Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Hiromitsu Nishikawa

Takayuki Jinno

Akira Shibasaki

Kazuhiro Saito

Yoshihiro Ishida

Takashi Ochiai

Keiichi Iwamura

Takuya Shimada

Tomochika Murakami

Masashi Oya

Kimitaka Arai

Atsushi Totsuka

Hitoshi Fukamachi

Masaomi Takahashi

A print data generating apparatus obtains a BRDF model group for each of a plurality of colors and the angle of incident light in the environment where an object to be reproduced is to be viewed. The print data generating apparatus then applies the angle of the incident light thus obtained to each of the models in the BRDF model group to thereby calculate the reflection distribution of the object to be reproduced for which the angle of the incident light is limited. The print data generating apparatus then outputs color data and form data for each of the models in the BRDF model group based on the reflection distribution, the color data indicating a color to be formed on the surface of the object to be reproduced, the form data indicating the form of the object to be reproduced.

Print data generating apparatus and print data generating method

An image processing apparatus in an embodiment is an image processing apparatus for forming structures on a print medium, the structures being configured to express such a characteristic that sparkle points change in position with change in angle of observation. The image processing apparatus in this embodiment includes a generation unit configured to generate arrangement data based on information on a characteristic of sparkle points, the arrangement data specifying arrangement of the structures of two or more types that are capable of being formed on the print medium and at least include one or more first structure associated with a first inclination angle and one or more second structures associated with a second inclination angle different from the first inclination angle.

Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and storage medium

An image processing apparatus of the embodiments includes: an input unit configured to input a hue signal representing a hue of an image and an image quality signal representing a texture of the image; a conversion unit configured to convert the image quality signal into a physical quantity signal indicating at least one physical quantity of a refractive index of a color material, surface roughness of an image, an area ratio of dots on an image surface, and a layer thickness of a color material in an image corresponding to the image quality signal; and a dot arrangement determination unit configured to determine a color material dot arrangement for outputting the image based on the hue signal and the physical quantity signal.

Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and storage medium for color separation and quantization processing

An image processing apparatus inputs a color signal representing an image and an image quality signal representing a texture of the image. The image quality signal is converted into a physical quantity signal representing a physical quantity. The color material amount for outputting the image is determined based on the color signal and the physical quantity signal. The image quality signal includes a signal representing glossiness value and a signal representing gloss clarity, and the physical quantity representing respective signals are the refractive index and the surface roughness of the image.

An information processing apparatus obtains shape data including data which indicates vertexes of each of a plurality of polygons representing a stereoscopic object and color data indicating a color of each polygon. The shape data and the color data are converted into shape data and color data in a data format including an area which stores the shape data and an unused area which does not store the shape data. Color data on one of the plurality of polygons is stored in the unused areas corresponding to a plurality of polygons. The converted shape data and color data are output.

Information processing apparatus and information processing method for converting shape and color data

An image processing apparatus may include a conversion unit, a determination unit, and a calculation unit to convert image data into color material data indicating a chromatic color material amount and an achromatic color material amount. The conversion unit converts image data of a pixel of interest into chromatic color material color material data. The determination unit determines achromatic color material color material data on the pixel of interest based on coloring information corresponding to the converted color material data of the chromatic color material and coloring information that occurs at surrounding pixels that surround the interest pixel. The calculation unit calculates coloring information that occurs at the interest pixel based on coloring information corresponding to a combination of the converted color material data of the chromatic color material and the determined color material data of the achromatic color material and the coloring information that occurs at the surrounding pixels.

Image processing apparatus and image processing method

An image processing apparatus for printing an image using a plurality of color materials and a colorless material includes a memory which stores information indicating a plurality of dot placements which include different dot placements of the colorless material and correspond to an amount of the colorless material, and an inputting unit configured to input color material amount data indicating amounts of the plurality of color materials and the amount of the colorless material for each pixel. In addition, a first determiner is configured to determine a dot placement of the colorless material from the plurality of dot placements based on the amount of the colorless material indicated by the input color material amount data, so that coloring of specular reflection light on the pixel becomes closer to an achromatic color. A printing unit is configured to print the colorless material on the color materials subsequent to the color materials having been printed, based on the determined dot placement.

A gloss characteristic measurement unit obtains measurement values regarding the gloss characteristic of a plurality of patches formed based on patch data in which the amount of clear color material is changed with respect to an output value from a color separation table for color materials. A color separation table generation unit selects one measurement value for each color or gray level indicated by the patch data, and generates, based on the selected measurement value and the color separation table for color materials, a color separation table in a case where the color materials and the clear color material are used.

Color processing method and color processing apparatus

An image processing apparatus includes a conversion unit and a determination unit to convert image data into color material data including color material data indicating a color material amount of a chromatic color material and color material data indicating a color material amount of an achromatic color material. The conversion unit converts image data of a region of interest in an image into the color material data of the chromatic color material. The determination unit determines the color material data of the achromatic color material corresponding to the image data so that a color indicated by coloring information corresponding to the image data of the region of interest in the image approaches an achromatic color.

Image processing apparatus and method for reducing coloring between color ink and clear ink on a pixel region

An image processing apparatus includes a conversion unit configured to convert image data corresponding to a pixel of interest in an image into color material data corresponding to a color material amount of a chromatic color material, and a generation unit configured to generate color material data corresponding to a color material amount of an achromatic color material at the pixel of interest in such a manner that the color material data corresponding to the color material amount of the achromatic color material at the pixel of interest is different from color material data corresponding to a color material amount of the achromatic color material at a pixel adjacent to the pixel of interest.

This invention enhances gloss uniformity of a formed image surface by selectively using colorless inks according to dot layouts of colored inks. A dot-layout unit sets colored dot layouts for respective colors of colored ink data. A colorless-dot-layout unit sets a colorless dot layout for one colorless ink with reference to a colorless dot layout table according to the colored ink data. An image is formed according to the colored and colorless dot layouts. In the colorless dot layout table, when a specular glossiness calculated according to the colored dot layouts is high, the colorless dot layout is set to superpose a colorless ink having a low refractive index on a colored ink having a high refractive index. Conversely, when the specular glossiness is low, the colorless dot layout is set to superpose a colorless ink having a high refractive index on a colored ink having a low refractive index.

Image forming apparatus and image forming method

The invention improves uniform glossiness of a printed surface. Glossiness of each of inks installed in a printer is obtained. The inks are sorted in order of glossiness. The number of scans when forming an image by scanning each head is set for each of the inks sorted. Mask data for controlling the number of operations is created.

Image printing apparatus, image printing method and recording medium

An information processing method according to an aspect of the present invention includes an attribute acquisition step of acquiring an attribute of a print medium, a reference information acquisition step of acquiring reference information corresponding to the attribute of the print medium, and an image outputting step of outputting a plurality of images having different total colorant amounts on the basis of the reference information.

Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and color separation table generation method for outputting an image used for determining the acceptable colorant amount of a print medium

To generate a color separation table for an image forming apparatus which has relatively dark/light color materials with high/low relative densities, a gamut boundary for limiting the use of the relatively dark color material is set. One of relatively dark color materials is selected, and at least a grid point which satisfies a condition that the color material value of the selected relatively dark color material is nonzero and a color value to be reproduced based on color material values set to the grid point exists in a region brighter than the gamut boundary is determined. The color material value of the selected relatively dark color material set to the grid point which satisfies the condition is replaced by the color material value of the relatively light color material.

Generating color separation table for printer having color forming materials with high and low relative densities using a gamut boundary to limit use of dark color material

The relationship between the applying amounts of colored inks and the thickness of the layer of a color material formed on a recording medium, and the relationship between the applying amount of uncolored ink and the thickness of the layer of the color material formed on the recording medium are acquired. Based on the relationships between the applying amounts and the thickness of the layer of the color material, the applying amounts of colored inks and the applying amount of uncolored ink are determined to substantially uniform the thickness of the layer of the color material when forming an image on a recording medium. A color separation table for color-separating image data is generated based on the applying amounts of colored inks and the applying amount of uncolored ink.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Hiromitsu Nishikawa