JP2012230188A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To calculate the adhesion amount of toner in an accurate, smooth, and rapid manner without depending on an input image, while compressing necessary memory space.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus includes: a PDL interpretation unit 101 that has font information 1221 about the association between characters according to the standard font and the adhesion amount of toner, and extracts predetermined characters and non-characters from an output target image; and a toner adhesion amount calculation unit 120 that determines the adhesion amount of character toner for printing characters included in the output target image using the adhesion amount of toner according to the association with the characters in the font information 1221, and calculates the adhesion amount of non-character toner for printing non-character area on the basis of characteristic information set for every area obtained by dividing the non-character area.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that performs printing by attaching toner to a printing medium such as paper, and in particular, an image that enables calculation of the amount of toner adhesion when printing is performed on print data having character data. The present invention relates to a forming apparatus.

In recent years, various cost reduction measures have been studied and implemented in companies, and specific cost reduction measures include suppression of costs related to printing of printers and copiers.
For this reason, the image forming apparatus is required to have a function of calculating the toner consumption amount by calculation. In fact, an image forming apparatus capable of calculating the toner adhesion amount based on the number of dots of each CMYK plane image is provided. .
However, when so-called calibration is performed as a function of the image forming apparatus to maintain the density by increasing or decreasing the number of dots, the toner adhesion amount calculated based on the number of dots of the CMYK image before the calibration is performed and the actual amount There has been a problem that the toner adhesion amount does not match.

  This problem can be solved by a technique in which the toner consumption amount per unit area obtained in advance by a running test, an experiment, or the like is held, and this is referred to during printing to calculate the appropriate toner consumption amount ( Patent Document 1). That is, if the toner adhesion amount per unit area is held in association with the CMYK image before the screening, the actual toner adhesion amount is not affected by the fluctuation in the number of dots associated with the screening. The toner adhesion amount can be calculated accurately.

However, even when the toner adhesion amount is calculated by such a method, since the CMYK image is data based on the printing resolution (for example, 600 dpi), the number of pixels is generally large and it takes a long time to calculate the toner adhesion amount. Arise.
This problem is effective because the calculation load can be suppressed as much as possible according to the technique for predicting the toner adhesion amount of the target image based on the reduced image and preview data (see paragraph 0047, etc. in Patent Document 2). However, when characters are included in the target image, it is impossible to reduce the size while retaining the color information, so that there is a problem that the toner adhesion amount cannot be calculated accurately.

In view of this, a technique has been proposed in which a color adhesion value and the number of pixels are extracted from compression-encoded information obtained by compression-encoding a CMYK image to calculate a toner adhesion amount.
For example, according to the technique described in Patent Document 3, a compressed data stream including print data is partially decompressed, and coverage data (for example, the number of colored pixels having an average density value) is obtained from the decompressed data. Thus, the amount of marking material necessary for printing the print data is estimated.
If such a technique is applied, the toner adhesion amount is calculated based on the compression-encoded information. Therefore, the toner adhesion amount can be accurately calculated with a small number of calculations without depending on the input image.

JP 2003-76232 A JP 2007-265419 A JP 2008-76438 A

However, when the technique described in Patent Document 3 is applied, the toner adhesion amount is calculated based on the coverage data obtained by partially decompressing the encoded data stream, but the coverage data is the entire area of the target image. Therefore, the analysis of the coverage data requires an appropriate calculation process, and there is a problem of pressing the memory area.
In particular, characters are different from graphics and photographs in that the typefaces that are usually used are limited, so a technology that effectively and smoothly determines the toner adhesion amount when printing an input image containing characters is required. It was done.

The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances as described above, and not only can the toner adhesion amount be accurately calculated without depending on the input image, but also the toner adhesion amount at a high speed while suppressing the necessary memory area. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of calculating
In particular, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can more smoothly calculate the toner adhesion amount when characters are included in an input image.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus that prints an image to be output by attaching predetermined toner to a print medium, and includes predetermined characters and toner relating to a standard font. Included in the output target image, font information setting means for setting the association with the adhesion amount as font information, character interpretation means for extracting the predetermined character and non-character other than the character from the output target image, and Character toner adhesion amount calculating means for obtaining a character toner adhesion amount when printing a character to be printed using a toner adhesion amount relating to the association with the character in the font information, and an image dividing means for dividing the non-character region And characteristic information indicating whether the area is a print target area or a non-print target area for each divided area. If the area is a print target area, the image of the area is set. Characteristic information setting means for setting whether the image is a filled image or a non-filled image consisting of a single color value, and the image of the area is a filled image; A non-character toner adhesion amount calculating means for calculating a non-character toner adhesion amount when printing the non-character area based on the characteristic information set in the divided non-character area. It is.

According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the toner adhesion amount can be calculated accurately and smoothly without depending on the input image, and the toner adhesion amount can be calculated at high speed while suppressing a necessary memory area. .
In particular, the toner adhesion amount when printing an input image including characters can be calculated more smoothly.

1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the general | schematic process until image formation processing is performed dividing into a character and a non-character (a figure and a photograph), and an output image is output. It is a figure which shows an example of the interpretation data of an input image. It is a figure which shows an example of a block characteristic information table. It is the figure which showed the example of the compression code based on 2 pattern commands. It is the figure which showed the example of the compression code based on 4 pattern commands. (A) is a toner adhesion amount table showing the toner adhesion amount per pixel, and (b) is a graph of (a). FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating an example of toner adhesion amount of a standard font, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of toner unit price information. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a toner adhesion amount calculation process. 6 is a flowchart for explaining processing for calculating the toner adhesion amount of one block.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is a multifunction peripheral (MFP) having a copy function and a printer function.
That is, in the image forming apparatus 1, the PDL data receiving unit 11 receives print data (PDL data: printer description language) from a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as PC 20) or the like via a USB interface or an external network, or scans. The unit 12 reads the original by its own scanning function, the control unit 13 performs necessary image processing on the input data, and the output engine 14 applies toner to the paper based on the image data after the image processing. The printer functions as a copy apparatus or a printer apparatus by performing a printing process to be attached to the printer.

  Here, the control unit 13 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory) 108 and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 109 (not shown). In the ROM 108, the control unit 13 includes a PDL data interpretation unit 101, an input image data generation unit 102, an input image data reception unit 103, a color conversion unit 104, a block output image generation unit 105, a characteristic information setting unit 107, and an output image combination unit. 110, a computer program for causing each function block of the output dot image forming unit 111, the toner adhesion amount calculating unit 120, and the charge calculating unit 130 to function. The CPU reads out the computer program from the ROM 108 and executes it, thereby causing the control unit 13 to function as the above-described functional blocks. As a result, the CPU performs the image formation processing of the input image and prints it. It is possible to determine the amount of toner that is expected to be consumed by printing, and to determine a fee according to the amount of toner attached. The RAM 109 is used as a working memory when the CPU executes this computer program. The RAM 109 can also store a block characteristic information table Tb and a compression code used for calculating the toner adhesion amount.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a schematic process from image formation processing divided into characters and non-characters (figure / photo) to output an output image.
As shown in FIG. 2, the RGB image input to the image forming apparatus 1 is assumed to be, for example, image data including characters consisting of “abc” and a quadrilateral figure.
In the input RGB image, a character “abc” and a square figure are extracted in a PDL data interpretation (character interpretation) process, and color conversion is performed via a predetermined color table (RGB / CMYK conversion table). Thereby, a character is produced | generated as a font image (character image).
On the other hand, non-character graphic images are divided into predetermined areas (for example, 128 × 128 pixels) for each of C, M, Y, and K planes, and image data is generated for each block (block image). Generation), a photographic image is generated through the combination (block image combination).
By synthesizing the font image and the photographic image generated in this way, an output image corresponding to the input RGB image is generated.
In the toner calculation process of the present embodiment, the toner calculation is performed separately for characters and non-characters in accordance with the image forming process.

As for the non-character image forming process, two processes are provided in the process from block image generation to block image combination.
The first route is a step of extracting image data characteristics of each block and generating a block characteristic information table Tb in which the extracted characteristic information is associated with the corresponding block.
The second route is a step of generating a compressed code (block compressed image) obtained by compressing image data of a predetermined block by a predetermined compression encoding method.
Note that details of the block characteristic information table Tb and the compression code (mainly toner calculation processing method) will be described in “block output image generation unit”, “characteristic information setting unit”, and “compression encoding process” described later. This will be described in detail in the section.

Next, the configuration of the control unit 13 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 13 includes a PDL data interpretation unit 101, an input image data generation unit 102, an input image data reception unit 103, a color conversion unit 104, a block output image generation unit 105, a characteristic information setting unit 107, An output image combining unit 110, an output dot image forming unit 111, a toner adhesion amount calculation unit 120, and a charge calculation unit 130 are provided as functional blocks.

The PDL data interpretation unit 101 interprets print data input from an external device such as the PC 20 via the PDL data reception unit 11. Specifically, commands such as a print setting command and a drawing command included in PDL data that is print data are sequentially read and interpreted.
The PDL data interpretation unit 101 includes the character interpretation unit 1011 to perform the operation of the character interpretation unit of the present invention.
The character interpretation unit 1011 extracts characters and their attribute information (font, size, color, etc.) from the interpretation data of the input image.
For example, it is possible to extract the character string “abc” from the input RGB image shown in FIG. 3 and extract that the font is “Century”.
When the character interpretation unit 1011 determines that “abc” is a character string in the case of an input image composed of a “48” pt black character string “abc” in a “Century” font and a cyan rectangle, the toner adhesion together with its attribute information The amount calculation unit 120 is notified to request calculation of the toner adhesion amount.

By the way, the PDL data interpretation unit 101 extracts figures and photographs other than predetermined characters as non-characters.
The PDL data interpretation unit 101 also extracts characters other than the predetermined character as non-characters. For example, when the pre-registered fonts are “Century”, “Arial”, “MS P Gothic”, “MS P Mincho”, and “Times New Roman”, the characters of MS UI Gothic are handled as non-characters.
Furthermore, the PDL data interpretation unit 101 extracts characters of colors other than a predetermined color as non-characters. For example, when the registered colors are “black”, “red”, “green”, and “blue”, the character “yellow” is treated as a non-character.

The input image data generation unit 102 generates image data (input image data) based on each command interpreted by the PDL data interpretation unit 101.
The input image data generation unit 102 includes a character image generation unit 1021 that generates a character image. In the case of the previous example, the character image generation unit 1021 generates a character image of “abc”, and the input image data generation unit 102 takes a non-character image (including a cyan square image) as a photograph (non-character). Generate as an image.
The input image data receiving unit 103 generates input image data based on an image read by the scanning unit 12 such as when using a copy. Note that the coordinates of the start position and end position of the input image are recorded when the image is generated.

The OCR unit 112 extracts characters from the generated input image when using a copy.
Specifically, in the same manner as the operation of the character interpreter 1011 described above, the input image is interpreted to determine character / non-character, and the attribute information of the character is notified to the toner adhesion amount calculation unit 120 to attach the toner. Request a quantity calculation.

The color conversion unit 104 performs predetermined color conversion processing on input image data and generates image data in a format that can be output (hereinafter referred to as output image data).
For example, CMYK output image data composed of 200 dpi C, M, Y, and K planes is generated from 200 dpi RGB input image data using a known RGB / CMYK conversion formula.

The block output image generation unit (image dividing unit) 105 divides a non-character image area into predetermined areas of an output target image.
That is, the block output image generation unit 105 divides (blocks) the output image data after color conversion, and generates image data (hereinafter, referred to as a block image as appropriate) for each block. For example, CMYK output image data having a printing resolution of 600 dpi (that is, a CMYK image having 600 × 600 pixels) is divided into 128 × 128 pixels to generate image data divided into grids.
The block output image generation unit 105 includes an image compression unit 106, and generates a compression code by compressing and encoding a predetermined block image.

A characteristic information setting unit (characteristic information setting unit) 107 sets characteristic information indicating whether the area is a printing target area or a non-printing target area for each divided non-character area, and an image in the area includes one color value. Characteristic information indicating whether the image is a filled image or a non-painted image is set. If the image in this area is a filled image, the color value of the fill is set as the characteristic information.
That is, the characteristic information setting unit 107 sets various characteristic information including information necessary for selecting a toner adhesion amount calculation method for a non-character area and information used for calculating the toner adhesion amount in association with each block. This is stored in the RAM 109 as a block characteristic information table Tb.
Hereinafter, the block characteristic information table Tb will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a block characteristic information table according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 4, the block characteristic information table Tb includes “plane”, “block No”, “valid flag”, “FILL flag”, “FILL color value”, and “block address” for each block image. It is related table data.

The “plane” is an area for storing characteristic information for identifying the color plane of the block image, and “Cy” (cyan), “Mg” (magenta), “Ye” (yellow), “Bk” (black). ) Is set.
In “Block No.”, an identification number assigned to each block generated by the block output image generation unit 105 is stored.
The “valid flag” is an area for storing characteristic information for identifying whether each block is arranged in a print target area or a non-print target area. In this embodiment, “1” (with flag) ) Indicates a print target area, and “0” (no flag) indicates a non-print target area.
The “FILL flag” is an area for storing characteristic information for identifying whether the block image in the print target area is a filled image or a non-filled image. In this embodiment, “1” (with flag) is a filled image. “0” (no flag) indicates a non-filled image.
The “FILL color value” is an area for storing characteristic information indicating a color value used for a filled block image. For example, when the image data has 256 gradations, a gradation degree within a range of 0 to 255 is set.

  For example, when an image of a certain block (No. 200) is filled with cyan (gradation level 25), “Plane = Cy”, “Block No. = 200”, “Valid flag = 1”, “FILL flag = 1”, Data such as “FILL color value = 25” is stored as configuration data of the block characteristic information table Tb (see FIG. 4).

The “block address” is an area in which address information on the RAM 109 for the compressed code generated by the image compression unit 106 is stored as characteristic information.
That is, when calculating the toner adhesion amount, the “block address” is referred to via the block characteristic information table Tb, and the necessary compression code stored in the RAM 109 can be referred to.

Here, the compression encoding process will be described.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the block output image generation unit 105 includes an image compression unit 106.
The image compression unit 106 compresses and encodes one block of image data by a predetermined compression encoding method. In the case of this embodiment, one block of image data consisting of 128 × 128 pixels is converted into 8 × 8 pixel units. A compressed code is generated by compressing and encoding each small block.
Specifically, the image compression unit 106 selects an image of an area in which characteristic information indicating a non-filled image is set among non-character divided areas, and a color value constituting the image and a pixel corresponding to the color value. The compressed code is generated by converting the number into a predetermined compressed code that can be identified.

For this reason, the compression encoding method uses, for example, a two-dimensional encoding algorithm such as the RLE method (Run Length Encoding) or the SRLE method (Switched Run Length Encoding). That is, it is possible to directly interpret information (color value, number of pixels, and their correspondences, etc.) necessary for calculating the toner adhesion amount from the encoded compression code, and use a compression method with a high compression rate. .
Hereinafter, a specific method for generating the compressed code will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a compression code based on a two-pattern command. Both (a) and (b) use a block image composed of two color values of C = 0 and 25 as an example.

In the example shown in FIG. 5A, the image compression unit 106 extracts the color values constituting the small block image (see (A) in FIG. 5A). As a result, it can be recognized that the image of this small block is composed of only two color values (C = 0 and C = 25).
Next, when replacing the small block image with the mask data, the image compression unit 106 generates mask data using a mask in units of 1 bit because the image is composed of two color values. Decide what to do.
For this reason, when “0” is assigned as data corresponding to the color value = 0 and “1” is assigned as data corresponding to the color value = 25, the image compression unit 106 performs the processing for 1, 3, 5 of the original image. , 7th row pixels can be replaced with “00000000”, and the 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th row pixels of the original image can be replaced with “11111111”.
As a result, as shown in (b) of FIG. 5A, 64-bit mask data is generated.

Subsequently, the image compression unit 106 converts the 64-bit mask data into a hexadecimal number. As a result, the mask data “00000000” is converted to “0x00” and the “11111111” portion is converted to “0xff” to generate 8-byte mask information.
Then, the image compression unit 106 has two color values corresponding to the mask data “0” and “1” (that is, color value information including 2 bytes of 0x00 (C = 0) and 0x19 (C = 25)). ) And a 1-byte compression end command (“87”).
As a result, a compressed code consisting of 11 bytes is generated as shown in FIG.

Unlike FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B is not stripe data, but is similar in that it consists of two values.
Therefore, similarly in the case of FIG. 5B, the graphic image compressing unit 106 extracts the color value constituting the image of this small block (see (A) of FIG. 5B), and this small block. It is recognized that the image is composed of only two color values (C = 0 and C = 25).
Next, when replacing the small block image with the mask data, the image compression unit 106 generates mask data using a mask in units of 1 bit because the image is composed of two color values. Decide what to do.
For this reason, when “0” is assigned as the data corresponding to the color value = 0 and “1” is assigned as the data corresponding to the color value = 25, the image compressing unit 106 includes the first to fourth lines of the original image. Are replaced with “00000000”, and pixels in the fifth to eighth rows of the original image are replaced with “11111111”.
As a result, as shown in (b) of FIG. 5B, 64-bit mask data is generated.

Subsequently, the image compression unit 106 converts the 64-bit mask data into a hexadecimal number. As a result, the mask data “00000000” is converted to “0x00” and the “11111111” portion is converted to “0xff” to generate 8-byte mask information.
Then, the image compression unit 106 has two color values corresponding to the mask data “0” and “1” (that is, color value information including 2 bytes of 0x00 (C = 0) and 0x19 (C = 25)). ) And a 1-byte compression end command (“87”).
As a result, a compressed code consisting of 11 bytes is generated as shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a compression code based on a 4-pattern command, and uses a block image composed of four color values of C = 0, 22, 97, and 201 as an example.
That is, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a method for generating a compression code from a block image composed of four color values.
Here, first, in a block image composed of four color values (C = 0, 22, 97, 201), a mask “00” (= 00) is assigned corresponding to C = 0, and C = 22. The mask “01” (= 01) is assigned, the mask “02” (= 10) is assigned corresponding to C = 97, and the mask “03” (= 11) is assigned corresponding to C = 201. Yes.
For this reason, the image compression unit 106 replaces the pixels in the first to sixth rows of the original image shown in (b) of FIG. 6B with “000000000000000000” and replaces the pixels in the seventh row of the original image with “0000000000000002”. ”And the pixel in the eighth row of the original image can be replaced with“ 0000000000000103 ”.
As a result, as shown in (b) of FIG. 6B, 64 × 2 bit mask data is generated.

Subsequently, the image compression unit 106 converts 64 × 2 bit mask data into mask information. As a result, the “00000000” portion of the mask data is converted to “0x00”, the “00000002” portion is converted to “0x02”, and the “00000103” portion is converted to “0x07”. Mask information is generated.
Then, the image compression unit 106 has four color values (0x00 (C = 0), 0x16 (C = 22)), respectively corresponding to “00”, “01”, “02”, and “03” of the mask information. 4-byte color value information consisting of 0x61 (C = 97) and 0xc9 (C = 201), and a 1-byte compression end command (“87”).
As a result, a compressed code consisting of 22 bytes is generated as shown in (c) of FIG.

By the way, a pattern command is arranged in the first two digits of the compressed code shown in (c) of FIG. That is, when the pattern command “f8” is detected, the mask information is formed from four patterns of mask bits, and the correspondence between the color value and the number of pixels necessary for calculating the toner adhesion amount is grasped. Can do.
Further, as shown in FIG. 6A, (c), for the block having two color values, the first 1 byte of the mask information is a pattern command.

  In this way, by replacing the block image to be unfilled with the compression code, the constituent color value and the corresponding number of pixels can be directly interpreted from the compression code. The information necessary for calculating the toner adhesion amount can be acquired at a time simply by referring to.

As shown in FIG. 1, the output image combining unit 110 includes a block combining unit 1101 and an image composition unit 1102.
The block combining unit 1101 decodes the compressed code to generate an original block image, and combines the block image decoded in this way with another block image that has not been subjected to compression encoding, thereby CMYK output image data of the entire printing area is generated.
The image synthesis unit 1102 synthesizes the CMYK output image data of the non-character area generated in this way and the CMYK output image data of the character color-converted by the color conversion unit 104, and the character and the figure / photo CMYK image data of the entire page in which are integrated.
The output dot image forming unit 111 converts the CMYK output image data generated in this manner into a bitmap and generates an output dot image formed with dots. The output dot image forming unit 111 sends this output dot image to the output engine 14.
Then, the output engine 14 forms a toner image based on the output dot image received from the output dot image forming unit 111, and performs printing by applying the toner image to a sheet or the like.

Next, the configuration of the toner adhesion amount calculation unit 120 that mainly calculates the toner adhesion amount will be described.
The toner adhesion amount calculation unit 120 calculates a toner adhesion amount when printing characters (character toner adhesion amount calculation means), and calculates a toner adhesion amount when printing non-character areas (non-characters). Toner adhesion amount calculation means).
Hereinafter, the non-character toner adhesion amount calculation process and the character toner adhesion amount calculation process will be described in detail.

(Calculation of non-character toner adhesion amount)
Here, the toner adhesion amount (non-character toner adhesion amount) when printing a non-character area is calculated based on the characteristic information set in the area. Then, the amount of toner attached when printing the entire non-character region is calculated by summing the amount of toner attached when printing the image of each region.
In order to calculate the non-character toner adhesion amount, the toner adhesion amount calculation unit 120 includes a data interpretation unit 121, a toner adhesion amount table storage unit 122, and a toner adhesion amount acquisition unit 123, as shown in FIG. The toner adhesion amount for each block is calculated for each of the Y and K plane images, and the toner adhesion amount for each plane is calculated by summing the toner adhesion amounts for all blocks.

The data interpretation unit 121 analyzes the characteristic of each non-character block image by interpreting the block characteristic information table Tb stored in the RAM 109.
Specifically, it is determined whether or not the block image is a print target area based on the presence / absence of the “valid flag”, and whether or not the block image is filled based on the presence / absence of the “FILL flag”. In this case, “FILL color value” is further acquired as the fill color value.
In addition, when the non-character block image is not a filled image, the data interpretation unit 121 refers to the compression code stored in the RAM 109 and acquires the color value and the number of pixels constituting the block image.
The data interpretation unit 121 notifies the toner adhesion amount acquisition unit 123 of the information acquired in this way.

The toner adhesion amount acquisition unit 123 performs processing for calculating the toner adhesion amount for each block.
Specifically, the toner adhesion amount acquisition unit 123 sets the toner adhesion amount when printing an image of an area in which characteristic information indicating a filled image is set, to a unit corresponding to the fill color value set in the area. The calculation is made based on the toner adhesion amount.
That is, for the toner adhesion amount related to the filled image, the color value of the fill is obtained via the data interpretation unit 121, and the unit adhesion amount (per unit area) of the paint color value is obtained from the toner adhesion amount table stored in advance in the RAM 109. The toner adhesion amount of the block image is calculated by multiplying the unit weight by the total number of pixels of the block.
That is, the toner adhesion amount for the block image is calculated from the toner adhesion amount for one pixel and the number of pixels in the block.
In this way, the toner adhesion amount can be obtained by a single calculation, and the number of calculations can be greatly reduced compared to the method of integrating the toner adhesion amount for each pixel.

Further, the toner adhesion amount acquisition unit 123 acquires, via the data interpretation unit 121, the color value derived from the compression code and the number of pixels of the block image that is not the area to be filled among the non-character divided areas. After obtaining the unit weight of the color value from the toner adhesion amount table, the toner adhesion amount of the block image is calculated by multiplying the number of pixels and the unit weight for each color value and totaling the multiplication values of all the color values. To do.
In this case, since the toner adhesion amount of the block image can be obtained by calculation according to the number of compression codes, even in this case, the number of calculations is greatly reduced compared to the method of adding the toner adhesion amount for each pixel. Can be reduced.

Here, a specific method for calculating the toner adhesion amount will be described using an example of a toner adhesion amount table.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a toner adhesion amount table.
As shown in FIG. 7, the toner adhesion amount table draws a patch for each gradation in each color of CMYK, and stores the toner adhesion amount obtained by experiments or the like. The toner adhesion amount table stores the toner adhesion amount in advance. Stored by the table storage means 122. The experiment is performed in a state where the output engine 14 is stabilized by calibration or the like. If the unit of the adhesion amount table in units of (mg / cm ² ) obtained in the experiment is changed to the pixel unit (μg / pixel) so that it can be easily calculated, it can be used for smooth calculation of the toner adhesion amount. This change may be performed manually at the time of ROM data registration, or ROM data may be registered in (mg / cm ² ) and internally converted in units of (μg / pixel).

FIG. 7A is a chart in which each color value (val: 0 to 255) of C, M, Y, and K is associated with a unit weight (mg / cm ² ), and FIG. It is the figure which graphed the chart shown to (a).
The toner weight (μg / pixel) per pixel (for example, the toner adhesion amount per pixel when the resolution is 600 dpi) can be obtained based on the chart shown in FIG. That is, the toner weight per pixel can be obtained by obtaining a value obtained by multiplying the unit weight of FIG. 7A by (2.54 × 2.54) / (600 × 600).
In this way, since a toner weight table for each pixel can be formed, a necessary toner adhesion amount can be obtained smoothly only by obtaining the number of pixels of the corresponding color value.

The toner adhesion amount acquisition unit 123 can exclude the calculation of the toner adhesion amount when there is a region in which characteristic information indicating a non-printing target region is set among the non-character divided regions. If there is an area for which a predetermined fill color value is set, the amount of toner adhering when printing an image in each of the other areas excluding this area is added to print the non-character area. The toner adhesion amount is calculated.
That is, the toner adhesion amount acquisition unit 123 does not calculate the toner adhesion amount related to the block image in the non-print target area, and the block image includes only pixels such as white that do not have toner adhesion even in the print target area. The toner adhesion amount is not calculated.
In this way, the calculation of the toner adhesion amount is not affected at all, and the calculation of the toner adhesion amount of the entire image can be omitted and the speed can be increased.
Then, the toner adhesion amount acquisition unit 123 performs such calculation processing for each of the C, M, Y, and K plane images, thereby performing C, M, Y, and K for the entire non-character target image data. The toner adhesion amount is calculated.

(Calculation of character toner adhesion amount)
Here, the character toner adhesion amount when printing characters included in the image to be output is obtained using the toner adhesion amount relating to the association with the character in the font information 1221 (character toner adhesion amount calculating means).
To calculate the character toner adhesion amount, the toner adhesion amount calculation unit 120 includes a font interpretation unit 126 and a toner adhesion amount table storage unit 122, as shown in FIG.
The toner adhesion amount table storage unit 122 can set and register font information 1221 (font information setting means). The font information 1221 is registration information in which associations between predetermined characters related to standard fonts and toner adhesion amounts are set as table data.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of font information 1221. Here, the font: Century ,: size: 48 pt is used as a standard font, and the toner adhesion amount of a predetermined character “az” in this case is used as registered font information 1221. Further, the font information 1221 can be set by associating the toner adhesion amount of characters of a standard font for each predetermined color.
In the example of FIG. 8, font information 1221 is set and registered for each of black, red, green, and blue.

When the font interpretation unit 126 receives a request for calculating the toner adhesion amount together with the character to be printed and the attribute information of the character from the character interpretation unit 1011 or the character image generation unit 1021, the font interpretation unit 126 immediately refers to the font information 1221. Thus, the toner adhesion amount can be calculated.
For example, when obtaining the toner adhesion amount when printing the character string “abc” (font: Century, size: 48 pt, color: black), the font interpreting unit 126 displays “a” in the font information 1121 shown in FIG. With reference to the association table relating to “black”, the toner adhesion amount “12” of “a”, the toner adhesion amount “16” of “b”, and the toner adhesion amount “9” of “c” are extracted, and the total value 37 ( μg).
That is, an association between a predetermined character relating to the standard font and the toner adhesion amount can be set as the font information 1221 for each predetermined color. In this case, the font interpreting unit 126 selects the color in the standard font of the predetermined color. It is obtained using the toner adhesion amount relating to the association with the character set for each.

As described above, according to the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the toner adhesion amount of the character of the color registered as the font information 1121 can be obtained at high speed.
That is, the toner adhesion amount calculation unit 120 calculates the toner adhesion amount at the time of interpretation of PDL data, that is, at an early stage in response to a request from the character interpretation unit 1011 or the OCR unit 112.
Further, the character toner adhesion amount calculation process is different from the calculation timing of the non-character toner adhesion amount performed via the development of the block image, so that the calculation load on the CPU or the like can be suppressed.
In addition, since the number of times of toner adhesion coincides with the number of characters by using pre-registered font information, processing can be performed at a very high speed compared to a conventional method for obtaining toner adhesion from a compressed image.
Compared to the case where the processing for obtaining the toner adhesion amount by blocking the image area as in the non-character toner adhesion amount calculation process is applied to the entire image, the number of blocks can be reduced by the character area. Since block determination processing, characteristic information setting, and the like are not required for the blocks, the speed can be further increased.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 8A, the font information 1121 is configured by associating a predetermined character (az) relating to a standard font (Century) of a predetermined size (48 pt) with the toner adhesion amount. You can also.
In this case, the font interpretation unit 126 refers to the font information 1121 and multiplies the toner adhesion amount associated with the character to be printed by a predetermined ratio (the ratio of the size of this character to the predetermined size). The toner adhesion amount can be obtained.

For example, when obtaining the toner adhesion amount when printing the character string “abc” (font: Century, size: 24 pt, color: black), the font interpreting unit 126 displays “a” in the font information 1121 shown in FIG. With reference to the table data (association) relating to “black”, the toner adhesion amount “12” of “a”, the toner adhesion amount “16” of “b”, and the toner adhesion amount “9” of “c” are extracted, and the total A value of 37 (μg) is calculated. Here, the font interpretation unit 126 calculates the ratio (0.5 = 24/48) since the size of the character string is 24 pt with respect to the size of the standard font (48 pt). Then, the font interpretation unit 126 multiplies the total value (37 μg) by the ratio (0.5) to obtain the toner adhesion amount (18.5 μg) when this character string is printed.
For this reason, the toner adhesion amount of characters of a size not registered as the font information 1121 can be obtained at high speed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, the toner adhesion amount relating to other fonts (Arial, MS P Gothic, MS P Mincho, Times New Roman, etc.) based on the toner adhesion amount relating to the standard font (Century). Is set as font-specific magnification information, the toner adhesion amount of characters other than the standard font can be calculated.
That is, in this case, the font interpretation unit 126 changes the character toner adhesion amount when printing characters of other fonts to the toner adhesion amount related to the association with the characters in the font information 1121, and the other in the magnification information for each font. Multiply by the magnification set for the font.

For example, when obtaining the toner adhesion amount when printing the character string “abc” (font: Arial, size: 48 pt, color: black), the font interpreting unit 126 displays “a” in the font information 1121 shown in FIG. With reference to the table data relating to “black”, the toner adhesion amount “12” of “a”, the toner adhesion amount “16” of “b”, and the toner adhesion amount “9” of “c” are extracted, and the total value 37 ( μg) is calculated, and then the set magnification “1.52” of “Arial” in the font-specific magnification information shown in FIG. 8B is taken out and multiplied by the total value (37 μg). Accordingly, the font interpretation unit 126 obtains the toner adhesion amount 56.24 (μg) when printing this character string.
For this reason, the toner adhesion amount of characters of other fonts registered as font-specific magnification information can be obtained at high speed.

The result storage unit 125 classifies the calculated character toner adhesion amount and non-character toner adhesion amount for each of C, M, Y, and K toner colors and stores them in a storage device such as an HDD.
The result notification unit 124 notifies the charge calculation unit 130 of the sum of the character toner adhesion amount and the non-character toner adhesion amount for each of C, M, Y, and K. In addition, the result notification unit 124 can transmit the total value of the toner adhesion amount to the charge calculation unit 130 for each page or each job.

Next, the configuration of the charge calculation unit 130 whose main function is toner charge calculation will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the charging calculation unit (charging unit) 130 includes a data transmission / reception unit 131, a toner unit price information storage unit 132, and a charging amount acquisition unit 133, and calculates the toner adhesion amount and the reference charging information of the toner. The toner fee is calculated based on the above.
The data transmission / reception unit 131 is an interface for receiving the toner adhesion amount transmitted from the toner adhesion amount calculation unit 120 (result notification unit 124). The data transmission / reception unit 131 transfers the received toner adhesion amount information to the charge amount acquisition unit 133.

The charge amount acquisition unit 133 calculates a toner usage fee based on the toner adhesion amount information received from the data transmission / reception unit 131 and the toner unit price information stored in advance by the toner unit price information storage unit 132.
For example, when the toner adhesion amount of Cyan of image data including characters and / or non-characters is 1 g, the charge acquisition unit 133 refers to the unit price of Cyan from the toner unit price information shown in FIG. (100 yen = 50000/500) is obtained.

Next, a toner adhesion amount calculation process according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the toner adhesion amount calculation processing according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 10, first, the PDL data receiving unit 11 receives PDL data from the PC 20 (S11), and the PDL data interpreting unit 101 analyzes the PDL data (S12).
Here, it is assumed that PDL data including a composite image of a character string “abc” (font: Century, size: 48 pt, color: black) and a square figure (cyan) is received.
The PDL data interpretation unit 101 (character interpretation unit 1011) interprets this PDL data and classifies it into characters and non-characters. Note that the input image data generation unit 102 generates a 600 dpi input image based on the analyzed PDL data.
Here, the input image data generation unit 102 performs non-character image generation processing for images other than character strings (S13: NO → S14). According to the example shown in S12, a square (cyan) image is generated as a non-character image.

Next, the color conversion unit 104 performs RGB → CMYK conversion on the non-character image to generate a CMYK output image (S15).
Subsequently, the block output image generation unit 105 divides the CMYK output image into blocks of 128 × 128 pixels (S16).
Next, it is confirmed whether or not there is a processing block (S17), and as long as there are processing blocks, the processing of S18 to S20 is performed. As a pre-process, the CMYK output image is referenced in block units (128 × 128 pixels) up to the drawing start coordinates, and each block is registered in advance in the block characteristic information table Tb as an invalid block (valid flag = 0). Do. Here, in the case of a block in the drawing area (print target area), it is determined whether or not it is a paint target by looking at the pixel color value in the block. In the case of a solid block image, the valid flag and FILL flag of the block characteristic information table Tb are set to 1, and the fill color value is set to the FILL color value (see block Nos. 101 to 200 in FIG. 4). In the case of a non-filled block image, the effective flag of the block characteristic information table Tb is set to 1 and the FILL flag is set to 0, and then a compressed code is generated by compressing and encoding each block image every 8 × 8 pixels. And stored in the RAM 109. At this time, the address of the compression code in the RAM 109 is stored in the block address of the block characteristic information table Tb (see block Nos. 201 to 206 in FIG. 4).

In S18, using the block image developed in the process of non-character image generation, the toner adhesion amount calculation unit 120 calculates the toner adhesion amount in units of blocks, and adds the calculated toner adhesion amount for each block (S19). .
Thereafter, 1 is subtracted from the total number of blocks, and the process returns to S17. When there are no remaining processing blocks, the calculation of the non-character toner adhesion amount is completed.

Here, the toner adhesion amount calculation processing in block units in S18 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining processing for calculating the toner adhesion amount of one block.
In the toner adhesion amount calculation processing for each block, first, so-called initialization is performed by resetting the toner adhesion amount of the block image to 0 (S101).
Next, characteristic information (valid flag, FILL flag, FILL color value, block address) is acquired for each block from the block characteristic information table Tb (S102).
Subsequently, the toner adhesion amount calculation unit 123 determines whether or not the target block is an effective block (block in the print target area) (S103).

Here, when it is determined that the target block is not an effective block (S103: NO), the toner adhesion amount is regarded as 0, and the toner adhesion amount calculation processing in the block is terminated.
On the other hand, when it is determined that the target block is an effective block (S103: YES), it is next determined whether or not the block image is a filled image (FILL) (S104).
As a result, when it is determined that the block image is a filled image (S104: YES), it is determined whether or not the filled color value is white (S105).
When the fill color value is white (S105: YES), the toner adhesion amount is regarded as 0, and the toner adhesion amount calculation process in the block is terminated.

On the other hand, when the fill color value is other than white (S105: NO), the toner adhesion amount acquisition unit 123 calculates the toner adhesion amount for one pixel of the color value from the toner adhesion amount table (S106), and uses this. The toner adhesion amount is calculated by multiplying the total number of pixels included in the block image by an integer (S107).
For example, when the FILL color value is C = 25, the toner adhesion amount for one pixel is 0.000093 (μg) (see FIG. 5), and the total number of pixels in one block is 128 × 128 pixels. The toner adhesion amount related to the block is calculated as 0.000093 × 128 × 128 = about 1.52 (μg).
By calculating the toner adhesion amount with respect to the block image in the area to be filled by such a method, the calculation load can be greatly reduced. In the above example, the toner consumption amount in one block can be obtained by one calculation. For this reason, the number of calculations can be reduced by (128 × 128−1) = 16383 times as compared with the conventional method in which the toner adhesion amount is obtained for each pixel and the adhesion amount is sequentially accumulated for all pixels.

By the way, when the block image determined to be an effective block is not a filled image (FILL) (S104: NO), the block image is subjected to compression coding.
In this case, first, a corresponding block address is acquired from the block characteristic information table Tb (S108), and a compression code is acquired based on the block address.
For example, referring to the block characteristic information table Tb shown in FIG. 4, if the block number of the target block is 200, the block address “0x0” can be acquired, and this block address “0x0” on the RAM 109 can be obtained. 256 (= (128 × 128) ÷ (8 × 8)) compressed code groups stored in.
Next, when the accumulation of the processing of S110 to S116, which will be described later, for the compression code in units of 8 × 8 pixels is calculated based on the number of pixels in units of 8 × 8 = 64 pixels, 128 × 128 = It is determined whether or not the number of 16,384 pixels is exceeded (S109). Thereby, it is determined whether or not the processing has been completed for all the compression codes in the block image.

If the cumulative number of pixels related to the compression code does not exceed 128 × 128 pixels (S109: YES), the compression code is acquired in ascending or descending order (S110).
Next, the data interpretation unit 121 interprets the acquired compressed code, and acquires the color value and the number of pixels by color value from the compressed code (S111).
For example, in the case of the compression code shown in FIG. 5A or 5B, 32 pixels are acquired for the first color value (C = 0) and 32 pixels are acquired for the second color value (C = 25).
Next, the toner adhesion amount acquisition unit 123 acquires the toner adhesion amount for one pixel from the toner adhesion amount table (S112).
Applying the previous example, 0 (μg) is obtained for the first color value, and 0.000093 (μg) is obtained for the second color value.

The toner adhesion amount acquisition unit 123 multiplies the number of pixels acquired in S111 by the toner adhesion amount for one pixel of the color value acquired in S112 and calculates a toner adhesion amount for each color value related to the color value (S113). ).
When the previous example is applied, 0 (μg) (= 0 × 32) for the first color value and 0.002976 (μg) (= 0.000093 × 32) for the second color value.
Next, the toner adhesion amount acquisition unit 123 calculates the toner adhesion amount for 8 × 8 pixels by adding the toner adhesion amount for each color value obtained in S113 (S114).
Applying the previous example results in 0.002976 (μg) (= 0 + 0.002976).

Subsequently, the toner adhesion amount obtaining unit 123 adds the toner adhesion amount obtained in S114 as a range of toner adhesion amount included in the block image (S115).
Then, the toner adhesion amount acquisition unit 123 adds 64 (= 8 × 8 pixels) as the calculated pixel count of the toner adhesion amount, and returns to S109 (S116).
In S109, when the cumulative number of pixels related to the compression code exceeds the number of 128 × 128 pixels (S109: NO), the one-block toner adhesion amount calculation processing ends.
That is, the processes of S109 to S116 are repeated until the toner adhesion amount calculation for all the pixels (128 × 128 pixels) in the block is completed.

By the way, the number of times of calculation of the toner adhesion amount when the previous example is applied may be two times of calculation regarding C = 0 and calculation regarding C = 25. For this reason, when all block images are composed of such small block images, the toner adhesion amount of the block image can be obtained by 512 calculations.
Therefore, the number of calculations can be reduced by 15872 times (= 128 × 128−512) as compared with the conventional method in which the toner adhesion amount is integrated for each pixel of 128 × 128 pixels.

On the other hand, in S13 of FIG. 10, when the character interpretation unit 101 of the PDL data interpretation unit 101 extracts a character string (S13: character string), it determines whether or not the font of the character string is a registered font (S21). .
Specifically, the font of the character string is a standard font (Century) registered as the font information 1221 or other fonts registered in the font-specific magnification information (Arial, MS P Gothic, MS P Mincho, Times New Roman) is determined.
If the font of the character string is a registered font (S21: YES), then the character interpretation unit 101 determines whether the color of the character string is a registered color (S22).
Specifically, it is determined whether or not the character color matches the color (black, red, green, blue) registered as the font information 1221.
When the font of the character string is not a registered font (S21: NO), or when the character color is not a registered color (S22: NO), the character string is regarded as a non-character, and image processing and The process after S14 is applied to the toner adhesion amount calculation process.
If it is determined in S22 that the color of the character string is a registered color (S22: YES), the toner adhesion amount calculation unit 120 calculates the toner adhesion amount for the character string (S23).
For example, when the character string is “abc” (font: Century, size: 48 pt, color: black), the font interpretation unit 126 displays table data (“black”) of the font information 1121 shown in FIG. Referring to (Relation), the toner adhesion amount “12” of “a”, the toner adhesion amount “16” of “b”, and the toner adhesion amount “9” of “c” are extracted, and the total value 37 (μg) is obtained. calculate.

  Next, the input image data generation unit 102 (character image generation unit 1021) performs a character image generation process for the image of the character string (S24). According to the example of the character string described above, the character image “abc” is generated.

Next, the color conversion unit 104 performs RGB → CMYK conversion on the character image (S25), and the CMYK output image is output to the output image combining unit 110 (S26).
Note that the image composition unit 1102 synthesizes the non-character image that has been generated in S14 and the like and has undergone color conversion, division or combination, and the character image that has been generated in S24 and has undergone color conversion and has been output as the entire page. (Not shown).
Then, the toner adhesion amount calculation unit 120 adds the non-character toner adhesion amount and the character toner adhesion amount (S27). Specifically, this summing process is performed at the timing at which the non-character image and the character image are combined by the image combining unit 1102 to obtain the toner adhesion amount of the entire page.

As described above, according to the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, the target image is divided into characters and non-characters, and the toner adhesion amount calculation processing is performed in parallel.
For characters, high-speed processing is possible by referring to font information and font-specific magnification information.
In addition, for non-characters, the toner adhesion amount can be calculated with a small number of calculations by forming an image into blocks and performing toner calculation processing corresponding to the characteristics of each block.
That is, according to the image forming apparatus 1 of the present invention, the toner adhesion amount can be calculated accurately and smoothly without depending on the input image, and the toner adhesion amount can be calculated at high speed while suppressing a necessary memory area. can do.
In particular, when characters are included in the input image, not only can the toner adhesion amount of the characters be calculated at high speed, but also the non-character area can be reduced by the presence of the characters, so the toner adhesion amount of the entire image Can be calculated at higher speed.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment. However, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications may be made within the scope of the present invention. It goes without saying that is possible.
For example, the colors and fonts registered in the font information and font-specific magnification information are not limited to the colors and fonts described above, and other colors and other fonts can be added, deleted, and replaced.
In the above-described embodiment, a color-compatible MFP has been described as an example. However, the embodiment can be applied to calculation of a toner adhesion amount consumed in an image forming apparatus dedicated to monochrome printing, or a color-compatible image. The present invention can also be applied to the calculation of the toner adhesion amount when monochrome printing is performed in the forming apparatus.
Further, the present invention can be applied to a facsimile machine or an MFP having a facsimile function, and the toner adhesion amount consumed when printing a facsimile image received from the outside via a communication line can be calculated.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case of white is described as an example in which the toner calculation process is not performed in the case of filling, but this is not limited to this. The toner calculation process can be omitted by judging various cases that are not accompanied by adhesion.

  The present invention can be suitably used for an image forming apparatus such as a printer apparatus, a copying apparatus, or a multifunction machine having these functions.

1 MFP (image forming device)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 Control part 101 PDL interpretation part 1011 Character interpretation part 102 Input image data generation part 1021 Character image generation part 105 Block output image generation part 106 Image compression part 107 Characteristic information setting part 112 OCR part 120 Toner adhesion amount calculation part 122 Toner adhesion amount Table storage unit 1221 Font information 126 Font interpretation unit 130 Charge calculation unit Tb: Block characteristic information table Tt: Toner adhesion amount table

Claims (10)

An image forming apparatus that prints an image to be output by attaching a predetermined toner to a printing medium,
Font information setting means for setting the association between a predetermined character relating to the standard font and the toner adhesion amount as font information;
Character interpretation means for extracting the predetermined character and a non-character other than the character from the image to be output;
A character toner adhesion amount calculating means for obtaining a character toner adhesion amount when printing characters included in the image to be output using a toner adhesion amount relating to association with the character in the font information;
Image dividing means for dividing the non-character region;
Characteristic information indicating whether to be a print target area or a non-print target area is set for each of the divided areas, and when the area is a print target area, whether the image in the area is a solid image composed of one color value or not. Setting characteristic information indicating whether the image is a filled image, and if the image in the area is a filled image, characteristic information setting means for setting the color value of the fill as the characteristic information;
Non-character toner adhesion amount calculating means for calculating a non-character toner adhesion amount when printing the non-character region based on the characteristic information set in the divided non-character region. An image forming apparatus. The font information setting means is
Setting an association between a predetermined character relating to the standard font for each predetermined color and the toner adhesion amount as the font information;
The character toner adhesion amount calculating means
A character toner adhesion amount when printing the predetermined character relating to the standard font of the predetermined color is obtained using a toner adhesion amount relating to association with the character set for each color in the font information. Item 2. The image forming apparatus according to Item 1. The font information setting means is
An association between a predetermined character and a toner adhesion amount related to a standard font of a predetermined size is set as the font information,
The character toner adhesion amount calculating means
The character toner adhesion amount when printing characters included in the image to be output is multiplied by the toner adhesion amount associated with the character in the font information by the ratio of the character size to the predetermined size. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 to be obtained. The font information setting means is
The magnification of the toner adhesion amount related to the other font based on the toner adhesion amount related to the standard font is set as the font-specific magnification information,
The character toner adhesion amount calculating means
The character toner adhesion amount when printing characters of the other font is multiplied by the magnification set for the other font in the font-specific magnification information by the toner adhesion amount associated with the character in the font information. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is obtained. The character interpretation means
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a character related to a font other than the standard font included in the output target image is extracted as the non-character. The character interpretation means
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a character of a color other than the predetermined color included in the output target image is extracted as the non-character. The character interpretation means
The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a character related to a font other than the other font included in the output target image is extracted as the non-character. The non-character toner adhesion amount calculating means includes:
Among the non-character divided areas, if there is an area in which characteristic information indicating the non-print target area is set, or as the characteristic information, a predetermined fill color value that can exclude calculation of the toner adhesion amount If there is an area where is set, the toner adhesion amount when printing the non-character area is calculated by summing the toner adhesion amount when printing the image of each other area except the area The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. A toner adhesion amount table storing unit toner adhesion amounts for each color value;
The non-character toner adhesion amount calculating means includes:
Among the non-character divided areas, the toner adhesion amount when printing the image of the area in which the characteristic information indicating the filled image is set is set in the area stored in the toner adhesion amount table. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus calculates the unit toner adhesion amount corresponding to the fill color value. Among the non-character divided areas, an image of an area in which characteristic information indicating the non-filled image is set, a predetermined compression code that can identify the color value constituting the image and the number of pixels corresponding to the color value Comprising image compression means for converting to
The non-character toner adhesion amount calculating means includes:
Of the non-character divided areas, the amount of toner attached when printing the image of the area where the characteristic information of the non-filled image is set is included in the compressed code stored in the toner adhesion amount table. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein calculation is performed based on the unit toner adhesion amount corresponding to a color value and the number of pixels corresponding to the unit toner adhesion amount.

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