Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Akira Nihei

Koji Kinoshita

Akio Urabe

Hideaki Kitagawa

Noriyuki Kaneyasu

A method for generating character pattern data includes steps of providing contour information of a character having m.sub.1 .times.m.sub.2 coordinate values in a coordinate space; and making and outputting gradated character pattern data of l.sub.1 .times.l.sub.2 picture elements for an output device having n gradiations per picture element (where m.sub.1, m.sub.2, l.sub.1, l.sub.2, and n are positive integers). In an image making method, picture subelements provided by dividing an original picture element are set as a scanning unit and an image is made by scanning conversion using the picture element having a gradation to perform a coloring operation with respect to the interior of a two-dimensional contour line. The image making method includes representing and processing a numeric value such as a coordinate value of a line segment constituting the contour line as a virtual real number having a decimal point in a word; providing positions for starting and completing the coloring operation easily by the representation of the virtual real number; and providing a brightness of a displayed picture element at a high speed by only adding an integer value to a region on one line in an output device.

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Tokyo, Japan

Akira Nihei