JPH04360196A - Data conversion device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To generate characters of high quality by arranging character constitution lines with good balance. CONSTITUTION:Line width is corrected by using outline data and line width setting data. When the number of picture elements between two adjacent constitution lines among constitution lines specified with line width constitution lines becomes zero, a character constitution line substituting means 34 corrects the line width, the outline data are corrected with the outline data and data stored in a line width correction data memory, and the outline data are converted into dot data.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a data conversion device for converting outline data representing the contours of characters, symbols, etc. into dot data, and particularly relates to line width correction processing during conversion.

0002

[Background Art] When processing data representing characters such as letters and symbols using a computer and displaying it in some form, such as printing it on paper or displaying it on a display, pixels are the minimum processing unit. It is widely practiced to create dot data for each time. At this time, if dot data for all characters to be displayed are created in advance and stored in memory, an extremely large capacity memory will be required. For this reason, as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-41017, characters are stored as outline data representing their outlines, and when printed or displayed, the outline data is converted into dot data by a device equipped with data conversion means. It is desirable to do so.

A pixel screen is used to convert this outline data into dot data. A pixel screen defines pixels within one plane by a plurality of defining lines parallel to the X-axis and Y-axis, which are perpendicular to each other. Then, the dot data corresponding to the pixels whose outline exceeds a certain standard is set as data representing the presence of a character constituent line, and the outline data is converted.

However, during the above conversion, even if the character is the same line, the number, position, etc. of pixels included within a certain standard vary depending on the position where the character is displayed, and the width of the character line, that is, , the number of pixels included in the width direction within two contour lines defining the character composition line in the width direction is not always the same.

For example, in the kanji "quantity" shown in FIG. 14, nine horizontal lines H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, H6, H
7, H8, and H9, the width W of each horizontal line H1 to H9
Outline data is created so that 1 to W9 have the same width. However, depending on the display position, the number of pixels in the width direction of each horizontal line differs, as shown in FIG. 15, with H3 being 2 dots and the others being 1 dot. That is, there are many cases where the expected width cannot be obtained. In this case, the balance of the entire character is lost and the appearance of the character becomes poor. This is particularly noticeable when the number of dots in the line width direction is small, resulting in a problem of deterioration in display quality.

[0006] In order to solve this problem, the present applicant previously set out to ensure that the width of the character composition line is the predetermined width in the specification and drawings attached to the application of Japanese Patent Application No. 1-52524. We are proposing a data conversion device that can do this.

[0007] In this data conversion device, for a line whose width is to be set among the character constituent lines, line width data specifying the line and indicating the width is stored.
Based on this line width data, at least one of the two contour lines that define the specified character composition line in the width direction is moved so that the number of pixels in the contour line becomes the set number. .

For example, in the above data conversion device,
Since the nine horizontal lines H1 to H9 of the above-mentioned "amount" have line width setting data so that they have the same width, each of the horizontal lines H1 to H9 has a line width of one pixel and the same number of dots, as shown in FIG. Become.

[0009]

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] However, with the above data conversion device, it is possible to ensure that the line width of each character constituent line is a predetermined width, but H2 and H3 of the adjacent character constituent lines are dot data. When converted to , it looks like a single thick line because they touch, which upsets the overall balance of the character and makes it look bad.

[0010] Particularly when the point size is small, the above-mentioned imbalance becomes noticeable and the quality of the characters deteriorates.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is capable of generating high-quality characters of any size in line width correction processing when converting outline data to dot data. can do. That is, the space between two adjacent character constituent lines specified by line width data during line width correction processing (hereinafter referred to as space).
When the number of dots becomes 0, one of the two character composition lines is replaced with the other character composition line and line width correction is performed to arrange the character composition lines in a well-balanced manner and create high-quality characters. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a data conversion device that can generate .

0012

[Means for Solving the Problem] In order to achieve this object, the data conversion device of the present invention, as shown in FIG. a line width data storage means 4 for specifying at least one of the constituent lines and storing line width data indicating the width of the constituent line; and defining a character constituent line specified by the line width data in the width direction. If the number of pixels included in the two contour lines in the width direction does not correspond to the line width data, at least one of the two contour lines is The outline moving means 2 moves the outline relative to the pixel screen in a direction and amount corresponding to the number, and the number of dots in the space is 0 in two adjacent character constituent lines specified by the line width data. character composition line replacement means 3 for replacing one composition line so that it becomes the same composition line as the other composition line; The gist is that outline data obtained by movement is converted into dot data.

[0013]

[Operation] The data conversion device of the present invention having the above-mentioned configuration reads line width data necessary for line width processing from the line width data storage means 4 when converting outline data of a certain character into dot data. At least one of the contour lines defining the character constituent lines is relatively moved by the contour line moving means 2 so as to correspond to the read line width data. However, at this time, when the number of dots in the space between two adjacent character constituent lines becomes 0, the character constituent line replacing means 2 replaces one of the two constituent lines with the other constituent line. The outline data thus obtained is converted into dot data by the data conversion means 1.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment embodying the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the present invention is applied to a device that converts outline data into dot data in a laser printer.

FIG. 2 shows the control circuit of a laser printer.
FIG. 3 is a diagram mainly showing a portion related to data conversion. The microcomputer section 10 that forms the main body of this control circuit is
CPU12, character ROM14, program ROM
16, a text memory 18, a working memory 20, a dot data memory 22, and a line width correction data memory 24. These CPUs 12 and the like are connected by a bus 26.

Furthermore, an input device 28 and a printing section 30 are connected to the bus 26. The input device 28 is for inputting necessary data into the microcomputer section 10, and the printing section 30 is a section for printing based on commands from the microcomputer section 10 using a laser printer method. Note that the resolution of this laser printer is 300 dots/inch.

As conceptually shown in FIG. 3, the CPU 12 includes a data reading section 31, an outline moving section 32, a line width data correcting section 33, a character composition line replacing section 34, a spatial pixel number calculating section 35, and an outline data It functions as equipped with a data conversion section 36 etc. that converts the data into dot data.

The text memory 18 stores character data consisting of code data input from the input device 28, data specifying print size, etc., and the working memory 20 temporarily stores data necessary for program execution. It is something to remember. Further, the line width correction data memory 24 stores data related to line width correction obtained by the line width data correction section 33, and the dot data memory 22 stores dot data obtained by conversion by the data conversion section 36. .

The character ROM 14 stores outline data of characters such as letters and symbols such as alphabets and kanji, and also stores line width setting data for characters whose line widths should be maintained at set values. .

[0020] The character is shown in Figure 4 using the kanji ``quantity'' as an example.
As shown in FIG.
The definition of each character composition line 44 in the width direction is 2.
This is done by an outline 46 of the book, and the longitudinal definition is also done by two outlines 46, which together constitute the outline of the character. The set of contour lines 46 forms a closed loop, and as shown in FIG.
It includes nine closed loops numbered 1 to L9. The outline data is made up of stored data groups representing the coordinates of a plurality of points necessary to define a closed loop for each loop.

As shown in FIG. 4, the coordinate plane that determines the outline of the character is 1 in both the vertical (Y axis) and the horizontal (X axis).
The size is 000*1000, and uppercase letters of the alphabet are drawn using Y-axis coordinate values between 200 and 1000, and lowercase letters are drawn using coordinates between 0 and 200. In this coordinate plane, for example, a character composed of multiple straight lines, such as the kanji ``Quantity'', is
Outline data is composed of coordinate group data for each corner of the outline for each loop of L1 to L9. Furthermore, for items that include a curve, such as the letter "D", the outline data is constituted by a data set including coordinate data sets of a plurality of points necessary to define the curve for each closed loop.

The line width setting data specifies the character constituent line 44 whose line width is to be maintained at a predetermined value, and also defines the width of the line. In this example, Y on the coordinate plane in FIG.
A vertical character composition line 44 parallel to the axis (hereinafter referred to as a vertical line) and a horizontal character composition line 44 parallel to the X axis (
Hereinafter, this will be referred to as a horizontal line. ), and as shown in FIG. 5, the width direction, coordinate value, and width of the character composition line 44 are stored for each address specifying the character composition line.

[0023] Here, the width direction means Y in the case of a horizontal line.
This is the axial direction, and in the case of a vertical line, it is the X-axis direction. Also,
The coordinate value is a Y coordinate value in the case of a horizontal line, an X coordinate value in the case of a vertical line, and is one of the coordinate values in the width direction of the two contour lines 46 that define the character composition line 44 in the width direction. , is the smaller value. Further, the width is the distance between the two contour lines 46 in the width direction. The address is a memory address in which the "coordinate values" of the line width setting data are stored, and by storing this address, the character constituent line 44 can be specified. Kanji “quantity” shown in Figure 4
contains nine horizontal lines, and in reality they are distinguished by different addresses, but here they are distinguished by reference numerals H1 to H9 instead of addresses. still,
Below, the coordinate values that make up the line width setting data are set coordinate values Y
i, width is set width Wi. Note that the subscript i is the code H1 to H
It corresponds to the number 9.

In this laser printer, outline data is converted into dot data using a pixel screen 52 shown in FIG. Although the pixel screen 52 is a computational device for converting outline data into dot data, it will be illustrated here as an actual entity for ease of understanding.

Here, a pixel is the minimum printing unit when printing is performed by laser, and the pixel screens 52 are orthogonal to each other in one plane, and are arranged in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction.
Pixels are defined by a plurality of pixel section lines p that are parallel to the axial direction and provided at equal intervals.

In this embodiment, the pixels are square, and dot data indicating whether or not to print is created for each pixel. Furthermore, an x-direction defining line x and a y-direction defining line y passing through the center point of each pixel (hereinafter referred to as pixel center point) and parallel to the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are set, The position of each pixel is expressed by the coordinates of the center of the pixel. Note that the pixels can also be rectangular or other shapes.

Although the pixel screen 52 is assumed to correspond to the printing surface of printing paper, one character is shown in FIG. 6 for ease of understanding. Therefore, the scale values actually attached to the x direction defining line x and the y direction defining line y on the entire pixel screen 52 are as shown in FIG.
In this case, the value is obtained by adding an appropriate integer to the scale value attached to the x-direction defining line x and the y-directing defining line y, but only one character will be considered here.

The conversion of outline data into dot data is performed on the assumption that the outline of the character is superimposed on the pixel screen 52, and in this embodiment, a dot is formed at each pixel within the outline of the character. , and the bit data of that pixel is set to 1. All or part of one pixel is included within the outline, but in this embodiment, the dot data of a pixel whose center point is included within the outline is set to 1.

[0029] This laser printer can print in any size, and the above-mentioned 1000
*The coordinate values of the contour created on the 1000 coordinate plane are converted. Coordinate values are converted by assuming a coordinate plane on the pixel screen 52 in which the length of one side of one pixel is expressed as 1. If a character at a certain point is expressed by C*C pixels, then 1000 By multiplying the coordinate values of each point determining the contour on the *1000 coordinate plane by C/1000, the coordinate values on the coordinate plane assumed on the pixel screen 52 can be obtained.

Note that the outline of the character is drawn on the pixel screen 5.
2, the coordinate values of the reference point of each character on the pixel screen 52 are also determined based on the print position data, and the coordinate values of the obtained reference point and the converted coordinate values are combined. Superposition is performed using

As described above, the position of the outline of a character on the pixel screen 52 is affected not only by the size of the character but also by the printing position. The number of pixels included may vary, resulting in a difference in width.

For example, if a dot formed within one pixel is represented by a circle, a character composition line whose outline is designed so that the number of pixels in the width direction is one pixel as shown in FIG. 7(a) is Depending on the printing position, the width may be two pixels as shown in FIG. 7(b). This reduction in pixels is not so noticeable when the print size is large, but becomes noticeable when the print size is small. Note that the x mark in the figure indicates the center point of the pixel.

On the other hand, in this laser printer, when the print size is 12 points or less, if the line width of the character constituent line actually printed differs from the set width, the outline data is corrected and dot data is set. , character composition lines can be printed with a set width, and the program ROM 16 contains the characters shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.
Various programs necessary for printing are stored, including a dot data conversion program with a line width correction function shown in the flowchart of FIG.

The conversion of outline data to dot data will be explained below, taking as an example the case where the "quantity" of a kanji character is printed at 3.84 points, and paying particular attention to line width correction of horizontal lines (H1 to H9). .

It should be noted that printing is not essential to understanding the present invention, so a detailed explanation will be omitted, but in this laser printer, printing is performed for each page. One page of document data stored in the text memory 18 is read out, and the outline data of a large number of characters corresponding to the data is converted into dot data and printed.

When character codes etc. are input from the input device 28, those codes are sequentially stored in the text memory 18.
When a predetermined amount of the code is stored in the text memory 18, the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 8, 9, and 10 are executed by the CPU 12.

First, in step S1 (hereinafter abbreviated as S1; the same applies to other steps), data specifying the print size and a character code are read from the text memory 18, and the character code specified by this character code is read out from the text memory 18. The outline data of the selected character is read from the character ROM 14. The coordinate values of the read outline data are values set on the 1000*1000 coordinate plane, and are converted into coordinate values on the pixel screen 52 based on the print size and print position data and stored in the working memory 20. Stored. The conversion is performed by dividing by the value at the 1000*1000 coordinates of one side of one pixel (62.5 if the print size is 3.84 points).

In S2, the line width setting data for the character is read from the character ROM 14, and information necessary for line width correction is stored in the line width correction data memory 24 by the same conversion as the outline data in S1. The data to be stored is first the number N of line width setting data as shown in FIG.
, the set coordinate value Ai (hereinafter referred to as the first set coordinate value) converted after that, the width value Bi that was converted from the set width Wi, and the larger value Ci that defines the constituent line 44 (hereinafter referred to as the second set coordinate value). (referred to as a value), and dummy data Di corresponding to the number N of line width setting data are stored. In the horizontal line of "Amount" in this example, the number of line width setting data N = 9, the setting width Wi = 60, all of them are designed with the same width data, and the width value Bi obtained by conversion is all 0.96. Become. The second set coordinate value Ci is the sum of the first set coordinate value Ai and the width value Bi, that is, C
It is calculated from i=Ai+Bi. Focusing on the constituent line H1, the first set coordinate value A1 = 0.0, the width value B1 = 0.96
Therefore, the second set coordinate value C1=0.96. Further, in S8 described later, a correction value Ei (hereinafter referred to as a first correction value) of the first set coordinate value is stored in the width value Bi, and a correction value F of the second set coordinate value is stored in the dummy data Di.
i (hereinafter referred to as a second modified value) is stored.

In S3, it is determined whether the number N of line width setting data is "0" or not. If it is "0", there is no data for line width correction, so the process moves to S4; The process moves to S5. In this embodiment, since the number of line width setting data N=9, the determination is NO and the process moves to S5.

In S4, it is determined whether the print size is 12 points or less. Since there is no need for line width processing for print sizes larger than 12 points, the process moves to S5. 1
If it is 2 points or less, line width processing is required and S6
The processes from S16 to S16 are performed. In this embodiment, the print size is 3.84 points, so the determination in S4 is YES, and the processes in S6 to S16 are performed.

In S5, the outline data is converted into dot data.

In S6, the data stored in the line width correction data memory 24 is rearranged in descending order of the first set coordinate value Ai.

In S7, the width value Bi is rounded to the first decimal place to obtain an integer value. This integer value defines the number of dots for each width value. In this example, since the width value Bi of each horizontal line of "amount" is 0.96 according to S2, all width values Bi become 1 by rounding off to the first decimal place.

In S8, the line width is corrected. The line width is corrected by moving either the first set coordinate value Ai or the second set coordinate value Ci so that the number of dots corresponds to the set width. In this embodiment, the line width is corrected by correcting the second set value coordinate value Ci. Therefore, the first correction value Ei is the first correction value Ei.
It is sufficient to round off the set coordinate value Ai to the first decimal place, and E
i=round(Ai). The second correction value Fi is obtained by adding the width value Bi converted into an integer in S7 to the first correction value Ei. That is, Fi=Ei+Bi. Focusing on the configuration line H1, F1=0+1=1. Note that round(n) is a function that rounds off the argument n to the first decimal place.

[0045] If the process is moved to S13 after S8 is executed and the outline data of S5 is converted to dot data after moving the outline, the number of pixels of the line width will all be 1 dot. However, since the case where the number of pixels in the space becomes 0 is not taken into account, the constituent lines H2 and H3 touch each other and appear as one thick line as shown in FIG. 16, resulting in an unattractive character.

In S9 to S12, when the number of pixels in the space becomes 0, one of the two constituent lines is replaced with the other. The processing will be explained.

[0047] In S9, the number of spaces (N-1) times, S
10 has been processed. If YES, S13
Move to. In this example, the number of spaces is 8, and S10
When S12 has been processed 8 times, the determination in S9 is YE.
The result is S and the process moves to S13.

In S10, the number of pixels G in the space is determined. G =
Bi+1-Di determines the number of dots in the space between the two constituent lines. The number of pixels G in the space between the constituent lines H1 and H2 is determined by B2-D1.

In S11, it is determined whether the number of spatial pixels G is 0 or not. If it is 0, the constituent lines are replaced in S12. If it is not 0, perform S9. In this example, the configuration line H2
Then, the number of pixels in the space of H3 becomes G=0, and at that time, the process moves to S12. Otherwise, G=1, and the process moves to S9.

In S12, component lines are replaced. however,
In S12, the character constituent lines are not actually replaced, but only correction data for constituent line replacement is created. Character composition lines are actually replaced from S13 to S1
According to 6. In other words, the outline data is corrected by correcting the coordinate values in S16, and the outline data shown in FIG. 13 is created when the processing in S13 to S16 is completed. In this embodiment, it is assumed that of the two constituent lines, the one with the smaller set coordinate value is replaced with the constituent line with the larger set coordinate value. Therefore, since the component line H2 is replaced by the component line H3, the first modified value E2 of the component line H2 becomes E3, and the second modified value F2 of the component line H2 becomes F3. The data shown in FIG. 12 is stored in the line width correction data memory 24 through S9 to S12.

[0051] In S13, S
The outline data converted in step 1 is sequentially read out.

In S14, it is determined whether or not the character data has ended, and if so, the process moves to S5.

In S15, the coordinate values (X, Y) of the outline data read out in S13 are compared with the line width correction data stored in the line width correction data memory 24. In this embodiment, since the focus is on the correction of the horizontal line of the kanji "quantity", it is checked whether the Y coordinate matches the first set coordinate value Ai and the second set coordinate value Ci of the line width correction data. If they match, the coordinate point is a point that requires line width correction, and S16 is executed. If they do not match, line width correction is not necessary and the process moves to S13. That is, in S13,
When the data of P1 (X1, Y1) is read, the Y coordinate value Y1 matches A3 in FIG. 12, the determination in S15 is YES, and S16 is executed.

In S16, since it is determined in S15 that the coordinate values need to be corrected, the corrected values are read out, and the process proceeds to S13.
Correct the coordinate values of the working memory read in to the corrected values. For example, the Y coordinate determined to match the first set coordinate value Ai in S15 is corrected to Ei by reading the first correction value Ei, and the Y coordinate determined to match the second set coordinate value Ci is , the second correction value Fi is read out and Fi
will be corrected. That is, P1(X1
, Y1) matches A3 in S16, so its modified value E
3, so it is corrected to P1 (X1, E3) and stored in the working memory 20.

As described above, the outline data is moved according to the line width correction data, but before the movement process is performed, P1->P2-
>P3->P4->P5->P6->P7->P8->
P9->P10->P11->P12->P13->P
14->P15->P16->P17->P18, and when the movement process is completed, P
1->P2->P3'->P4'->P5'->P6'
->P7->P8->P9->P10->P11->P
12->P13'->P14'->P15'->P16
The shape is expressed as '->P17->P18. When the process of moving the outline data is completed, it is determined in S14 that the character data has ended, and the outline data given by the corrected coordinate values is converted into dot data in S5.

In this embodiment, the horizontal lines H1 to H9 have been specifically explained in detail, but the same applies to the vertical lines.

In this way, in the laser printer of this embodiment, when the space between adjacent character constituent lines becomes 0, one of the constituent lines is replaced with the other constituent line to correct the line width. Therefore, characters can be printed with good appearance.

As is clear from the above description, in this embodiment, the portion of the program ROM 16 that stores S5 and the portion of the CPU 12 that executes S5, that is, the data conversion section 40 constitute the data conversion means 1, and the R.O.
M14 constitutes the line width data storage means 4, and the program R
Part that stores S6 to S16 of OM16 and CPU 12
The parts that execute these, that is, the outline moving unit 34 and the line width data correcting unit 35 constitute the outline moving means 3, and the part that stores S6 to S16 of the program ROM 16 and the CP
The parts of U12 that execute these operations, that is, the character composition line replacement section 34 and the spatial pixel number calculation section 35 constitute the character composition line moving means 2.

In the line width correction in S8 of the embodiment of the present invention, the line width was corrected by moving the larger value (second set coordinate value) that defines the component line 44; You can correct the line width by moving, or
The line width can also be corrected by moving the one of the first and second set coordinate values that has a smaller amount of movement for line width correction.

In addition, in the component line replacement processing in S12 of the embodiment of the present invention, the component line with the smaller first setting value is replaced with the larger component line, but the larger component line is replaced with the smaller component line. It is also possible to replace it with the constituent lines of

The present invention is of course applicable to printers other than laser printers, and is generally applicable to devices other than printers that need to convert outline data of characters such as letters and symbols into dot data. can be applied.

[0062] In addition, the present invention can be practiced with various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, although no specific examples will be given.

[0063]

As is clear from the above explanation, in the data conversion device of the present invention, when the number of pixels in the space between adjacent component lines becomes 0 when performing line width correction, one component Correct the line width by replacing the line with the other component line,
By converting to dot data, it is possible to obtain high-quality dot data that looks good.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram conceptually showing the configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of a laser printer equipped with a data conversion device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram conceptually showing a CPU that is a component of the control circuit.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the kanji "quantity" converted according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the contents of line width setting data.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the above “amount” superimposed on a pixel screen.

FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) are diagrams showing differences in the number of pixels depending on the printing position of an outline defining a character composition line.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a data conversion program among the programs stored in the program ROM.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a data conversion program among the programs stored in the program ROM.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a data conversion program among the programs stored in the program ROM.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the contents of a line width correction data memory.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the contents of a line width correction data memory when line width correction data is stored by a line width correction program.

FIG. 13(a) is a diagram showing outline data when constituent lines are replaced by the line width correction program, and FIG. 13(b)
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing dot data generated when converting (a) into dot data.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the setting of line width setting data for the kanji character "quantity".

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing dot data when line width correction processing is not performed in a conventional device.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing dot data when line width correction processing is performed in a conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Data conversion means 2 Character composition line replacement means 3 Contour line moving means 4 Line width data storage means

Claims (1)

[Claims] [Claim 1] When it is assumed that the outline of a character represented by outline data is superimposed on a pixel screen that defines pixels by a plurality of defining lines parallel to the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, which are perpendicular to each other. , data conversion means for setting dot data corresponding to pixels included in a character composition line that composes a character in a state that satisfies a certain standard as data representing the existence of a character composition line, and converting outline data into dot data. In the data conversion device, a line width data storage means for specifying at least one of a plurality of character constituent lines constituting the character and storing line width data indicating the width of the constituent line; If the number of pixels in the width direction of the two contour lines that define the character composition lines defined in the width direction is not the number corresponding to the line width data, contour line moving means for moving at least one of the pixels relative to the pixel screen in a direction and amount such that the number of pixels corresponds to the line width data, and two or more of the character composition lines are set; When the number of pixels existing between adjacent character composition lines in the width direction is 0, one of the two character composition lines is configured to be the same composition line as the other character composition line. 1. A data conversion device comprising: constituent line replacement means for replacing lines, and wherein said data conversion means converts outline data obtained by movement of said contour line movement means into dot data.