JP2010245594A - Image processing apparatus, image processing method and image processing program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology for obtaining a good-apparance printed matter by applying image processing according to the size of a printing medium. <P>SOLUTION: The image processing apparatus includes: a step of acquiring first image data; a step of acquiring the size of a printing medium to be used to print the first image data; a step of converting the color of pixels having brightness of a predetermined first threshold value or more into a color of brightness lower than that in the case where the size of the printing medium is a second size smaller than the first size to generate second image data when the printing medium has the first size in the first image data; and a step of instructing to print the second image data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and an image processing program that perform image processing according to the size of a print medium.

  Conventionally, when printing a digital image, when printing on a large print medium, compared with printing on a small print medium, image processing has been performed to increase the contrast of the image, increase the density, and enhance the outline. It is known to perform printing with.

JP-A-9-102874

  By the way, when white is expressed by printing, white is expressed by the ground color of the print medium without applying ink or toner. When printing on a print medium having a small size such as L size, a bright image tends to be preferred. For example, it is desirable that a white area in a photographic image is expressed by the ground color of the print medium. On the other hand, when printing a photographic image on a large print medium, a profound feeling tends to be preferred over brightness. When white is expressed in the background color of the print medium as in the case of the small size in the case of the large size, even if the original image is the same, the area of the background color of the print medium becomes large when printed in a large size, There is a high possibility that a bright image portion of a photographic image is perceived as the background color of the print medium without being perceived. As a result, the quality of the photographic image is lowered and the photographic image looks bright and light. In the oil painting on the canvas, it feels uncomfortable like a piece of the canvas that has been left untouched. In order to express white without using the ground color, it may be possible to employ white ink, but this is difficult to realize because the cost increases accordingly.

Also, when printing on a small size print medium, noise in the image is removed as much as possible, and an image with less noise is preferred. On the other hand, if noise is removed in the same way when printing on a large print medium, the photograph will look like an illustration poster and the photographic image will appear flat without any three-dimensional effect.
As described above, when printing a photo, there is a problem that the appearance of the printed photo is deteriorated depending on the size of the print medium to be printed.

  An object of this invention is to provide the technique which can perform the image process according to the size of the printing medium, and can obtain the printed matter with a good appearance.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, the size of the print medium on which the first image data is to be printed is acquired, and the color of the pixel having a brightness equal to or higher than a predetermined first threshold in the first image data is obtained. The larger the size of the printing medium to be printed, the lower the brightness. In general, it is preferred that an image printed on a small size print medium looks bright, and an image printed on a large size print medium tends to be less preferred. In the present invention, a pixel having a lightness equal to or higher than a predetermined first threshold is converted so that the lightness after conversion is equal to or lower than the lightness before conversion. Further, when attention is paid to the lightness of an arbitrary pixel whose lightness before conversion is not less than a predetermined value, the decrease in lightness due to the conversion is larger when the size of the print medium to be printed is larger than when it is small. Adjust to. As a result, an image printed on a large-sized print medium is printed with the brightness of pixels having a lightness higher than a predetermined value suppressed, so that it is possible to generate a printed material with a calm and overall feeling. .

  The first image data acquired by the image data acquisition unit may be data indicating an image to be printed, and may be data expressed in any data format as long as the brightness component can be extracted by a known calculation. May be. For example, the acquired image data may be RAW data, RGB data, JPEG data, or the like.

  The print setting acquisition unit only needs to be able to acquire the size of the print medium on which the first image data is to be printed. The size of the print medium means the size of an area for forming an image indicated by image data to be printed on the print surface of the print medium. The size of the print medium does not necessarily correlate with the resolution (number of pixels) of the image data. This is because, for example, image data having the same resolution may be printed on print media of different sizes.

  The color conversion processing means converts the color of a pixel having a lightness equal to or higher than a predetermined first threshold in the image data to a color having a lower lightness as the size of the print medium to be printed is larger. The color with the highest brightness is white. In general, white is a color expressed by the ground color of the print medium without applying the colorant, except for a printing apparatus capable of mounting a colorant that expresses white. As the lightness above the predetermined first threshold value, only the lightest lightness color in the image data expression format may be targeted, or the lightness colors in a predetermined range including the lightest color are targeted. It may be. When the brightness is lowered, the brightness is lowered not only for the pixels having the brightness equal to or higher than the first threshold value but also for the other pixels so as not to disturb the gradation relationship in the image.

  The color conversion processing unit only needs to be able to convert a pixel having a lightness equal to or higher than a predetermined first threshold so that the lightness after conversion is equal to or lower than the lightness before conversion. That is, when the print media of the smallest size among the print media handled by the image processing apparatus of the present invention or the sizes of a plurality of print media handled by the image processing apparatus are classified into several groups, they belong to the smallest group. When a print medium is selected, it is not necessary to execute a process for reducing the brightness of pixels having a brightness higher than a predetermined level. Further, the color conversion means only needs to be able to convert the pixels having the same brightness in the original image data so that the brightness is lower when printing on a large print medium than when printing on a small print medium.

  The print instructing unit instructs the print control unit to print the second image data converted and generated by the color conversion processing unit. The print control unit only needs to have a function for causing the printing apparatus to execute printing. For example, a printer driver program installed in a computer may correspond to this, or a control incorporated in the printer. The part may correspond to this.

  Further, in the present invention, the print setting acquisition means acquires print settings related to the presence / absence of a border, and the color conversion processing means selects that there is no border in the print settings related to the presence / absence of a border. The brightness of the color of the pixel having the brightness equal to or higher than the first threshold value may be lowered as compared with the case where it is present. In this case, when the presence of edge is selected, it is possible to easily distinguish the edge from a pixel having a predetermined brightness or more in the image data. This is because the edge is an area where the colorant is not applied, and it is difficult to distinguish because the difference in brightness from a pixel having a predetermined brightness or higher in the image data is small, but by reducing the brightness of a pixel having a predetermined brightness or higher, the edge is reduced. This is because the difference in brightness was increased. When a human sees the center of a small image printed on a small print medium and the center of a large image printed on a large print medium from the same distance, the edge of the large image It is difficult to recognize clearly compared to the edge. The larger the size of the print medium, the easier it is to recognize the boundary with the edge by increasing the difference between the pixel having a predetermined brightness or more and the brightness of the edge.

  Further, in the present invention, the color conversion processing unit is configured such that the area occupied by pixels having a lightness equal to or higher than a predetermined second threshold when the entire first image data is printed is the same as when the entire third image data is printed. When the area of pixels having a lightness equal to or higher than the second threshold is larger, the color of the pixel having a lightness equal to or higher than the second threshold may be converted to a color having a lower lightness. That is, even when printing on a print medium of the same size, the larger the area of pixels having a brightness equal to or greater than the second threshold occupying the whole, the same brightness (second threshold) than the smaller area The pixel having the above brightness) is converted into a pixel having a lower brightness. If the area occupied by pixels with brightness greater than or equal to the second threshold is large, the brightness of the area is more conspicuous than when the area is small. By reducing the brightness of the area, the overall feeling of calmness is reduced An impression can be given to the viewer of the printed matter. Note that the first threshold value may be the same value as the second threshold value or a different value.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, it may be provided with a noise adjusting means for increasing the noise component of the image data as the size of the printing medium is larger, and the print instruction means may output the image data with the increased noise component. Good. When printing on a small size print medium, it is better to have less noise, but when printing on a large size print medium, it looks flat and artificial when noise is removed. When printing on a large print medium, printing on a large print medium increases the noise component added to the image data, compared to printing on a small print medium. Can also obtain a three-dimensional printed material. When printing on a print medium with a small size, the noise component is reduced compared with when printing on a print medium with a large size.

  Furthermore, as in the present invention, a method of changing the mode of correction processing for image data in accordance with the size of the print medium on which the image data is to be printed can also be applied as a program or method. The image processing apparatus, program, and method described above may be realized as a single image processing apparatus or may be realized by combining a plurality of apparatuses, and include various aspects. Further, some changes may be made as appropriate, such as a part of software and a part of hardware. Furthermore, the invention is also established as a recording medium for a program for controlling the image processing apparatus. Of course, the software recording medium may be a magnetic recording medium, a magneto-optical recording medium, or any recording medium to be developed in the future.

The block diagram which shows the structure of a personal computer. 6 is a flowchart illustrating image processing according to the size of a print medium. The figure which shows the example of GUI which an image processing application provides. (4A) to (4F) are graphs for explaining the contents of image processing. The figure for demonstrating the content of image processing. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a GUI provided by a printer driver. The block diagram which shows the structure of a digital camera. The block diagram which shows the structure of a photo viewer.

Here, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order.
(1) Configuration of image processing apparatus:
(2) Image processing according to the size of the print medium:
(3) Other embodiments:

(1) Configuration of image processing apparatus:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a personal computer 1 including an image processing apparatus according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the personal computer 1 includes a CPU 10, a ROM 11, a RAM 12, an HDD 30, and a memory card I / F 16. The CPU 10 can execute a program recorded in the ROM 11 or the HDD 30. In this embodiment, as one of the programs, an image processing application program (hereinafter referred to as an image processing application) having development of RAW image data and other various image processing functions, the image processing application, and the like. It is possible to execute a printer driver program (hereinafter referred to as a printer driver) that generates print data and transmits it to a printer in accordance with print instructions from various applications.

  Further, the CPU 10 is connected to a mouse or a keyboard (not shown) via the USB I / F 14 and can accept an operation input from the mouse or the keyboard. Furthermore, the CPU 10 can be connected to an electronic device that handles digital images such as a digital camera, a scanner, and a photo viewer (not shown) via the USB I / F 14, and acquires image data (first image data) from these electronic devices. be able to. The CPU 10 can also acquire image data (first image data) from a memory card (not shown) via the memory card I / F 16. The CPU 10 is connected to the printer 50 via the USB I / F 14, and the printer 50 can execute printing using print data transmitted from the control unit 20 by processing of the printer driver. Further, the CPU 10 can output a control instruction to the display via the display I / F 15 and display an arbitrary image.

  The image processing application can execute an image processing program 21 corresponding to the size of the print medium. Therefore, the image processing application includes an image data acquisition unit 21a, a print setting acquisition unit 21b, a color conversion processing unit 21c, a noise adjustment unit 21d, and a print instruction unit 21e. In the memory card, which is an external storage medium capable of acquiring data via the HDD 30 or the memory card I / F 16, images in various storage formats such as RAW image data 30a, JPEG, and bitmap acquired in advance from a digital camera or the like are stored. Data is recorded. The control unit 20 can accept the operation content by an operation input device such as a mouse or a keyboard in a state where a predetermined screen is displayed on the display by the processing of the image processing program 21.

(2) Image processing according to the size of the print medium:
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing processing executed by the personal computer 1. First, when a user selects image data to be processed by an operation of a mouse, a keyboard, or the like and opens the image data with an image processing application, the control unit 20 performs an image data acquisition unit 21a to process the image to be processed. Data is acquired from the HDD 30 (step S100), and a print operation unit that selects the size of the print medium on which the acquired image data is to be printed by the processing of the print setting acquisition unit 21b, a preview image of the image data, A GUI (Graphical User Interface) screen including an image processing parameter operation unit for operating various image processing parameters is displayed on the display (step S105). FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the screen. As described above, the image data can be handled in various formats. In the present embodiment, the case where the raw image data is processed image data will be described below. However, JPEG images and bitmap images are the same except that RAW development is not necessary.

  Next, the control unit 20 accepts image processing parameter operations and print medium size selection (step S110). This will be specifically described with reference to a screen example of the image processing application in FIG. On the screen of the image processing application, a preview image of image data acquired as a processing target is displayed in the preview image area 61. On the left side of the preview image area 61, an image processing parameter operation unit for adjusting image processing parameters (white balance, brightness, saturation, contrast, sharpness, etc.) used for RAW development is displayed. A plurality of indicators (63 to 67) are displayed in the image processing parameter operation unit, and the user can operate the indicators using a mouse or the like to change the image processing parameters corresponding to each indicator. it can. In addition to this, in this embodiment, a drop-down list 62 for selecting the size of a print medium on which image data to be processed is to be printed is displayed as a print operation unit on the screen of the image processing application. The size can be selected from the drop-down list 62 using. A print execution button 68 is also displayed, and the user can instruct execution of printing by clicking the print execution button 68 using a mouse or the like.

  Subsequently, the control unit 20 determines whether or not printing execution of the target image data is instructed by the user (step S115). If not instructed, the process returns to step S105. At this time, if the image processing parameter is changed by the user, the image processing based on the changed image processing parameter is performed at a high speed by thinning out pixels from the preview image data (original image data). The image data that can be performed (however, it may be original image data) is updated to update the preview image (step S105). Then, the processing from step S105 to step S110 is repeated until printing execution is instructed in step S115.

  If it is determined in step S115 that execution of printing has been instructed, the control unit 20 performs image processing on the RAW image data based on the image processing parameters changed in step S110 and the size of the printing medium (step S120, second). The image data after the image processing and the print setting information (such as the size of the print medium designated by the user in the image processing application) are transferred to the printer driver as the print control unit by the processing of the print instruction unit 21e. (Step S125). Here, a preview of the image processing result based on the print size may or may not be displayed before delivery to the printer driver. However, it is preferable not to display the image processing so that the user does not see the image processing change according to the print size. Since the size of the preview display depends on the size of the display to be displayed, the size is usually different from the size of the print medium. Therefore, even if the processing correction according to the size of the print medium is performed and the preview is displayed, the display with a size different from the print medium may be confused because the processing correction is not according to the size. . Therefore, it is better not to perform preview display for the result of image processing based on the print size. Of course, a selection function that allows the user to select whether or not to display can be provided, or a specification that always displays a preview may be used. When the print medium size is not specified in the drop-down list 62 of the print operation unit and image processing based on the print size is not performed, a preview display is performed, and the print medium size is specified and the print size is determined. When performing the image processing, the preview display may not be performed. The printer driver converts the resolution of the image data passed from the image processing application based on the print setting information passed from the image processing application or other print setting information set in advance by the user using the printer driver. Processing such as color conversion, halftoning, and rearrangement is performed to generate print data, and the print data is transmitted to the printer 50. The printer 50 performs printing based on the transmitted print data.

  Here, when an arbitrary paper size included in the drop-down list 62 is selected in step S110, image processing performed to reflect the parameter in step S120 for each selected paper size will be described in detail. explain. First, an example of processing for adjusting the brightness according to the size of the print medium will be described. Assume that the user operates the indicators 63 to 67, selects an arbitrary paper size included in the drop-down list 62 in a state where individual image processing parameters are operated, and instructs execution of printing. In this case, when there is a brightness of a pixel having a brightness equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold (first threshold) as an additional process for the result of the image processing based on the individual image processing parameters, The brightness is adjusted. The brightness adjustment may be performed separately on the image data after image processing based on the individual image processing parameters, or the image processing based on the individual image processing parameters and the size of the print medium. Both of the processes according to the above may be combined and executed as a combined process. In the present embodiment, an image having an achromatic color and the brightest white pixel in gradation expression is set as an object of brightness conversion.

  FIG. 4A is a graph showing the relationship between the lightness after conversion of the achromatic color and the brightest white pixel in gradation expression and the paper size. When printing is performed at a small size such as L size, the lightness is relatively bright, and when printing is performed at a large size such as B0, correction is performed so as to be relatively light. As shown in FIG. 4A, the lightness reduction range is set larger as the selected paper size is larger. An image printed on a printing medium of a large size such as B0 is more suppressed as the size of a pixel whose brightness is higher than a predetermined value is larger. be able to. On the other hand, in the case of a small size such as L size, the brightest part in the gradation expression in the image is set to be the brightest so as to have the same brightness as the ground color of the paper. Note that the multiple sizes presented in the drop-down list 62 are classified into several groups, and within the group, the lightness reduction range is set to be the same, and the large size group has a larger reduction range than the small size group. You may make it set. When the brightness is lowered, the brightness is lowered not only for the brightest white pixel in terms of gradation expression but also for other pixels so that the magnitude relationship of the gradation in the image is not lost. Specifically, for a relatively bright pixel in the image, the brightness is changed at a higher rate as the brightness is higher, or the brightness is changed at the same rate for all the pixels.

  Next, an example of processing for adjusting noise according to the size of the print medium will be described. Assume that an arbitrary paper size included in the drop-down list 62 is selected. In this case, the noise component in the image data is adjusted by the processing of the noise adjusting unit 21d. Specifically, for example, when a selected paper size is larger than a certain paper size, image processing that intentionally adds noise components such as Gaussian noise is performed, and the selected paper is selected. When the size is small, image processing for reducing the noise component is performed by the noise filter function. FIG. 4B shows a case where a grain size noise component such as Gaussian noise is intentionally applied to an image at a size larger than that of a predetermined size such as six cuts, and the stereoscopic effect is increased. The size indicates that a noise component is removed by using a noise filter to reduce the noise component. This is because as the size of the print medium increases, the applied noise increases to give the image a three-dimensional effect, and as the size of the print medium decreases, noise removal is strengthened to print a clean image with no noise.

  As a process of increasing the noise component, a method of increasing the amount of spot noise added at random (for example, Gaussian noise) is adopted. As a process for reducing the noise component, for example, a method is adopted in which the threshold of the low-pass filter is set to the lower frequency side as the size of the print medium is smaller. As a result, noise can be reduced when printing on small size paper. Further, when printing on a large size paper, an image from which noise has been removed looks artificially like a flat illustration, but as the size of the paper to be printed increases as in this embodiment, By increasing the noise component added to the image data, a printed matter with a three-dimensional effect can be obtained even when printing on a large size printing medium.

  It should be noted that the brightness of the entire image is corrected according to the size of the high brightness area (area of the pixel area having a brightness equal to or greater than the second threshold) when the selected image is printed on the selected print medium. Also good. For example, the brightness of the entire image may be set lower when printing with a size that increases the white area of high brightness than when printing with a smaller size. In the case of RAW image data, for example, the lightness component value is multiplied by a coefficient set in accordance with the size of the print medium, or the level is shifted by a reduction width set in accordance with the size of the print medium. FIG. 4C is a graph showing a relationship between the brightness after the brightness correction of the pixel having the brightness Yn in the arbitrary original image data and the size of the print medium.

  The contrast may be adjusted according to the size of the print medium. That is, as shown in FIG. 4D, the contrast of the image may be increased when printing on a print medium having a larger size than when printing on a print medium having a small size. That is, in the process of increasing the lightness of a color having a high lightness and decreasing the lightness of a color having a low lightness, the amount of adjustment is increased as the size of the print medium is increased.

  Furthermore, the strength of sharpness may be adjusted according to the size of the print medium. That is, when printing on a large size printing medium, sharpness is made stronger than when printing on a small size printing medium. In general, printing in a large size means that the original image is enlarged to increase the number of pixels. As a result, the gradation change per unit area becomes smoother when printing is performed with larger enlargement. That is, if the image is enlarged more greatly, the image becomes less sharp. Therefore, the sharpness of the contour or the like is obtained by increasing the gradient by making the rate of change in gradation per unit area steep. It should be noted here that a sharp feeling is produced in a finer range with respect to the image before enlargement. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4E, the smaller the print medium size is, the smaller the radius of the unsharp mask is made so that the detailed image change is not crushed. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 4F, the strength of sharpness is set higher as the size of the print medium is larger. Here, the strength of sharpness means that the change in gradation per unit area is increased.

  Furthermore, the enlargement process may be performed by a different method so that the gradation changes smoothly as the size of the print medium increases. For example, the gradation value of the pixel after enlargement may be calculated based on a larger number of pixels as the image is greatly enlarged, and adjustment may be performed so that a smoother gradation can be reproduced. Also, as shown in FIG. 5, when printing media are classified into three in order of size and printing is performed on the printing media belonging to the smallest group, the nearest neighbor method is used as the pixel interpolation processing algorithm, and the second smallest The size of the print medium is also used for the algorithm for enlarging the number of pixels, such as using the bilinear method when printing on a print medium belonging to a group and using the bicubic method when printing on a print medium belonging to the largest group. The gradation reproduction characteristics may be changed according to use. In general, since enlargement by the bicubic method tends to blur the outline, enlargement combined with the sharpness processing described above is effective.

  Further, the saturation may be adjusted according to the size of the print medium. That is, the color may be adjusted in such a way that the vividness is reduced when printing on a larger print medium than on a smaller print medium. In the case of large-format prints, if the colors are too flashy, they tend to become more artificial illustration-like images. By suppressing this, it is intended to produce a more natural print. Further, the hue may be adjusted according to the size of the print medium.

  Further, the skin color of a person may be adjusted according to the size of the print medium. That is, when printing on a large print medium, the color of the skin area is made darker (lightness or saturation is lowered) than when printing on a small print medium. When printing on a small print medium, the color of the skin area is made lighter (increasing brightness or increasing saturation) than when printing on a large print medium. By doing so, it aims to make the face color more favorable. However, since the skin color control largely depends on the image processing system, a correction opposite to the above-described control may be performed.

(3) Other embodiments:
The above embodiment is an example for carrying out the present invention, and the image correction characteristics to be changed according to the print size need not be as described above, and may be corrected with different characteristics depending on the order of image processing. Also good. In addition, various other embodiments are adopted as long as the brightness of a pixel having a brightness higher than a predetermined value or the noise component is adjusted according to the size of a print medium on which image data is to be printed. Is possible. For example, in the above embodiment, when image data is printed on a print medium, the area occupied by pixels having a lightness equal to or higher than a predetermined second threshold in the entire image is calculated. You may make it convert the color of the pixel of the brightness more than a 2nd threshold value into the color with a lower brightness. That is, even when printing on a print medium of the same size, a pixel having a lightness of a predetermined value or more is larger when the proportion of the lightness portion of the predetermined value or more in the entire image data is larger than that of a smaller proportion. You may make it convert into a low pixel. When the proportion of pixels having a lightness of a predetermined level or higher is large, the brightness of the region becomes conspicuous. For this reason, by reducing the brightness of the area, it is possible to give a person who sees the printed matter an overall calm impression. The second threshold value may be the same value as the first threshold value or a different value.

  In the above embodiment, the embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an image processing application has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to a printer driver. Since the block diagram when the present invention is applied to the printer driver is the same as that in FIG. 1, the illustration is omitted. FIG. 6 shows a print condition setting screen provided by the printer driver. When a paper size is selected from the drop-down list 162, an image correction process corresponding to the size of the print medium as described in the above embodiment is automatically performed and printed. That is, a process for lowering the brightness of pixels having a predetermined brightness or higher, and a noise adjustment process are performed. Note that when image data to be processed is specified, the printer driver does not display a preview image or print condition setting screen, and performs image correction processing based on the paper size and correction conditions specified in advance by the user. It may be applied automatically and printed.

  Furthermore, in the print condition setting screen shown in FIG. 6, the brightness adjustment parameter may be changed according to the print setting relating to the presence or absence of a margin (margin) that leaves a margin around the photo. Specifically, for example, when the “execute printing” button 164 is pressed in a state where the check box 163 of “marginless printing” is not checked (that is, a state where margin is present is selected), ”Is lower than when the check box is checked (when no border is selected), the brightness of the color of the pixel with a predetermined brightness or higher is reduced (so that the brightness relationship of the other brightness is not disturbed). Pixels may also be adjusted in brightness). As a result, when the presence of edge is selected, it is possible to easily distinguish the edge from a pixel having a predetermined brightness or higher in the image data. This is because the border is a region where ink is not applied, and the difference between the brightness and the pixel of the predetermined brightness or more in the image data is small, so it is difficult to distinguish the border between the photograph and the border. However, by reducing the lightness of pixels with a lightness above a certain level, the difference in lightness from the edges is increased, thereby clarifying the boundary between the photo image and the edge area, thereby improving the impression of the photographic work including the edges. Can do well.

  Specifically, when a person sees the center of an image printed on a small sheet and the center of an image printed on a large sheet from a position that is the same distance away (when focusing on the center) It is difficult to clearly recognize the edge image of the large paper image compared to the edge of the small paper image. Therefore, the larger the size of the print medium, the easier it is to recognize the boundary with the edge by increasing the difference between the pixel having a predetermined brightness or more and the brightness of the edge. The image processing as described above is performed, and the converted image data is subjected to resolution conversion processing, color conversion processing, halftoning processing, rearrangement processing, and the like to generate print data, and the printer 50 as a print control unit Send to. Note that the process of changing the brightness may be performed whenever the presence of edge is selected, or an image of a photograph in which an area having a predetermined brightness or more exists at a position close to the edge. This may be performed when printing is performed. If there is no bright area near the edge, it is easy to distinguish the border between the photo and the edge without changing the brightness, so in this case you do not need to change the brightness even when printing with edges. Also good.

  Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to a digital camera. FIG. 7 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of the digital camera 2. The control unit 220 illustrated in FIG. 7 includes a CPU 221, a flash memory 222, and a RAM 223. The CPU 221 controls the entire digital camera 2 by executing a program stored in the flash memory 222.

  The display unit 218 includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a display controller that controls the LCD, and the like. The display unit 218 is controlled by the control unit 220 and displays various settings and captured images. The operation unit 219 includes a shutter button, a dial switch for setting exposure conditions and other various shooting conditions, a plurality of push button switches for operating various displayed menus, a jog dial, and the like. In the present embodiment, the display unit 218 and the operation unit 219 function as a user interface under the control of the control unit 220. As one of the functions, the size of a print medium on which an image to be captured or a captured image is to be printed is set. Can be set. You may be able to make settings for the presence or absence of edges.

  The optical system 211 includes a lens group and a diaphragm (not shown), and the optical system 211 causes light to enter the light receiving surface of the image sensor 212. The image sensor 212 is an imaging device including photoelectric conversion elements discretely arranged in a two-dimensional space and charge transfer elements such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), and is a so-called CCD image sensor, CMOS image sensor, or the like. . The image sensor 212 photoelectrically converts light incident by the optical system 211 and outputs an electrical signal corresponding to the amount of light in the sensor corresponding to each RGB color filter.

  An analog front end (AFE) unit 213 quantizes an electrical signal output from the image sensor 212 into a digital signal by an AD converter and outputs the digital signal. The image processing unit 214 performs image processing such as pixel interpolation processing, white balance correction, and gamma correction on the digital signal output from the AFE unit 213. When the image data processed by the image processing unit 214 is output to the compression unit 215, the compression unit 215 encodes the image data into, for example, the JPEG format, and generates an Exif format file. That is, when an image is captured by the operation unit 219, the control unit 220 controls the optical system 211, the image sensor 212, the AFE unit 213, the image processing unit 214, and the compression unit 215, and RAW image data, JPEG image data, and the like. Image data is generated. The external storage unit 216 includes a card slot, a memory controller, and the like for connecting a removable memory 217 that is a nonvolatile removable storage medium. The external storage unit 216 is controlled by the control unit 220 and performs processing for writing image data such as RAW image data and JPEG image data.

  In the present embodiment, the control unit 220 acquires the size of the print medium set by the operation unit 219, and the image processing unit 214 relates to the size of the print medium or the presence / absence of an edge based on an instruction from the control unit 220. The various image processes described above according to the settings can be executed. Further, a process for adjusting the brightness according to the ratio of pixels having a brightness of a predetermined level or more in the image data is performed. The control unit 220 can output the image data after the image processing to a printer as a print control unit via the USB I / F 230 based on a standard such as PictBridge (registered trademark).

  Furthermore, the application target of the present invention is not limited to a personal computer or a digital camera, and can be applied to various devices. For example, the present invention can be applied to a photo viewer that displays image data. FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the photo viewer 3. As shown in FIG. 8, the photo viewer 3 includes a control unit 320 including a CPU 322, a ROM 323, and a RAM 324 and an HDD 340, and when the power is turned on by the power switch 350, the control unit 320 performs the ROM 323 and the HDD 340. It is possible to execute the program recorded in An image processing program 321 can be executed as one of the programs, and the image processing program 321 can execute the various types of image processing described above according to settings relating to the size of the print medium and the presence or absence of edges.

  Further, the control unit 320 can acquire the image data recorded in the removable memory 330 via the memory I / F (interface) 353. In the removable memory 330, JPEG image data, RAW image data, and the like are recorded. Further, the control unit 320 can transmit the processed image data to a printer (not shown) via the USB I / F 352 and cause the printer to execute printing.

  Further, the control unit 320 can output a control signal to the display unit 354 to display an arbitrary image, and the control unit 320 can display an operation content by the operation unit 351 (such as a button provided in the photo viewer 3). Can be acquired. The display unit 354 includes an LCD and a controller that controls the LCD. That is, the control unit 320 can display a predetermined operation screen on the display unit 354 and accept various operation instructions in the operation unit 351.

  In addition, an image based on the image data recorded in the removable memory 330 or the image data recorded in the HDD 340 can be displayed on the display unit 354. In the present embodiment, when the printer prints image data recorded in the removable memory 330 or the HDD 340, a GUI for setting printing conditions can be displayed on the display unit 354. In the GUI, An interface for selecting the size of a print medium on which image data is to be printed and an interface for setting the presence / absence of an edge are included.

  The control unit 320 executes the image processing program 321 to acquire image data to be printed, and performs the above-described various image processings according to the print medium size and edge settings acquired via the operation unit 351. The processed image data can be transmitted to the printer via the USB I / F 352.

  Furthermore, the present invention may be applied to a printer. Printing may be executed after performing the above-described various image processing on the image data to be printed according to the size of the print medium selected by the user using the operation unit included in the printer. In addition, a printer having a RAW development function is characterized in that the printer has a GUI that allows the user to select the size of the print medium at the stage of performing RAW development.

  Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to a scanner. The various image processes described above may be performed on the read image data in accordance with the size of the print medium selected by the user via the operation unit included in the scanner. Note that the reading resolution may be changed according to the size of the image to be read and the size of the print medium selected by the user. For example, if an image scheduled to be printed on a small print medium such as an L size or K size is read at a high resolution, aliasing may occur during the reduction process, so a resolution of about 300 dpi to 360 dpi may be used. The image data is read.

  1: personal computer, 10: CPU, 11: ROM, 12: RAM, 14: USB I / F, 15: display I / F, 30: HDD, 30a: RAW image data, 20: control unit, 21: image processing program 21a: Image data acquisition unit, 21b: Print setting acquisition unit, 21c: Color conversion processing unit, 21d: Noise adjustment unit, 21e: Print instruction unit, 30a: Image data, 50: Printer, 61: Preview image area, 62 : Drop-down list, 162: Drop-down list, 163: Check box, 164: Button, 2: Digital camera, 211: Optical system, 212: Image sensor, 213: AFE unit, 214: Image processing unit, 215: Compression unit 216: External storage unit, 217: Removable memory, 218: Display unit, 219: Cropping unit, 220: control unit, 221: CPU, 222: flash memory, 223: RAM, 230: USB I / F, 3: photo viewer, 320: control unit, 321: image processing program, 330: removable memory, 330a JPEG image Data, 340: HDD, 350: power switch, 351: operation unit, 352: USB I / F, 353: memory I / F, 354: display unit.

Claims (9)

Image data acquisition means for acquiring first image data;
Print setting acquisition means for acquiring a size of a print medium scheduled to print the first image data;
In the first image data, when the color of a pixel whose brightness is equal to or greater than a predetermined first threshold is the first size, the size of the print medium is greater than the first size. Color conversion processing means for generating second image data by converting to a lighter color than in the case of the second size being smaller,
Print instruction means for instructing to print the second image data;
An image processing apparatus comprising: The print setting acquisition means acquires print settings related to the presence or absence of edges,
The color conversion processing means, when the presence of a border is selected in the print setting relating to the presence / absence of the border, the color of the pixel having the lightness equal to or higher than the first threshold value than when the border is not selected. Convert to a lighter color,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1. The color conversion processing means has an area occupied by pixels having a brightness equal to or higher than a predetermined second threshold when the entire first image data is printed, and the second image when the entire third image data is printed. When the area occupied by pixels having lightness equal to or higher than a threshold is larger, the color of pixels having lightness equal to or higher than the second threshold is converted to a lighter color.
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1. When the size of the print medium is the first size, the second image data so that the noise component in the image data increases compared to the case where the size of the print medium is the second size. Including noise adjusting means for adjusting
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1. Image data acquisition means for acquiring first image data;
Print setting acquisition means for acquiring a size of a print medium scheduled to print the first image data;
Adjustment is made so that the noise component in the image data increases when the size of the print medium is the first size than when the size of the print medium is the second size smaller than the first size. Noise adjusting means for generating the second image data,
Print instruction means for instructing to print the second image data;
An image processing apparatus comprising: An image data acquisition step of acquiring first image data;
A print setting acquisition step of acquiring a size of a print medium scheduled to print the first image data;
In the first image data, when the color of a pixel whose brightness is equal to or greater than a predetermined first threshold is the first size, the size of the print medium is greater than the first size. A color conversion processing step for generating second image data by converting to a lighter color than when the second size is smaller,
A print instruction step for instructing to print the second image data;
An image processing method including: An image data acquisition step of acquiring first image data;
A print setting acquisition step of acquiring a size of a print medium scheduled to print the first image data;
Adjustment is made so that the noise component in the image data increases when the size of the print medium is the first size than when the size of the print medium is the second size smaller than the first size. And a noise adjustment step for generating second image data,
A print instruction step for instructing to print the second image data;
An image processing method including: An image data acquisition function for acquiring the first image data;
A print setting acquisition function for acquiring a size of a print medium scheduled to print the first image data;
In the first image data, when the color of a pixel whose brightness is equal to or greater than a predetermined first threshold is the first size, the size of the print medium is greater than the first size. A color conversion processing function for generating second image data by converting to a lighter color than when the second size is smaller,
A print instruction function for instructing to print the second image data;
An image processing program that enables a computer to realize An image data acquisition function for acquiring the first image data;
A print setting acquisition function for acquiring a size of a print medium scheduled to print the first image data;
Adjustment is made so that the noise component in the image data increases when the size of the print medium is the first size than when the size of the print medium is the second size smaller than the first size. And a noise adjustment function for generating second image data,
Print instruction means for instructing to print the second image data;
An image processing program that enables a computer to realize

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