JP2017034701A - Color image processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a color image processing apparatus which reduces trouble such as blurring of ink or pitch spot even under a low gradation and is capable of implementing high-quality printing.SOLUTION: The color image processing apparatus is configured to perform multi-gradation recording using a dither pattern 11 in which one pixel consists of a plurality of dots. The dither pattern 11 is constituted by overlapping a group of dots 13 for a plurality of stages, the group being constituted by arranging a plurality of dots in relative directions of movements of a thermal head 40 and a recording medium 46, while deviating the beginning of the group of the dots 13 on each stage relative to an upper or lower stage by one or more dots in the direction of movement. A dither processing part for generating dither image data generates dither image data 203 by a density representation defining dots from the first dot 13 on a top stage in the dither pattern 11 to the final dot 13 on a bottom stage or from the first dot 13 on the bottom stage to the final dot 13 on the top stage as an order of growth.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a color image processing apparatus used in a printing apparatus such as a thermal transfer printer, and more particularly to a color image processing apparatus for expressing a halftone image.

  A halftone image (multi-valued image), which is an image having an intermediate gradation, is expressed by performing multi-tone recording by changing the ratio of pixel dots, and can be expressed by changing the number of dot data. The dither method is often used. The dither method is generally a halftone dot type that forms dots.

  In order to form a line-based image by dithering, a plurality of dots are formed for one pixel data, and dots in an oblique direction are formed in the recording direction by a set of the dots, and the dots are increased by increasing the density. It is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Multi-level writing is performed for each dot, and by selectively energizing a plurality of heating elements of the thermal head to change the dot diameter of the resin-based ink and transferring it to the paper, multi-tone color A color image processing apparatus of a thermal transfer printer that records an image is known (for example, see Patent Document 2).

JP-A-61-214662 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-286132

  Referring to FIG. 14, the prior art according to Patent Document 2 will be further described. The dither pattern 110 grows each dot sequentially in the sub-scanning direction of the thermal head indicated by the arrow of the thermal transfer head, and each block 111 constituting one pixel is In the case of cyan, it is composed of a total of 10 dots, each of 9 (3 × 3) dots and another dot added to the upper side.

  In the figure, the numbers attached to the dots indicate the order in which the dots grow. Each dot can be recorded in 15 gradations by adjusting the amount of ink transferred by controlling the energization time for the thermal transfer head in 15 stages. Therefore, since the number of dots is 10, 151 (10 × 15 + 1) gradation recording is performed in one pixel. By continuously recording the pixels of the dither pattern 110 having such a shape, recording is performed with a screen angle of −18.4 ° downward to the right from the sub-scanning direction.

  However, in the dither pattern 110 disclosed in Patent Document 2, the interval between the first dots in the growth order is large between the adjacent blocks 111 in the sub-scanning direction, and the adjacent block is not grown until the fourth dot grows. The growth order of 111 is connected to the third dot. However, at this time, if the adjacent block 111 does not grow to the third dot, it may not be connected even if it grows to the fourth dot.

  Therefore, in the prior art, if at least 4 dots or more (output gradation is 61 or more) is not established, the adjacent block 111 is not connected, and ink is isolated in printing at a low gradation of less than 61 gradations. Therefore, in low gradation printing, problems such as ink stagnation and pitch spots may occur when peeled from the thermal transfer head or affected by external factors such as temperature.

  For this reason, an object of the present invention is to provide a high-quality color image processing apparatus by using a dither pattern configured to be connected to adjacent blocks even in low gradation.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a predetermined area when an image is formed on a recording medium having a plurality of heating elements in the main scanning direction of the thermal head and moving in the sub-scanning direction with respect to the thermal head. A color image processing apparatus that outputs dither image data to an image forming apparatus that forms the image using a dither pattern in which the gradation of each pixel of the image in the image is expressed by a block composed of a plurality of dots, A dither processing unit that performs dither conversion processing on the input print image data to generate the dither image data; and an output unit that outputs the dither image data to the image forming apparatus. A plurality of dot groups in which a plurality of the dots are arranged along the sub-scanning direction are stacked in a plurality of stages, and the beginning of the dot group of each stage is set to the upper or lower stage, The dither processing unit is configured by shifting one or a plurality of dots in the scanning direction, and the dither processing unit starts from the dot at the top of the dither pattern to the dot at the bottom of the bottom or the start of the bottom The dither image data is generated by density expression in which the growth order is from the dot to the last dot in the uppermost stage.

  The number of dots is a multiple of 3, preferably 9. When the number of dots is 9, the first dot in the lower row is divided into three stages of 1 to 3 dot groups, 4 to 6 dot groups, and 7 to 9 dot groups in the growth order. The position is shifted by one dot from the first dot in the upper row. The number of dots shifted at this time may be 2 dots.

  The first dot in each stage is divided into four stages of dot groups 1 and 2, 3 and 4 dots, 5 and 6 dot groups, and 7 to 9 dot groups in the growth order. The position may be shifted by one dot from the first dot in the upper row.

  Further, in the growth order, the dot group of 1 to 4 and the dot group of 5 to 9 are divided into two stages, and the position of the first dot in the lower stage is shifted by 3 dots from the first dot in the upper stage. In this case, the number of dots to be shifted may be 1 dot.

  Further, in the growth order, the dot group of 1 to 5 and the dot group of 6 to 9 are divided into two stages, and the position of the first dot in the lower stage is shifted by 2 dots from the first dot in the upper stage. May be arranged.

  On the other hand, the number of dots may be eleven. When the number of dots is 11, it is divided into four stages of 1 to 3 dot groups, 4 to 6 dot groups, 7 to 9 dot groups, and 10 and 11 dot groups in the growth order. The position of the first dot in the lower row is shifted by one dot from the first dot in the upper row. At this time, the number of dots to be shifted may be 2 dots.

  Furthermore, the number of dots may be 13. When the number of dots is 13, 5 in the above growth order are 1 to 3 dot groups, 4 to 6 dot groups, 7 to 9 dot groups, 10 to 12 dot groups, and 13 dots. Dividing into stages, the position of the first dot in the lower stage is shifted by 2 dots from the first dot in the upper stage.

  When the number of dots is 13, the growth order is divided into four stages of 1 to 3 dot groups, 4 to 6 dot groups, 7 to 9 dot groups, and 10 to 13 dot groups, The position of the first dot in each stage may be shifted by one dot from the first dot in the upper stage.

  When the number of dots is 13, the first dot in each stage is divided into three stages of dot groups 1 to 4, 5 to 8 and 9 to 13 in the growth order. The position may be shifted by one dot from the first dot in the upper row.

  The color image processing apparatus generates the dither image data of at least cyan, magenta, and yellow, and uses the dither pattern when generating the dither image data of cyan and magenta. Here, each of the dither patterns used when generating the dither image data of cyan and magenta has a structure in which they are line-symmetrically inverted.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a dither pattern in which a block constituting one pixel is composed of a plurality of dots is formed by stacking a plurality of dot groups in which a plurality of dots are arranged in the moving direction of the printing element, and By disposing one or more dots in the movement direction with respect to the top or bottom of the dot group, the interval between the adjacent dots can be reduced. Therefore, even when printing with low gradation, it is possible to perform stable printing that is less likely to cause problems such as ink stagnation and pitch spots.

The figure which shows schematic structure of a card | curd issuing apparatus provided with the thermal transfer printer which performs thermal transfer with the color image processing apparatus which concerns on this invention in a cross section. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of an image processing apparatus using a color image processing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing an image processed along the color image processing apparatus according to the present invention. Explanatory drawing which shows a cyan dither pattern typically. Explanatory drawing which shows a magenta dither pattern typically. Explanatory drawing which shows a yellow dither pattern typically. Explanatory drawing which shows typically the dither pattern which comprises a block with 11 dots. Explanatory drawing which shows typically the dither pattern which comprises a block with 13 dots. Explanatory drawing which shows typically another example of the dither pattern which comprises a block with 13 dots. Explanatory drawing which shows typically another example of the dither pattern which comprises a block with 13 dots. The figure explaining the gradation value when connecting with the 1st dot of an adjacent block by shifting the number of dots according to the number of dots (4 thru 16) which constitutes the block of 1 pixel. Explanatory drawing which shows the various modification of arrangement | positioning of the dot of the dither pattern comprised by nine dots. The figure explaining the space | interval of cyan and magenta which adjoin the main scanning direction of the thermal head 40 when printing an ink ribbon on a transfer film. Explanatory drawing which shows the dither pattern of a prior art typically.

  The color image processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail based on preferred embodiments. In this embodiment, the color image forming apparatus will be described using a thermal transfer printer that forms a color image using, for example, three colors of cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y).

  FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a card issuing device 1 provided with a thermal transfer printer 5. The card issuing device 1 records information on a card such as an ID card for various certifications or a credit card for commercial transactions. The housing 2 includes an information recording unit A, an image forming unit B, and a medium accommodating unit C. A housing part D is provided.

  The information recording unit A includes a magnetic recording unit 24, a non-contact type IC recording unit 25, and a contact type IC recording unit 27.

  The medium accommodating portion C accommodates a plurality of cards arranged in an upright posture, and a separation opening 7 is provided at the tip of the medium accommodating portion C so that the pickup roller 19 feeds out the cards from the front row. ing.

  The fed card is first sent to the reversing unit F by the carry-in roller 22. The reversing unit F includes a rotating frame 80 supported by the apparatus frame 2 so as to be pivotable and two pairs of rollers 20 supported by the frame. The roller pair 20 is rotatably supported on the rotary frame 80.

  A magnetic recording unit 24, a non-contact type IC recording unit 25, and a contact type IC recording unit 27 are disposed on the outer periphery around which the reversing unit F turns. Then, the roller pair 20 forms a medium carry-in path 65 for carrying in toward one of the information recording units 24, 25, and 27 depending on the type of card, and the card is magnetically or electrically connected to the card in these recording units. Data is written to

  The image forming unit B forms images such as face photographs and character data on the front and back surfaces of the recording card, and a medium transport path P1 for transporting the card is provided on the extension of the medium transport path 65. In addition, transport rollers 29 and 30 for transporting the cards are arranged in the medium transport path P1, and are connected to a transport motor (not shown).

  The image forming unit B includes a film-like medium conveyance device. The transfer film 46 conveyed by the conveyance device is first subjected to a primary transfer unit that prints an image with the thermal head 40, and then to the heat roller 35. And a secondary transfer portion that prints an image printed on the transfer film 46 on the surface of the card in the medium transport path P1. In the secondary transfer portion, the transfer film 46 is transferred by being sandwiched between the heat roller 35 and the platen roller 31 together with the card. The thermal head 40 has a plurality of heating elements in the main scanning direction, and printing is performed by moving a transfer film 46 as a printing medium in the sub scanning direction with respect to the thermal head 40.

  On the downstream side of the image forming unit B, a medium transport path P2 for transporting the printed card to the storage stacker 60 is provided. Conveying rollers 37 and 38 for conveying cards are arranged in the medium conveying path P2.

  A decurling mechanism 36 is disposed between the transport roller 37 and the transport roller 38, and the curl generated by the thermal transfer by the heat roller 35 is corrected by pressing the central portion of the card held between the transport rollers 37 and 38.

  The accommodating portion D is configured to accommodate the card sent from the image forming portion B by the elevating mechanism 61 by moving it downward in FIG.

  In the image forming section B described above, the primary transfer section constitutes the thermal transfer printer 5 that prints a color image on the transfer film 46 by the color image processing apparatus according to the present invention. The thermal transfer printer 5 will be described in more detail.

  The transfer film 46 is wound around the supply spool 47 and the take-up spool 48 of the film cassette 50, and the film transfer path P <b> 4 described above is formed between the supply spool 47 and the take-up spool 48. The supply spool 47 is connected to the operation motor Mr2, and the take-up spool 48 is connected to the take-up motor. Both the motors are attached to the apparatus frame and connected to the spool shaft via coupling means. Each motor is composed of a stepping motor and rotates in the same direction with the same feed amount.

  A transfer roller 49 and pinch rollers 34a and 34b are arranged in the film transfer path P4, and the transfer film 46 is conveyed on the film transfer path P4 by pressure contact between the transfer roller 49 and the pinch rollers 34a and 34b. Therefore, the transfer roller 49 and the pinch rollers 34 a and 34 b constitute a transfer means for the transfer film 46. The transfer roller 49 is connected to a drive motor and causes the transfer film 46 to travel at a constant speed. At this time, the sensor Se detects markers formed on the transfer film 46 at predetermined intervals. The transfer roller 49 is configured so that the ink ribbon 41 and the transfer film 46 rotate counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 1 at the same speed when an image is formed on the transfer film 46.

  On the other hand, the ink ribbon 41 is stored in a ribbon cassette 42. In the ribbon cassette 42, a supply spool 43 and a take-up spool 44 constituting an ink ribbon transport unit are rotatably incorporated, and the take-up spool 44 is connected to a wind motor Mr1. A film-like ink ribbon 41 is wound between the spools 43 and 44. The ink ribbon 41 is a sublimation ribbon, and each ink panel surface of cyan, magenta, and yellow is arranged in a belt-like manner in a surface sequence, and each ink panel surface has a predetermined width corresponding to the printing width of the transfer film 46. ing. The sensor Se detects the position of the ink ribbon 41 conveyed by driving the take-up spool 44.

  The ribbon cassette 42 is detachably attached to the apparatus housing 2 in the front and back direction on the paper surface of FIG. 1, and the ink ribbon 41 is an image forming platen (platen roller) 45 provided on the apparatus housing 2 side and the thermal head 40. Inserted between.

  The transfer film 46 is taken out from the supply spool 47 and is transferred to the cueing position for image transfer by rotating the transfer roller 49 in the clockwise direction. At this time, the ink ribbon 41 is also transferred to the cueing position by the take-up spool 44 rotating counterclockwise. Therefore, in the operation at this time, the transfer directions of the transfer film 46 and the ink ribbon 41 are opposite to each other.

  When the transfer film 46 and the ink ribbon 41 are aligned at the cueing position, the image forming platen 45 is moved toward the thermal head 40 by an unillustrated extrusion mechanism, and the transfer film 46 and the ink ribbon 41 are sandwiched between the thermal film 40 and the ink ribbon 41. It contacts the head 40.

  A head control IC (not shown) is connected to the thermal head 40 so that the thermal head 40 is thermally controlled. As will be apparent later, the head control IC heat-controls the thermal head 40 in accordance with a dither pattern generated based on the color image processing apparatus according to the present invention.

  The winding spool 44 rotates in synchronization with the thermal control of the thermal head 40, and moves the ink ribbon 41 in the winding direction at a predetermined speed. At this time, the transfer roller 49 rotates counterclockwise and the transfer film 46 is transferred in the same direction as the ink ribbon 41 by an amount corresponding to the printing width of one card, so that an image is formed in this portion. The

  When the image transfer by one ink panel is completed, the transfer roller 49 rotates again in the clockwise direction, and the transfer film 46 is pulled back to the cue position by an amount corresponding to the printing width of one card. At this time, since the ink ribbon 41 is continuously transferred in the winding direction, the next ink panel panel is aligned with the transfer film 46 at the cueing position.

  In such a cueing control, the cyan, magenta, and yellow ink panels are sequentially aligned with the cueing position with the transfer film 46, and after the alignment, the thermal head 40 and the image forming platen 45 are added. By repeating the thermal transfer, an image such as a face photograph or character data to be printed on the front and back surfaces of the card is transferred to the transfer film 46. In this way, the transfer film 46 on which the image is printed by the thermal transfer printer 5 is sent to the secondary transfer portion of the image forming portion B, and the printed image is transferred to the surface of the card.

  Here, a color image processing apparatus according to the present invention in the thermal transfer painter 5 will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image processing apparatus 100 using the color image processing apparatus according to the present invention in the thermal transfer painter 5. When the full-color input image data 200 (FIG. 3A) is sent together with a print command from a host device such as an external host computer, the image processing apparatus 100 decomposes the input image data 200 and generates RGB image data 201. Convert to FIG. 3A schematically shows an image displayed based on the input image data 200 and the RGB image data 201 at this time.

  When the RGB image data 201 is input, the CMY conversion unit 101 performs color matching processing. As a result, the print image data 202 is converted into 256 gradations for each of cyan, magenta, and yellow. In this case, an image displayed by each image data of cyan, magenta, and yellow is schematically shown in FIG. 3B. The dither processing unit 102 (dither processing means) performs halftone processing on each of the cyan, magenta, and yellow print image data 202 to generate dither image data 203. FIG. 3C schematically shows an image displayed by the cyan print image data 202.

  This halftone process is performed by a conventionally known dither conversion process. That is, the dither processing unit 102 determines the dither pattern by performing a comparison process between the cyan, magenta, and yellow print image data 202 and the dither threshold value stored in the memory 105 and performing dither conversion. In this case, the dither threshold is set for each dot obtained by dividing one pixel by 3 × 3 dots, and the tone of each dot is matched with the 256 tone of the print image data 202. The dither processing unit 102 generates dither image data 203 based on the dither pattern determined for each of cyan, magenta, and yellow. FIG. 3C displays an image based on the dither image data 203 generated by dithering the cyan print image data 202.

  FIG. 4 shows the cyan dither pattern 11 generated by the dither processing unit 102, and 3 × 3 dots correspond to one pixel of the print image data 202 as one block. Based on the result of the comparison process with the dither threshold value, the dither processing unit 102 writes the print data to the number of dots corresponding to the gradation value of the pixel of the print image corresponding to the block in each block 12 to obtain the dither pattern. 11 is generated. In this case, the numbers attached to the dots indicate the arrangement order (growth order) of the dot thermal head 40 that is sequentially grown along the sub-scanning direction indicated by the arrow a. It is the arrangement order along. The dots on which the print data is written are printed by the thermal head 4.

  In addition, each 3 × 3 dot in the dither pattern 11 is arranged in three stages as a set of three dots arranged in the growth order, and the first dot is positioned above or in the growth order of each stage. In the growth order of the lower stage, the first dots are sequentially shifted with respect to the first dot.

  In the dither pattern 11 configured in this way, the growth order of the adjacent blocks 12 is connected to the first dot at the third dot. This makes it difficult to be influenced by the dynamic factors, and improves the transferability on the low gradation side. That is, in this example, recording on the transfer film 46 is performed with 256 gradations and more gradations than the conventional 151 gradation described above. At this time, the output gradation is about 85 gradations or more (3 dots or more). ), Adjacent blocks are connected to each other even in a low gradation, so that the transferability on the low gradation side is improved.

  In addition, by arranging each dot in a set of three steps, the screen angle becomes −26.6 ° with respect to the sub-scanning direction of the thermal head 40. Since the screen angle is increased in this manner, the distance between the adjacent cyan blocks 12 in the main scanning direction indicated by the arrow a of the thermal head 40 is widened, so that the transferability of magenta and yellow for the second and subsequent colors is improved. To do.

  On the other hand, with respect to this magenta as well, as shown in FIG. 5, the dither pattern 21 is composed of nine dots constituting one block 22 in a set of three steps as in the case of cyan. Yes. Therefore, the same effect as cyan can be obtained.

  However, in the case of the magenta dither pattern 21, the staircase shape is reversed symmetrically with cyan, and the order of sequential growth of the thermal head 40 in the sub-scanning direction is reversed upside down so as to shift from the lower stage to the upper stage. Yes. Accordingly, cyan and magenta are arranged so as to cross each other, and moire fringes can be reduced when printed.

  For yellow, as shown in FIG. 6, each block 32 of the dither pattern 31 includes 12 dots (3 rows × 4 columns) and the first dot at the bottom (the growth order is ninth). It consists of a total of 13 dots 32 with another dot 32 added below. In this case, the dots 32 in the growth order of 1 to 12 are arranged in a 3 × 4 grid along the sub-scanning direction of the thermal head 40.

  In this way, unlike yellow and magenta, yellow has 13 dots instead of 9 dots and has a screen angle of 14 °, so that moire fringes are reduced when cyan, magenta, and yellow are superimposed during printing.

  Returning to FIG. 2, when the dither image data 203 based on the dither patterns 11, 21, and 31 for cyan, magenta, and yellow is output, the pulse width modulation unit 103 energizes the thermal head 40 in the printing unit 104. To control. As a result, the amount of ink transferred from the ink ribbon 41 to the transfer film 46 is adjusted, and halftone color printing is performed. The printing unit 104 is not limited to the thermal transfer method, and may be a print engine using an electrophotographic method or an inkjet method.

  As described above, each of the dither patterns 11 and 21 for cyan and magenta includes the respective blocks 12 and 22 composed of nine dots that are multiples of 3, and the dots at the beginning of each stage are arranged at the upper or lower stage. In contrast, they are arranged in a staircase pattern that is sequentially shifted. However, various modifications can be considered for the stepped arrangement depending on the number of dots and the arrangement position of the dots. Hereinafter, some modifications will be described.

  The dither pattern M in FIG. 7 constitutes a block B with 11 dots, and each dot constituting one pixel performs recording at about 23 gradations. In FIG. 7, the arrow b is the sub-scanning direction of the thermal head 40, and each dot grows sequentially in this direction. 8 to 10 and 12 described later, the sub-scanning direction of the thermal head 40 is the direction of the arrow b.

  In the dither pattern M shown in FIG. 7, the dot group having the growth order of 1 to 3 (hereinafter, simply represented by only the rank number) is arranged in the uppermost stage, the dot group of 4 to 6 is arranged in the next stage, and the first. The four dots are shifted by one dot in the row direction from the position of the first dot of block B, and 7 to 9 dot groups are arranged in the next stage, and the first seven dots are shifted from the position of the four dots. The dots are shifted by 1 dot in the row direction, and 10 and 11 dots are arranged at the bottom row by shifting 1 dot from 7 dots. According to the dither pattern M in FIG. 7, the second dot (about 47 gradations) is connected to the first dot of the adjacent block B.

  In this 11 dot configuration example, although not shown in the drawing, if the first dot position is shifted by 2 dots from the first dot position in the upper row in the growth order of each row, 3 dots ( Connected from the first dot of the next block B to the first dot.

  In the dither pattern M in FIG. 8, each of the 13 dots is divided into four stages of 1 to 3 dot groups, 4 to 6 dot groups, 7 to 9 dot groups, 10 to 12 dot groups, and 13 dots. In the growth order of each stage, the position of the first dot is shifted by 2 dots from the position of the first dot in the upper stage, and the second dot is adjacent to the first dot of the adjacent block. Connected.

  The dither pattern M in FIG. 9 also forms a block B with 13 dots as in FIG. 8, but in this case, the dot groups 1 to 3, the dot groups 4 to 6, the dot groups 7 to 9 and Dividing into 10 to 13 dot groups, the position of the first dot in each stage is shifted by one dot from the first dot in the upper stage, and the lowest dot group is composed of 10 to 13 dots. The third dot is connected to the first dot of the adjacent block.

  Similarly, the dither pattern M in FIG. 10 also divides the 13 dots into 1 to 4 dot groups, 5 to 8 dot groups, and 9 to 13 dot groups, and positions the first dots in the upper row. The first dot is shifted by one dot, and the fourth dot is connected to the first dot of the adjacent block.

  In this way, the dot connected to one dot in the adjacent block is determined according to how many dots the first dot position in the lower row is shifted from the upper row. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the gradation value when connected to the first dot of the adjacent block according to the number of displaced dots, according to the number of dots (4 to 16) constituting the block of one pixel. In this case, the gradation value to be recorded by one dot differs depending on the number of dots in the block B. For example, as described above, when one block is composed of nine dots, each dot is recorded at about 28 gradations, In the case of 11 dots, each dot is recorded at about 23 gradations.

  FIG. 12 shows a modification of the arrangement of the dither pattern dots in which one block is composed of nine dots, as in FIGS. 4 and 5. The dither pattern M in FIG. 12A is divided into a dot group of 1 to 4 and a dot group of 5 to 9, and the position of the first dot in the lower row is shifted by 2 dots from the first dot in the upper row. Thus, the third dot is arranged so as to be connected to the first dot of the adjacent block.

  The dither pattern M in FIG. 12B is divided into 1 and 2 dot groups, 3 and 4 dot groups, 5 and 6 dot groups, and 7 to 9 dot groups, and the position of the first dot in each stage. Is arranged so as to be connected to the first dot of the adjacent block from the second dot by shifting one dot from the first dot in the upper row.

  The dither pattern M in FIG. 12C is divided into 1 to 3 dot groups, 4 to 6 dot groups, and 7 to 9 dot groups, and the position of the first dot in each stage is the first in the upper stage. The dots are arranged so as to be shifted from the dots by 2 dots so as to connect from the second dot to the first dot of the adjacent block.

  The dither pattern M shown in FIG. 12D is divided into 1 to 4 dot groups and 5 to 9 dot groups, and the position of the first dot in the lower row is shifted by 3 dots from the first dot in the upper row. Thus, the second dot is arranged so as to be connected to the first dot of the adjacent block.

  The dither pattern M in FIG. 12E is divided into a dot group of 1 to 4 and a dot group of 5 to 9, and the position of the first dot in the lower row is shifted by one dot from the first dot in the upper row. Thus, the second dot is arranged so as to be connected to the first dot of the adjacent block.

  The dither pattern M in FIG. 12F is divided into 1 to 5 dot groups and 6 to 9 dot groups, and the position of the first dot in the lower row is shifted by 2 dots from the first dot in the upper row. Thus, the fourth dot is arranged so as to be connected to the first dot of the adjacent block.

  As described above, one pixel in the dither pattern is composed of various numbers of dots. If composed of 12 dots or more, the gradation number can be increased, but the resolution is lowered and the resolution is deteriorated. Further, when the ink ribbon 41 is configured to be 6 dots or less, when the ink ribbon 41 is printed on the transfer film 46, the interval L (FIG. 13) between cyan or magenta adjacent in the main scanning direction of the thermal head 40 becomes narrow, so that the second and subsequent colors. The color transfer performance is lower than in the case of 9 dots. Therefore, it is optimal that one pixel in the dither pattern is composed of 9 dots.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a dither pattern in which a block constituting one pixel is configured by a plurality of dots is obtained by stacking a plurality of dot groups in which a plurality of dots are arranged in a dot growth direction, One or a plurality of dots are shifted from the top or bottom of the dot group, and each dot is sequentially grown in the sub-scanning direction of the thermal head 40. As a result, by reducing the first dot interval between adjacent blocks, the ink ribbon 41 is connected to the adjacent block at 85 gradations or more (3 dots or more) when printing with 256 gradations. When the toner is transferred to the transfer film 46, even when the gradation is low, problems such as ink stagnation and pitch spots are unlikely to occur, and stable printing can be performed.

  The present invention relates to a color image processing apparatus having improved printability when a color image is formed on a recording medium and on the low gradation side and when cyan, magenta and yellow are superimposed, and has industrial applicability.

11 Cyan dither pattern 12 Block 13 Dot 21 Magenta dither pattern 31 Yellow dither pattern M Dither pattern

Claims (20)

When forming an image on a recording medium having a plurality of heating elements in the main scanning direction of the thermal head and moving in the sub-scanning direction with respect to the thermal head, the gradation of each pixel of the image in the predetermined area is set to a plurality of dots. A color image processing apparatus that outputs dither image data to an image forming apparatus that forms the image using a dither pattern that is expressed by blocks configured by:
A dither processing unit that performs dither conversion processing on the input print image data to generate the dither image data;
An output unit for outputting the dither image data to the image forming apparatus,
In the dither pattern, a plurality of dot groups in which a plurality of the dots are arranged in the sub-scanning direction are stacked in a plurality of stages, and the start of the dot group in each stage is 1 in the sub-scanning direction with respect to the upper or lower stage. It is arranged by shifting one or more dots,
The dither processing unit is configured to express the density in a growth order from the first dot at the top of the dither pattern to the last dot at the bottom, or from the first dot at the bottom to the last dot at the top. A color image processing apparatus for generating dither image data.   The color image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the dither pattern is arranged in a step shape by sequentially shifting the start of the dot group of each step with respect to the upper or lower step.   The color image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the number of dots is a multiple of three.   The color image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the number of dots is nine.   The first dot position in the lower row is the first dot position in the upper row, divided into three stages of dot groups 1 to 3, 4 to 6 dots, and 7 to 9 dot groups in the growth order. The color image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the color image processing apparatus is arranged so as to be shifted by one dot from the dots.   In the growth order, the dot group of 1 to 4 and the dot group of 5 to 9 are divided into two stages, and the position of the first dot in the lower stage is shifted by 2 dots from the first dot in the upper stage. The color image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the color image processing apparatus is a color image processing apparatus.   The position of the first dot in each stage is divided into four stages of dot groups 1 and 2, 3 and 4 dots, 5 and 6 dot groups, and 7 to 9 dot groups in the growth order. The color image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein is arranged by shifting one dot from the first dot in the upper stage.   In the growth order, the first dot of each stage is divided into three stages of 1 to 3 dot groups, 4 to 6 dot groups, and 7 to 9 dot groups. The color image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the color image processing apparatus is arranged so as to be shifted by two dots.   In the growth order, the dot group of 1 to 4 and the dot group of 5 to 9 are divided into two stages, and the position of the first dot in the lower stage is shifted by 3 dots from the first dot in the upper stage. The color image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the color image processing apparatus is a color image processing apparatus.   In the growth order, the dot group of 1 to 4 and the dot group of 5 to 9 are divided into two stages, and the position of the first dot in the lower stage is shifted by one dot from the first dot in the upper stage. The color image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the color image processing apparatus is a color image processing apparatus.   In the growth order, the dot group of 1 to 5 and the dot group of 6 to 9 are divided into two stages, and the position of the first dot in the lower stage is shifted by 2 dots from the first dot in the upper stage. The color image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the color image processing apparatus is a color image processing apparatus.   The color image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the number of dots is 11.   In the growth order, the first dot in the lower row is divided into four rows of dot groups 1 to 3, 4 to 6, dot groups 7 to 9, and 10 and 11 dots. The color image processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the position is shifted by one dot from the first dot in the upper row.   In the growth order, the first dot in the lower row is divided into four rows of dot groups 1 to 3, 4 to 6, dot groups 7 to 9, and 10 and 11 dots. The color image processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the position is shifted by 2 dots from the first dot in the upper row.   The color image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the number of dots is 13.   In the growth order, the lower stage is divided into five stages of 1 to 3 dot groups, 4 to 6 dot groups, 7 to 9 dot groups, 10 to 12 dot groups, and 13 dots. The color image processing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the position of the first dot is shifted by 2 dots from the first dot in the upper row.   The position of the first dot in each stage is divided into four stages of 1 to 3 dot groups, 4 to 6 dot groups, 7 to 9 dot groups, and 10 to 13 dot groups in the growth order. The color image processing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein is arranged by shifting one dot from the first dot in the upper stage.   In the growth order, the first dot of each stage is divided into three stages of 1 to 4 dot groups, 5 to 8 dot groups, and 9 to 13 dot groups. The color image processing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the color image processing apparatus is arranged so as to be shifted by one dot.   The color image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the color image processing apparatus generates the dither image data of at least cyan, magenta, and yellow, and uses the dither pattern when generating the dither image data of cyan and magenta. Processing equipment.   20. The color image processing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein each of the dither patterns used when generating the dither image data of cyan and magenta has a structure that is line-symmetric and inverted.

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