JP2006237675A - Image processor and processing program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processor in which print data mixing a text and image data is printed while having a height only at a required part. <P>SOLUTION: The image processor comprises a means 1 for inputting image data, a means 2 for separating image data input from an input means 1 for every data attribute, a means 3 for selecting such a data attribute as performing printing having a height out of data attributes separated by the separating means 2 and extracting the outline only for the image data of selected data attribute, and a means 4 for performing printing having a height different from that of other parts on or in the outline extracted by the extracting means 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing program capable of preventing duplication and forgery by an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine.

  Conventional security printing functions have been realized by printing fine patterns (watermark patterns) that are difficult to read by a scanner of a copier in order to prevent the copying machine from creating a copy. However, with this method, if a high-performance scanner is used, it is not technically impossible to scan and duplicate even this watermark pattern.

  On the other hand, it is possible to perform printing with a height by using a special material in recent printing technology (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Since the height information of printing having this height cannot be scanned by the scanner, it is difficult to duplicate it. As a result, it is possible to perform printing with a higher security function by using height information in addition to color information.

JP 2002-244384 A

  However, although it is possible to perform printing with a special material using a printing technology, the actual printing includes a wide variety of data such as text, graphics, and images. It is not easy to print data with height.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems. That is, the present invention provides an input unit for inputting image data, a separation unit for separating image data input by the input unit for each data attribute, and printing having a height among the data attributes separated by the separation unit. A selection means for selecting a data attribute to be implemented; an extraction means for extracting only the image data having the data attribute selected by the selection means among the data obtained by separation by the separation means; and on the contour extracted by the extraction means Alternatively, the image processing apparatus includes a printing unit that performs printing having a height different from that of other portions inside the outline.

  In the present invention, a specific type of data is separated from the input image data, and printing is performed on the contour of the type of data or in a portion inside the contour different in height from other portions. Therefore, it is possible to easily perform printing having a height by automatically extracting a contour of a data type that does not affect the appearance even if printing having a height is performed and a portion inside the contour.

  Also, the present invention provides an input means for inputting image data, and an information adding means for adding preset identification information to a predetermined part of the area corresponding to the image data input by the input means. And an image processing apparatus including a printing unit that performs printing having a height different from that of the other part with respect to the part of the identification information added by the information adding unit.

  According to the present invention, identification information having a height can be automatically printed in a predetermined part of the region corresponding to the input image data. The identification information set in advance can be added to the image data as a print having a height simply by giving it.

  The present invention also includes a separation step of separating image data to be printed for each data attribute, a selection step of selecting a data attribute for performing printing having a height among the separated data attributes, For the data attribute data selected in the selection step, an extraction step for extracting the contour of the image data obtained by separation in the separation step, and other parts on or within the contour of the image data extracted in the extraction step And a print data generation step for generating data for performing printing having a height different from that of the image processing program.

  In the present invention, a specific type of data is separated from the input image data, and printing is performed on the contour of the type of data or in a portion inside the contour different in height from other portions. Therefore, it is possible to easily perform printing having a height by automatically extracting a contour of a data type that does not affect the appearance even if printing having a height is performed and a portion inside the contour.

  In addition, the present invention provides an information adding step for adding preset identification information to a predetermined part of an area corresponding to image data to be printed, and an identification added in the information adding step. An image processing program for executing, by a computer, a print data generation step for generating data for performing printing having a height different from that of other portions of an information portion.

  According to the present invention, identification information having a height can be automatically printed in a predetermined part of the region corresponding to the input image data. The identification information set in advance can be added to the image data as a print having a height simply by giving it.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to perform printing with a height only on a necessary portion with respect to print data in which text and image data are mixed, and it is easy to obtain a printed matter that can realize original guarantee and forgery prevention Can be created.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. That is, the image processing apparatus includes an input unit 1 for inputting image data to be printed, a separation unit 2 for separating specific image data from image data input by the input unit 1 based on data attributes, and a separation unit. Extraction means 3 for extracting the contour of the specific image data obtained by separation by means 2, and printing having a different height from the other portions in the contour of the specific image data extracted by the extraction means 3 or a portion inside the contour Printing means 4 for performing the above.

  The configuration composed of each of the above means is incorporated in an apparatus that enables printing output on a medium such as paper such as a copying machine or a printer. Therefore, in the case of a copying machine, the scanner portion that reads a document image is the input means 1, and in the case of a printer, the input portion 1 is an interface portion that receives image data sent from an external personal computer or the like.

  For example, the separating unit 2 analyzes the frequency component of the image data to obtain a data attribute, and separates specific image data based on the data attribute. In the present embodiment, the text data area and the image data area are separated, and the image data in the image data area is passed to the extraction means 3.

  The extracting unit 3 extracts the outline from the image data in the area of the image data passed from the separating unit 2 and passes it to the printing unit 4. The printing unit 4 is supplied with the toner image for each color (for example, Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), K (black))) for normal color printing, as well as from the extracting unit 3. An image is formed with special toner on the contour portion of the image data or the portion inside the contour. By using this special toner, an image is formed higher than the other portions only in the contour portion of the image data or the portion inside the contour.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a printing state using the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2A shows image data to be printed. The image data includes text data T1, T2 and image data I1, I2, I3.

  When this image data is received by the input means 1 and passed to the separation means 2, the image data I1, I2, and I3 are separated from the image data, and the extraction means 3 extracts the contour portions of the image data I1, I2, and I3. .

  Then, when printing having a height is performed on the extracted contour portion by the printing unit 4, as shown in FIG. 2B, only the contour portions of the image data I1, I2, and I3 have a height h with the special toner. Normal color printing is performed for the other portions.

  Here, the image data I1, I2, and I3 are higher than the text data T1 and T2 to perform the printing h having the height only on the contour portions of the image data I1, I2, and I3 among the image data. This is because even if the is added, the appearance is not impaired. That is, since the outline of the text data T1 and T2 is sharply expressed as characters, it is difficult to refer to the text due to the unevenness when printing having the height of this portion is performed. On the other hand, in the image data I1, I2, and I3, even if the contour portion has irregularities, it does not affect the appearance so much. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the contour portions of the image data I1, I2, and I3 are extracted, and the print h having a height is applied thereto.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining an image processing program corresponding to the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. This image processing program is executed by a computer, and is realized mainly as software such as software executed in a copying machine or printer, or printer driver executed in a personal computer.

  That is, this image processing program separates specific data (here, text data and image data) from image data to be printed based on data attributes, and a separation step (step S11). ) In the extraction step (step S12) for extracting the contour of the specific data (here, image data) obtained by separating in (4)), and the contour of the image data extracted in the extraction step (step S12) is different from other portions. The computer executes a print data generation step (step S13) for generating data for performing printing having a length.

  In the separation step (step S11), for example, the frequency component of the input image data is analyzed to separate the text data region and the image data region, and the image data in the image data region is output.

  In the extraction step (step S12), the contour is extracted from the image data in the region of the image data output in the separation step (step S11) and output to the next step. In the print data generation step (step S13), a toner image of each color (for example, Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), K (black)) for performing normal color printing is formed. In addition to the print data, print data for forming an image with special toner is generated for the contour portion of the extracted image data. By printing using this print data with an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, only the contour portion of the image data is formed higher than the other portions.

  Next, a second embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. In other words, the image processing apparatus is preset in the input unit 1 for inputting image data to be printed and a predetermined part of the region corresponding to the image data input by the input unit 1. The information adding means 5 for adding identification information and the printing means 4 for printing the identification information added by the information adding means 5 with a different height from the other portions are provided.

  The configuration composed of each of the above means is incorporated in an apparatus that enables printing output on a medium such as paper such as a copying machine or a printer. Therefore, in the case of a copying machine, the scanner portion that reads a document image is the input means 1, and in the case of a printer, the input portion 1 is an interface portion that receives image data sent from an external personal computer or the like.

  The information adding means 5 is a part that performs processing for adding identification information to an area set by a user or an initial value. For example, when areas such as a header and footer, left and right margins, and background in a page when image data is printed out are specified, predetermined identification information is added to the specified area. The identification information may be visible or invisible, or may be encoded and cannot be recognized by a person. In the case of confidential information, it is preferably invisible and encoded. The identification information is combined with the image data to be printed and passed to the printing means 4 in the form of print data.

  The printing means 4 is supplied from the information adding means 5 in addition to toner image formation of each color (for example, Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), K (black)) for performing normal color printing. The identification information is subjected to image formation using special toner. By using this special toner, only the identification information portion is formed higher than the other portions.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a printing state using the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. In this example, the identification information is output as a print h having a height in the header portion of the printed page. The identification information includes, for example, information for guaranteeing the original and information for preventing forgery, such as a copier that performs printing, a printer number, printing date and time, information that can identify a user who performed printing, and a serial number. It is done. Specifically, it is encoded in a format such as a barcode.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining another printing state. In FIG. 6A, identification information data corresponding to the background of the paper is prepared, and is superimposed on the image data to be printed shown in FIG. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6C, background data including identification information is printed as a print h having a height, and image data to be printed is printed by normal color printing in a superimposed manner. become.

  In the configuration in which identification information is added to a predetermined area and printed as a print h having a height as in the second embodiment, the identification information is added to a certain position regardless of the content of the image data. Therefore, it can be realized with an easy configuration. For this reason, a position for adding identification information is set on the image forming apparatus side such as a copying machine or a printer, and the position is added to the received image data or on the application software side of the personal computer that generates image data to be printed. It is also possible to set a position to which identification information is added and to send data with identification information before sending image data to a printer or the like.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an image processing program corresponding to the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. This image processing program is executed by a computer, and is realized mainly as software such as software executed in a copying machine or printer, or printer driver executed in a personal computer.

  That is, the image processing program includes an information addition step (step S21) for adding preset identification information to a predetermined part of a region corresponding to image data to be printed, and information addition The computer executes a print data generation step (step S22) for generating data for performing printing having a height different from that of the other portions in the identification information portion added in the step (step S22).

  In the information addition step (step S21), a process of adding identification information to the area set by the user or the initial value is performed. For example, when areas such as a header and footer, left and right margins, and background in a page when image data is printed out are specified, predetermined identification information is added to the specified area. The identification information may be visible or invisible, or may be encoded and cannot be recognized by a person. In the case of confidential information, it is preferably invisible and encoded. The identification information is combined with image data to be printed.

  In the print data generation step (step S22), a toner image of each color (for example, Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), K (black)) for performing normal color printing is formed. In addition to the print data, print data for forming an image with special toner is generated for the portion of the identification information added in the information addition step (step S21). By printing using this print data with an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, only the identification information portion is formed higher than the other portions.

  In addition, in embodiment described above, you may implement combining 1st Embodiment and 2nd Embodiment. For example, in the first embodiment, when the image data is not included in the image data, if the identification information is given to the predetermined area as in the second embodiment by the print h having the height, By switching between the first embodiment when an image is included and the second embodiment when an image is not included, printing h having a height can be applied to any image data.

  In the first embodiment, when printing h having a height in the contour portion of the extracted image data is performed, identification information as in the second embodiment can be incorporated in the printing h. .

1 is a block diagram illustrating an image processing apparatus according to a first embodiment. It is a schematic diagram explaining the state of printing using the image processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the image processing program corresponding to the image processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram explaining the image processing apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram explaining the state of printing using the image processing apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram explaining another printing state. It is a flowchart explaining the image processing program corresponding to the image processing apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Input means, 2 ... Separation means, 3 ... Extraction means, 4 ... Printing means, 5 ... Information addition means, h ... Printing with height

Claims (6)

Input means for inputting image data;
Separating means for separating the image data input by the input means for each data attribute;
Selecting means for selecting a data attribute for performing printing having a height among the data attributes separated by the separating means;
Of the data obtained by separation by the separation means, an extraction means for extracting a contour only for the image data having the data attribute selected by the selection means;
An image processing apparatus comprising: a printing unit that performs printing having a height different from other portions on the contour extracted by the extracting unit or inside the contour. Input means for inputting image data;
Information adding means for adding preset identification information to a predetermined part of the area corresponding to the image data input by the input means;
An image processing apparatus comprising: a printing unit that performs printing having a height different from that of the other portion of the identification information portion added by the information addition unit. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the identification information is encoded information. A separation step of separating image data to be printed for each data attribute;
A selection step of selecting a data attribute for performing printing having a height among the separated data attributes;
For the data attribute data selected in the selection step, an extraction step for extracting the contour of the image data obtained by separation in the separation step;
A print data generation step of generating data for printing on the contour of the image data extracted in the extraction step or inside the contour and having a different height from other portions, Image processing program. An information adding step of adding preset identification information to a predetermined part of the area corresponding to the image data to be printed;
An image processing program for executing, by a computer, a print data generation step for generating data for performing printing having a height different from that of other portions in the identification information portion added in the information addition step. The image processing program according to claim 5, wherein the identification information is encoded information.

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