Image Processing Apparatus Text-Image Ink Dot Overlap Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-resolution text recording is compromised due to ink dot overlap between color images and text when quantization errors propagate during the processing of multi-value color and text data in existing image processing methods, leading to degraded text quality and image defects.
Innovation Solution
An image processing method that generates N-value text data and M-value image data, then quantizes them to create L-value text record data and K-value image record data, ensuring no ink ejection for pixels marked for text data ink ejection, thereby controlling overlap and maintaining text quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multi-value color image data and multi-value text data are quantized and composited, then processing load is distributed, but ink dots overlap and text quality degrades
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the image data into text regions and non-text regions before quantization processing. By identifying text pixels and creating a text region map, the system applies different processing strategies to text and image areas, preventing quantization errors in text regions from causing ink dot overlap while still allowing normal quantization in image regions, thus maintaining both processing efficiency and text quality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality control by treating text regions and image regions differently. In text regions, the system suppresses ink dot generation in the image layer to prevent overlap with text, while in image regions, normal quantization processing is applied. This localized differential processing maintains high text quality while preserving image processing efficiency
2Manufacturing precision
If high resolution color images are processed, then image quality is improved, but the amount of image data transferred to printer increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts text regions from the overall image data before processing. By separating text pixels from image pixels and processing them through different pathways, the system reduces the amount of high-resolution data that needs to be transferred to the printer, while maintaining high quality output for both text and image portions
3Ease of manufacture
If quantization processing is performed on each type of data, then error diffusion is applied, but quantization errors propagate to peripheral pixels causing ink dot overlap
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary anti-action by pre-identifying text regions and preventing ink dot generation in those areas before quantization errors can propagate. By creating a text region map and using it to suppress image layer ink dots in text areas, the system counteracts the harmful effect of error diffusion before it degrades text quality
Data Source
AI summary
Image ink data is generated which represents the absence of ejection of ink corresponding to pixels for which text ink data represents the ejection of ink.