JPH04199982A - Image processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To optimize a copying cost and speed by deciding whether the image information to be printed is black and white or colored, selecting a print according to the result of the decision and controlling the execution of the print by this printer. CONSTITUTION:The image read by a scanner 400 is sent to a color deciding section 403 where the image is subjected to the processing for deciding the black and white or colored by a controller. After the printer is selected by a printer selecting section 404 in accordance with the result of the decision, the image is printed by a printer section 405. The black and white or colored states are automatically discriminated concerning the image information in such a manner and the image is copied by selecting the black and white printer at the time of, therefore, the black and white and the color printer at the time of the color original according to the result of the decision. The copying cost and copying speed are optimized in this way.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an image processing system including multiple printers, particularly color printers.

[Prior Art] In recent years, color image processing devices such as color copying machines, color printers, and color scanners have been commercialized, and it is becoming possible to construct inexpensive systems incorporating these devices.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] However, compared to black and white printers, color printers have
In general, not only the main unit cost but also the running cost is high (
, and the printing speed is slow. On the other hand, manuscripts to be copied and images to be printed can be either monochrome (black and white) or color, and it is not cost effective to perform black and white copies or black and white prints as color prints.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing system that solves the above problems.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image processing system to which a plurality of printers can be connected. The present invention is characterized by comprising a selection means for selecting a printer according to a determination result of the means, and a control means for controlling execution of printing by the printer selected by the selection means.

[Function] According to the present invention, it is possible to determine whether a document to be copied is black and white or in color, and to copy by selecting either a black and white printer or a color printer according to the determination result, thereby optimizing cost and speed. do.

Further, according to the present invention, by determining the image information to be printed other than the original, the most suitable printer is selected and printed.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, information for distinguishing between black and white/color is added to the image information, and then the image information is transmitted or stored.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, a printer is selected based on the content of color editing processing, thereby improving operability.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment> FIG. 1 shows the simplest system configuration diagram of a copying apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

Sl is a color image reading device (hereinafter referred to as a color scanner), PI is a color printer, and P2 is a monochrome printer.

If the original is in color, the color scanner S1 performs a copying operation using a color printer P1, and if the original is black and white, it performs a copying operation using a monochrome printer P2.

FIG. 2 shows an overall configuration diagram of a color scanner SL and a color printer P1 according to the present invention. Black and white printer P2
Since this is a well-known technique, its explanation will be omitted.

A color scanner S1 reads a document and performs digital image signal processing. Color printer P1 is color scanner S
This part prints out an image corresponding to the original image read in step 1 on paper in full color. Both the scanner and printer have a resolution of 400 dpi.

In the scanner S1, 20o is a mirror pressure plate, and the original 204 on the original table glass (hereinafter referred to as platen) 2o3 is irradiated with a lamp 205, and mirrors 206, 207, 208
, an image is formed on a three-line sensor (hereinafter referred to as CCD) 210 by a lens 209, and is sent to an image signal processing unit 211 as full color information consisting of red (R), green (G) and blue (B) components. Furthermore, CCD2
10 has 5000 pixels for each color. Further, the lamp 205 and the mirror 206 are at the speed ■, and the mirror 207.
208 ha speed l/2 ■ terrain sensor (ccD21
o) Scanning the entire document by mechanical movement in a direction perpendicular to the mechanical scanning direction.

The image signal processing unit 211 electrically processes the read image signal and separates it into magenta (M), cyan (C), yellow (Y), and black (Bk) components, and outputs the signals to the printer PI or printer P2. send to Also, scanner S
M, C per one document scan in 1.

One component of Y and Bk is printer Pl or R2
One full-color print is performed by scanning the original four times in total to printer P1, and the document is sent to printer P2.
One black-and-white print is performed by one scanning of the document.

The printer PL receives (M, C) sent from the scanner S1.
, Y, and Bk image signals are sent to the laser driver 212. A laser driver 212 modulates and drives a semiconductor laser 213 according to the image signal. The laser beam scans the photosensitive drum 217 via a polygon mirror 214, an f-theta lens 215, and a mirror 216.

Reference numeral 218 denotes a rotary developing unit, which is composed of a magenta developing unit 219, a cyan developing unit 220, a yellow developing unit 221, and a black developing unit 222. Develop the electrostatic latent image with toner.

223 is a transfer drum, and paper cassette 224 or 22
The paper fed from 5 is wound around this transfer drum, and the image developed on the photosensitive drum 217 is transferred to the paper.

After the four colors M, C, Y, and Bk have been sequentially transferred in this manner, the paper passes through the fixing unit 226 and is discharged.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of the color scanner s1 and will be described below.

The CCD reading unit 101 includes a color sensor that can independently obtain analog color signals of R (red), G (green), and B (blue), an amplifier to amplify the signal for each color, and an 8-bit digital signal. It has an A/D converter for conversion.

Output signals from the CCD reading section 101 (R1, Gl, BL
) is subjected to shading correction for each color in the shading correction unit 102, correction for inter-color and inter-pixel deviations in the shift memory unit 103, and LOG conversion that performs logarithmic correction for the color judgment unit 112 and light density conversion, which will be described later. The information is sent to section 104.

The density signals Y (yellow), M (magenta), and C (cyan) that are output from the LOG converter 104 are input to the black generator 105, and a black signal Bk is generated from Min (Y, M, C), for example. .

Furthermore, in the masking/UCR section 106, the black generation section 10
After the filter characteristics and toner density characteristics of the color sensor are corrected and removed from the output Y, M, C, and Bk signals of No. 5, one of the four color signals to be developed is selected.

Next, the density conversion section 107 converts the density according to the development characteristics of the printer and the operator's preference, and the trimming processing section 108 edits the desired section, and then sends it to the switching control section 120. In the switching control section 120, the image signal is sent to one of the printers determined by the CPU 113 based on the determination result of the color determination section 112, and an image is formed.

The synchronization signal generation unit 109 generates a horizontal synchronization signal B synchronized with the printing of each line sent from one of the printers.
Based on the D (beam detect) signal and the vertical synchronization signal BD (image top) signal, a horizontal synchronization signal I (SYNC), an image synchronization signal CLK, etc. used inside the scanner are generated and sent to each processing unit and CPU.

The document position detection unit 110 detects the position and size of the document based on the green (G) signal that has undergone shading correction. Further, the scaling/movement processing unit 111 controls the cycle and timing of writing and reading data into the shift memory to achieve scaling and movement of the image.

The CPU section 113 includes a known I/O processor in addition to a microprocessor.
It has 10 circuits, a timer circuit, an interrupt control circuit, a serial communication circuit, ROM, RAM, etc., and controls each of the above-mentioned processing units. Further, the CPU section 113 controls a pulse motor 114 for driving the optical system, a document illumination lamp 115, a sensor 116 for detecting the position of the optical system, an operation section 117, and a digitizer 118 for specifying coordinates.

FIG. 3(A) shows the configuration of the color determination section (FIG. 4 112) and will be described below.

The color determination section determines whether the original is chromatic or achromatic.

R3. for a certain pixel read from the shift memory unit 103. G3. Each signal component of B3 is input to the maximum value detection circuit 301 and the minimum value detection circuit 302, and from each circuit MAX: max (R3, G3.B3), MIN=mi
n(R3, G3.Bl is output. In this example, R,
For input of 8 bits each for G and B colors, MAX and MIN 6 each
Obtaining bit output.

Next, MAX and MIN are both lookup table LLI
Input as T303 address, resulting in 1 bit
The color determination signal IRQ is obtained.

The contents of the LUT 303 are shown in FIG. 3 (CB). Human power MAX
.

In the two-dimensional space composed of MIN, region A is determined to be achromatic and outputs “O”, region B is determined to be chromatic and output is “1”.
The determination signal IRQ thus obtained is inputted as a clock to the counter 304.

The counter 304 is reset by the horizontal synchronizing signal H3YNC, and the flip-flop 306 in one main scanning line
The number of chromatic color determination pixels of the determination signal IRQ within the interval allowed by the GATE signal output from is counted. This count value is read out by the CPU 113 via the latch 305.

The flip-flop 306 is set by the count-up signal of the ST counter (start bit counter) 309, and the flip-flop 306 is set by the count up signal of the ST counter (start bit counter) 309, and
It is reset by the count-up signal of O, and counter 3
04 count permission signal GATE is generated. ST counter 309 and EN counter 310 count down the count values written into latches 307 and 308 by the CPU, respectively.

As described above, the number of chromatic color determination pixels in an arbitrary section of each main scanning line can be counted.

FIG. 5 shows a basic operation control flow for determining black and white/color of a document, and will be described below.

First, the load value of the ST counter 309 (FIG. 3) that controls the determination section is set in the latch 307, and the load value of the EN counter 310 is set in the latch 308 (501
). Next, a counter K on the RAM for accumulating the count value of the chromatic pixel number counter is initialized to "0" (502). Then, the optical system starts moving and the document illumination lamp is turned on (503).

When the optical system reaches the sample start point in the sub-scanning direction (504), the CPU 113 outputs the horizontal synchronization signal H5YN.
Waits for an interrupt from C (505), and if there is an interrupt, reads the count result of the counter 304 from the latch 305 and sets it in buffer k on the RAM (506).

When k is larger than the predetermined number of pixels α (5
07), k is added to the integration counter K (508).

α is one of the simplest means for noise removal. This addition operation is continued until the optical system reaches the sample end point (509). When the sample is completed, calculate the ratio of the total number of pixels targeted for judgment to this addition result, compare it with a predetermined value β (510), and if it is larger than β, it is determined to be a color original, and the for example"
1" (511). Also, when it is smaller than β, it is determined that it is a black and white document, and for example "O" is set in area C on the same < RAjIt (512). After that, the optical system is stopped and the lamp is turned off. to end the document black and white/color judgment operation.

Figure 6 shows a part of the controller (for example, the scanner 5L in Figure 4).
(7) CPU section 113. Operation unit 117. Switching control section 12
0, etc.) and a part of the printer.

The command N001 is a command for the controller part to request the printer type from the printer part, and uses the hexadecimal number 01hex. When this command is sent from the controller part to the printer part, the printer part uses the lower two bits of 1 byte data to the controller part to print a monochrome printer, monochrome color printer, multicolor printer, etc. Send any type of full color printer.

The command No. 2 is a command for the controller part to request the entire printer status from the printer part, and uses the hexadecimal number 02hex.

When this command is sent from the controller to the printer, the printer uses the lower 4 bits of the 1-byte data to tell the controller whether there is a service call error or not, and whether there is an operator call error. , transmits whether or not it is warming up.

No, 3. The command No. 4 is a command for the controller part to request the printer part for the size of the paper stored in the upper and lower paper cassettes of the printer, and is a hexadecimal number of 04hex or 07.
Use hex. When these commands are sent from the controller to the printer, the printer uses the lower 3 bits of the 1-byte data to send the paper stored in the upper or lower paper cassette to the controller. Send the size.

The command No. 5 is a command for the controller part to request the printer part for details of the printer's service call error, and uses the hexadecimal number 08hex. When this command is sent from the controller part to the printer part, the printer part sends to the controller part the presence or absence of each of the eight types of error factors using 1-byte data.

The command No. 6 is a command for the controller part to request the printer part for details of the printer's operator call error, and is a hexadecimal number 0Bhe.
Use x. When this command is sent from the controller part to the printer part, the printer part uses 1 byte of data to the controller part to check whether there is a paper out error in the upper and lower rows, whether there is a paper jam, Information regarding the presence or absence of an oven and the presence or absence of each of the four color toners will be sent.

The command No. 7 is a command for the controller part to request the printer part to start printing, and uses the hexadecimal number 1Ohex. Following this command, the controller part sends the number of sheets, paper feed stage, and color mode using 1 byte of data each. When this command is sent from the controller part to the printer part, the printer part sends the overall status to the controller part.

The command No. 8 is a command for a part of the controller to request a part of the printer to stop the printing operation, and uses the hexadecimal number 13hex. When this command is sent from the controller part to the printer part, the printer part sends the overall status to the controller part.

FIG. 7 shows an example in which part of the controller and part of the printer communicate with each other using the commands shown in FIG. 6 to execute a print operation.

When the controller part sends a command requesting the printer type to the printer part (701), the printer part sends the printer type to the controller part (702). Next, the controller part sends a command requesting the overall status to the printer part (703), and the printer part sends the overall status to the controller part (704). Furthermore, the controller part sends a command to the printer part to request the size of the paper placed in the upper paper cassette and the size of the paper placed in the lower paper cassette (705) (707) , the printer portion transmits the size of the paper placed in the upper paper cassette and the size of the paper placed in the lower paper cassette to the controller portion (706) (708).

Based on the information sent and received between the controller part from 701 to 708 and the printer part, the Konino Drawer part tells the printer part about the print start, number of sheets, and paper feed as shown in 709 to 712. Four types of information are transmitted: stage and color mode. When some of the printers receive this information from some of the controllers, they start print operations and the operating state of the overall status becomes busy, so as shown in 713, the busy status is sent to some of the controllers. Send something. In order to obtain information from the printer regarding whether the printing operation has been completed, the controller sends a command to request the overall status from the printer, as indicated by 714. 714 and 715 will be repeated to signal that some printers are busy until the print operation is finished. When the printing operation is completed in one part of the printer, the other part of the printer responds to the overall status request command from the controller part, indicating that it is not busy (as indicated by 717).
Sends Not Busy to some controllers.

Since 717 is sent from the printer to the controller regardless of whether the print operation has ended normally, the controller sends a command to the printer to stop printing, as shown in 718. It is determined from the overall status information (719) transmitted from the printer part to the controller part by transmitting .

In FIG. 8, based on the communication between part of the controller and part of the printer shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, whether the intended print is a black and white print or a color print is considered, For example, this is a flowchart for deciding whether to finally select one printer from two printers to perform printing. In the command shown in Figure 6, the printer type is black and white, single color, multicolor, and full color, and the printer status is service call error, operator call error, warm-up, and operating. Although we have defined four types of printer types, black and white and color, and two printer statuses: printable or non-printable. This assumption is not without loss of generality.

The black and white (W/B)/color status of the original is automatically determined by the above procedure and stored in area C on the RAM.
Depending on the content, black and white/color printing to be performed is determined (801).

Once the desired print type is determined, it is necessary to check whether there is a printer among the two printers that has a type that matches that type. This is shown in 802.803.819.824.825.841, where PI and 22 represent the first printer and second printer, respectively.

Once you have found a printer that has the type of print you want, you need to find out whether the printer is capable of printing. 809 showed this
, 814, 822, 831, 836, 844.

If a printer matching the type of desired print is found and the printer is capable of printing, the desired print will be performed. However, two types of situations must also be taken into consideration: when there is no printer compatible with the type of printing desired, and when the printer is in a state where it is unable to print.

If you do not have a printer that matches the type of print you are trying to make, ■ Print black and white using a color printer.
■There are two possible cases: printing a color print in black and white using a black and white printer, but in either case, send a message to the operator to confirm your intention. This is shown by 805.807.817.821.82
It is 7.829.839.843.

Naturally, printing cannot be performed when both printers are in a state where they are unable to print. Also, if a printer suitable for the desired print cannot be found and the print is canceled after getting confirmation from the operator, the print will not be performed. This was shown by 811,8
It is 13,823,833,835°845.

If the type of the first printer is compatible with the intended printing but is in a state where printing is not possible, it is checked whether the type of the second printer is compatible with the conditions. If the condition is met and further printing is possible, the desired printing will be performed. On the contrary, 2
If the type of printer does not match the type of print intended, if the printer is in a printable state, the operator will be contacted to determine whether or not to print. As an example, r 801→802→81
4→819→820→821→818".

If the type of the first printer and the type of the second printer do not match the desired print, first check whether one of the printers is ready for printing. If the printer is ready to print, check with the operator and decide whether to print with the printer that is not compatible with the type of print you are trying to print; If the operator does not allow printing using that printer, check whether another printer can print. If this printer is in a state where it is possible to print, it will be decided whether or not to print after checking with the operator, but if the operator does not give permission or this printer is in a state where it is not possible to print. will not be printed. As an example, r801-802-80
3-804-805→812''.

If the type of the first printer does not match the desired print, and the second printer matches the type and is unable to print, the first printer Check whether it is ready to print. If the first printer is in a state where it is possible to print, it will be decided whether to print after checking with the operator, but if the operator does not give permission or if it is in a state where it is not possible to print, No printing will be performed. As an example, “801→
802→803-809-816→817-812".

As described above, in a system with multiple printers, it is possible to automatically determine whether a document is black and white or color, and copy a color document using a color printer, and copy a black and white document using a black and white printer. , it saves the operator the trouble of selecting a printer, and prints black-and-white originals.
Low-cost and high-speed copying became possible. In the above description, it is assumed that there are 61 monochrome and color printers, but a system having a larger number of printers can be easily constructed using similar means.

Second Embodiment In the first embodiment, the printer selection means was controlled based on the determination result of the means for automatically determining whether the original is black and white or in color. Select a printer based on the processing content.

Figure 1O shows one of the operation panels in a part of the controller.
This is an example.

A key 1001 is a key for specifying an area to be manipulated when editing an area during printing. Area coordinates are specified using a digitizer (not shown). When editing an area, the LED corresponding to the area is turned on using the key 1001.

A key 1002 is a key for selecting a desired process among paint, base color, and color mode for a specific area or the entire print screen.

The key 1003 sets the processing colors in each process of paint, base color, and color mode: yellow, magenta, cyan, red, green, blue, 4-color, 3-color,
This is the key to select from black.

A key 1004 is a key for selecting whether to use the upper paper cassette or the lower paper cassette.

1005 is a display unit for displaying the number of prints.

A key 1006 is a print start key for starting a print operation.

A key group 1007 is a numeric keypad group for specifying the number of prints.

A key 1008 is a clear/stop key for returning the number of sheets to be printed to 1 or interrupting the printing operation.

FIG. 12 shows paint, base color, and color mode processing for an area or the entire screen, and flags for area processing.

In area 1, specify paint as the process (1202)
, area 1 is filled with the processing color (1206).

In area 2, specify the base color as processing 120
3) The background in area 2 becomes the processing color (1207).

In area 3, specify the color mode as processing 120
4), the original in area 3 is printed in the processing color (1
20g).

Reference numeral 1209 indicates a flag for area processing.

Four bits from bit O to bit 3 of a 1-byte flag are used to hold the processing color, and bits 4 and 5 are used to hold the processing color.
The type of processing is held in bits.

This flag is prepared as many times as there are areas that can be specified.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart for determining whether a color print or a black and white print is required when printing, taking into consideration the processing for the area. Here, you can specify up to three areas that can be processed, and we are considering three types of processing for each area: paint, base color, and color mode.

1101, 1102, and 1103 are area 1.
It is determined whether areas 2 and 3 are designated for some kind of processing. If processing in the area is specified, check the processing color (1107, 1108°1
109), it is determined that color printing is required if black is not specified as the processing color.

If the processing color specified in an area is only black or if no area is specified, it is determined whether the original is black and white or color (1104).
, if the original is black and white and a color mode other than black is specified, print in black and white (1110 → 1111)
, if the original is black and white and a color mode other than black is specified, color printing (1110 → 1112)
, If the original is in color and black is specified in the color mode, it will be printed in black and white (1105 → 1li1),
If the document is in color and black is not specified in the color mode, print in color (1105-=1106)
, determines that is required.

If it is determined that a color print is desired, 1 is written to area C in the RAM (1106, 1112) in the same manner as in the flow shown in FIG. 5, and if it is determined that a black and white print is desired. 0 is written to area C in the RAM (1111).

After determining whether the printing to be performed is black and white or color in the above manner, the optimum printer can be selected according to the flow shown in FIG. 8, for example, in the same manner as in the first embodiment described above.

<Third Embodiment> FIG. 9 shows a system configuration diagram according to a third embodiment to which the present invention is applied, and will be described below.

Sl, S2. ..., Sm is a scanner, for example,
Various types of originals can be connected, including black and white/color processing colors, reflective originals/transparent originals, and 35++ on film. Furthermore, not only documents but also images of people, backgrounds, etc. can be processed using a CCD camera or the like.

PL, P2. ..., Pn are black and white or color printers, and their throughputs (printing speeds) and running costs are different.

M is a modem that enables communication with public lines, etc., and D is a memory such as a disk that can store image data. A system controller C controls image transfer between devices such as scanners, printers, memories, disks, and modems via a system bus BUS such as GPIB or 5CSI. It is also connected to a LAN (Local Area Network) such as Ethernet via an interface unit I/F.

In this system, image data is sent to scanners Sl, S
2. ..., in addition to being able to input from Sm, modem M
It can be received from a public line via a LAN interface or from a LAN via a LAN interface I/F.

The input image data is stored in the image memory D or directly sent to the printer PL, P2. ....

You can print with either Pn.

On the other hand, scanners Sl, S2. ..., image data input from Sol and image data read from memory D can be sent to other systems from modem M via public line or from interface I/F via LAN. .

In this system, the controller C determines whether the image information is black and white or color, selects a printer according to the determination result, and executes printing.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing the flow of image data and the control contents of the controller C.

The image read by the scanner 400 is sent to the color determination unit 403, and the controller determines whether it is black and white or color by the above-mentioned means. After printer selection is performed in step 404 based on the determination result, the printer unit 405 prints. This procedure is the copy function described in the first embodiment, but in the third embodiment, a richer set of functions can be realized as described below.

The image data that has undergone the color determination process 403 is added with color information, that is, a monochrome/color identifier, in the processing unit 406, and sent to the memory 407, where the image data is stored together with the color information as shown in 410. When printing image data stored in the format 410, printer selection is performed in 404 based on the color information identifier without performing color determination processing.

Images stored in the memory 407 in the 410 format can also be sent from the LAN/modem 408 to an external system. On the other hand, image data in the format 410 received from an external system via the LAN/modem 408 is stored in the memory 407.
The printer is selected based on the color information identifier through
printed.

It is read by a scanner and stored in the memory 40 without being subjected to color judgment processing.
Image data in the format 409 that is stored in the memory 401 from an external system via the LAN/modem 402 without having a color information identifier is subjected to color determination processing in the color determination unit 403 when printing. will be done.

Although omitted in the above description, the image data is compressed as necessary and stored in memory or transmitted to an external system. Furthermore, when reading from memory or receiving from an external system, it is expanded as necessary.

As described above, more effective printer control is achieved by performing color judgment processing not only on the original color but also on image data from memory and image data received via LAN or public line. It becomes possible. Furthermore, by adding a color information identifier, storing and transmitting it, effective printer control becomes possible even in an external system that does not have a determination processing function.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, image information is automatically discriminated between black and white/color, and depending on the discrimination result, for example, a monochrome printer is selected for black and white, and a color printer is selected for a color document. Copying has made it possible to optimize copying costs and copying speed.

In addition, by automatically determining whether black and white/color is applied to not only original documents, but also image data read from memory such as disks, and image data received from external systems via LAN or public telephone lines, the file system , FAX
, it has become possible to control printer selection more effectively, including application to networks.

In addition, operability has been dramatically improved by automatically selecting a printer based on image color determination (not just the operator's color editing process).

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a system configuration diagram of the present invention. Figure 2 is an overall configuration diagram of a color scanner and printer according to the present invention. Figure 3 is a block diagram of a same color determination circuit. Figure 4 is a block diagram of the same color determination circuit. A block diagram of the circuit, FIG. 5 is a flowchart for determining the original color, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of printer control commands, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of printer control communication, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing printer control A diagram showing a flow, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another system configuration example of the present invention, FIG. 1O is a diagram showing an example of an operation unit according to the present invention, FIG. , FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a printer selection flow, and FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of system control in the present invention 'L! −～
1) o. C8 - to
1 size 00 o 66666666

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) An image processing system to which multiple printers can be connected, comprising a determining means for determining whether document information to be printed is black and white or color, and selecting a printer according to the determination result of the determining means. An image processing system comprising: a selection means for selecting a printer; and a control means for controlling execution of printing by a printer selected by the selection means. 2) The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the determining means determines document image information read by a color image scanner. 3) In claim 1, the determination means includes color editing processing means for color editing the image information, and determines whether the image information to be printed is black and white or color based on the content of the color editing processing performed by the color editing means. An image processing system featuring: 4) The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the determination means has a storage means, and the determination result and the image information related to the determination are stored in association with each other in the storage means. 5) In claim 4, the selection means selects a printer based on the determination result when printing image information stored in association with the determination result read from the storage means. image processing system. 6) The image processing system according to claim 1, further comprising an image information transmitting means, and the transmitting means associates the determination result of the determining means with the image information and transmits it to the outside. 7) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a receiving means for image information, and when said selecting means receives a judgment result together with the image information by said receiving means, said selecting means selects a printer according to said judgment result. processing system.