Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Takuma Takamizawa

Hiroaki Suzuki

An image forming apparatus includes a memory and circuitry. The memory stores a colorimetric value of a gradation correction chart and environmental information each time of acquisition of the colorimetric value. The circuitry predicts an output characteristic of an image formed by the image forming apparatus based on the colorimetric value associated with particular environmental information among the environmental information stored in the memory, the particular environmental information being within a predetermined range with reference to current environmental information, when the image forming apparatus is to output the gradation correction chart. The circuitry adjusts the output characteristic of the image in a case that the predicted output characteristic is lower than a target output characteristic. The circuitry corrects a gradation correction table based on the colorimetric value of the gradation correction chart and the target output characteristic.

Predicting output characteristics of image forming apparatuses, image forming systems, and image forming methods

A storage unit stores a surface effect selection table in which density values, types of the surface effects, and types of linkage effects as other surface effects related to the types of the surface effects are associated. A reading unit reads the types of the surface effects and the types of the linkage effects corresponding to the density values specified in the first gloss control plane data from the surface effect selection table when type information indicatse test printing. A first generating unit generates second gloss control plane data specifying the types of the surface effects and the gloss regions specified in the first gloss control plane data, and the read types of the linkage effects corresponding to the types of the surface effects and linkage regions. A second generating unit generates special color colorant plane data used by an execution unit from the second gloss control plane data.

Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and image processing system

A print control apparatus includes a receiving unit which receives print data containing gloss-control-plane image data indicating gloss control values for identifying a type of surface effect and a region where the surface effect is to be applied, a storage unit which stores information containing multiple total-amount control modes and stores surface-effect choice information which defines, for each of the gloss control values, the surface effect type, a total-amount control mode, and a priority level of the total-amount control mode, a generating unit which generates transparent-developing-material image data indicating pixel-by-pixel density values each depending on a transparent-developing-material recording amount, and a selecting unit which selects a total-amount control mode whose priority level is highest in total-amount control modes of surface effect types associated with the gloss control values of the gloss-control-plane image data as a total-amount control mode for use in printing the transparent-developing-material image data.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Takuma Takamizawa