JP2001169098A - Medium recording output picture data correction program, output picture data correction method, output picture data correction device, medium recording picture data reduction program, picture data reduction method, picture data reduction device, medium recording picture data correction program and method and device for correcting picture data - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve a problem at the time of reducing resolution. SOLUTION: In a step 110, a correction processing which is to be executed on picture data is selected. When a printing instruction is given in a state where a printing size is indirectly selected in a step 120, the presence or absence of the reduction of picture data is judged in steps 200 to 220. When reduction is required, resolution is converted to be low in a step 230 and the correction processing is executed in a step 235. When reduction is not required, the correction processing is executed in a step 240 and then the reduction processing is executed in a step 250. The correction processing and the reduction processing in the same color coordinate system can efficiently be executed. Even if low resolution conversion is executed, two resolutions different in algorithms are reduced in steps 345 and 350. Then, the optimum algorithm corresponding to a reduction condition is selected in steps 320 to 340 and the optimum reduction processing can be executed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a medium storing an output image data modifying program for executing image data reduction processing, an output image data modifying method, an output image data modifying device, and an image data reducing program. The present invention relates to a medium, an image data reducing method, an image data reducing device, a medium recording an image data modifying program, an image data modifying method, and an image data modifying device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, image data photographed by a digital still camera or the like has been increasingly used by computers. Previously, digital still cameras had lower resolutions,
When printing, I often increased the resolution. In other words, when image data at the time of shooting is equivalent to 350,000 pixels, but data equivalent to 2 million pixels is required at the time of printing, the resolution is increased. According to a typical expression, increasing the number of pixels is expressed as increasing the resolution, and decreasing the number of pixels is expressed as reducing the resolution, and is uniformly expressed as resolution conversion.)

In general, various measures have been taken to prevent the image quality from deteriorating in order to prevent the contour from being jagged when the resolution is increased. However, in the case where the resolution is reduced, the image quality is focused on. Not.

[0004]

In the prior art described above, attention has been paid to increasing the resolution, and no consideration has been given to reducing the resolution. However, today, when the quality of an image input device such as a digital still camera or a scanner is remarkably improved, the resolution of image data is larger than the resolution at the time of printing. For this reason, the processing for lowering the resolution is often performed, and there has been a problem that the image quality is reduced or the processing time is long.

[0005] Such a tendency can be similarly applied to the display of an image taken by a digital still camera, and the problem that the image quality deteriorates and the processing time increases when the resolution reduction frequently occurs. Has arisen. The present invention has been made in view of the above problems,
A medium on which an output image data modification program for executing image data reduction processing capable of performing a suitable process when the resolution is reduced, an output image data modification method, an output image data modification device, and an image data reduction program are recorded. It is an object of the present invention to provide a medium, an image data reduction method, and an image data reduction device.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a computer modifies the same image data in its color coordinate system so as to perform output processing based on the image data. A modification instruction acquisition step of acquiring a modification instruction for the image data, the modification step of executing a modification processing corresponding to the acquired modification instruction, on a medium recording an output image data modification program for performing processing; An output instruction obtaining step of obtaining an output instruction for the image data, a reduction / non-determination determination step of determining whether or not the image data needs to be reduced based on the obtained output instruction, and a predetermined reduction instruction. A reduction step of performing a reduction process on the image data; , When it is necessary to shrink is a structure in which and a processing sequence control step of executing the modification processing in the modification step after executing the at least a portion of the reduction process at the reduced steps.

In the invention according to claim 1 configured as described above, when the output image data modifying program is executed by the computer, a step of obtaining a modifying instruction and an output instruction for the image is executed. An output instruction is obtained. Then, it is determined whether or not the image data needs to be reduced based on the output instruction. If the image data needs to be reduced, a corresponding reduction process is executed. At this time, the modification processing is also performed based on the modification instruction, but if it is necessary to reduce the image, at least a part of the reduction processing is performed, and then the modification processing is performed. I do.

Note that the modification processing and the reduction processing do not always have to be performed after one of the entire image data has been completed, and even when the image data is divided into small blocks and processed. The modification processing may be performed after the reduction processing is performed first. In this sense, the modification processing may be performed after at least a part of the reduction processing is performed. Such modification processing and reduction processing are executed in the same color coordinate system. As an example, the reduction processing and modification processing may be executed as an application by a computer on which an operating system operates. In this case, the image data that has undergone the necessary reduction processing and modification processing is output to a color conversion unit that performs color conversion to a color coordinate system handled by the output device, and color conversion is separately performed.

[0009] On the other hand, even if the image is reduced in size, uniform thinning will significantly degrade the image quality, and there is a great demand for improvement in image quality. In response to this, in the invention according to claim 4, the reduction step can execute individual reduction processing corresponding to a plurality of different reduction algorithms, and performs the optimal reduction processing according to the reduction instruction. To reduce image data. In the invention according to claim 4 configured as described above, since individual reduction processing corresponding to a plurality of reduction algorithms can be executed, it is possible to select an optimal one according to a reduction instruction,
A wide range of measures is possible, such as giving priority to quality or giving priority to speed.

[0010] In the invention according to claim 5 configured as described above, when the reduction ratio based on the reduction instruction is large, a low image quality reduction algorithm is used in the reduction step. When the reduction ratio is large, the image quality is greatly deteriorated, and it is difficult to obtain a satisfactory image quality. In such a case, it is useless to spend processing time in the process of increasing the image quality. In such a case, it is sufficient to use a low-quality image reduction algorithm, and there is no difference in the image quality of the reduction result.

Furthermore, in the invention according to claim 6 configured as described above, when the size of the original image data is large, a high-quality reduction algorithm is used in the reduction step. Since high image quality is required, it is considered that the size of the original image data is large. Therefore, the reduction algorithm is selected so that the state of high image quality is maintained as much as possible. Claim 7 further configured as described above.
According to the invention, when the size of the resultant image data is large, a high-quality reduction algorithm is used in the reduction step.

If the size of the resulting image data is large,
The image at the time of output should be large, and the deterioration of the image is conspicuous. Therefore, in such a case, by using a high-quality reduction algorithm, the image is output clearly. Further, in the invention according to claim 8 configured as described above, the priority of the image quality is associated with the type of the original image data, and in the reduction step, an optimal image quality reduction algorithm is performed based on the association. Use

[0013] Depending on the type of image, the difference in the degree of influence of the image reduction processing varies. For example,
The degradation of image quality of photographic images is more conspicuous than that of computer graphics. Also, some of the photographic images are full color, some are about 256 colors,
In the latter case, since the image quality is not originally high, the deterioration of the image quality is not conspicuous. For this reason, it is possible to obtain optimal performance by using an optimal image quality reduction algorithm according to the type of image data. As an example, in the invention according to claim 9 configured as described above, the type of the original image data is determined based on the number of colors.

In the above-mentioned example, the image quality is automatically selected from the state of the image data. In the reduction step, an optimal image quality reduction algorithm is used based on the correlation. It is also possible to prioritize the user's intention, for example, whether to give priority to image quality even if time is required or to output in a short time even if image quality is sacrificed. Uses algorithms.

Further, the present invention is configured as described above.
According to the present invention, a low-image-quality reduction algorithm performs an arithmetic operation with a small number of reference pixels, and a high-image-quality reduction algorithm executes an arithmetic operation with a large number of reference pixels. Although the relationship between the image quality and the reduction algorithm cannot be unconditionally described, if it is reduced and a plurality of pixels are replaced with one pixel, it is possible to simply associate it with one pixel. It is also possible to make correspondence using pixel information. Of course, the latter may have higher image quality, but the number of reference pixels contributes to the image quality.

Further, the present invention is configured as described above.
In the invention according to the first aspect, a linear operation process is executed in a low-quality image reduction algorithm, and a non-linear operation process is executed in a high-quality image reduction algorithm. Although the relationship between the image quality and the reduction algorithm cannot be unconditionally described as described above, not all pixels have the same importance even if the number of reference pixels is the same. Generally, the closer to the position of a representative pixel, the greater the weight. Therefore, changing the weighting affects the image quality, and in that sense, it is possible to achieve higher image quality using a non-linear operation than a linear operation.

In the invention according to claim 13 configured as described above, a file is generated as output image data in consideration of sharing the generated image data with the subsequent use. Incidentally, such a recording medium may be a magnetic recording medium or a magneto-optical recording medium, and any recording medium to be developed in the future can be considered exactly the same. Also, the duplication stages of the primary duplicated product, the secondary duplicated product, and the like are equivalent without any question. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the case where the present invention is used even when the supply is performed using a communication line.

Further, even if a part is realized by software and a part is realized by hardware, the concept of the present invention is not completely different from that of the present invention. It may be in a form that is appropriately read in accordance with it. Of course, the invention is manifested in such a program itself, and it goes without saying that the present invention is applied to any device including the program and the program itself.

As described above, the technique of performing the retouching process at the stage where the number of pixels is small is realized in a substantial computer, and in that sense, the present invention can be applied to a substantial device including such a computer. Is easy to understand. That is, there is no difference that the present invention is effective as a substantial device controlled by a computer. Of course, the idea of the invention is not limited to this, and may include various aspects, for example, it may be implemented independently, or may be implemented together with another method while being incorporated in a certain device. It can be changed as appropriate.

In carrying out the processing in accordance with such control, it is natural that the invention exists in the procedure at the root, and it can be easily understood that the invention can be applied as a method. In other words, there is no difference that the method is not necessarily limited to a tangible medium or the like and is effective as a method. In addition, the viewpoint of executing the optimal algorithm in the reduction processing is always effective regardless of the context of the modification processing. Therefore, the invention according to claim 16 reduces the size of image data by a computer. A medium on which an image data reduction program for executing a reduction process to be executed is recorded, wherein a reduction instruction obtaining step of obtaining a reduction instruction for the image data and a reduction process are performed on the image data based on a predetermined reduction instruction. In doing so, a reduction step capable of executing individual reduction processing corresponding to a plurality of different reduction algorithms,
A reduction algorithm selecting step of selecting an optimal reduction algorithm among the reduction algorithms executable in the reduction step in accordance with the reduction instruction, and performing a reduction process by the reduction algorithm in the reduction step. There is.

That is, similar to the invention according to claim 4, individual reduction processing corresponding to a plurality of reduction algorithms can be executed, and an optimum one can be selected according to a reduction instruction. On the other hand, when performing multiple thumbnail printing such as sticker printing, resolution reduction processing is performed.When modification processing is performed along with this, generally, correction processing is performed uniformly before resolution conversion. Often do. However, in such a case, the resolution is lowered after a large amount of load is spent on the modification processing in a state where the number of pixels is always large, so that there is much waste. On the other hand, since a plurality of images are printed, it is not optimal to uniformly postpone the modification processing. As a result, thumbnail printing is an example of small output, but requires unexpected processing time.

According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image data modifying program for causing a computer to execute a modifying process on the same image data when a predetermined layout is designated based on a plurality of image data and thumbnail printing is performed. A recording medium, wherein an image data selecting step of selecting image data to be subjected to thumbnail printing from the image data, a modifying instruction acquiring step of acquiring a modifying instruction for the selected image data, A print instruction obtaining step of obtaining a print instruction designating a predetermined layout, a scaling determination step of determining the necessity of enlargement / reduction for each image data based on the acquired print instruction, Based on the determination result of the reduction determination step, the selected Expanded individually for image data
A processing order control step of executing a reduction process and executing a modification process corresponding to the acquired modification instruction on each image data on the side where the image data before and after the enlargement / repair process is not large. There is.

In the invention according to claim 19, a plurality of image data to be subjected to thumbnail printing are selected from the image data in the image data selecting step, and the selected image data is selected in the modification instruction obtaining step. A modification instruction for the image data is obtained, and a print instruction acquisition step acquires a print instruction for designating a predetermined layout for the image data. Then, the necessity of enlargement / reduction is determined for each image data based on the acquired print instruction in the enlargement / reduction determination step, and the processing order control step corresponds to the determination result based on the determination result. While individually performing enlargement / reduction processing on the selected image data,
A modification process corresponding to the acquired modification instruction is performed on each image data on the side where the image data before and after the enlargement / modification process is not large.

That is, when performing thumbnail printing with a plurality of image data according to a predetermined layout, the size of the image to be printed is determined by designating the same layout, and each selected image data is individually The retouching process is performed on the side where the image data before and after the scaling process is not large for each image data. Therefore, the retouching process is performed at the optimum processing timing for each image data, and the processing time for thumbnail printing can be significantly reduced.

It is needless to say that an image data modifying method and an image data modifying apparatus can be realized by providing means and steps substantially corresponding to these steps.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, the retouching process is performed in a state where the number of pixels is small, so that the processing time for lowering the resolution, which is often performed, can be shortened. It is possible to provide a medium in which an image data modifying program is recorded. In this case, the modification processing and the reduction processing are executed in the same color coordinate system. If this involves the transformation of the color coordinate system, further changes will be made, but by finishing the modification processing in the same color coordinate system in this way, the intended modification result cannot be obtained. Whatever happens, the location of the problem is clear and easy to deal with. This has an advantage that it is suitable for the current situation in which the modification is mainly performed by the application, and the conversion of the color coordinate system is performed by a color conversion unit such as a printer driver.

On the other hand, if the modification is performed after the reduction is performed first, the amount of memory used is surely reduced. Generally, a required memory amount is secured via an operating system, and a physical memory shortage hardly occurs. But,
For that purpose, it is necessary to use a virtual memory or execute a swap, and in reality, a hard disk drive is accessed to access the memory, so that a long processing time is required. On the other hand, according to the present invention, such an adverse effect can be prevented and the speed can be increased by reducing the amount of memory used.

Further, since the reduction processing of the optimum reduction algorithm is executed in response to the reduction instruction as in the invention according to claim 4, a wide range of needs can be accommodated. Further, according to the fifth aspect of the invention, when the reduction ratio is large, it is possible to omit waste of processing time in the process of improving image quality. Further, according to the invention of claim 6, when the size of the original image data is large and the image quality is high, it is possible to prevent the image quality from being reduced by the reduction algorithm.

Further, according to the invention of claim 7,
When the size of the resulting image data is large and the deterioration of the image at the time of output is conspicuous, the image can be output clearly. Furthermore, according to the invention according to claim 8, since the difference in the degree of the effect of the image reduction processing varies depending on the type of image, an optimal image quality reduction algorithm is used according to the type of image data. By
It is possible to obtain the optimum performance. For example, according to the ninth aspect, the optimum performance can be easily selected based on the number of colors.

Further, according to the tenth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prioritize the user's intention reflected in the output instruction, and to use an optimal image quality reduction algorithm.
Further, according to the eleventh aspect, it is possible to easily select high image quality or low image quality according to the number of reference pixels. Further, according to the twelfth aspect, it is possible to easily select low image quality or high image quality depending on whether the arithmetic processing is linear or nonlinear.

Further, according to the thirteenth aspect, a file can be generated as output image data. Further, according to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an output image data modifying method having the same effect, and according to the fifteenth aspect, it is possible to provide an output image data modifying apparatus. Further, according to the invention of claim 16, it is possible to execute an optimal reduction algorithm according to the reduction instruction regardless of whether or not the modification processing is performed, and obtain an optimal result in terms of image quality and processing speed. Can be.

Further, according to the seventeenth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an image data reducing method having the same effect, and according to the eighteenth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an image data reducing apparatus. Further, according to the nineteenth aspect, the image modification processing based on the thumbnail printing can be performed in a very short time. Claim 20
According to the present invention, it is possible to determine the enlargement or reduction after specifying the pixel size to which each pixel is allocated, and obtain an image with desired accuracy. Further, according to the invention of claim 21, it is useless to reduce the resolution to less than the resolution of the printer, so that it is not executed and the deterioration of the image can be prevented. Further, according to the invention of claim 22, when matching with the resolution of the printer corresponds to enlargement, this is not executed, so that an increase in the load of the modification process can be prevented.

According to the twenty-third aspect of the present invention,
An image data retouching method having the same effect can be provided. According to the invention according to claim 24, an image data retouching device can be provided.

[0034]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a computer) on which the system is executed.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a system when the present invention is realized as a software application.

First, the schematic hardware configuration shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The computer 10 includes a CPU 11 which is a center of arithmetic processing. The CPU 11 is connected to a ROM such as a BIOS via a system bus 12.
13 and RAM 14 are accessible. Also,
A hard disk drive 15 as an external storage device, a floppy (registered trademark) disk drive 16, and a CD-ROM drive 17 are connected to the system bus 12, and an operating system 20, an application 30, and the like stored in the hard disk drive 15 are provided. The data is transferred to the RAM 14 and the CPU 11
M14 is appropriately accessed to execute the software.

The keyboard 41 is connected to the serial I / O 19a.
And an input device for operation of the mouse 42 and a display 18 for display via a display card (not shown).
Is also connected. Further, serial connection with an external digital camera 43 or the like is possible via a serial communication I / O 19a, and parallel communication with an external printer 50 is possible.
Parallel connection is possible via / O19b.
Although the configuration of the computer 10 has been described in a simplified manner, a personal computer having a general configuration can be employed.

The computer to which the present invention is applied is not limited to a personal computer. This embodiment is a so-called desktop computer, but may be a notebook computer or a mobile computer. It is not necessary to be a general-purpose computer, and the control circuit portion accommodated in the digital camera is
It can be said that the computer including the PU is built-in. Further, similarly, a computer can be built in the printer, and a computer can be built in a video camera, a television, or the like, and the present invention can be applied.

In this example, each kind of program is stored in the hard disk drive 15, but the recording medium is not limited to this. For example, it may be a floppy disk 16a or a CD-ROM 17a. The programs recorded on these recording media are stored in a floppy disk drive 16 or a CD-ROM drive 17.
And is installed in the hard disk drive 15 by the computer. Then, the data is read into the RAM 14 via the hard disk drive 15 to control the computer. The recording medium is not limited to this, and may be a magneto-optical disk or the like.
It is also possible to use a non-volatile memory such as a flash card as a semiconductor device, and the storage unit of the server becomes a recording medium even when accessing and downloading an external file server via a modem or a communication line. Needless to say.

As shown in FIG. 2, the application 30 implements image data output processing of an image data file while reading and writing files from and to the hard disk drive 15 via the operating system 20. The files accessed in the image data output processing are mainly the original data file 15a, the modified data file 15b, the printer information file 15c, the print data file 15d, and the like. I have. The original data file 15a is photographic image data photographed by the digital camera 43 or the like, a file downloaded from a web site, or various CD-Rs.
Such as copied from OM corresponds to this. Such image data is generally constituted by coordinate values in an RGB (red, green, blue) space. In this embodiment, the image data is modified by the application 30 and written again as the modified data file 15b. That is, the image data is modified in the same color space.

In general, photographic image data files are often compressed, and the JPEG format is often used as the compression format. However, image degradation due to compression is inevitable, and if very high image quality is desired, it is stored uncompressed. The former compressed image data file often has a file name extension of "jpg", and the latter uncompressed image data file often has a file name extension of "bmp". Therefore, the image quality of the image data can be estimated from such an extension.

On the other hand, another factor that can estimate the image quality is the number of colors. When 8 bits are allocated to each of the RGB colors, about 16.7 million colors can be represented, and this is called full color. On the other hand, if 6 bits are assigned to each color of RGB, 260,000 colors can be represented. In addition to this, 64000 colors are represented as the maximum number of colors,
It may be displayed as 56 colors. Naturally, high quality requires multiple colors, and the size of image data becomes large. Therefore, the image data having a large number of colors can be estimated to be image data for which high image quality is desired, and the image data for which high image quality is desired can be estimated even when the size of the image data is large. Conversely, when the number of colors is small or the size of the image data is small, it can be estimated that the image data does not require high image quality.

Whether high image quality is desired for image data is an important factor in selecting an image processing method. Information indicating various performances of the printer 50 is recorded in the printer information file 15c. In the present embodiment, particularly, the printing resolution is an important factor. That is, if printing is performed without changing the number of pixels of the image data, the size of the printing result changes depending on the printing resolution of the printer 50. For example, if the original image data is 720 pixels × 720 pixels, the printer 5
If the print resolution of 0 is 720 dpi, a print result of 1 inch in length and width is obtained, but the print resolution of the printer 50 is 14 inches.
This is because a print result of 0.5 inches vertically and horizontally is obtained if the resolution is 40 dpi. Therefore, in order to print the image data to have the size specified by the operator, it is necessary to enlarge or reduce the image data. At that time, the printing resolution of the printer 50 (printer resolution) ).

The print data file 15d is a spool file generated by the printer driver 21, and is represented by a CMYK color coordinate system corresponding to the ink color of the printer 50. Although the spool file is generated on the hard disk drive 15 in the present embodiment, it is not always necessary. FIG. 3 shows a schematic flowchart of the application 30 as the image data output process. In FIG. 2, the main steps are shown as modules (which also correspond to the constituent elements of the invention).

The application 30 receives the operator's instruction and selects the image data to be processed. The image file selection module 31 also receives the operator's instruction and obtains a modification instruction for the image data. An instruction acquisition module 32, a modification step 33 for executing modification processing corresponding to the acquired modification instruction,
An output instruction acquisition module 34 for acquiring an output instruction based on a specific print mode for the image data; a reduction presence / absence determination module 35 for determining whether image data needs to be reduced based on the acquired output instruction; A reduction module 36 for performing a reduction process on image data based on a predetermined reduction instruction, and a processing order control module 37 for controlling the execution order of the reduction process and the modification process when there is one.

Hereinafter, the image data output processing realized by integrating the modules will be described with reference to this flowchart. In the application of the image data output process, first, in step 100, a process of selecting an image file is executed. Of course, this step 100 is an image file selection means, and the module that realizes this processing is the image file selection module 31. FIG. 4 shows a display screen of the application 30. Each application 30 displays on a window basis on the operating system 20 employing the GUI, and the display screen of FIG. 4 is also displayed as one window.

In this window display, the title bar 3
In the menu frame 30b, a display "File, Edit, Display, Image Modification, Help" is displayed in the menu frame 30b. I have. The display of the title bar 30a is appropriately changed according to the selection of the patrone, and the display of the menu frame is also appropriately changed corresponding to the display in the window 30c, but the details of the change mode are omitted here.

Also in the window 30c, the display area is divided into a left part, a center part, and a right part, and a tab showing a processing flow is displayed on the left part. In this case, four tabs of “select a film”, “input a photo”, “designate a print”, and “print” are displayed. Then, in order to indicate that the current process is “selection of film”, the tab is displayed slightly larger than the other tabs, and the boundaries with the center and right regions are eliminated.
At the center, a frame is displayed in a 35 mm film patrone shape, and one frame indicates a group of a plurality of image data. A so-called inverted display is made around the patrone of "At the Cario Matsumoto", indicating that this patrone is selected in patrone units. On the other hand, the surroundings of the patrone of "Travel to Callario Hokkaido" are normally displayed, indicating that this patrone is not selected. In addition, there is a display of "add film" above the display area of the patrone, and the patrone is added by using this button.

In the right part, the image data contained in the currently selected cartridge is displayed as a thumbnail.
For each image data, a file name is displayed below the thumbnail display. In this example, the extension of each image data file is “jpg”, which indicates that the image data is compressed image data. The application 30 performs such a window display, displays the image data as a thumbnail, and further reversely displays the image data in response to the selection of the image data by the operator. The process of receiving the operation input of the keyboard 41 and the mouse 42 together with the screen display in this manner corresponds to the image file selecting means in the program. In this example, GUI display is premised, but the selection method is not particularly limited. For example, even if only an operation of mounting a detachable medium on which image data is recorded is a selecting means as long as the image data recorded on the medium is all selected for association.

In the left part, there is "photo selection" after "selection of film". However, processing for adding image data in units of patrone is performed, and detailed description is omitted here. Subsequently, in step 110, "modification processing selection" processing is performed. Reference numeral 110 denotes a modification instruction acquisition unit, and an execution module thereof is the modification instruction acquisition module 32. Although it is naturally possible to print the selected image data as it is, it is easy to modify the image data by various image processing, and it is widely used. In the present embodiment, the menu frame 30 is displayed in a state where the image data is selected.
The instruction of the modification processing is given from “image modification” of b. FIGS. 5 and 6 show a pull-down menu displayed with “image modification”, and selectable items are “automatic image modification, manual image adjustment, trimming, rotation, black and white, sepia, and image modification cancel”. .

In the "automatic image modification", the contents of the image data are diagnosed by statistical processing, and automatic processing such as increasing the brightness of a dark image or increasing the brightness of an image having a low contrast is performed. These can be determined from the average value of the brightness or from the average value of the difference between each pixel and the adjacent pixel, but detailed description is omitted here. Also, in order to lighten or darken specifically, RGB
A conversion table is created for each of the data, and the conversion is performed by uniformly converting the value of the image data of each pixel based on the conversion table. As an example of such a conversion table, a table using a gamma curve is often used. The conversion function of the γ curve for adjusting the conversion degree with the γ value is f (x, γ), and the image data is “0-255”.
If the brightness is represented by 256 gradations, the conversion source luminance y
And the converted luminance Y can be expressed as Y = f (y / 255, γ) · y. Further, on this drawing, a submenu can be selected, and parameters given at the time of automation are changed. “Normal” is a parameter that is easily accepted by all, “Pretty” is a parameter that particularly emphasizes the saturation, and DPE tone is a parameter that emphasizes the G component slightly like a general silver halide photograph. Classified. Of course, such a setting is only an example, and various parameter sets can be prepared in advance.

The "manual image modification" does not diagnose the contents of image data as in the case of automation, but changes the brightness of an image or changes the level of contrast in accordance with the operation of an operator. I do. In this case, “color emphasis” corresponds to a process of widening the difference between pixels having a large degree of variation in RGB. However, in this case, the brightness is not changed in each pixel unit. For example,
For example, if the RG component is increased, the B component is decreased. In this case, the calculation can be easily performed by using a correspondence relationship between luminance (L) and RGB components L = 0.39R + 0.5G + 0.11B adopted in television broadcasting or the like.

"Rotation" can be selected from the submenu "Rotate right 90 degrees", "Rotate 180 degrees", and "Rotate left 90 degrees", and rotate the display in units of 90 degrees. This is performed by changing the scanning direction of the image data for the original data file 15a and the writing order to the modified data file 15b.
The “black and white” conversion and the “sepia conversion” both convert the data into monochrome. As described above, the luminance (L) or brightness is calculated. A conversion table is prepared such that RGB has a substantially constant ratio. The conversion table is referred to based on the RGB data read from the original data file 15a, and the read value from the conversion table is converted data. As modified data file 15
b.

The modified image data is written in the modified data file 15b, so that the original data file 15a contains the original image data. Therefore, when "cancel image modification" is selected, the original data file 1
By rereading the image data from 5a, the surface is treated as if the image modification was canceled. It should be noted that only the parameters for instructing the image modification may be stored at each stage, and the image modification may be canceled up to an arbitrary stage.

In the image modification, arithmetic processing is performed on the RGB image data for each pixel, and in the trimming, some unnecessary image data is discarded, and only the necessary image data is re-assembled. I do. Therefore, the size of the image data file naturally represents the required amount of processing. At this point, an instruction for image modification is given, but image modification is not actually performed. Then, the content of the instruction is taken over to the subsequent processing as a modification parameter. Since the above instruction content is a modification instruction, a series of processes for receiving this operation constitutes a modification instruction acquisition unit.

Thereafter, the "print size selection" process of step 120 is performed. Step 12 for realizing this processing
Reference numeral 0 denotes an output instruction acquisition unit, and the execution module is the output instruction acquisition module 34. The screen display shown in FIG. 4 corresponds to print designation. FIG. 7 shows an example of the screen display, in which the upper part 30d of the window area is an area for selecting the print arrangement of the image, and the left center part 30e is an area for selecting optional print items other than the image data.
The right central portion 30f is a sheet selection area.

The printing arrangement is shown in the upper part 30d, which also indicates the size to be printed with the arrangement. In this example, "4 photos", "album",
The layout is shown while displaying "Seal".
These include information on the relative ratio to the sheet while indicating the arrangement of the image on one sheet. Therefore, when the size of the paper selected in the selection area 30f is determined, the specific size of the image data to be printed can be known from the ratio with the size, and the enlargement / reduction instruction is calculated by itself based on a calculation formula described later. Will be. That is, the selection result of the print arrangement is used as an image enlargement / reduction instruction. In this example, in order to print a plurality of image data at the same time, each print arrangement is selected and the enlargement / reduction instruction is acquired indirectly, but the size is designated as printing only one sheet, Alternatively, it may be specified by a more direct method, such as by specifying a scaling ratio.

In the right center portion 30f, a sheet is selected. The size of the sheet is also a part of the enlargement / reduction instruction. For example, if four pieces of image data are printed on one sheet, the sizes of the respective pieces of image data naturally change when A4 size paper is selected or when B5 size printing is performed. Further, in the center left portion 30e, "print marks", "date",
You can select whether to print “Title”. In this example, the size of printing does not change depending on the presence or absence of optional printing. However, as an option "with a border"
Or "no border" can be selected, in which case the size of the print is affected.

As will be described later, while displaying on the display 18, a print instruction is given by selecting with the keyboard 41 and the mouse 42. Results. Then, the image size corresponding to these combinations is stored in a table in advance, and the presence or absence of reduction is determined by comparing this image size with the image size of the original image data. In FIG. 7, other operation items such as an image quality designation frame 30g, a printer designation frame 30h, a preview button 30j, and an album detail button 30k are displayed. In the image quality specification frame 30g, selection is made between processing for high image quality and processing for high speed printing. In the printer specification frame 30h, the type of printer to be printed is selected. With the preview button 30j, the print image is displayed. 18 and the album details button 30k displays a setting screen display for performing detailed settings such as whether or not to add a comment when an album is designated in the print layout. A detailed description of these will be omitted here.

After the print is designated, if the operator selects printing on the screen display shown in FIG. 4, the "print data file creation" process is performed in step 140 after the determination in step 130. Note that this operation gives an actual print instruction. In other words, in this example, the operation is performed with the keyboard 41 and the mouse 42 while the display is performed on the display 18, and such processing constitutes an output instruction acquisition unit.
Of course, the print instruction can be given by another operation method, and any display can be used as long as it means that the process substantially proceeds to the printing stage.

FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of the print data file creation processing. The print data file creation process is a process of performing a selected retouching process on the selected image data and creating a print image as specified by the print specification. In this flowchart, for the sake of simplicity, the flow mainly shows a data file creation process for each image data. First, in step 200, a value is set to each variable according to the specified contents. The variable Xp1 is the number of horizontal pixels of the original image, and the variable Yp1
Is the number of vertical pixels of the original image, the variable X is the horizontal actual size value of the print image, and Y is the vertical actual size value of the print image. Step 2
In step 05, a desired value of the actual printing size per pixel of the original image is set in a variable K.

At present, the resolution of a printer has been remarkably increased. In a 1440 dpi product, one dot is 25/14.
40 = 0.017 mm. However, the dot diameter far exceeds the dot diameter that can be visually recognized by humans, and expressing an image at this level does not necessarily improve the quality of a print result. According to the research results of the present applicant, even if the print pixel diameter is reduced to exceed 0.1 mm, the print pixels themselves still stand out. However, the pixel size of the reduced image having a different concept from that of the above is reduced to about 0.1 m.
When it is smaller than m, it has been found that the improvement of the image quality may seem to stop. Therefore,
Further increase in the number of pixels in the sense of the pixel size of the reduced image does not contribute to high image quality despite the time required for arithmetic processing, and is wasteful. In the present embodiment, in step 205, 0.1
(Mm) is set, but this may be selected by the operator.

When the above values are determined, the number of horizontal pixels Xp2 required for printing is calculated in step 210, and the number of vertical pixels Yp2 is calculated in step 215. That is, Xp2 = X / k Yp2 = Y / k. When the required number of pixels is calculated in this way,
It is possible to determine whether to enlarge or reduce in proportion to the number of pixels of the original image. In step 220, the number of horizontal pixels Xp1 of the original image is compared with the number of horizontal pixels Xp2 to be printed. If the original image is larger, the process proceeds to steps 225 and 230. If the original image is smaller, the process proceeds to step 240.

As described above, in step 200, the image size to be printed is obtained from the contents designated by the print designation, the actual number of pixels is calculated in steps 205 to 215, and in step 220, the necessity of reduction is determined. Therefore, a series of these processes constitutes a reduction presence / absence determination unit, and the flow of the process is changed by the determination, thus constituting a processing order control unit. Of course, the former is the reduction presence / absence determination module 35, and the latter is the processing order control module 37.

If there are more original images, step 2
In step 25, it is determined whether the number of pixels is larger than the required number of pixels in consideration of the printer resolution. If the original image data has a larger number of pixels, low resolution conversion is performed in step 230, and the selected modification process is performed in step 235. Needless to say, the step 230 for performing the low-resolution conversion constitutes a reduction means, and the execution module is the reduction module 36. Step 235 of performing the modification process constitutes modification means, and the execution module is the modification module 33.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 220 that the number of pixels of the original image is smaller,
After the modification process is performed in step 250, high-resolution conversion is performed in step 250. Note that step 245 corresponds to a case where an option to execute the high resolution conversion by the printer driver 21 or the like without performing the image data output processing application is selected. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that such an option is not selected. explain.

Therefore, as schematically shown in FIG. 9, in the case of reduction, the reduction processing is performed first, and then the modification processing is performed.
In the case of enlargement, the modification processing is performed first, and then the enlargement processing is performed. In the figure, when low-resolution conversion is required, a process of first performing a reduction process along the solid arrow on the upper half side to reduce the size of the image data and modifying the reduced image data is performed. We are implementing. To give a brief explanation for easy understanding, it can be said that the number of necessary arithmetic processes is proportional to the number of pixels in a reduced size. That is, the number of times the retouching operation is performed is the number of pixels at the reduced size.

On the other hand, if the reduction processing is performed after the modification processing when low-resolution conversion is required, the result is indicated by the two-dot chain line. In other words, the number of times the retouching operation is performed is equal to the number of pixels of the original image, so that the number of times of the retouching operation is increased as compared with the case where the number of pixels is reduced earlier, and a difference occurs in the calculation time. Note that the number of times of execution of the reduction processing has not changed. On the other hand, if high-resolution conversion is required, the retouching process is first performed along the solid line arrow on the lower half side with the original image data size, and after the retouching process is performed, the image data is enlarged to enlarge the image data. . In this case, the retouching calculation process for the number of pixels in the original size and the enlargement calculation process for the number of pixels in the increased size are performed. If the modification processing is performed after the enlargement processing, as shown by the two-dot chain line, the modification operation processing only for the number of pixels at the increased size and the enlargement operation processing only for the number of pixels at the increased size are performed. Is performed, extra retouching processing is required for the number of pixels that have been enlarged and increased, resulting in a difference in the calculation time.

The above modification processing and enlargement / reduction processing are performed in the same coordinate system. In this example, the coordinate system is in the RGB color space, and image data that has undergone modification and size adjustment is determined before color conversion. For this reason, even if the desired result is not obtained when the print result is obtained in the subsequent output processing, the image data at this point can be confirmed in the print preview, and the time required for the image data can be shortened. Will be. By the way, in performing the low-resolution conversion, in the present embodiment, a plurality of algorithms are prepared so that optimal processing is executed. FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of this low-resolution conversion. What is considered in the low resolution conversion is to change the reduction algorithm according to the situation. Hereinafter, a specific description will be given.

In step 300, the print mode is obtained. The print mode is a mode designated by the image quality designation frame 30g on the print designation screen display shown in FIG. The image quality designation is “beautiful” and “fast”, and if it is “beautiful”, a calculation with a heavy load is also executed with an emphasis on higher image quality than on the printing speed. On the other hand, if it is “fast”, the printing speed is emphasized, and even if the image quality is reduced, priority is given to omitting the calculation. Here, the description of the content of the image processing will be omitted, but the print mode is determined in step 305, and if “fast”, a low image quality parameter is set in step 310, and if “good”, step 315 is performed. To set the parameters for high image quality.

Next, at step 320, the type of the image is determined. The type of image used here is used to indirectly determine the image quality of the image, and more specifically, the determination is made with reference to the maximum number of colors of the image. The maximum number of colors can be determined from the number of bits of each pixel. If the maximum number of colors is large, it is determined to be a photograph, and if the maximum number of colors is small, it is determined to be computer graphics. In the case of this embodiment, if it is 64000 colors or less, it is determined to be computer graphics and low-quality processing is performed as described later. If it is 64000 colors or more, it is determined to be a photograph and high-quality processing is performed.

Here, the judgment is made based on the number of colors. However, the image quality may be judged by judging the type of the image from the extension of the file name or by referring to the parameter of the creator indicating the application for creating the file. . If the application is a draw application, the image quality may be determined to be low, and if the application is a photo retouching application, the image quality may be determined to be high. The former often produces computer graphics, while the latter is often used to enhance photos.

Further, in steps 325 to 340, a determination is made to determine whether to perform low-quality processing or high-quality processing. If at least one of the elements requires high-quality processing, high-quality processing is performed. First, in step 325, processing is selected based on the image quality of the print mode determined previously. If "beautiful", high-quality processing is selected. If "fast", low-quality processing is selected. Next, in step 330, processing is selected depending on whether the reduction ratio is large or small. Reduction rate is Xp1 / Xp2
When the reduction ratio is four times or more, low-quality processing is selected. In the case of this embodiment, there are no pixels that are not referred to in the original image data up to four times, but there are some pixels that are not referred to in the original image data at all times exceeding four times. Therefore, as long as some pixels are not referred to at all, it is determined that the image quality deteriorates no matter how complicated the calculation is, and this magnification is treated as a threshold value.

In step 335, a process is selected depending on whether the original image size is large or small. The threshold for this comparison can be changed as appropriate according to the environment. For example, if the printer resolution is large, the threshold is increased, and if the printer resolution is small, the threshold is decreased. If the extension of the image data file name indicates compression, the threshold value is reduced. If the extension is uncompressed, the threshold value is reduced. Further, the number of pixels in the vertical and horizontal directions Xp
The size of the image may be determined based on 1, Yp1.

On the other hand, in step 340, processing is selected depending on whether the size of the resultant image is large or small. This is determined by the number of vertical and horizontal pixels Xp2 and Yp2 to be sent for printing. In this case, the threshold value for comparison can be appropriately changed according to the environment. For example, the threshold value is increased when the printer resolution is large, and the threshold value is decreased when the printer resolution is small. The processing selected based on the above determination is that the low image quality processing is the resolution reduction by averaging in step 345, and the high image quality processing is the step 350
Is achieved by three-dimensional operation. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing an example in which the algorithm is changed based on the reduction ratio, and FIGS. 12 and 13 are flowcharts corresponding to specific calculation methods.

First, the processing for lowering the resolution by averaging will be described. In order to calculate the reduced pixel P by averaging to reduce the pixel P, first, the pixel P
Is obtained, and the pixels included in the area before the reduction (area surrounded by four points P1 to P4) are averaged. In FIG. 11, the correspondence between the two regions is indicated by a chain line. In this example, if the peripheral area of the pixel P is enlarged to a state before reduction, P1 to P
4 is a region surrounded by four points, and the region includes 16 pixels P11 to P44.
A simple average of 16 pixels is calculated.

In order to repeat this processing for all the pixels of the image data to be generated, in step 400, the pointer is moved to the initial position (for example, the pixel at the upper left corner in the image),
In step 405, the four corner points P1 to P4 of interest are set, and in step 410, the pixels (pixel P
11 to pixel P44) are added. Assuming that the reduction ratio is k and the coordinates of the pixel P are (x, y), the relationship with the coordinates (X, Y) of the corresponding point P00 before reduction is as follows: X = x · 1 / k Y = y · 1 / k Becomes Regarding the four corner points P1 to P4, when r = (1 / k) / 2, P1 (Xr, Yr) P2 (X + r, Yr) P3 (Xr, Y + r ) P4 (X + r, Y + r). Then, the addition of the pixels (pixels P11 to P44) entering the area of the four points P1 to P4 is as follows: Rtotal = talR (Pnn) Gtotal = ΣG (Pnn) Btotal = ΣB (Pnn) , R in the pixel Pnn, where nn indicates 11 to 44. Hereinafter, G (Pnn), B (Pn
The same applies to n).

In step 415, the added information is divided by the number of pixels. In this example, the calculation is as follows: Rnew = Rtotal / 16 Gnew = Rtotal / 16 Bnew = Rtotal / 16 Note that this simple averaging operation corresponds to a linear operation. As a result, (Rnew, Gnew, Bnew) is obtained as the pixel P. In Step 420, the pointer is moved to the next pixel to be obtained, and Step 405 and the subsequent steps are repeated. Then, it is determined in step 425 whether or not the processing has been completed for all the pixels, and when the processing has been completed for all the pixels, the processing for lowering the resolution by the averaging is completed.

In this example, since the points P1 to P4 are dynamically set as a simple averaging area, no unreferenced pixels are generated. However, the maximum range is set to 4 in order to improve the speed.
It is also possible to limit the size to 4 pixels. As described above, the size of the region to be averaged affects the image quality after the reduction, and also affects the calculation speed. Therefore, the image quality and the speed can be adjusted depending on the degree of limitation of the number of reference pixels, and finer classification may be realized. In addition, since the degree of speedup and image quality improvement also depends on the number of reference pixels, the number of reference pixels is selected to be 4 pixels around the target pixel or 16 pixels without changing the linear operation. It is also possible to cope with image quality.

On the other hand, FIG. 13 is a flow chart for lowering the resolution by three-dimensional operation, and FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing the premise of the operation. Assuming that the pixel P after reduction corresponds to the point P00 in the image before reduction, information on the point P00 can be generated by a so-called interpolation method, and this information can be used as information on the pixel P. The three-dimensional operation uses a cubic convolution interpolation method (cubic convolution interpolation: cubic method) used as a so-called interpolation operation. This operation is an example of a non-linear operation.

The cubic method uses data of a total of 16 grid points including not only four grid points surrounding the point P00 to be interpolated but also grid points around one point. The coordinates of the point P00 are represented by x1 to x4 as shown in FIG.
When expressed using y1 and y4, a general expression using a cubic convolution function is

[0081]

(Equation 1) Where f (t) = {sin (πt)} / πt. This is nothing but weighted addition of the data of the 16 grid points surrounding the point P00, and the change of the weight corresponding to the distance is represented by f (t).

When this is expanded for P,

[0083]

(Equation 2) Becomes On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 14, if the coordinates of the point P00 are represented by (u, v) with the origin at the lattice point P22 nearest to the upper left in the figure, u, v, x1 to x4, and y1 ~
The correspondence with y4 is x1 = 1 + uy1 = 1 + vx2 = uy2 = vx3 = 1-uy3 = 1-vx4 = 2-uy4 = 2-v. Here, since the possible values of u and v are finite, f (x1) to f (x4) and f (y
1) to f (y4) can be calculated in advance, and are also tabulated in the present embodiment. In tabulating, u and v are replaced with integer values of 0 to 127. The table has a set of four values referenced with u or v as an argument. That is, as values of f (x1) to f (x4) and f (y1) to f (y4), Is recorded. Obviously, by making the table as described above, the operation execution time can be reduced.

The function f (t) = {sin (πt)} / πt shown above as a weight is merely an example, and can be adjusted as appropriate.
First, as an approximation of the above equation,

[0085]

(Equation 3) Is obtained. FIG. 15 shows this as a graph. Since it can be basically expressed as a cubic function,
It is possible to adjust the shape of the curve. Therefore, as a specific example (M cubic method) of making the cubic function curve slightly steep, 0 <t <0.5 f (t) =-(8/7) t ** 3- (4/7) t ** 2 + 1 0.5 <t <1 f (t) = (1-t) (10/7) 1 <t <1.5 f (t) = (8/7) (t-1) ** 3+ ( 4/7) (t-1) ** 2- (t-1) 1.5 <t <2 f (t) = (3/7) (t-2)

Assuming that such an algorithm is adopted, the actual processing flow follows the flowchart shown in FIG. First, in step 500, the pointer is moved to the initial position as in the case of averaging.
Find u and v corresponding to 00. When u and v are obtained, in step 510, the above-mentioned correspondence table value is referred to, and P
Is calculated by introducing it into the expansion formula. And step 520
The pointer is moved by and the above-described processing is repeated until it is determined in step 525 that the processing has been completed for all the pixels. If the processing has been completed for all the pixels, this processing is completed.

As described above, depending on the situation, step 34
In step 5, whether the resolution should be reduced by averaging or step 35
At 0, a selection is made as to whether or not to lower the resolution by the tertiary point calculation. Of course, the options are not limited to these two types, and may be selected from a larger number of options.
Further, in this example, the judgment is either “clean” or “fast”, but a plurality of options can be used.
For example, it is possible to change the method depending on the part of the image. In the image, there is a monotonous portion such as the sky, and an algorithm that emphasizes high speed is used in such a portion. Then, an algorithm emphasizing higher image quality may be used for a portion requiring detail. In this case, it is conceivable that a boundary line appears in the image by changing the method in the boundary portion. Therefore, in the boundary region, both operations are performed and weighting is performed so that the change becomes gentle. Further, in an image or a region in which high image quality is desired, it is possible to execute a plurality of operations having different characteristics and take an average value weighted in consideration of the characteristics.

FIG. 16 shows a specific flow chart. In step 600, the degree of change of the target pixel from surrounding pixels is detected. Basically step 6
If the degree of change is large at 10, high-quality low-resolution conversion is performed at step 615, and if the degree of change is small, high-speed low-resolution conversion is performed at step 620. However, a sudden change in the conversion algorithm at the boundary area, that is, at the boundary between the area having a large degree of change and the area having a small degree of change adversely affects the quality.
It is determined whether or not it is in the boundary area, and the above-mentioned sorting is performed only when the area is not the boundary area. If the area is the boundary area, weight addition is performed in steps 625 to 640. That is,
In step 630, high-speed low-resolution conversion is performed while performing high-quality low-resolution conversion in step 625.
After calculating the weighting coefficient at 35, weighting addition is performed at step 640. The weighting coefficient may be a relationship in which the width of a predetermined number of pixels is set as a boundary region with reference to the original boundary, and one ratio gradually increases in this region compared to the other.

Returning to the flowchart of FIG. 8, when the low-resolution conversion in step 235 or the high-resolution conversion in step 250 ends, image data for printing is sent to printing in step 255. In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, the application 30 generates a modified data file via the operating system 20, and the printer driver 21 refers to the printer information file 15c to perform conversion corresponding to the printer resolution, and Print data file 15 of color coordinate system corresponding to ink
Convert to d. The print data file in this case is a color coordinate system adopted by the printer, and matches the printer resolution and the printer gradation. That is, CM
It is a YK color coordinate system, with a printer resolution of 1440 dpi and two gradations. Of course, such a printer driver 21 constitutes a color conversion unit because it performs conversion of the color coordinate system. Also, the resolution at this time is an optimal resolution from the viewpoint of the pixel size in the reduced image described above,
The modification process is not wasted.

The print data file 15 in this case is
d is a color coordinate system adopted by the printer, which is an intermediate file that matches the printer resolution and the printer gradation, and performs the optimal rasterization to actually drive the print head on the printer side. 21
It is also possible to perform up to rasterization, which is almost the same as driving the print head on the side of. By the way, the output processing at the time of generating image data for printing has been described. As described above, a special effect is produced by the fact that the output processing for printing is completed before the above-described color conversion. However, the output process is not limited to the print process, and the concept of the modification process can be applied to a wide range.

FIGS. 17 and 18 show an embodiment in which a color matching process (hereinafter, referred to as color matching) based on profile data is executed as an example of the modifying process. In FIG. 17, an operating system 60 has a color matching module 61 for realizing the function, and outputs a display to a display 62 a via a display driver 62,
When printing out to the printer 633 via the printer, color matching according to the characteristics of each input / output device can be realized depending on whether color matching is specified. Here, individual profile data 60 a is prepared for each input / output device and stored in the hard disk drive 15. Each profile data 60a is obtained by using a look-up table or a predetermined conversion formula for enabling mutual conversion between a color characteristic unique to a corresponding input / output device and a standard color characteristic. In the present embodiment, color matching by the operating system 60 is not the main subject, so a brief description will be given. However, when the operating system 60 performs color matching in outputting image data, the color matching module 61 The corresponding profile data 60a is read, and the color of each pixel in the image data is converted. If the image data is output as it is to the output device, the original color cannot be reproduced due to the characteristic of the inherent color shift.
By converting a color that eliminates the color misregistration based on, the image actually displayed through the output device can be reproduced as standard with the color misregistration offset. For example, when displaying on a display, profile data 60a of a display card or a display is displayed.
However, if there is a color misregistration that the red component becomes stronger if no color conversion is performed, a lookup table for weakening the red component is recorded in the profile data 60a. Therefore, the profile data 60a
If the red component is weakened beforehand and output using, even if the red component becomes stronger due to the color shift, it is canceled out,
Standard colors can be reproduced.

Incidentally, the application 70 is a module for performing necessary enlargement / reduction processing. In addition, the application 70 can independently realize color matching with optimum efficiency without depending on the operating system 60. First, the application 70 includes a purpose obtaining module 71 for obtaining an output destination of image data, an output instruction obtaining module 72 for obtaining an instruction of either reduction or enlargement when outputting image data, and an output instruction obtaining module 72 for obtaining an instruction based on the obtained instruction. Presence / absence determination module 73 that determines whether or not reduction is necessary
A profile acquisition module 74 that acquires the profile data 60a via the operating system 60 when the output destination is determined, a color matching module 75 that performs color matching when the profile data 60a is obtained, The image processing apparatus includes a reduction module 76 for performing a reduction process of a required magnification, and a processing order control module 77 for executing the necessary reduction process and color matching in an appropriate order based on the presence or absence of reduction.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the contents of the image data output processing in the application 70. In step 700, an output purpose is acquired. The output purpose is mainly profile data 60a regarding which hardware, such as whether to output a print or to display on a display.
This is for determining whether to use. Since this image data output processing is executed by a computer as a subroutine or a module, the caller hands over the output purpose as an argument or sets a flag for the output purpose in a special storage area,
In step 700, an output purpose is acquired. This step 700 corresponds to the purpose acquisition module 71.

In step 710, the enlargement / reduction ratio is obtained. The method of acquiring the enlargement / reduction ratio is performed in the same manner as the above-described output purpose, and the enlargement / reduction ratio and the output purpose do not need to be realized as separate processes, and may be realized by one process. Absent. This step 710 corresponds to the output instruction acquisition module 72. Step 720
Then, the profile data 60a corresponding to the output purpose is obtained. Since the profile data 60a itself is originally managed by the operating system 60, the application 70 transmits the profile data 60a via the operating system 60 as shown in FIG.
You will get Acquired profile data 6
0a is temporarily stored in a work area managed by the application 70. Therefore, in the subsequent processing, color conversion may be performed according to the profile data 60a stored in the work area, regardless of whether the output purpose is a print purpose or a display purpose. This step 720 corresponds to the profile acquisition module 74.

In step 730, the process branches according to the obtained enlargement / reduction ratio. Steps 750 and 760 actually perform the enlargement processing and the reduction processing.
It is not only a branch simply to execute these processes, but also a branch for realizing color matching based on profile data of a work area with optimal efficiency. Therefore, step 730 corresponds to the reduction presence / absence determination module 73 and also corresponds to the processing order control module 77.

That is, in the case of enlarging, step 74
0, the color matching is performed first, and then the process of increasing the resolution is performed in step 750. In the case of reduction, the resolution is reduced in step 760, and the color matching is performed in step 770. Do. In any case, the image data to which color matching is to be applied is at the time when the number of pixels is small before and after the enlargement / reduction processing, and the number of times of the operation for executing the color conversion operation is small. Of course, color conversion is basically color conversion in the same color space, so if an output result that is unexpectedly obtained is obtained, it may be difficult to determine at what stage processing is not preferable. Easy to understand. It should be noted that, here, enlargement / reduction and color matching are performed at the stage of processing the same color space regardless of the profile data 60a for printing or the profile data 60a for display. here,
Step 760 corresponds to the reduction module 76, and step 770 corresponds to the color matching module 75.

Further, since the number of pixels to be applied is small, the area for holding the operation result is reduced accordingly, and the amount of memory used is reduced. This also means that the frequency of using the swap file is reduced when the memory used by the operating system 60 is managed.
Therefore, speeding up is achieved more than reduction of the apparent number of arithmetic processing. Of course, the method of acquiring the profile data 60a is not limited to the above method. That is, the application 70 itself can manage the data, and the profile data 60a may have its own data, or may be provided with another profile name and referred to. In this case, the profile data referred to is used. Furthermore, the color conversion corresponding to the final output purpose may be performed by applying the display profile data 60a and then applying the print profile data 60a in a superimposed manner.

Thereafter, in step 780, the image data is output to an output destination for each purpose. As described above, in step S110, when a modification process to be performed on image data is selected, and in step S120, a print instruction is given in a state where a print size is indirectly selected, steps S200 to S2 are performed.
In step 20, it is determined whether or not the image data has been reduced. If reduction is necessary, low-resolution conversion is first performed in step 230, and then modification processing is performed in step 235. The modification processing is performed in step 240, and then the enlargement processing is performed in step 250, so that the modification processing and the reduction processing in the same color coordinate system can be efficiently performed. However, in Steps 345 and 350, while making it possible to execute two resolution reductions with different algorithms,
It is now possible to select an optimal algorithm according to the reduction condition and perform an optimal reduction process.

Next, a specific procedure for executing image data printing using the above processing will be described. FIG.
9 shows a processing procedure of the main image data printing by a flowchart. In step 800, an image file is selected. As described above, the image file selection module 3
Reference numeral 1 denotes a screen display shown in FIG.
Each image is displayed as a thumbnail in the right part of 0c. The image file itself is managed by a file database as shown in FIG. The file database shown in the figure is configured in the form of a table. The first item is a patrone ID, the second item is a file name, the third item is compression (format), the fourth item is the number of pixels (x1, y1), and the fifth item. The item is the number of colors, and the sixth item is a selection flag.

The patrone ID is used for separating and managing a plurality of image files. One ID is assigned to each patrone, and the same patrone ID is assigned to an image file managed as the same patrone. ing. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, for a patrone with a memo “at Carario Matsumoto”, FIG.
In the case of 0, since the same cartridge ID “AAA” is assigned, narrowing down by this cartridge ID is performed, and only matching image files are displayed as thumbnails in the right part of the window 30c.

Each image file has the JPE as described above.
It is often compressed by the G method, but it is also uncompressed. For management purposes, only the compression format of such an image file is recorded as one item. Further, the number of pixels in the vertical and horizontal directions and the number of colors in the image file do not always match, and the number of pixels in the horizontal direction x1, the number of pixels in the vertical direction y1, and the number of colors are recorded for each image file. The number of colors is managed by parameters of full color, 64000 colors, and 256 colors.

The result selected by the mouse or the like is entered in the item of the selection flag. That is, if selected, "1" is entered, and if not selected, "0" is entered. In addition, about the selected one, "1,2,3 ...
The numerical value may be increased to indicate the order of printing. Step 8 as described above
In the process of 00, an image is displayed as a thumbnail in the window 30c, and the selection result is recorded in the table as a selection flag. This step 800 constitutes the image data selection step.

During the selection operation, it is recorded as one item of the above-mentioned file database. At the end of the selection operation, at step 802, a print information table for managing information necessary for print processing is created. FIG. 21 shows this print information table. The first item is a print page, the second item is a file name, and the third item is an arrangement position (x
0, y0), the fourth item is the rotation angle, the fifth item is the number of pixels of the image (x1, y1), the sixth item is the actual image size (X, Y),
The seventh item is a modification parameter used for performing each modification process. However, at the time of creation, only the image file is selected, and only the item of the file name and the item of the number of pixels are copied from the file database and entered. The contents represented by the parameter of the number of pixels are shown in FIG.
FIG. 2 shows the contents represented by the rotation angle parameter.
It is shown in FIG. The actual image size (X, Y) is the actual size value of the image when printed, and the unit is mm.

In the next step 804, a modification process is selected. The modification instruction acquisition module 32 can give an instruction for modification processing from “image modification” in the menu frame 30b in a state where the image data is selected. As mentioned above, you can select from the pull-down menu "Automatic image adjustment, manual image adjustment, cropping, rotation, black and white, sepia,
Cancel image modification ". The modification parameter of the print information table has a 6-bit area to indicate the presence or absence of each selection except for image modification cancellation, and indicates that each modification process is executed by setting a corresponding bit. As for the image modification cancellation, as described above, an instruction is given to reread the image data from the original data file 15a. Note that the modification process is performed by the operator operating the image modification pull-down menu, so that step 804 may not actually be performed. This step 804 constitutes a modification instruction obtaining step.

On the other hand, it is necessary to always specify the form in which printing is to be performed. In step 806, the print mode is designated from the screen display shown in FIG. 7 by operating the print designation tab. Typically, the right center portion 30 of the window area
The paper is selected with f, the print layout of the image is selected with the upper part 30d, and optional print items other than image data are selected with the left center part 30e as necessary. When the paper and the layout are specified, it is possible to specify how large the printing should be at each layout position. This may be calculated by using parameters from information on the size and arrangement of sheets, or a table may be prepared in advance for each sheet. This step 806 constitutes a print instruction acquisition step.

FIG. 24 shows an arrangement for printing nine images on a 100 mm × 120 mm sticker sheet.
Parameters representing this are prepared as a table shown in FIG. In the arrangement, the coordinate position of the upper left corner of the image is represented by an actual size value (unit: mm) based on the upper left corner of the sheet.
The actual image size is also represented by the actual size value in mm. FIG.
In the example shown in FIG. 4, each seal is 30 mm wide and 2 mm long.
0 mm, and the first position is horizontal 1 with reference to the upper left corner.
This indicates that the upper left corner of the image is adjusted to the position of 0 mm and the height of 10 mm, and the size is 30 mm in width and 20 mm in height. In addition, the second position indicates that the upper left corner of the image is adjusted to a position of 40 mm wide and 10 mm vertically with respect to the upper left corner, and the third position is a position of 80 mm wide and 10 mm vertically with respect to the upper left corner. This shows that the upper left corner of the image is aligned. Since these are arranged in a horizontal line, there is no change in the vertical coordinate position. In the second and third rows, the vertical coordinate position is 40 m.
m and 70 mm.

FIG. 26 shows parameters for printing four images on the same paper size for better understanding. In this case, the actual image size is 45 mm in width and 30 in height.
mm, the first reference position for matching the upper left corner of the image is 10 mm wide and 10 mm long, the second is 65 mm wide,
10mm long, 3rd is 10mm wide, 60mm long is 4mm
The second is 65 mm wide and 60 mm long. The parameters of such a table are entered in the print information table shown in FIG. That is, the arrangement position of the third item (x0, y0)
And the parameters of the image size (X, Y) of the sixth item.
If the parameter is for printing nine images as shown in FIG. 1 to No. Nine layout positions and the actual image size parameters are sequentially copied from the top row of the print information table, and when the ninth row ends, N
O. 1 to No. The parameters of No. 9 are repeatedly copied. At this time, the print page gradually becomes “1”,
Increase to "2". Of course, the process ends when the column of the print information table ends.

As described above, all parameters of the print information table have been entered.
A print data file is created by a loop process from 08 to step 818. More specifically, in step 808, a page counter i and a file pointer j, which are variables for the counter, are initialized ("1"), and in step 810, print data from the image file corresponding to page i and file j Generate. Here, page i and file j are
It is assumed that page i is specified in the print page item in the print information table, and that a plurality of image files to be printed on the same page i are sequentially specified as file j from the top.

For example, in the sticker printing described above, nine image files are printed on one page, and i =
1, j = 1, the selected image file is “00”.
1. JPG ", the arrangement position is (10, 10), the number of pixels is (640, 480), and the actual image size is (30, 20). The print data file creation process shown in FIG. 8 is executed using this value. The detailed description of the print data file creation processing has been completed, and will not be repeated. In this example, however, in step 200, the variable number of horizontal pixels Xp1 of the original image is “640” and the number of vertical pixels Yp
1 is “480”, the actual horizontal size X of the print image is “30”, and the actual vertical size Y of the print image is “2”.
"0" is set. Then, in step 210, In step 220, Xp1: Xp2 = 640: 300, which corresponds to a reduction situation. In this case, 1
Since the number of pixels per inch is Xp1 / (X / 25.4) = 640 / (30 / 25.4) = 542, the printer resolution is larger than the printer resolution (for example, 360) in step 225. Become smaller. In other words, when the pixels of the image file and the pixels of the printer are allocated, the number of pixels in the image file is larger, so that the modification processing as it is causes loss. Accordingly, low resolution conversion is first performed in step 230, and then modification processing is performed in step 235. Here, the pixel size K of the reduced image is set to 0.1 mm.
With such a determination, it is possible to prevent an increase in the load of reducing or enlarging more than necessary, and to secure desired accuracy.

As described above, even if the number of pixels should be reduced in the comparison of the number of pixels in step 220, since the image is finally printed at the resolution of the printer, the size is reduced in accordance with the resolution of the printer. Also, if the resolution of the printer is larger, it will be necessary to enlarge the image to match the resolution of the printer. I have.

Then, in step 255, the image data is output for printing. However, since it is actually a part of the page, it is spooled by the internal processing of the printer driver 21. On the other hand, when i = 1 and j = 2,
The selected image file is “002.BMP”,
The arrangement position is (45, 10), and the number of pixels is (360, 24).
0), and the actual image size is (30, 20). Then, "360" is set for the number of horizontal pixels Xp1 and "240" is set for the number of vertical pixels Yp1, and step 2
In the case of 20, since Xp1: Xp2 = 360: 300, it corresponds to the situation of expansion. Needless to say, performing the retouching process after enlargement increases the loss. Therefore, the retouching process is executed first in step 240, and the
To increase the resolution.

The process of judging whether the image needs to be enlarged or reduced through the above-described calculation process constitutes an enlargement / reduction determination step. The configuration in which the modification is performed after that, or when the enlargement is necessary, the flow of the modification and then the enlargement is controlled constitutes the processing order control step. Of course, when this is expressed as a device, the portion that performs the enlargement / reduction processing in step 230 or step 250 constitutes the enlargement / reduction processing means,
The part that performs the modification processing in step 235 or step 240 constitutes the modification means.

Each time the above-mentioned processing is executed for one image file in step 810, step 81
In step 2, the file pointer j is incremented, and in step 814, it is determined whether page i has been completed. Page i
If not completed, step 810 and the subsequent steps are repeated. If page i has been completed, the file pointer j is initialized in step 815, and the page counter i is incremented in step 816.
At 8, it is determined whether all pages have been completed. If all the pages have been completed, the process is completed. If all the pages have not been completed, step 810 and the subsequent steps are repeated.

As described above, while selecting which image file is to be printed from a plurality of image files, the layout and size are specified as the form of printing, the desired image file is specified for each image file. When performing the modification process, it is determined whether the size specified for each image file expands or reduces the image file,
The modification process can be performed reliably on the side with the smaller number of pixels before and after the resolution conversion process. In this case, whether to enlarge or reduce the size may be determined by comparing the number of virtual images derived from the designated size and the printer resolution with the original number of pixels, or by comparing the original number of pixels with the printer resolution. The actual image size may be compared with the virtual image size derived from the above. The point is that the determination is made individually for each image file and each time printing is specified based on the actual image size determined according to the specified layout.

Since the order of the resolution conversion processing and the modification processing is specifically compared for each image file in the loop processing, not only when the processing order is always determined, but also when the processing order is determined. The processing efficiency can be improved as compared with the case where the order is determined first among the above.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic hardware diagram of a personal computer to which an output image data modifying program according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a system schematic diagram of an output image data modifying program.

FIG. 3 is a main flowchart of an image data output process.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a screen display of an image data output process.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a selection screen display of a modification process in the image data output process.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a selection screen display of a modification process in the image data output process.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a print designation selection screen display in image data output processing.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a print data file creation process.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a relationship between a processing order and an image data size to be handled.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of low-resolution conversion.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing the correspondence between pixels processed by low-resolution conversion.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of resolution reduction by averaging.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of resolution reduction by three-dimensional calculation.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing a correspondence relationship between variables used in a low-resolution operation by a three-dimensional operation.

FIG. 15 is a graph of a weighting function.

FIG. 16 shows a flowchart of a modification in which low-resolution conversion processing is selected.

FIG. 17 is a system schematic diagram of an output image data modifying program according to a modification.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of an image data output process.

FIG. 19 is a main flowchart of an image data printing process.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing the structure of a file database for managing image files.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing the structure of a print information table for managing printing.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating the content represented by a parameter of the number of pixels.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating the contents represented by parameters of a rotation angle.

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a layout for printing nine images on a sticker sheet.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a table representing layout parameters for printing nine images on a sticker sheet.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating a table representing layout parameters for printing four images on a sticker sheet.

[Description of Signs] 10 personal computer 11 CPU 12 system bus 13 ROM 14 RAM 15 hard disk drive 15a original data file 15b modified data file 15c printer information file 15d output data file 16 floppy disk Drive 16a Floppy disk 17 CD-ROM drive 17a CD-ROM 18 Display 19a Serial I / O 19b Parallel I / O 20 Operating system 21 Printer driver 30 Application 30a Title bar 30b Menu frame 30c Window 30d Upper portion 30e Lower left portion 30f Lower right portion 30g Image quality designation frame 30h Printer designation frame 30j View button 30k Album detail button 41 Keyboard 42 Mouse 43 Digital camera 50 Printer 60 Operating system 60a Profile data 61 Color matching module 62 Display driver 63 Printer driver 70 Application 71 Purpose acquisition module 72 Output instruction acquisition module 73 ... Reduction judgment module 74 ... Profile acquisition module 75 ... Color matching module 76 ... Reduction module 77 ... Processing order control module

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 1/46 H04N 1/40 D 5/262 1/46 Z (54) [Title of Invention] Output image Medium recording data modification program, output image data modification method, output image data modification apparatus, medium recording image data reduction program, image data reduction method, image data reduction apparatus, medium recording image data modification program , Image data retouching method and image data retouching device

Claims (24)

[Claims] A modification instruction acquiring step of acquiring a modification instruction for the image data when the computer performs the modification processing in the color coordinate system on the image data so as to perform an output process based on the image data. A modification step of executing a modification process corresponding to the acquired modification instruction; an output instruction acquisition step of acquiring an output instruction for the image data; and reducing the image data based on the acquired output instruction. A step of determining whether or not the image data is necessary; a step of performing a reduction process on the image data based on a predetermined reduction instruction; and a step of reducing the image data based on the determination result of the step of determining whether or not the image data is reduced. In this case, after performing at least a part of the reduction processing in the reduction step, the modification step A medium storing an output image data modification program, wherein the computer executes a processing order control step of performing modification processing in a step. 2. A medium on which the image data modification program for output according to claim 1 is recorded, wherein a reduction process and a modification process are executed when the computer executes an operating system as an application. A medium that stores an output image data modification program. 3. A medium on which the image data modifying program for output according to claim 1 or 2 is recorded, wherein the image data subjected to necessary reduction processing and modification processing is handled by the output device. A medium on which an output image data modifying program is output, which is output to a color conversion unit that performs color conversion to a color coordinate system, and performs color conversion. 4. A medium on which an output image data modifying program according to claim 1 is recorded, wherein said reduction step includes a separate reduction process corresponding to a plurality of different reduction algorithms. And a computer-readable recording medium capable of executing an optimum reduction process in response to a reduction instruction to reduce image data. 5. A medium on which the output image data modifying program according to claim 4 is recorded, wherein in the reduction step, when a reduction ratio based on a reduction instruction is large, a low-quality reduction algorithm is used. A medium on which a featured output image data modification program is recorded. 6. A medium in which the image data modifying program for output according to claim 4 or 5 is recorded, wherein in the reduction step, high-quality reduction is performed when the size of the original image data is large. A medium in which an output image data modifying program characterized by using an algorithm is recorded. 7. A medium in which the output image data modifying program according to any one of claims 4 to 6 is recorded, wherein in the reduction step, high-quality reduction is performed when the size of the resulting image data is large. A medium in which an output image data modifying program characterized by using an algorithm is recorded. 8. A medium in which the output image data modifying program according to claim 4 is recorded, wherein in the reduction step, the priority of the image quality is set according to the type of the original image data. A medium on which an output image data modification program is recorded, wherein the image data modification program uses an optimal image quality reduction algorithm based on the association. 9. A medium on which the output image data modifying program according to claim 8 is recorded, wherein in the reduction step, the type of the original image data is determined based on the number of colors. A medium on which an image data modification program is recorded. 10. A medium on which the output image data modifying program according to claim 4 is recorded, wherein in the reduction step, a priority of image quality is associated with an output instruction, A medium on which an output image data modifying program is recorded, wherein an optimal image quality reducing algorithm is used based on the association. 11. A medium in which the output image data modifying program according to claim 4 is recorded, wherein said reducing step includes performing an arithmetic operation with a small number of reference pixels in a low image quality reducing algorithm. A medium storing an output image data modifying program for executing a high-quality reduction algorithm and performing an arithmetic operation with a large number of reference pixels. 12. A medium storing the output image data modifying program according to any one of claims 4 to 10, wherein in the reduction step, a linear operation process is performed by a low-quality reduction algorithm. A medium on which an output image data modifying program is recorded, wherein a non-linear operation process is performed in a high-quality reduction algorithm. 13. A method according to claim 1, wherein a file is generated as output image data on a medium in which the output image data modifying program according to claim 1 is recorded. Medium on which program is recorded. 14. Performing a modification process on the image data in the color coordinate system so as to perform an output process on the basis of the image data, and acquires a modification instruction and an output instruction for the image data. Determining whether or not the image data needs to be reduced based on the output instruction given, and performing a modification process after performing at least a part of the reduction process when the image data needs to be reduced; Image data modification method. 15. A modification instruction acquiring means for acquiring a modification instruction for said image data when executing the modification processing in the color coordinate system for the image data so as to perform an output process based on the image data. Modifying means for executing a modifying process corresponding to the acquired modifying instruction; output instruction acquiring means for acquiring an output instruction for the image data; and necessity of reducing the image data based on the acquired output instruction. If there is a need to reduce the image data based on the result of the determination by the reduction presence / absence determination means, Processing order control means for executing the modification processing by the modifying means after at least a part of the reduction processing is executed by the reduction means. An output image data modifying device, comprising: 16. A medium storing an image data reduction program for causing a computer to execute a reduction process for reducing the size of image data, wherein: a reduction instruction obtaining step of obtaining a reduction instruction for the image data; In performing the reduction processing on the image data based on the following, a reduction step capable of executing individual reduction processing corresponding to a plurality of different reduction algorithms, and a reduction algorithm executable in the reduction step. An image data reduction program, wherein the computer executes a reduction algorithm selection step of selecting an optimal one in accordance with the reduction instruction and performing a reduction process by the same reduction algorithm with respect to the reduction step. The recorded media. 17. An image data reduction method for reducing the size of image data, comprising: receiving a reduction instruction for the image data;
A method for reducing image data, comprising selecting an optimal reduction algorithm from among executable reduction algorithms in accordance with the reduction instruction, and performing a reduction process using the selected reduction algorithm. 18. An image data reduction device for executing a reduction process for reducing the size of image data, comprising: a reduction instruction obtaining unit configured to obtain a reduction instruction for the image data; In performing the reduction process, a reduction unit capable of executing individual reduction processes corresponding to a plurality of different reduction algorithms, and a reduction algorithm that can be executed by the reduction unit in accordance with the reduction instruction An image data reduction device comprising: a reduction algorithm selection unit that selects an optimal one and performs a reduction process on the reduction unit using the same reduction algorithm. 19. A medium recording an image data modifying program for causing a computer to perform a modifying process on the same image data when a predetermined layout is designated based on a plurality of image data and the thumbnail is printed. An image data selecting step of selecting image data to be subjected to thumbnail printing from image data; a modifying instruction acquiring step of acquiring a modifying instruction for the selected image data; and a print instruction designating a predetermined layout for the image data. A printing instruction obtaining step of obtaining, a scaling determining step of determining the necessity of scaling for each image data based on the obtained printing instruction, and a determination result of the scaling determining step, The selected image data is individually expanded in accordance with the determination result. And reduction process with implementing, the expansion and
A processing order control step of executing a modification process corresponding to the acquired modification instruction on each image data on the side where each image data is not large before and after the reduction process, and recording an image data modification program. Medium. 20. A medium on which the image data modifying program according to claim 19 is recorded, wherein in said enlargement / reduction determining step, a pixel size to be assigned to each pixel is specified, and an image size to be printed and said pixel size are determined. A medium for recording an image data modification program, wherein the necessity of enlargement / reduction is determined using the number of pixels at the time of printing derived by the above method. 21. A medium on which the image data modifying program according to claim 19 or 20 is recorded, wherein in the processing order control step, a resolution of a printer is compared with a resolution of each image data, A medium in which an image data retouching program is recorded, wherein the resizing process is performed on each image data after reducing the resolution to the resolution of the printer. 22. A medium on which the image data modifying program according to claim 19 is recorded, wherein in the processing order control step, a resolution of a printer is compared with a resolution of each image data, A medium having recorded thereon an image data retouching program, wherein the retouching process is performed on each image data first if the resolution of the printer is large. 23. An image data retouching method for executing a retouching process on a designated layout based on a plurality of image data and performing thumbnail printing on the image data, wherein a thumbnail is selected from the image data. An image data selection step of selecting image data to be printed; a modification instruction acquisition step of acquiring a modification instruction for the selected image data; and a print instruction acquisition of acquiring a print instruction specifying a predetermined layout for the image data. And a scaling determination step of determining the necessity of enlargement / reduction for each image data based on the acquired printing instruction. The determination result in the scaling determination step corresponds to the determination result. And individually perform enlargement / reduction processing on the selected image data, and before and after the enlargement / reduction processing. Image data retouching method characterized in that the modification process corresponding to the obtained modification indicated in side the image data is not large and a process order control step of executing the respective image data definitive. 24. An image data retouching device for executing a retouching process on a designated layout based on a plurality of image data and performing thumbnail printing on the image data, wherein a thumbnail is selected from the image data. Image data selecting means for selecting image data to be printed; modifying instruction acquiring means for acquiring a modifying instruction for the selected image data; modifying means for executing modifying processing corresponding to the acquired modifying instruction; Print instruction obtaining means for obtaining a print instruction designating a predetermined layout for the data; enlargement / reduction determination means for determining necessity of enlargement / reduction for each image data based on the obtained print instruction; A zoom-in / zoom-out process that individually performs zoom-in / zoom-out processing on the selected image data based on a predetermined zoom-in / zoom-out instruction; Reduction processing means, based on the determination result by the enlargement / reduction determination means, performing the enlargement / reduction processing by the enlargement / reduction processing means, and performing the modification processing by the modification means before and after the enlargement / reduction processing. An image data retouching device, comprising: a processing order control means for individually executing data on a side where data is not large.