the storage of the image processing device 10. When this image processing program is started by a CPU included in the image processing device 10, the functions of the above-mentioned parts of the image processing device 10 are executed.

[0041] In addition, in this embodiment, the functions of each of the above-mentioned parts are executed by executing an image processing program by a CPU, but some or all of the functions executed by the image processing program may be configured from hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or other electrical circuits.

[0042] Next, the flow of processing by the image processing device 10 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0043] First, color information of the print medium detected by the color detection sensor 30 provided in the printing device 20 is obtained (S10).

[0044] Then, if the color information of the printing medium obtained in S10 is a bright achromatic color (S12, NO), i.e., a color close to white, the image data is not subjected to the image processing described above, and printing processing is performed using the image data (S28).

[0045] On the other hand, if the color information of the print medium acquired in S10 is a color other than achromatic color with high brightness (S12, YES), the classification unit 11 generates the print image data for visibility judgment described above and judges the visibility using the print image data for visibility judgment (S14). If the classification unit 11 judges the visibility to be good (S14, NO), it performs printing processing using the image data without performing the image processing described above on the image data (S28).

[0046] On the other hand, if the classification unit 11 determines that the visibility is poor (S14, YES), the classification unit 11 generates the above-mentioned print image data for object classification, identifies the objects contained in the print image data for object classification, and classifies the objects (S16).

[0047] Then, the image processing unit 12 performs image processing on the image data according to the type of object and the color information of the print medium. Specifically, if the type of object is a logo (S16, logo), the image data is subjected to the above-mentioned border processing (S18). If the type of object is white-filled text (S16, white-filled text), the image data is subjected to the above-mentioned color conversion processing (S20). If the type of object is a photograph (S16, photograph), the image data is subjected to the above-mentioned high-contrast processing (S22).

[0048] The display unit 13 displays the print results when the image data that has been subjected to image processing in the image processing unit 12 and the original image data before image processing are printed on a print medium.

[0049] Next, the input unit 14 finally accepts a selection by the user as to whether to print the image data that has been subjected to the image processing or the original image data that has not been subjected to the image processing (S24).

[0050] When the user selects to print the image-processed image data (S24, image-processed image data), the printing device 20 performs printing processing based on the image-processed image data (S26). On the other hand, when the user selects to print the original image data before image processing (S24, original image data), the printing device 20 performs printing processing based on the original image data (S28).

[0051] Next, the printing device 20 will be described. Note that the printing device 20 of this embodiment performs printing processing on cardboard as a print medium, but the configuration of the printing device 20 is not limited to this. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the printing device 20 of this embodiment.

[0052] The printing device 20 includes a head unit 46 and a transport unit 2. Note that the color detection sensor 30 is omitted in FIG.

[0053] The transport unit 2 transports the print medium P in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 6. The print medium P is, for example, a cardboard box having a print surface Ps standing vertically relative to the transport surface as shown in Fig. 6.

[0054] The transport unit 2 includes a support table 3 and a transport belt unit 4. The support table 3 is a table that supports the transport belt unit 4.

[0055] The transport belt unit 4 includes a transport belt and two platen rollers extending in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the print medium P. The two platen rollers are arranged parallel to and spaced apart in the transport direction of the print medium P. A circular transport belt is stretched between the two parallel platen rollers, and the platen rollers rotate to move the transport belt, thereby transporting the print medium P.

[0056] The head unit 46 performs printing by ejecting ink onto the printing surface Ps of the print medium P transported by the transport unit 2.

[0057] 6, the head unit 46 has four line heads 46a, 46b, 46c, and 46d. The four line heads 46a to 46d are each a plurality of inkjet heads arranged in the vertical direction, and are arranged parallel to the transport direction of the print medium P.

[0058] The four line heads 46a to 46d eject ink of C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow) and K (black), respectively.

[0059] As the transport unit 2 transports the print medium P, ink is ejected sequentially in the horizontal direction from each of the line heads 46a to 46d, thereby carrying out the printing process.

[0060] The color detection sensor 30 is provided upstream of the head unit 46 in the transport direction, detects the color of the printing surface Ps of the printing medium P before printing processing, and outputs the detection result to the image processing device 10.

[0061] According to the printing system 1 of the above embodiment, the types of objects contained in the image data are classified, and image processing is applied to the image data according to the classified object types and the color information of the printing medium on which the image data is printed. Therefore, when the image data is printed on the printing medium, the visibility of various objects contained in the image data can be improved.

[0062] Furthermore, in the printing system 1 of the above embodiment, when the type of object is a logo, a border process is applied to the object, thereby improving the visibility of the logo while changing the color and shape of the logo as little as possible.

[0063] Furthermore, in the printing system 1 of the above embodiment, the border color is determined based on the color information contained in the logo and the color information of the print medium, so the visibility of the logo can be further improved.

[0064] Furthermore, in the printing system 1 of the above embodiment, when the type of object is white-filled text, a color conversion process is applied to the image data based on the color information of the printing medium and the color information of the white-filled text and its background, thereby improving the visibility of the white-filled text without creating any sense of incongruity from the original image data.

[0065] Furthermore, in the printing system 1 of the above embodiment, when the type of object is a photograph, a high contrast process is applied to the image data to increase the contrast, thereby improving the visibility of the object.

[0066] Furthermore, in the printing system 1 of the above embodiment, if the visibility of the print image data for visibility assessment is judged to be poor and the type of object contained in the image data is a photograph, a high contrast process is applied to the image data. However, even if the visibility of the print image data for visibility assessment is judged to be poor, there may be no particular sense of incongruity depending on the content of the object contained in the image data.

[0067] For example, in the case of ISO / JIS-SCID N3 fruit images, bananas and lemons have distinctive shapes, so even if the color changes, it does not look strange. Also, bananas and lemons are generally yellow with little contrast difference within the object, so even if they are printed on yellow cardboard and the yellow color changes slightly, they will not be mistaken for something else. Also, for example, bananas have similar shapes such as cucumbers, but since their original colors are different, there is no misidentification like with "apricots" and "peaches."

[0068] Also, the image data of a supermarket flyer as shown in Fig. 7A is printed on yellowish cardboard as shown in Fig. 7B. As shown in Fig. 7B, meat, fish, green vegetables, watermelon, etc. do not look out of place even if the colors change. In this way, depending on the content of the object, there are cases where the color does not look out of place even if it changes.

[0069] Therefore, the content of the object contained in the image data is estimated, and the content of the object contained in the print image data for visibility assessment, which represents the print result when the image data is printed on a print medium, is also estimated. If the content of the object contained in the image data does not match the content of the object contained in the print image data for visibility assessment, the above-mentioned high contrast processing, as well as monochrome processing and illustration processing, may be applied.

[0070] 8 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printing system 5 according to a second embodiment that realizes the above-mentioned processing. The printing system 5 according to the second embodiment includes an estimation unit 15 and a determination unit 16 in addition to the components of the printing system 1 according to the first embodiment.

[0071] The estimation unit 15 estimates the contents of the object included in the image data and the contents of the object included in the print image data for visibility evaluation as described above. The estimation unit 15 recognizes the contents of the object by object recognition using, for example, a machine learning model. As a machine learning method, for example, a convolutional neural network (CNN) or the like can be used, but is not limited to this, and other known methods can be used.

[0072] The image data input to the machine-learned model may be the original image data, or it may be image data in which the original image data has been color-converted for printing media (for example, image data in which the color information of the printing medium has been subtracted from the original image data).

[0073] The judgment unit 16 judges whether the content of the object included in the print image data for visibility assessment is misrecognized by judging whether the content of the object included in the image data matches the content of the object included in the print image data for visibility assessment based on the content of the object estimated by the estimation unit 15.

[0074] In addition, the method of estimating the content of an object contained in the print image data for visibility assessment and the method of determining whether the estimated content of the object will be misidentified are not limited to the above example, and for example, a table or the like may be used without using a machine-learned model.

[0075] Specifically, for example, shape features and color information of objects that may be included in image data are stored in advance in the form of a table or the like. As shape features, publicly known features such as area, perimeter, maximum length, complexity, and moment can be used. As color information, for example, Lab values ​​or CMYK values ​​can be used.

[0076] Then, the print image data for visibility assessment is subjected to edge detection processing or the like to extract the contour of the object, and shape features are obtained based on the contour of the object, and color information within the contour is obtained. The contents of the object are then estimated by referring to the table based on the acquired shape features and color information. The contents of the estimated object are then determined to match the contents of the object included in the image data, thereby determining whether or not a misidentification will occur. Note that the contents of the object included in the image data may be estimated using the table, as with the print image data for visibility assessment, or may be set and input by the user using the input unit 14.

[0077] When the determining unit 16 determines that the content of an object included in the print image data for visibility determination is misrecognizable, the image processing unit 12 performs image conversion processing on the image data.

[0078] The image processing unit 12 performs image conversion processing, including the high contrast processing described above, as well as monochromatization processing and illustration processing. The monochromatization processing is processing for monochromatizing photographic image data, for example, processing for generating a monochrome image by converting image data into grayscale. The illustration processing is processing for generating a monochrome image by converting image data into two gradations, for example.

[0079] FIG. 9A is a diagram showing image data including a photo of a peach as an object, FIG. 9B is a diagram showing the result of performing grayscale processing as monochromatic processing on the image data shown in FIG. 9A, and FIG. 9C is a diagram showing the result of performing two-tone processing as illustration processing on the image data shown in FIG. 9A. Note that the illustration processing may be processing (abstraction processing) in which the content of the object (peach) is abstractly illustrated as shown in FIG. 9D. This is because the illustration processing can emphasize the contrast of the peach. Also, in the monochromatic processing, when a peach is printed on yellow cardboard, the similarity in color tone between the peach and apricot is eliminated, and the contrast of the peach is emphasized, although not as much as in the illustration processing.

[0080] The range to which the high contrast processing, monochromatic processing, and illustration processing are applied may be the entire image data, or these processes may be applied only to the range of an object such as a peach.

[0081] In addition, when image data includes multiple objects, such as the image data shown in FIG. 7A, high contrast processing, monochromatic processing, and illustration processing may be performed only on objects that are determined by the determination unit 16 to have inconsistent content.

[0082] Next, the flow of processing in the printing system 5 of the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 10. Note that the processing up to the determination of the type of object is similar to that in the printing system 1 of the first embodiment, so only the processing thereafter will be described.

[0083] First, the estimation unit 15 estimates the contents of the object included in the image data and the contents of the object included in the print image data for visibility assessment (S30).

[0084] Next, in the judgment unit 16, based on the content of the object estimated by the estimation unit 15, it is judged whether the content of the object contained in the image data matches the content of the object contained in the print image data for visibility judgment (S32).

[0085] Then, if the content of the object contained in the image data matches the content of the object contained in the print image data for visibility assessment (S32, NO), the judgment unit 16 determines that the content of the object will not be misinterpreted when the image data is printed on a print medium, and printing processing is performed using the original image data (S42).

[0086] On the other hand, if the content of the object contained in the image data does not match the content of the object contained in the print image data for visibility assessment (S32, YES), the judgment unit 16 determines that the content of the object will be misrecognized if the image data is printed on a print medium, and the image processing unit 12 performs image conversion processing on the image data, such as high contrast processing, monochrome processing, and illustration processing (S34).

[0087] Then, the display unit 13 displays the print results when the original image data, the image data that has been subjected to high contrast processing, the image data that has been subjected to monochromatic processing, and the image data that has been subjected to illustration processing are each printed on a printing medium (S36).

[0088] Next, the input unit 14 accepts the user's selection of the image data to be ultimately printed from among the original image data, image data that has been subjected to high contrast processing, image data that has been subjected to monochromatic processing, and image data that has been subjected to illustration processing (S38).

[0089] Then, the printing process is carried out in the printing device 20 using the image data selected by the user (S40).

[0090] In the printing system 2 of the above embodiment, the image conversion process is performed on the original image data, but the image conversion process may be performed on the visibility assessment print image data.

[0091] According to the printing system 5 of the second embodiment described above, the content of an object contained in the printing image data for visibility assessment is estimated, and if it is determined that the estimated content of the object has been misrecognized, an image conversion process is performed on the image data, thereby preventing misrecognition of an object contained in the image data when the image data is printed on a printing medium.

[0092] Furthermore, in the printing system 5 of the above embodiment, the contents of the objects contained in the image data are estimated, and it is determined whether the contents of the objects estimated based on that image data match the contents of the objects estimated based on the print image data for visibility assessment. If it is determined that they do not match, an image conversion process is performed on the image data, thereby eliminating the need for the user to set and input the contents of the objects contained in the image data.

[0093] Furthermore, in the printing system 5 of the above embodiment, a color detection sensor 30 is provided to detect color information of the print medium, and print image data for visibility assessment is generated based on the color information of the print medium detected by the color detection sensor 30, thereby eliminating the need for the user to set and input the color information of the print medium.

[0094] Furthermore, in the printing system 5 of the above embodiment, if at least one of monochrome processing and illustration processing is performed as the image conversion processing, the contrast of the object can be increased and the characteristics of the object can be emphasized, thereby further reducing misrecognition of the content of the object.

[0095] Furthermore, in the printing system 5 of the above embodiment, a plurality of images that have undergone image conversion processing are generated, and the selection of the image that has undergone image conversion processing to be printed from among the plurality of images that have undergone image conversion processing is accepted, so that the user can select and print the image that has undergone image conversion processing that he or she deems appropriate.

[0096] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the components can be modified and embodied in the implementation stage without departing from the gist of the invention. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining the multiple components disclosed in the above-described embodiment. For example, all the components shown in the embodiment can be appropriately combined. Of course, various modifications and applications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0097] The present invention further discloses the following supplementary notes.

[0098] (Appendix 1) The image processing device of the present invention acquires image data to be printed on a printing medium, generates print image data representing the print result obtained by printing on the printing medium the image data or image data that has been color-converted for the printing medium, and is equipped with an estimation unit that estimates the content of an object contained in the print image data, a judgment unit that determines whether or not the content of the object estimated by the estimation unit has been misidentified, and an image processing unit that performs image conversion processing on the image data when the judgment unit determines that the content of the object has been misidentified.

[0099] (Appendix 2) In the image processing device described in Appendix 1, the estimation unit estimates the content of an object contained in the image data, the determination unit determines whether the content of the object estimated based on the image data matches the content of the object estimated based on the print image data, and the image processing unit can perform image conversion processing on the image data when it is determined that the content of the object estimated based on the image data does not match the content of the object estimated based on the print image data.

[0100] (Appendix 3) The image processing device described in Appendix 1 or Appendix 2 is equipped with a color detection unit that detects color information of the printing medium, and the estimation unit can generate printing image data based on the color information of the printing medium detected by the color detection unit.

[0101] (Appendix 4) In the image processing device according to any one of Supplementary Note 1 to Supplementary Note 3, the image processing unit can perform at least one of monochromatization processing and illustration processing as the image conversion processing.

[0102] (Appendix 5) In the image processing device described in any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 4, the image processing unit can be provided with a print target image selection receiving unit that performs multiple image conversion processes on image data to generate multiple image conversion processed images, and receives selection of an image conversion processed image to be printed from among the multiple image conversion processed images.

[0103] (Appendix 6) The image processing method of the present invention acquires image data to be printed on a printing medium, generates print image data representing the print result obtained by printing on the printing medium the image data or image data that has been color-converted for the printing medium, estimates the content of an object contained in the print image data, determines whether or not the estimated content of the object has been misrecognized, and if it is determined that the content of the object has been misrecognized, performs image conversion processing on the image data.

[0104] (Appendix 7) The image processing program of the present invention causes a computer to execute the steps of acquiring image data to be printed on a printing medium, generating print image data representing the print result obtained by printing on the printing medium the image data or image data that has been color-converted for the printing medium, estimating the contents of an object contained in the print image data, determining whether or not the estimated content of the object has been misidentified, and performing image conversion processing on the image data if it is determined that the content of the object has been misidentified. [Explanation of symbols]

[0105] 1,5 Printing system 2 Transport unit 3 Support stand 4. Conveyor belt section 10 Image processing device 11 Classification section 12 Image processing section 13 Display section 14 Input section 15 Estimation part 16 Judgment section 20 Printing device 30 Color detection sensor 46 Head Unit 46a~46d Line Head P Print media Ps printing side

Claims

1. an estimation unit that acquires image data to be printed on a print medium, generates print image data representing a print result obtained by printing the image data or image data obtained by color-converting the image data for the print medium on the print medium, and estimates the contents of objects included in the print image data; a determination unit that determines whether or not a misconception has occurred in the content of the object estimated by the estimation unit; an image processing unit that performs an image conversion process on the image data when the determination unit determines that a misconception has occurred in the content of the object.

2. The estimation unit estimates the content of an object included in the image data, the determination unit determines whether or not the content of the object estimated based on the image data matches the content of the object estimated based on the print image data; 2. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein the image processing unit performs image conversion processing on the image data when it is determined that the content of the object estimated based on the image data does not match the content of the object estimated based on the print image data.

3. a color detection unit that detects color information of the print medium; The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the estimation unit generates the print image data based on color information of the print medium detected by the color detection unit.

4. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing section performs at least one of a monochromatic process and an illustration process as the image conversion process.

5. the image processing unit performs a plurality of image conversion processes on the image data to generate a plurality of image conversion processed images; 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a print target image selection receiving section that receives a selection of an image converted and processed image to be printed from among the plurality of image converted and processed images.

6. Acquire image data to be printed on a print medium; generating print image data representing a print result obtained by printing, on the printing medium, the image data or image data obtained by color-converting the image data for the printing medium; Estimating the contents of an object included in the print image data; determining whether or not the content of the estimated object is misidentified; The image processing method further comprises the steps of: performing an image conversion process on the image data when it is determined that the content of the object is misrecognized.

7. obtaining image data to be printed on a print medium; generating print image data representing a print result obtained by printing, on the printing medium, the image data or image data obtained by color-converting the image data for the printing medium; A step of estimating the contents of an object included in the print image data; A step of determining whether or not the content of the estimated object is misidentified; and a step of performing an image conversion process on the image data when it is determined that the content of the object is misrecognized.

Images