JPH0816802A - Picture processing method, picture processor and picture processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a picture processing method/picture processor/picture processing system, which realize picture output using the performance of various picture output devices without giving a burden on a network. CONSTITUTION:Bit map data f1 is adhered to document data generated in a document editing part 1a. In editing, image data of low resolution is used. On printing, a PDL conversion part 1b converts edited document data into PDL data 1c and it is inputted to a printer server 4 with information designating an image f1. The printer server 4 acquires image data by PDS conversion part 4a before PDL data is inputted to a PDL interpreter 4b. Here, bit map data F1 with high resolution is obtained by f1 designating bit map data and it is inputted to the PDL interpreter 4b. The PDL interpreter develops a whole document into bit map data.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing method, apparatus and system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a system for sharing a printer on a network has a configuration shown in FIG. That is, WY on each client (1000, 1002, 1004)
An image is interactively edited using an image editing program corresponding to SIWYG, the edited result is described in a page description language, and the edited result is sent to the printer server 1010 via the network 1020. The printer server 1010 interprets the page description language and obtains a printout by the printer 1011.

[0003]

However, the display interactively displayed on the client side has a low resolution of at most about 100 dpi. On the other hand, as the printer 1011 used for printout, a printer having a high resolution of 300 to 400 dpi or more is mainly used. For this reason, the bitmap data used for editing on the client side has a low resolution, and when this is printed out, the bitmap data is resolution-converted into high resolution bitmap data for printing. As described above, there is a drawback in that the performance of a high resolution printer cannot be exhibited by performing resolution conversion of low resolution bitmap data before printing out.

There is also a method of transmitting high resolution bitmap data from a client to a server, but there is a problem that the amount of data to be transmitted is large, the load on the network is large, and the transmission takes time.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides an image processing method, apparatus, and system for realizing image output that maximizes the performance of various image output apparatuses without imposing a load on the network. The purpose is to do.

Another object of the present invention is to reduce the load on the network when transferring an image to the printer and to print out a high-resolution image when the printer is applied as the image output device. And to provide a system.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] and

The image processing system of the present invention which achieves the above object is an image processing system for editing and outputting a document, and at the time of editing the document, a low-resolution bitmap is displayed on the screen displaying the document. An image is displayed using the data, an editing unit that incorporates the image into the document, and designation information that designates the image incorporated by the editing unit is incorporated into the information corresponding to the document to output the output information of the document. The image forming apparatus includes a generating unit that generates the high-resolution bitmap data for the image designated by the designation information, generates bitmap data based on the output information, and outputs the bitmap data.

An image processing system according to another aspect of the present invention that achieves the above object is an image processing system including a first device for editing a document and a second device for outputting a document. Then, in the first device, a first acquisition means for acquiring low-resolution bitmap data corresponding to a predetermined image, and on the screen displaying the document being edited in the first device Editing means for displaying a predetermined image using the low-resolution bitmap data and incorporating the image in the document, document information corresponding to the document edited by the editing means, and the predetermined image are designated. Transfer means for transferring the designated information to be output to the second device as output information, and the second device acquires high-resolution bitmap data of an image designated by the designated information. Comprising a 2 acquisition means, the high with the resolution of the bit map data to generate bit map data of the document, and output means for outputting the same.

According to the above arrangement, the low resolution bitmap data is used in the image display during editing, and the high resolution bitmap data is used in the image output such as print output. Output that makes the best use of ability is possible. Further, in the image processing system having the above-described other configuration, the information designating the image is transferred between the device for editing and the device for outputting, so that the load on the network or the like is reduced. .

Preferably, for one image, first holding means for holding low resolution bitmap data for the first device and high resolution bitmap data for the second device. And a second holding means for storing bit map data having a resolution lower than that of the first holding means in the first acquisition means and a bit of resolution higher than that of the second holding means in the second acquisition means. Each map data is read and acquired. Since the bitmap data of the image does not flow on the line connecting the first device and the second device, the load on the line is reduced.

Further, preferably, the second device further comprises a holding means for holding bit map image data of a plurality of resolutions for one image in the second device, and the first acquisition means responds to a request from the editing means. And obtains low-resolution bitmap data from the holding means via the line. This is because the bitmap data can be held in one place and the data management becomes easy. Further, since the low-resolution bitmap data is transferred in the first acquisition means, the load on the network etc. is reduced.

Further, preferably, the second device holds a compressed data obtained by compressing the bit map data by a hierarchical coding method, and the compressed data at least in a low resolution and a high resolution. And a decoding means for decoding into two types of bitmap data, wherein the first acquisition means acquires low-resolution bitmap data via the decoding means in response to a request from the editing means. The second acquisition means acquires high resolution bitmap data via the decoding means. This is because it is possible to efficiently use the memory resources in the data holding means by utilizing the hierarchical coding method.

Further, preferably, the second device holds a compressed data obtained by compressing the bit map data by a hierarchical encoding method, and a low resolution corresponding to the low resolution of the compressed data. The conversion means for converting into compressed data for resolution and the decoding means for obtaining bitmap data of higher resolution than the compressed data are further provided, and in the first acquisition means, the conversion means in response to a request from the editing means. To obtain the low-resolution compressed data via
Constant resolution bitmap data is acquired based on the low resolution compressed data, and in the second acquisition means,
High-resolution bitmap data is obtained from the decoding means. This is because the load of the network can be further reduced by being configured to transfer the compressed data in order to acquire the bitmap data for low resolution.

The image processing apparatus of the present invention which achieves the above object is an image processing apparatus for displaying a document on a display screen and editing the document data. Editing means for displaying on the display screen and interactively incorporating the image into the document, and generating output data for outputting the document using the designation information for designating the image incorporated in the document And generating means.

Further, an image processing apparatus of the present invention for achieving the above object is an image processing apparatus for performing print output based on print data from the outside, and storage means for storing image bitmap data. An extracting means for extracting designation information for designating an image incorporated in the document from the print data, and an obtaining means for obtaining bitmap data of the image designated by the designation information from the storage means.
Generating means for generating bitmap data of the document by incorporating the bitmap data acquired by the acquiring means into bitmap data generated based on the input print data; and bits generated by the generating means. And output means for performing printout using the map data.

Any of the above-mentioned image processing apparatuses can form a part of the above-mentioned image processing system,
It is possible to realize high-quality output that makes full use of the performance of various image output devices without imposing a load on the network.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<First Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of an image editing system according to this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the image editing system is composed of a plurality of terminals 1, terminals 2 to n and a printer server 4 which are connected by a communication line 101. Here, for example, the terminal 1 has the following configuration.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a CPU, which performs various controls in the terminal 1. Particularly, in the terminal 1 of this example, the CPU 11
Is a D, which is stored in an external storage device (hereinafter referred to as a disk 14) such as a RAM 12, a ROM 18, and a hard disk.
Document processing is executed according to a TP (Desk Top Publishing) program. Since the structure of the DTP program is well known, a detailed description thereof will be omitted here. However, the user can use the information input device such as the keyboard 16 and the mouse 15 to interact with the document data while watching the image displayed on the display 17. Can be created and edited manually.

FIG. 3 shows an example of an image created / edited by the terminal 1 of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, not only the characters but also the bitmap image stored on the disk 14 can be pasted in the created document. The document thus created is described in a PDL (page description language) such as LIPS (PDL manufactured by Canon Inc.) or Postscript (PDL manufactured by Adobe Inc. in the United States), and stored in the disk 14 or the RAM 12.

When printing a document stored in the disk 14 or RAM 12, the interface 13 is used.
The document data is sent to the printer server 4 via the communication line 101 such as a network via the. The printer server 4 executes the printing by the printer 45 after performing the processing described later.

The above blocks in the terminal 1 are interconnected by a bus 10. The other terminals 2, 3, ..., N have the same configuration as the terminal 1.

Next, the configuration of the printer server 4 will be described. The printer server 4 of this embodiment has the following configurations and functions.

Document data (that is, PDL data) sent via the interface 43 is converted in a PDS conversion process described later with reference to FIG.
It is developed according to the interpreter program and printed by the printer 45. Here, the control program of the PDS conversion process is in a form that can be executed by the CPU 41 that executes various controls of the printer server 4, and the disk 44, R
It is stored in either the OM 46 or the RAM 42.

FIG. 4 is a view for explaining the data structure of the paste instruction portion of the bitmap data in the PDL data of this embodiment. The paste command shown in FIG. 4 corresponds to the document shown in FIG. 3, and "the resolution in the file stored on the disk 14 within the range from the coordinate (x, y) in the document to the width w and the height h. The bit map data of r (the file name f1 of the bit map data is attached) is described.

As shown here, the bitmap data has a specific resolution, and when the resolution of the printer and the resolution of the bitmap data are different, the resolution of the bitmap data is generally converted to match the resolution of the printer. Must be crucifixed to the document. Since such a function has a method known in a PDL interpreter that is normally used, such as LIPS and Postscript, the details of the operation will be omitted.

By the way, the resolution of the display 11 used for interactive editing in the terminal 1 is 100 dpi at most.
It is a degree. Therefore, if the bitmap data used for this display is resolution-converted (enlarged) and used for printing, the performance of a printer having a resolution of 300 to 600 dpi cannot be fully utilized, and high-quality printing can be obtained. There is a problem that there is no.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, this problem is solved by replacing the bitmap data with a high resolution one by PDS conversion processing before the document is developed by the PDL interpreter in the printer server 4.

That is, a set of bitmap data having a higher resolution with an image having the same content as the bitmap data stored on the disk 14 is prepared in advance on the disk 44, and interactive editing is performed by using the low resolution bit on the disk 14. The map data is used for printing, and the high resolution bitmap data on the disk 44 is used for printing.

Correspondence between the bit map data is carried out by, for example, holding a file with a file name such as f1, f2, f3 ... On the disk 14 and F1, F2 on the disk 44.
A file having the same content, such as holding a file with a file name of F3, may be managed with a related file name. It is also possible to store a correspondence list indicating the relationship of files on the disk 44 and refer to the correspondence list.

The above operation will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the functional configuration of the document editing system according to the first embodiment. In the figure, the document editing unit 1a creates document data. The document being edited is displayed on the display 17, and various editing instructions are input by the mouse 15 or the keyboard 16. Bitmap data f1 is attached to the document data. Here, the bitmap data f1 is low resolution image data. At the time of printing, the edited document data is converted into PDL data 1c by the PDL conversion unit 1b, and the interface 1
It is output to the communication line 101 via the printer 3 and input to the printer server 4. Here, the PDL data 1c includes a command to paste the bitmap data f1 shown in FIG. 4, for example.

In the printer server 4, PDL data is transferred to P
Before inputting to the DL interpreter 4b, the PDS conversion unit 4a replaces the image data. Here, in this example, the low-resolution bitmap data f1
Corresponding to the high-resolution bitmap data F1
Have been replaced with. The correspondence of bitmap data can be recognized by referring to the correspondence list 44a stored in the disc 44. The PDL data, which has been replaced by the high-resolution bitmap data by the PDS conversion unit 4a, is converted into P
Input to the DL interpreter 4b. The PDL interpreter 4b transfers the bitmap data F1 to the disk 44.
Acquire more and expand the entire document into bitmap data.

Next, the processing procedure of the conversion processing in the PDS conversion section 4a will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the PDS conversion processing of the first embodiment. First, in step S1, the PDL data sent to the printer server 4 via the communication line 101 is received. Next, in step S2, the received P is checked one by one.
It is determined whether the DL data is an instruction to paste the bitmap data (paste instruction). If it is not a paste command, the process directly proceeds to step S5, the PDL data is passed to the PDL interpreter 4b, and is developed as a document.

On the other hand, if it is an instruction to paste bit map data, the process proceeds from step S2 to step S3 to search whether the corresponding bit map data exists in the disk 44 which is the storage device of the printer server 4.
If bit map data having the same content and higher resolution exists in the disk 44, the process proceeds to step S4, and a bit map attachment command is given. That is, the "file name" field is replaced with the data file name existing on the disc 44, and the resolution R of the bitmap data is replaced.
In the “Resolution” field. Where R> r
It goes without saying that

The PDL data converted in this way is sent to the PDL interpreter 4b in step S5, expanded, and printed by the printer 45. And step S
In step 6, it is determined whether or not there is unprocessed PDL data, and if there is unprocessed data, the process returns to step S2 to repeat the above process. On the other hand, if the processing has been completed for all PDL data, this processing ends.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to perform high-quality and smooth printing by utilizing the resolution of the printer. If the bitmap data specified in the PDL data does not exist on the disk 44, the PDL interpreter 4b will operate normally on the disk 14.
The corresponding bit map data is read out, resolution conversion is executed if necessary, and this is transferred to the printer 45.

Further, according to this method, the PDS conversion unit is
The conversion of PDL data (change of designation of bitmap data to be applied) is performed in the preceding stage of the DL interpreter, and the inside of the PDL interpreter is not changed. Therefore, various PDLs can be supported.

<Embodiment 2> In the first embodiment, low resolution bitmap data is stored in the disk 14 on the terminal side.
Although the high resolution bitmap data is held in the disk 44 on the printer server side, another configuration may be used.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the schematic arrangement of the image processing system according to the second embodiment. In the figure, the terminal 1 and the printer server omit the same configurations as those in FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, two types of bitmap data of high and low (or more) are held in the disk 44 on the printer server side, and via the network 101 every time image editing is necessary. It may be transmitted to the document editing unit 1a of the terminal 1. In addition, PDL
The generation of data by the PDS conversion unit 4a and the interpreter 4b in the printer server 4 from the data transfer is the same as in the first embodiment (FIG. 5).

In such a configuration, bitmap data having a large capacity will flow through the communication line and the load on the network will increase compared to the first embodiment, but the bitmap data is held for each terminal. The cost of the terminal is reduced because there is no need to keep it. However, since only low-resolution bitmap data flows on the communication line, for example, 100 dp for display.
The load on the line is reduced by using low-resolution bitmap data of about i. Either the method of the first embodiment or the method of the second embodiment may be selected in consideration of the cost of the storage device and the cost of the communication line.

<Third Embodiment> In the second embodiment, the bitmap data of the same content having a plurality of resolutions is held in the disk on the printer server side. However, JBIG (Joint Bi-lev) is used.
Compressing these using a hierarchical encoding method such as el Image CodingExperts Group) has the advantages that compression efficiency is better than compressing each independently and that there is no need to consider the association between files. Occurs. Hierarchical encoding is a well-known technique, and therefore details thereof will be omitted. However, it is a technique for compressing an image by utilizing the correlation between bitmap data of the same content having different resolutions, and is suitable for the image editing system of this embodiment. Is.

The operation of the image editing system of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, since the terminal 1 has the same configuration as that of FIG. 5, other configurations are omitted. When the bitmap data is required for the editing work at the terminal 1, the terminal 1 issues a bitmap data transmission request to the printer server 4. In the printer server 4, the layered code data (for example, f1 ′) is decoded by the decoder 4c.
Then, the low resolution bitmap data (f1) is expanded and generated and sent to the terminal 1 through the communication line 101. At the time of printing, the created document data is converted into PDL data by the PDL conversion unit 1b in the terminal 1, and the pasted bitmap data is designated by the layered code data.

In the printer server 4, the input PDL
Image data is generated based on the data. here,
If there is an instruction to paste bitmap data, the decoder 4c decompresses the designated layered code data (f1 ') by the decoder 4c to obtain high-resolution bitmap data (F1). Then, the obtained bitmap data is passed to the PDL interpreter 4b to obtain a high resolution printout.

In the third embodiment, the decoder program is realized by software. That is, the CPU 41 and the RAM 4
2, the ROM 46, and the disk 44 constitute a decoder. However, it goes without saying that dedicated hardware may be used when higher-speed processing is required.

As described above, by using the layered code data, it is possible to effectively use the memory resource and facilitate the management of the image data file.

<Fourth Embodiment> In the third embodiment, the printer server 4 decodes the low resolution bitmap and sends it to the terminal. However, the decoding is performed on the terminal side so that the compressed data flows on the network. May be.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the schematic arrangement of the image processing system according to the fourth embodiment. This will be described below with reference to FIG. The numbers are the same as in FIG.

When the bitmap data is required for the editing work at the terminal 1, the terminal 1 issues a bitmap data transmission request to the printer server 4. The printer server 4 applies the layered code data to the data converter program in the data converter 4d to generate the compressed data of the low resolution bitmap by extracting the compressed data of only the low resolution data portion, and transmits this through the interface 43. To do.

The structure of the data converter 4d depends on various compression methods. If it is not layered code data,
The entire high resolution bitmap data may be decoded, then the resolution may be converted into the low resolution bitmap data, and the obtained low resolution bitmap data may be encoded to obtain the compressed data of the low resolution bitmap.

On the terminal 1 side, the received compressed data is decoded by the decoder 1c to generate a low resolution bitmap, which is displayed on the display 17 by the document editing section 1a for interactive editing.

Since the operation at the time of printing is the same as that of the above-mentioned third embodiment, it will be omitted. The decoder and the data converter may be realized by software, or dedicated hardware may be used if high-speed processing is required. Generally,
It is good to implement the decoder of the printer server that handles a large amount of high-resolution bitmaps and must respond to requests from multiple terminals with hardware, and implement the decoder on the terminal side where cost is important with software. I think that the.

As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, since the low resolution compressed data flows on the line, the load on the network is reduced.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device. Further, it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to a case where it is achieved by supplying a program that causes a system or an apparatus to execute the processing defined by the present invention.

[0054]

As described above, according to the present invention,
(EN) Provided are an image processing method, an apparatus, and a system for realizing image output that maximizes the performance of various image output apparatuses without imposing a load on the network.

[0055]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an image editing system of this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a system that shares a printer on a network.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an image created by the terminal 1 of the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration of a part of a paste instruction of bitmap data in PDL data according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the document editing system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of PDS conversion processing according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image processing system according to a second exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the image editing system according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image processing system according to a fourth exemplary embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10,40 Bus 11,41 CPU 12,42 RAM 13,43 Interface 14,44 Disk 15 Mouse 16 Keyboard 17 Display 18,46 ROM 45 Printer 101 Communication line

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. An image processing system for editing and outputting a document, wherein, when the document is edited, an image is displayed on a screen displaying the document using low resolution bitmap data, and the image is displayed in the document. Editing means for incorporating the image, generating means for generating output information of the document by incorporating the designation information for designating the image incorporated by the editing means into the information corresponding to the document, and the designation information designated by the designation information. An image processing system for obtaining high-resolution bitmap data for the image, generating bitmap data based on the output information, and outputting the bitmap data. 2. An image processing system comprising a first device for editing a document and a second device for outputting the document, wherein the first device has a low resolution corresponding to a predetermined image. And a first image displaying unit for displaying a predetermined image on the screen displaying the document being edited by using the low-resolution bitmap data. Editing means for embedding an image in a document, and transfer means for transferring document information corresponding to the document edited by the editing means and designation information for designating the predetermined image as output information to the second device. And a second device for acquiring high-resolution bitmap data of an image designated by the designation information in the second device.
An image processing system comprising: an acquisition unit and an output unit that generates bitmap data of the document using the high resolution bitmap data and outputs the bitmap data. 3. For one image, first holding means for holding low resolution bitmap data for the first device, and second holding means for holding high resolution bitmap data for the second device. Holding means, wherein the first obtaining means receives the bitmap data having a lower resolution than the first holding means, and the second obtaining means receives the bitmap data having a higher resolution than the second holding means. The image processing system according to claim 2, wherein the image processing system reads out and acquires each. 4. A holding means for holding bitmap image data of a plurality of resolutions for one image in the second device is further provided, and the first obtaining means has a low resolution in response to a request from the editing means. The image processing system according to claim 2, wherein the bitmap data is acquired from the holding unit via a line. 5. The second device comprises a holding means for holding compressed data obtained by compressing bitmap data by a hierarchical coding method, and at least two types of compressed data, low resolution and high resolution. Further comprising: a decoding unit for decoding the bitmap data of No. 2, wherein the first obtaining unit obtains low-resolution bitmap data via the decoding unit in response to a request from the editing unit. 3. The image processing system according to claim 2, wherein the acquisition means acquires high-resolution bitmap data via the decoding means. 6. The second device comprises a holding unit for holding compressed data obtained by compressing bitmap data by a hierarchical encoding method, and a low-resolution compression unit for compressing the compressed data to a low resolution. It further comprises conversion means for converting into data and decoding means for obtaining bitmap data of higher resolution than the compressed data, and in the first acquisition means, via the conversion means in response to a request from the editing means. The low-resolution compressed data is acquired, constant-resolution bitmap data is acquired based on the low-resolution compressed data, and the second acquisition means acquires high-resolution bitmap data from the decoding means. The image processing system according to claim 2, wherein. 7. The second device obtains low-resolution compressed data by holding means for holding high-resolution bitmap data and converting the bitmap data into low-resolution data and then compressing the data. Low-resolution bitmap data is obtained by obtaining low-resolution compressed data via the converting means in response to a request from the editing means, and decoding the low-resolution compressed data. 3. The image processing system according to claim 2, wherein the second acquiring unit acquires high-resolution bitmap data from the holding unit. 8. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein a server / client system is configured by the first and second devices. 9. An image processing apparatus for displaying a document on a display screen and editing the document data, wherein an image to be embedded in the document is displayed on the display screen, and the image is interactively displayed. An image processing apparatus comprising: an editing unit that is incorporated into a document; and a generation unit that generates output data for outputting the document by using designation information that designates an image incorporated in the document. 10. An image processing apparatus for performing print output based on print data from the outside, wherein storage means for storing bitmap data of an image and an image embedded in a document are designated from the print data. Extraction means for extracting designation information, acquisition means for obtaining bitmap data of an image designated by the designation information from the storage means, and acquisition of the bitmap data generated based on the input print data to the bitmap data. The image forming apparatus further comprises: a generating unit that incorporates the bitmap data acquired by the unit to generate the bitmap data of the document; and an output unit that prints out using the bitmap data generated by the generating unit. Image processing device. 11. An image processing method for editing and outputting a document, which comprises displaying an image on a screen displaying the document by using low-resolution bitmap data and editing the document. An editing step of incorporating the image, a generation step of incorporating the designation information designating the image incorporated by the editing step into the information corresponding to the document to generate output information of the document, and the designation information designated by the designation information. And a step of acquiring high-resolution bitmap data for the image, generating bitmap data based on the output information, and outputting the bitmap data. 12. An image processing method comprising a first device for editing a document and a second device for outputting the document, wherein the first device has a low resolution corresponding to a predetermined image. A first obtaining step of obtaining the bitmap data of the above, and displaying a predetermined image on the screen displaying the document being edited by using the low resolution bitmap data in the first device, An editing step of incorporating an image in the document, and a transfer step of transferring the document information corresponding to the document edited by the editing step and the designation information designating the predetermined image to the second device as output information. And a second device for acquiring high-resolution bitmap data of an image designated by the designation information in the second device.
An image processing method comprising: an acquisition step; and an output step of generating bitmap data of the document using the high resolution bitmap data and outputting the bitmap data. 13. An image processing method for displaying a document on a display screen and editing the document data, comprising displaying an image to be incorporated in the document on the display screen, and interactively displaying the image. An image processing method, comprising: an edit step of incorporating the document into a document; and a generating step of generating output data for outputting the document using designation information for designating an image incorporated in the document. 14. An image processing method for performing print output based on print data from the outside, the storing step of storing bitmap data of an image, and the image embedded in a document is designated from the print data. An extraction step of extracting designation information; an acquisition step of obtaining the bitmap data of the image designated by the designation information from the storage step; and the acquisition of the bitmap data generated based on the input print data to the bitmap data. It is characterized by comprising a generation step of generating bitmap data of the document by incorporating the bitmap data acquired by the step, and an output step of performing print output using the bitmap data generated by the generation step. Image processing method.