Variable Thinning Ratio for Color-Specific Ink Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image processing methods fail to maintain high image quality across different colors while reducing the amount of recording material used for non-edge portions, leading to noticeable color density differences and increased processing costs or time, especially when dealing with multivalued data.
Innovation Solution
An image processing apparatus with an acquisition unit for color information and a determination unit that sets a variable thinning ratio for non-edge portions based on the color, allowing for reduced recording material usage without compromising image quality, by using a lower thinning ratio for colors other than black.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If a constant thinning ratio is applied to non-edge portions regardless of color, then the amount of recording material is reduced, but image quality deteriorates due to noticeable color density differences
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different thinning ratios to different color regions. Specifically, a first thinning ratio is applied to black color regions and a second thinning ratio is applied to non-black color regions. This local differentiation ensures that each color type maintains its appropriate density characteristics while still achieving overall reduction in recording material usage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the thinning ratio parameter based on color information. By detecting the color of each pixel and selecting different thinning ratios accordingly (first ratio for black, second ratio for other colors), the system optimizes both material reduction and image quality preservation for each color type.
2Manufacturing precision
If edge processing is performed using multivalued data, then edges do not exist inside characters, but processing load and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the processing into distinct stages: first performing edge detection on binary data to identify edge and non-edge portions, then applying color-based thinning ratios to the non-edge portions. This segmentation allows the system to use simple binary edge detection while still achieving accurate results when combined with color information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs binary edge detection as a preliminary step before applying color-based thinning. By first identifying edge portions in binary data and then using color information to determine appropriate thinning ratios for non-edge portions, the system avoids the complexity of direct multivalued edge detection while maintaining accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
An image processing apparatus includes an acquisition unit, a determination unit, and a thinning unit. The acquisition unit may acquire color information concerning color of an image having an attribute of at least one of character or line drawing. The determination unit may determine a thinning ratio for thinning data of non-edge portions of the image according to the color information acquired by the acquisition unit. The thinning unit may thin data of the non-edge portions according to the thinning ratio determined by the determination unit. The thinning ratio determined by the determination unit when the color information indicates a color other than black is lower than the thinning ratio determined when the color information indicates black.