JP3680931B2 - Image processing apparatus and image processing method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method capable of developing a high-quality, high-resolution color image from a small amount of image data.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In order to output a beautiful image in a color printer, it is necessary to satisfy both gradation and resolution at the same time. However, a large amount of information is required to improve both, and the required memory capacity increases. For example, if it has 8 bits of information for each color of RGB, 24 bits of information is required per pixel. When the resolution is 600 dpi, the data amount reaches 96 Mbytes in an A4 size image. In order to handle such a large amount of data, not only the cost of the memory for holding the data increases, but also a large amount of time is required for data transfer and processing, and the drawing time becomes long. There was a problem.
[0003]
In order to solve such a problem, as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-296670, a high-resolution image is generated by interpolation processing from a low-resolution image that retains gradation. Technology is used. However, this method only generates pixels by interpolation processing, and does not necessarily obtain the same image quality as an image generated at high resolution from the beginning. Particularly in a character image, the deterioration of image quality becomes remarkable, for example, distortion peculiar to interpolation processing occurs.
[0004]
As another technique, the resolution is maintained, and for each block of a predetermined size, information on a color smaller than the number of pixels included in the block is retained, and each of the retained colors is retained in each pixel. It is also conceivable to hold a value indicating whether it corresponds to. According to this method, for example, it is not necessary to hold full-color color information for each pixel, so that the data amount can be reduced. In this method, the data amount cannot be reduced unless the block size is increased. However, if the size of the block is increased, pixels in the block must be expressed with only a limited number of colors, so that there is a problem that the color reproducibility deteriorates and the image quality deteriorates.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an image processing apparatus and an image processing capable of realizing generation of a color image having high resolution and high gradation from a small amount of image data with a small amount of memory. It is intended to provide a method.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In the present invention, color information when a plurality of pixels at a predetermined resolution are associated with one pixel, and tag information indicating pixel positions having color information for the plurality of pixels at a predetermined resolution corresponding to the pixel of the color information. The image data is developed into a color image having a predetermined resolution. Since the color information is for one color for a plurality of pixels, the data amount can be reduced to a fraction. However, since the resolution is lowered as it is, tag information indicating pixel positions using the assigned color information is added to a plurality of pixels to which the color information is assigned. Thereby, for example, information such as the shape of the character graphic can be held, and the resolution can be maintained. In this case, the tag information may be 1 bit per pixel, and the increase in the data amount is small.
[0007]
By receiving such image data and arranging corresponding color information according to the tag information, it can be developed into a color image of a predetermined resolution. In the received image data, as described above, the high gradation property is retained by the color information and the resolution is retained by the tag information. Therefore, the developed color image has the high resolution and the high gradation property. A beautiful color image can be output.
[0008]
Note that the color of the pixel to which no color information is assigned by the tag information can be determined from the color of surrounding pixels. At this time, which of the surrounding pixels is used is determined from, for example, tag information, or reference position information indicating which of the surrounding pixels is used is used as image data. The color of surrounding pixels may be assigned according to the reference position information.
[0009]
Further, a part for performing development using such tag information and a part to which other development methods are applied may be mixed. For example, flag information for switching the image data may be included. In particular, high resolution is required in the character graphic portion, but not so high in the photographic image portion. Processing can be switched depending on the type of image.
[0010]
For example, a designated image may be drawn upon receiving a drawing command or the like. In such a case, a designated character graphic is generated for a character graphic that requires high resolution. At this time, image data including color information and tag information as described above may be generated. it can. As a result, it is possible to reduce the amount of data until a color image having a predetermined resolution is developed. For example, even when the generated image data of a character graphic is registered in a cache memory or the like and reused later, the amount of data to be saved can be reduced and the efficiency can be improved.
[0011]
Furthermore, the image data including the color information and the tag information as described above can be received for each drawing graphic, and these can be drawn. At this time, the drawing process can be performed without changing the data format of the image data including the color information and the tag information. Or, in the drawing process, it is determined whether or not drawing is possible without changing the data format. If the drawing process is possible without changing the data format, the drawing process is performed as it is. Drawing processing can be performed after developing into a color image of a predetermined resolution. In this way, by performing all or part of the drawing process while maintaining the image data including the color information and the tag information, it is possible to reduce the amount of data to be processed and to perform a high-speed drawing process. In addition, the data amount of the stored image data can be reduced.
[0012]
In addition, when the drawing process cannot be performed with the image data including the color information and the tag information, when the drawing process is performed, the image data held in the drawing process target area and the subsequent image data are set to a predetermined resolution. The image data can be rendered after being rendered into a color image, and converted into image data including the color information and the tag information again. Thereby, the data amount of the held image data can be reduced.
[0013]
Furthermore, image data including color information and tag information as described above is received, and a plurality of image data having the same color information and tag information of the image data can be converted into one image data together with the number of the image data. it can. This can further reduce the amount of data.
[0014]
Furthermore, color space conversion processing can be performed in the form of image data including color information and tag information as described above. In this case, it suffices to perform only the color information in the image data, and the amount of data to be converted can be greatly reduced, and high-speed processing can be performed. The color space conversion can be performed, for example, from an RGB color space to a CMYK color space used in a printing apparatus or the like.
[0015]
Combining such compression with the same number of image data and color space conversion processing, for each color component after color space conversion, the number of image data identical to the color information of that color component is set. It can also be converted into associated image data. For example, when image data is handled for each color component, the image data can be handled at high speed.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an image processing apparatus and an image processing method according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a command analysis unit, 2 is a character graphic generation unit, 3 is a font memory, 4 is a conversion unit, 5 is a font cache, 6 is a vector graphic drawing unit, 7 is a raster image processing unit, and 8 is an image development unit. It is. This example shows a case where a drawing command described in PDL (print description language) or the like is received and a color image composed of bitmap data of a predetermined resolution is output.
[0017]
The command analysis unit 1 accepts an input drawing command, and in accordance with the drawing command, for example, when drawing of a character graphic is instructed, the character graphic generation unit 2 is instructed, and when drawing of a vector graphic is instructed, a vector graphic When the drawing unit 6 is instructed to draw a raster image such as a photo, the raster image processing unit 7 is given an instruction based on a drawing command. In addition to drawing commands, there are various setting commands as drawing commands, and these processes are also performed.
[0018]
The character graphic generation unit 2 generates the designated character graphic as bitmap data in accordance with the character graphic drawing command passed from the command analysis unit 1. The font memory 3 stores a font corresponding to each character graphic, and the font data can be extracted from the font memory 3 to generate bitmap data of the designated character graphic. The resolution of the generated bitmap data is the resolution of the color image output from the image development unit 8. When the designated character graphic is registered in the font cache 5, the conversion unit 4 is instructed to use the image data of the registered character graphic.
[0019]
The conversion unit 4 converts the bitmap data of the character graphic generated by the character graphic generation unit 2 into color information of one color for a plurality of pixels and pixel positions corresponding to the color information for a plurality of pixels corresponding to the color information. It converts into the image data containing the tag information to show. As a result, the bitmap data becomes data with a resolution of 1 / the number of pixels to be collected, and becomes image data with tag information added thereto. This image data will be described later. The converted image data is registered in the font cache 5 in association with the character graphic. When an instruction to use graphic data registered in the font cache 5 is received from the character graphic generation unit 2, the character graphic image data registered in the font cache 5 is extracted and converted. Output as image data.
[0020]
The font cache 5 temporarily stores the image data converted by the conversion unit 4 in association with the character graphic of the image data. As a result, when drawing the same character graphic, the image data registered in the font cache 5 can be used, and the generation of bitmap data of the character graphic and the conversion process to the image data are omitted. Can be speeded up. Further, by holding the converted image data in the conversion unit 4, the amount of data to be held can be reduced, and the number of characters and graphics that can be registered can be increased to improve the processing efficiency.
[0021]
The vector graphic drawing unit 6 performs drawing processing of a specified graphic in accordance with a vector graphic drawing command passed from the command analysis unit 1. As for the drawing data of the vector graphic generated by the vector graphic drawing unit 6, for example, similarly to the character graphic, color information of one color for a plurality of pixels of the drawing data and color information for a plurality of pixels corresponding to the color information. And image data including tag information indicating the pixel position corresponding to. Alternatively, it may be output as intermediate language data such as an edge list.
[0022]
The raster image processing unit 7 performs processing on the raster image in accordance with a raster image drawing command passed from the command analysis unit 1. Usually, since the raster image itself is sent from the outside, there is no need to perform graphic generation processing such as a character graphic or a vector graphic. For example, a raster image such as a photograph does not require so much resolution, so the resolution of the input raster image may be lower than the resolution of the color image output from the image development unit 8, for example. For the area where the raster image is drawn, flag information indicating that development using tag information is not performed may be added to the image development unit 8.
[0023]
The image expansion unit 8 includes: character graphic image data sent from the conversion unit 4, vector graphic image data sent from the vector graphic drawing unit 6, and a raster image sent from the raster image processing unit 7. Performs processing to develop a color image with an output resolution. For example, image data of a character graphic or vector graphic includes color information of one color for a plurality of pixels as described above, and tag information indicating pixel positions corresponding to the color information for a plurality of pixels corresponding to the color information as described above. In the case of data, tag information is used, and color information is arranged for the pixel indicated by the tag information. For pixels not specified by the tag information, for example, the pixels are left as they are or the colors are determined from the surrounding pixels. Alternatively, when converting to image data in the conversion unit 4 or the vector graphic drawing unit 6, reference position information indicating which of the surrounding pixels is used for pixels not specified by the tag information is added. The color can be determined according to the reference position information. In addition, when intermediate language data such as an edge list is passed as drawing data of a vector graphic, a painting process according to the intermediate language data is performed, and a color image with an output resolution is generated. Further, for a raster image, a color image having an output resolution may be generated by, for example, interpolation processing as conventionally performed. These character graphics, vector graphics, raster images, and the like are often mixed in one page, and in this example, these are synthesized by the image development unit 8. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be preliminarily synthesized as intermediate language data, and then developed into a color image with an output resolution in the image developing unit 8.
[0024]
Although FIG. 1 shows an example in which a drawing command such as PDL is input and a color image with an output resolution is output, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a configuration in which intermediate language data in an edge list format is input may be used. Alternatively, for example, image data including color information when a plurality of pixels are associated with one pixel and tag information indicating pixel positions having color information for the plurality of pixels corresponding to the pixel of the color information is input and image development is performed. A configuration may be used in which the unit 8 develops a color image with an output resolution.
[0025]
Next, image data including the above-described color information and tag information will be described using specific examples. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an example of information included in image data in the present invention. As described above, if color information for expressing a color image has, for example, 8-bit information for each color of RGB, 24-bit information per pixel is required. When the resolution is 600 dpi, the data amount reaches 96 Mbytes in an A4 size image. However, there are not so many images in which the color information is all different between adjacent pixels. For example, in a character graphic or the like, there are only a character color and a background color. Focusing on this, in the present invention, color information of one color is assigned to a plurality of pixels. For example, in the bitmap data shown in FIG. 2A, if one color information is assigned to every four pixels as shown in FIG. 2B, the data amount is reduced to ¼. For example, in a 600 dpi image, the image data composed of color information is image data equivalent to 300 dpi.
[0026]
However, the resolution is lowered as it is, and the image quality is lowered in, for example, a character graphic. In order to prevent a deterioration in image quality in a portion where high image quality is required, such as a character graphic portion, in the present invention, for a plurality of pixels to which color information is assigned, a pixel in which the assigned color is arranged is added as tag information. For example, when one color information is assigned to four pixels as described above, the assigned colors are assigned to four pixels to which the color information is assigned, for example, four pixels a, b, c, and d shown in FIG. Tag information (see FIG. 2D) indicating whether or not to use is added. For example, if the assigned color is assigned to the pixels a, b, and c, the tag information corresponding to the pixels a, b, and c is set to “1”, for example, and the tag information corresponding to the pixel d is set to “0”, for example. deep. With such tag information, information relating to the shape of a figure to be drawn, for example, a character figure can be held.
[0027]
In this way, information of 4 pixels and 96 bits (= 24 bits × 4 pixels) can be expressed by 28-bit image data including 24-bit color information and 4-bit tag information. For example, in the case of a 600 dpi character graphic image, the image data can be constituted by color information equivalent to 300 dpi and tag information added to each color information. As described above, in the example shown in FIG. 2, although the image data to which the color information is assigned has a low resolution, information about a plurality of pixels corresponding to the color information is held by the tag information to reduce the data amount. .
[0028]
In the example shown in FIG. 2, one color information is assigned to every four pixels. However, the number of pixels to which the color information is assigned is arbitrary, and the area shape of a plurality of pixels to which the color information is assigned is also shown in FIG. The shape is not limited to that shown in FIG.
[0029]
For example, in the example shown in FIG. 2, when four pixels are prepared for one color information in the image development unit 8 from such image data, the four pixels are prepared. A color indicated by the color information may be assigned to a pixel indicated by the tag information, for example, a pixel whose tag information is “1”. By performing such processing for all color information, image data having a resolution of 1/4 of the output resolution to which the color information is assigned is developed into a color image of the output resolution. For example, as in the above-described example, a color image having a resolution of 600 dpi can be reproduced using color information corresponding to a resolution of 300 dpi and tag information added to the color information.
[0030]
Here, the pixels for which the color information is not assigned by the tag information do not have the assigned color information. For example, when drawing a character figure or the like, the background color is often white (paper color), and in this case, a color image can be output without any problem.
[0031]
However, when the background is colored, such as when a character graphic is drawn on the background color, the image quality deteriorates, such as causing white spots for pixels whose tag information does not indicate color information as described above. May occur. As one method for solving such a problem, the color of a pixel to which no color information is assigned by tag information can be determined from the colors of surrounding pixels. In many cases, there is almost no difference in color for only one pixel, and even if such a pixel exists, it is often unknown. For this reason, it is possible to assume that pixels for which color information has not been assigned can be substituted with colors of surrounding pixels.
[0032]
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an example of color determination by peripheral pixels for pixels for which color information is not selected by tag information. For example, in FIG. 3A, when color information is not assigned by the tag information with respect to the pixel with the upper left hatching among the four central pixels, the color of the upper left pixel (here, the four pixels with the same hatching) The color information assigned to the image is preferably assigned. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3B and 3C, when there are two pixels whose color information is not selected by the tag information and they are arranged side by side, the color of the pixel adjacent to the two pixels (Here, the color information assigned to the four hatched pixels) may be assigned. As a case where color information is not selected by tag information for two pixels, two pixels may be arranged on a diagonal line. In this case, if the example of FIG. 3A is applied to each pixel. Good. Further, the example shown in FIG. 3D shows a case where there are three pixels whose color information is not selected by the tag information, and they exist in the diagonal direction of the central pixel among the three adjacent pixels. The color of the peripheral pixels (similarly color information assigned to the four pixels) may be assigned.
[0033]
In these examples, the colors of adjacent pixels that are considered to have the same color are applied to the pixels to which the color information is not assigned by the tag information. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and a color to be applied can be determined. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 3A, color information adjacent to the left or top may be applied. In the example shown in FIG. 3D, the left, upper left, and upper color information can be applied to three pixels to which no color information is assigned by tag information.
[0034]
In this way, for pixels for which color information has not been assigned by the tag information, the color can be automatically determined from the color of the surrounding pixels (color information for every four surrounding pixels). Therefore, it is not necessary to have a lot of color information, and the amount of image data can be reduced.
[0035]
As described above, when a color is automatically determined for a pixel to which no color information is assigned by tag information, the accuracy may not be sufficient. In order to improve the accuracy of determining the color, for example, it is conceivable to designate surrounding pixels to be referred to in advance. As described above, the reference position information can be included in the image data as information for designating surrounding pixels to be referred to when determining the color for the pixels to which the color information is not assigned by the tag information. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an example of reference position information. For example, as shown in FIG. 4A, it is assumed that the color information is not assigned to the upper right pixel among the four central pixels by the tag information. According to the method shown in FIG. 3A, the color information of the pixel indicated by the surrounding '2' is selected. For example, if the color information of the pixel indicated by the surrounding '4' is to be assigned. To do. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 4B, “4” is added to the image data as reference position information. When the image development unit 8 performs the development process, for the pixels to which the color information is not assigned by the tag information, the color of the surrounding pixels indicated by the reference position information (the color assigned for every four pixels) Information) can be assigned. As a result, it is possible to determine a color with higher accuracy than automatically assigning a color.
[0036]
Note that there are eight directions of pixels at adjacent positions to be referred to as indicated by “0” to “7” in FIG. Therefore, the reference position information requires 3 bits per color information (here, 4 pixels). However, even if the color information and tag information and the reference position information are included, the number of bits is 31 bits, and the amount of data is much smaller than when four pixels have color information (96 bits).
[0037]
In the example shown in FIG. 4 described above, the case where only one pixel is not assigned color information by the tag information is shown. However, the case where the pixel information is not assigned color information by the tag information is a plurality of pixels. Also, the color of surrounding pixels can be assigned using common reference position information.
[0038]
In order to assign colors more accurately to a plurality of pixels to which color information has not been assigned by tag information, image data is stored so that each pixel to which color information has not been assigned by tag information has reference position information. It can also be configured. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of another example of the reference position information. Of the four pixels at the center in FIG. 5A, two pixels that have been subjected to different hatching are pixels for which color information has not been assigned by tag information. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5B, reference position information is associated with each of the two pixels. In this example, the color information existing in the direction of “0” at the upper left is assigned to the upper left pixel among the four pixels. Also, it is shown that color information existing in the direction of “4” on the right side is assigned to the lower right pixel among the four pixels.
[0039]
In this way, by associating the reference position information with each pixel for which color information has not been assigned by the tag information, it is possible to assign an optimal color, such as assigning different colors to each other. Can be determined.
[0040]
As described above, when reference position information is added to each pixel to which color information is not assigned by tag information, there are cases where three reference position information must be added. However, even in that case, the reference position information may be 3 bits × 3 = 9 bits, and it may be 37 bits together with the color information and the tag information. Furthermore, in order to simplify the process of associating the position of the pixel to which the color information is not assigned by the tag information with the reference position information, a field of reference position information can be provided for all four pixels. Even in this case, 40 bits are sufficient for color information, tag information, and reference position information, and the data amount is less than half compared to the case where all four pixels have color information (96 bits).
[0041]
As described above, image data including color information and tag information or reference position information can reduce the amount of data without reducing the resolution of character graphics, vector graphics, and the like. However, it is not necessary to maintain the above-described resolution for raster images such as photographs or images with a uniform background. For example, in a raster image such as a photograph, the gradation is sufficient, and if the resolution is higher than a certain level, the image quality will not change visually even if the resolution is changed. Therefore, high-resolution data is not required for raster images, and processing for maintaining resolution such as development by adding tag information as described above is not necessary, and interpolation as conventionally performed is performed. It is only necessary to perform processing that matches the output resolution by processing or the like.
[0042]
In this way, it is desirable to switch between the expansion process using tag information and the process conventionally performed depending on the drawing target. It is preferable to have flag information for such processing switching. For example, in the case of image data including color information and tag information or further reference position information as described above, flag information can be added in units of object or color information of the image data. For raster images, flag information can be added in units of raster images or in units of pixels in the raster image.
[0043]
The image development unit 8 refers to such flag information, and when the flag information indicates development using tag information, includes the color information and tag information or further reference position information as described above. It is only necessary to perform development processing from the image data. Further, when the flag information indicates that tag information is not used, for example, a conventional development process can be performed, or output can be performed as it is depending on the resolution.
[0044]
In the description with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5 described above, an example in which color information of one color is assigned to every four pixels is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and color information of one color may be assigned to any number of pixels of two or more pixels, and tag information having bits for the number of pixels to which the color information is assigned may be added. .
[0045]
Further, for example, the utilization rate of black is very high in character graphics and vector graphics. By utilizing this, for example, if the color is black, the color information can be configured to have only information of about 1 bit indicating that the color information is black. As a result, the data amount can be further reduced.
[0046]
Further, the example shown in FIG. 1 shows an example in which a drawing command described in PDL or the like is received and a color image with an output resolution is output. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and input may be arbitrary data. Of course, the color information and tag information as described above, or image data having further reference position information and flag information may be directly input. In this case, the image development unit 8 may be provided.
[0047]
As described above, the amount of data can be reduced by using image data including color information and tag information. However, the amount of data can be further reduced by run-length compression of such image data. is there. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the run-length compression process. For example, when an image of two scanning lines as shown in FIG. 6A is drawn, image data as shown in FIG. 6B is obtained by indicating the color information and tag information as described above. In FIG. 6, the colored portion is indicated by hatching. In this example, tag information is added with information using color information at all positions.
[0048]
As can be seen with reference to FIG. 6B, four pieces of image data of the same tag information and color information are continuous. These four pieces of image data can be represented by “4” indicating the number of consecutive images and one image data. The tag information and the color information are the same for the subsequent two image data. Therefore, it can be indicated by “2” indicating the continuous number and one image data.
[0049]
For example, the color information of the hatched portion is (R, G, B) = (0xff, 0x00, 0x00), and the color information of the unhatched portion is (R, G, B) = (0xff, 0xff, 0xff) ), And when the image data is represented by TRGB on the assumption that the information of other parts including the tag information is T = (0x00), the first four image data can be represented by (0x00ff0000). . '0x' indicates a hexadecimal number. The latter two pieces of image data can be represented by (0x00ffffff). That is, the image data including the tag information and the color information shown in FIG. 6B can be shown as shown in FIG. Note that the data shown in FIG. 6C is expressed in hexadecimal.
[0050]
When these are run-length compressed using continuous numbers, as shown in FIG. 6 (D), the first four pieces of image data have only 0x0004 as the continuous number and 0x00ff0000 as the image data, and the 16-byte data is 6 It becomes byte data. Similarly, for the latter two image data, the continuous number is 0x0002, the image data is only 0x00ffffff, and the 8-byte data is 6-byte data. Note that the data shown in FIG. 6D is also hexadecimal data.
[0051]
In this way, the amount of data can be further reduced by performing run-length compression on image data including color information and tag information. The continuous data length is arbitrary, and is not limited to 2-byte data as in the example shown in FIG.
[0052]
The image data including the color information and the tag information as described above can be subjected to various processes in the data format. Some examples will be described below. As shown in FIG. 1, when a drawing command is received and a graphic indicated by the drawing command is expanded by the image expansion unit 8, the character graphic converted by the character graphic generation unit 2 and the conversion unit 4, A process of drawing the vector graphic processed by the vector graphic drawing unit 6 and the raster image processed by the raster image processing unit 7 as one image is performed. Conventionally, since each character or figure is drawn in an image with an output resolution, a large-capacity drawing memory is required, and when this is temporarily stored, compression processing is performed again. In the present invention, if possible, the drawing process can be performed with the data format of the image data including the color information and the tag information. As a result, the capacity of the drawing memory can be reduced and the processing speed can be increased, and even if it is temporarily stored, the amount of data is small, so that it can be stored as it is.
[0053]
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation during the drawing process in the embodiment of the image processing apparatus and the image processing method of the present invention. In S11, for example, it is determined whether or not a predetermined unit of drawing objects such as one band or one page has been completed. If there is an object to be drawn, the process proceeds to S12. In S12, the command analysis unit 1 acquires and analyzes a drawing command indicating an object to be drawn, and depending on the drawing object, the character figure generation unit 2, the vector graphic drawing unit 6, or the raster graphic processing unit 7 A drawing instruction is sent.
[0054]
In response to the drawing instruction, the character graphic generation unit 2 (and the conversion unit 4), the vector graphic drawing unit 6, and the raster graphic processing unit 7 perform object drawing processing according to the instruction in S13, and the color information and the color information as described above. The image data including the tag information is passed to the image development unit 8. In step S14, the image development unit 8 draws the image data passed from the conversion unit 4, the vector graphic drawing unit 6, and the raster graphic processing unit 7 as one image. At this time, subsequent image data is synthesized with the image data drawn so far, but both can be performed in the data format of the image data including the color information and the tag information.
[0055]
When the drawing process on the drawing object of the predetermined unit is completed, the image data of the predetermined unit is output in S15. When outputting, for example, if the output destination is a printer or the like, the raster image is developed and output according to the resolution of the printer. Of course, it can also be written to a file.
[0056]
An example of the drawing process shown in FIG. 7 will be further described. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a drawing process using a specific example of a drawing object. Here, as an example, a case is shown in which a drawing command for filling a region specified by a Path command indicating a drawing vector with a color specified by RGB is input. First, the command analysis unit 1 analyzes the drawing command, and in the case of the Path command and the fill command described above, the command analysis unit 1 decomposes the area indicated by the specified Path command into a plurality of trapezoids, and generates an intermediate code for each trapezoid. Generate. This intermediate code can be generated in units of one page, for example, and stored in an intermediate code holding unit or the like.
[0057]
When the generation of the intermediate code is completed, since the vector graphic is drawn here, the vector graphic drawing unit 6 extracts the intermediate code and generates the vector graphic.
[0058]
For example, it is assumed that a trapezoid as shown in FIG. At this time, the start X coordinate and the end X coordinate for each scanning line are obtained from the start Y coordinate, end Y coordinate, and left / right tilt information of the trapezoid to be drawn. Here, when generating image data for every 2 × 2 pixels as illustrated in FIG. 2, if the trapezoidal fill area is obtained every two lines, the start / end X coordinates for two scanning lines are obtained. Ask. In FIG. 8A, reference is made to two scanning lines between the bold lines, and the filled area between the start X coordinate and the end X coordinate is indicated by an arrow line. Note that it is preferable that the two scanning lines to be referred to coincide with the scanning lines used when drawing by the image developing unit 8.
[0059]
Then, shape information is generated for each 2 × 2 pixels from this information, and image data as described above is generated together with the RGB values of the color designated in advance. FIG. 8B shows image data generated for two scanning lines sandwiched between thick lines in FIG. Note that the tag information indicating the pixel position is shown by painting 2 × 2 cells. In addition, reference position information may be included in the image data. The image data generated in this way is sent to the image development unit 8.
[0060]
When receiving the image data as shown in FIG. 8B sent from the vector graphic drawing unit 6, the image development unit 8 draws over the image data for one band or one page, for example. When drawing the received image data in an area where nothing is drawn, the background portion remains white as shown in FIG. 8C, so if this image data is replaced with the received image data, Then, the drawing process ends. The processing result is as shown in FIG.
[0061]
However, when there are already drawn figures and characters, it is necessary to update the shape information and the color information when drawing on them. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of image data overwrite processing. In S21, image data is received from the conversion unit 4, the vector graphic drawing unit 6, the raster image processing unit 7, and the like. In S22, image data of a drawing destination is acquired. In step S23, the color information of the image data to be drawn is compared with the color information of the drawing destination image data. If they are different, the image data to be drawn acquired in step S21 is overwritten in step S25, and the processing for the image data ends.
[0062]
If the color information of the image data to be drawn and the image data of the drawing destination is the same, the logical sum (or logical product) of the tag information of both image data is taken in S24, and new image data is generated. . The color information of the new image data can be left as it is. When the reference position information is included in the image data, either one may be selected, or new reference position information may be generated from both. Then, the image data newly generated in this way is overwritten in S25, and the processing for the received image data to be drawn is finished.
[0063]
With such a drawing process, even when another figure is overwritten on the already drawn figure, a normal drawing result can be obtained to some extent.
[0064]
10 and 11 are explanatory diagrams of a specific example of the image data overwriting process. The image data overwriting process shown in FIG. 9 will be described using a specific example. FIG. 10 shows a specific example when the color information is different, and FIG. 11 shows a specific example when the color information is the same. In any of the examples, images as shown in FIGS. 10A and 11A have been drawn so far, and image data corresponding to 2 × 2 pixels in the center is shown in FIG. This is shown in FIG. In this specific example, it is assumed that the reference position information is also included in the image data, and the reference position information is indicated by an arrow line. Further, the color information indicates a color difference by making hatching different.
[0065]
First, consider a case where image data corresponding to 2 × 2 pixels as shown in FIG. 10B is drawn on an image in the middle of drawing as shown in FIG. Assume that image data including tag information, color information, and reference position information as shown in FIG. 10E is received as image data to be drawn. At this time, the color information of the image data of the drawing destination (FIG. 10D) is different from the color information of the image data to be drawn (FIG. 10E). In this case, the image data shown in FIG. 10E is overwritten on the image data shown in FIG. As a result, the image data becomes as shown in FIG. 10F, and an image as shown in FIG. 10C is obtained as the image. This drawing result coincides with the result of overwriting the image shown in FIG. 10B with the image shown in FIG. 10A, and it can be seen that the drawing process can be performed satisfactorily.
[0066]
Next, consider a case where image data corresponding to 2 × 2 pixels as shown in FIG. 11B is drawn on an image in the middle of drawing as shown in FIG. Assume that image data including tag information, color information, and reference position information as shown in FIG. 11E is received as image data to be drawn. At this time, the color information of the drawing destination image data (FIG. 11D) matches the color information of the image data to be drawn (FIG. 11E). In this case, the logical sum of the tag information of the image data shown in FIG. 11D and the tag information of the image data shown in FIG. 11E is taken to generate the image data shown in FIG. This image data is overwritten on the image data shown in FIG. As a result, an image as shown in FIG. 11C is obtained. This drawing result is in agreement with the result of overwriting the image shown in FIG. 11B on the image shown in FIG. 11A, and it can be seen that the drawing process can be performed satisfactorily.
[0067]
As described above, the drawing process can be performed with the image data including the color information and the tag information. As a result, the amount of data handled can be significantly reduced, and the processing speed can be increased and the amount of memory for storing image data can be reduced.
[0068]
Depending on the drawing command and conditions, there are cases where it is impossible to perform the drawing process with the image data including the color information and the tag information as described above. For example, when referring to the color of a destination image in ROP (Raster Operation) processing, it is difficult to synthesize information on one pixel obtained by combining a plurality of pixels in the destination image with information on one pixel to be drawn. It is. The operation when there is a case where it is impossible to perform the drawing process with the image data including the color information and the tag information depending on the drawing command and conditions will be described.
[0069]
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing another example of the operation during the drawing process in the embodiment of the image processing apparatus and the image processing method of the present invention. In S31, for example, it is determined whether or not a predetermined unit of drawing objects such as one band or one page has been completed. If there is an object to be drawn, the process proceeds to S32. In S32, the command analysis unit 1 obtains and analyzes a drawing command indicating an object to be drawn, and depending on the drawing object, the character / graphic generation unit 2, the vector graphic drawing unit 6, or the raster graphic processing unit 7 A drawing instruction is sent. At this time, in S33, it is determined whether or not the drawing process can be performed with the image data including the color information and the tag information based on the drawing command and conditions.
[0070]
When it is possible to perform drawing processing with image data including color information and tag information, the character graphic generation unit 2 (and conversion unit 4), vector graphic drawing unit 6, raster graphic processing that has received a drawing instruction In step S34, the unit 7 performs an object drawing process according to the instruction, and passes the image data including the color information and the tag information to the image development unit 8 as described above. In step S35, the image development unit 8 draws the image data passed from the conversion unit 4, the vector graphic drawing unit 6, and the raster graphic processing unit 7 as one image. At this time, subsequent image data is synthesized with the image data drawn so far, but both can be performed in the data format of the image data including the color information and the tag information.
[0071]
On the other hand, when it is impossible to perform the drawing process with the image data including the color information and the tag information, the character graphic generation unit 2 (and the conversion unit 4) and the vector graphic drawing unit 6 that have received the drawing instruction. In step S36, the raster graphic processing unit 7 performs an object drawing process in accordance with the instruction. In S <b> 37, the image development unit 8 develops the image data in the drawing area of the drawing destination into an image having an output resolution, and performs normal drawing processing in S <b> 38. In step S39, the image data is converted into image data including color information and tag information and is written in the drawing area as a drawing result.
[0072]
When the drawing process on the drawing object of the predetermined unit is completed, the image data of the predetermined unit is output in S40. When outputting, for example, if the output destination is a printer or the like, the raster image is developed and output according to the resolution of the printer. Of course, it can also be written to a file.
[0073]
As described above, when there is a case where it is impossible to perform the drawing process with the image data including the color information and the tag information depending on the drawing command and conditions, the color information and the tag information are included for each drawing area as described above. It is determined whether or not the drawing process can be performed with the image data as it is. If possible, the drawing process is performed with the image data as described above. In addition, when it is impossible to perform the drawing process with the image data including the color information and the tag information, a normal drawing process is performed on the developed image, and the color information Convert to image data including tag information. In this way, an accurate compressed image is generated by dynamically switching the drawing process depending on whether or not the drawing process can be performed with the image data including the color information and the tag information. Further, the development of the output resolution image may be in the range of the area to be drawn, and high-speed processing is possible.
[0074]
The drawing process may be a normal process, and the processing result may be converted into image data including color information and tag information and stored. Even in this case, there is an advantage that the memory capacity for storing the drawn image data can be reduced.
[0075]
As another example of processing using image data including color information and tag information as described above, color space conversion processing will be described. In the color space conversion process, color information between different color spaces is converted, for example, color information in the RGB color space is converted into color information in the CMYK color space used in a printer or the like. Basically, in the case of image data including color information and tag information as described above, color space conversion processing may be performed only on color information. Therefore, it is possible to perform the color space conversion process in a processing time that is a fraction of that in the case where the color space conversion process is performed on an image having an output resolution.
[0076]
When outputting to a printer or the like as in the above example, an image (plane) for each color component of C, M, Y, and K is often created as an image in the CMYK color space. In this case, conventionally, images of C, M, Y, and K are sequentially generated one by one from the received drawing data in the RGB color space. However, such a process takes time because the drawing process is repeated four times. Therefore, it is conceivable to perform drawing processing in the RGB color space and then convert to the CMYK color space. As a result, the drawing process is completed once, and the drawing process time is shortened. However, in that case, an image of each color component must be generated by performing a color space conversion process for each pixel on the entire drawn image. When this color space conversion process is performed by hardware, there is no need to worry about the conversion time, but a four-color simultaneous output printing device called tandem needs to output CMYK data for four colors at the same time. Problems with the performance of the bus for transferring images may occur. In order to avoid these problems, it is conceivable that data decomposed into images for each color component of CMYK in advance is generated by software. However, if all the pixels are converted from the RGB color space to the CMYK color space, a considerable processing time is required.
[0077]
In contrast, by using image data including color information and tag information as described above, the amount of data can be reduced, so that it is possible to prevent an increase in processing time even if color space conversion processing is performed. , Can be processed at high speed.
[0078]
Furthermore, considering the run-length compression of image data including color information and tag information as described above, it is possible to further increase the speed by greatly reducing the amount of data for color space conversion processing. . Here, an example is shown in which color space conversion processing and run-length compression processing are combined.
[0079]
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of operations of color space conversion processing and run length compression processing in the embodiment of the image processing apparatus and the image processing method of the present invention. Here, as an example, color information in the RGB color space is converted into color information in the CMYK color space, and an image for each color component is generated. Therefore, in S51, a plane area for writing each image of C, M, Y, K after color space conversion is secured in advance.
[0080]
In S52, the first image data is read, and in S53, a variable Len indicating the number of continuations is initialized to 1. In S54, the next image data is read. In S55, the previously read image data is compared with the next image data read in S54. If the tag information and the color information match, 1 is added to the variable Len indicating the number of continuations in S56, and the process returns to S54 to read the next image data. While the image data match in this way, 1 is added to the variable Len, and the continuation number is stored in the variable Len.
[0081]
If the image data read in S54 is different from the previous image data, color space conversion processing and run length compression processing are performed on the previous image data. That is, in S57, color information in the RGB color space of the previous image data is converted into color information in the CMYK color space. In S58, the value of the variable Len, the tag information T, and the C component after the color space conversion process are written as color information in the C component plane. Similarly, in S59, the value of the variable Len, the tag information T, and the M component after the color space conversion process are written to the M component plane. In S60, the value of the variable Len, the tag information T, and the Y after the color space conversion process are written. The component is written in the Y component plane. In S61, the value of the variable Len, the tag information T, and the K component after the color space conversion process are written in the K component plane.
[0082]
In S62, it is determined whether or not a predetermined unit of processing such as one band or one page has been completed. If the predetermined unit of processing has not been completed, the process returns to S53 to initialize the variable Len to 1 and continue the same image data. Count. When the processing of a predetermined unit is completed in this way, the color conversion process and the run length compression process are finished.
[0083]
As described above, when the same image data is continuous, the color space conversion process is performed for only one of them, and the continuous number is written in the plane of each color component. Therefore, the color space conversion processing amount is greatly reduced, and high-speed processing is possible. Since run-length compression is also performed at the same time, the amount of data written to each color component plane is small, and the amount of memory can be reduced.
[0084]
FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of a specific example of the operations of the color space conversion process and the run length compression process in the embodiment of the image processing apparatus and the image processing method of the present invention. Here, using the example shown in FIG. 6 described above, description will be made including color space conversion processing. The same rendered image as FIG. 6A is shown in FIG. For example, the color information of the hatched portion is (R, G, B) = (0xff, 0x00, 0x00), and the color information of the unhatched portion is (R, G, B) = (0xff, 0xff, 0xff) ), And when the image data is represented by 4 bytes of TRGB assuming that the information of other parts including the tag information is T = (0x00), as described in FIG. 6, as shown in FIG. The image data is as shown.
[0085]
Such image data is sequentially referred to. Then, after (T, R, G, B) = (0x00, 0xff, 0x00, 0x00) appears four times, different image data appears. Accordingly, four pieces of image data of (T, R, G, B) = (0x00, 0xff, 0x00, 0x00) are read, and when the next image data is read, run lengths corresponding to the four pieces of image data up to that point are read. Output compressed image data. At this time, color space conversion from color information in the RGB color space to color information in the CMYK color space is performed. For example, color information after conversion corresponding to color information (R, G, B) = (0xff, 0x00, 0x00) in the RGB color space is (C, M, Y, K) = (0x06, 0xf3, 0xf8, 0x00). ), A value as shown in FIG. 14C is written in each color component plane. The first two bytes are the continuous number, which is the value of the variable Len in the flowchart shown in FIG. The next 1 byte is tag information, and the next 1 byte is color information after color space conversion processing (only one color component). For example, for the C color component, 0x00040006 including 0x0004 indicating the consecutive number “4”, tag information 0x00, and 0x06, which is the converted value of the C color component, is written to the C color component plane. The same applies to the M, Y, and K components. In FIGS. 14C and 14D, hexadecimal values are used.
[0086]
After the image data of (T, R, G, B) = (0x00, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff) is read, the next image data is also the same, so the continuous number at this time is “2”. Here, color space conversion processing is performed. For example, color information after conversion corresponding to color information (R, G, B) = (0xff, 0xff, 0xff) in the RGB color space is (C, M, Y, K) = (0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00). ), The value 0x00 of each color component is written in the plane of each color component together with 0x0002 indicating the continuous number “2” and tag information 0x00. As a result, as shown in FIG. 14D, data of 0x00020000 is written after the data shown in FIG. 14C in each color component plane.
[0087]
In this way, in the above-described specific example, it is only necessary to perform two color space conversion processes for six pieces of image data. Therefore, the time required for the color space conversion process can be greatly reduced. Also, the amount of data written to each color component plane can be compressed from 12 bytes to 8 bytes by applying run length compression. In this example, 2 bytes are used to represent the continuous number, but this is arbitrary. For example, in the above specific example, if the continuous number is represented by 1 byte, it can be 6 bytes of data. These effects of reducing the processing time and reducing the amount of data are even greater than for example when color space conversion processing or run-length compression is performed on an image developed to output resolution. Needless to say.
[0088]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, a color image having high resolution and high gradation can be generated from image data with a small amount of data, and therefore the amount of memory for storing image data Etc., and a low-cost image processing apparatus can be provided. Also, since the amount of image data is small, the time required for various processes such as image data transfer, drawing processing, and color space conversion processing can be shortened, and color with high resolution and high gradation can be achieved at high speed. There is an effect that it is possible to provide an image processing apparatus and an image processing method capable of outputting an image. Furthermore, the amount of data can be further reduced by performing compression such as run length.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of an image processing apparatus and an image processing method according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of information included in image data in the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an example of color determination by peripheral pixels for pixels for which color information is not selected by tag information.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an example of reference position information.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of another example of reference position information.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an example of run length compression processing;
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation at the time of a drawing process in the embodiment of the image processing apparatus and the image processing method of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a drawing process using a specific example of a drawing object.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of overwriting processing of image data.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a specific example of image data overwrite processing (during different colors).
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a specific example of overwriting processing (at the same color) of image data.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing another example of the operation during the drawing process in the embodiment of the image processing apparatus and the image processing method of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of color space conversion processing and run-length compression processing in an embodiment of the image processing apparatus and image processing method of the present invention.
FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of a specific example of color space conversion processing and run-length compression processing in an embodiment of the image processing apparatus and the image processing method of the present invention;
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Command analysis part, 2 ... Character figure production | generation part, 3 ... Font memory, 4 ... Conversion part, 5 ... Font cache, 6 ... Vector figure drawing part, 7 ... Raster image processing part, 8 ... Image expansion part

Claims (30)

  In an image processing apparatus that outputs a color image of a predetermined resolution, tag information indicating color information for each of a plurality of pixels at a predetermined resolution and indicating the pixel position having the color information in the plurality of pixels is included in the plurality of pixels. Receiving image data, arranging corresponding color information according to the tag information and arranging the color information possessed by a plurality of surrounding pixels for pixel positions not indicated by the tag information as having the color information An image processing apparatus comprising image developing means for developing a color image having a predetermined resolution.   For the pixel positions that are not indicated by the tag information to have the color information, the image development means selects any of the surrounding pixels according to the respective pixel positions, and the selected surrounding pixels The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein color information is provided.   The image data further includes reference position information for selecting a plurality of surrounding pixels to be referred to for pixel positions not indicated by the tag information, and the image development means has the color information by the tag information. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein color information of a plurality of surrounding pixels selected according to the reference position information is arranged for pixel positions not indicated by.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image data includes the reference position information for each pixel position that is not indicated to have the color information by the tag information.   The image data further includes flag information indicating whether or not to perform expansion in accordance with the tag information, and the image expansion means is provided when the flag information indicates expansion in accordance with the tag information. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein development using the tag information is performed.   Character graphic generation means for generating a character graphic at the predetermined resolution, color information indicating one color representing the character graphic generated by the character graphic generation means for each of a plurality of pixels of the character graphic, and the color information are arranged The image processing apparatus further comprises conversion means for converting into image data including tag information indicating positions in a plurality of pixels, and the image data converted by the conversion means is input to the image development means. The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5.   It has a cache storage means for registering image data corresponding to the character graphic converted by the conversion means, and is registered in the cache storage means when the character graphic generation means generates the character graphic. The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein image data corresponding to the character graphic registered in the cache storage unit is used for the character graphic.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the image expansion unit performs expansion using the tag information for image data corresponding to at least a character graphic portion.   The image expansion means holds the image data including the color information and the tag information and draws subsequent image data without changing the data format of the held image data. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1.   The image expansion means can hold the image data including the color information and the tag information and can draw without changing the data format when the subsequent image data is drawn with respect to the held image data. The drawing process is performed by switching whether to perform the drawing process without changing the data format according to the determination result or to perform the drawing process after developing the color image with the predetermined resolution. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus is an image processing apparatus.   The image expansion means holds image data including the color information and the tag information, and holds a drawing process target area when drawing image data subsequent to the held image data. The image data and the subsequent image data are developed into a color image having the predetermined resolution, and then drawing processing is performed, and the image data is again converted into image data including the color information and the tag information and stored. The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8.   The image expansion means receives the image data including the color information and the tag information, and converts a plurality of image data having the same color information and the tag information into one image data together with the number of the image data. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus is an image processing apparatus.   The image development means receives image data including the color information and the tag information, and converts the color information of the image data into color information of a predetermined color space. The image processing apparatus according to claim 12.   The image expansion means receives image data including the color information and the tag information, and counts the number of image data having the same color information and the tag information of the image data, and For each color component after the color information is converted to color information in a predetermined color space, the color information of the color component and the count value are converted into image data associated with each other. The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11.   15. The image processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the image development unit receives image data including color information in an RGB color space and converts the image data into color information in a CMYK color space.   In an image processing method for generating a color image of a predetermined resolution from input image data, a pixel position having color information for each of a plurality of pixels at a predetermined resolution and having the color information in the plurality of pixels Color information corresponding to the tag information, and corresponding color information according to the tag information, and for the pixel positions that are not indicated by the tag information to have the color information, the colors of the surrounding pixels An image processing method characterized in that information is arranged and developed into a color image having the predetermined resolution.   When developing from the image data to the color image of the predetermined resolution, for pixel positions that are not indicated by the tag information to have the color information, a plurality of surrounding pixels are added according to the respective pixel positions. The image processing method according to claim 16, wherein color information included in the selected peripheral pixels is arranged.   The image data further includes reference position information for selecting a plurality of surrounding pixels to be referred to for pixel positions not indicated by the tag information, and when developing from the image data to the color image of the predetermined resolution The pixel information that is included in a plurality of surrounding pixels selected according to the reference position information is arranged for pixel positions that are not indicated by the tag information as having the color information. Image processing method.   The image data includes the reference position information for each pixel position not indicated to have the color information by the tag information, and corresponds to each pixel position not indicated by the tag information. The image processing method according to claim 18, wherein color information of surrounding pixels selected according to the reference position information is arranged.   The image data further includes flag information indicating whether or not to perform expansion in accordance with the tag information. When the image data is expanded into the color image of the predetermined resolution, the flag information is the tag information. The image processing method according to any one of claims 16 to 19, wherein development using the tag information is performed when development according to information is indicated.   A character graphic is generated at the predetermined resolution, color information indicating one color representing the generated character graphic for each of a plurality of pixels of the character graphic, and tag information indicating a position in the plurality of pixels where the color information is arranged. 21. The image processing method according to claim 16, wherein the image data is converted into image data, and the converted image data is developed into a color image having the predetermined resolution.   The image data corresponding to the character graphic is registered, and the image data corresponding to the registered character graphic is used for the character graphic registered until the character graphic is generated. 22. The image processing method according to item 21.   23. The image processing method according to claim 21, wherein the image data corresponding to at least a character graphic portion is expanded using the tag information.   17. The image data including the color information and the tag information is received and held, and subsequent image data is rendered without changing the data format with respect to the held image data. The image processing method according to any one of claims 23 to 23.   Whether image data including the color information and the tag information is received and held, and whether or not drawing can be performed without changing the data format when the subsequent image data is drawn with respect to the held image data The drawing process is performed by switching whether to perform the drawing process without changing the data format according to the determination result or to perform the drawing process after developing the color image with the predetermined resolution. The image processing method according to any one of claims 16 to 23.   The image data including the color information and the tag information is received and held, and when the subsequent image data is drawn with respect to the held image data, the image data held in the drawing process target area and 17. The subsequent image data is developed into a color image of the predetermined resolution, and then rendering processing is performed, and the image data including the color information and the tag information is converted and held again. The image processing method according to any one of claims 23.   The image data including the color information and the tag information is received, and a plurality of image data having the same color information and the tag information of the image data are converted into one image data together with the number thereof. The image processing method according to any one of claims 16 to 26.   The image data including the color information and the tag information is received, and the color information of the image data is converted into color information of a predetermined color space. The image processing method according to claim 1.   The image data including the color information and the tag information is received, and a plurality of image data having the same color information and the tag information are counted, and predetermined for the color information of the image data. 17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising: converting the color information of the color component and the count value into corresponding image data for each color component after the conversion processing to the color information of the color space. Item 27. The image processing method according to any one of items 26.   30. The image according to claim 28 or 29, wherein the color information of the received image data is image data including color information in the RGB color space, and the color information is converted into color information in the CMYK color space. Processing method.

Images