PRINTING APPARATUS, PRINTING DATA GENERATING APPARATUS, PRINTING METHOD AND PROGRAM THEREOF

• US 20110063684A1
• Filed: 07/06/2010
• Published: 03/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: KAKUTANI, Toshiaki
• Granted Patent: US 8,416,457 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/3.03
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/4053 with threshold modulated relative to input image data or vice versa

Abstract

A printing apparatus is adapted to perform printing of image data corresponding to a plurality of pixels representing a predetermined image. The printing apparatus includes a halftone processing section including a comparison section and an error diffusion section. The comparison section is configured to compare, for at least one of the pixels, a related grayscale value relating to a data grayscale value of the input image data with a corresponding one of a plurality of thresholds included in a dither mask. The error diffusion section is configured to generate dot data for indicating the presence or absence of formation of a dot in each of the pixels according to an error diffusion method, on the basis of the data grayscale values of the input image data, and to control the easiness of the dot formation according to the error diffusion method, on the basis of a comparison result of the comparison section.

Claims

1. A printing apparatus adapted to perform printing of image data corresponding to a plurality of pixels representing a predetermined image, the printing apparatus comprising:

an input section through which the image data including data grayscale values of the pixels is input;

a halftone processing section configured to generate dot data for indicating the presence or absence of formation of a dot in each of the pixels, on the basis of the image data; and

a printing section configured to perform the printing of the image using the generated dot data,

the halftone processing section including

a comparison section configured to compare, for at least one of the pixels, a related grayscale value relating to the data grayscale value of the input image data with a corresponding one of a plurality of thresholds included in a dither mask, and

an error diffusion section configured to generate the dot data according to an error diffusion method, on the basis of the data grayscale values of the input image data,

the error diffusion section being configured to control the easiness of the dot formation according to the error diffusion method, on the basis of a comparison result of the comparison section.

2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the error diffusion section is configured to control the easiness of the dot formation so that the dot formation according to the error diffusion method is easier to occur in a case where the related grayscale value is equal to or larger than the corresponding one of the thresholds of the dither mask than in a case where the related grayscale value is smaller than the corresponding one of the thresholds of the dither mask.

3. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the error diffusion section is configured to vary an error diffusion method threshold used to determine the presence or absence of the dot formation in the error diffusion method to control the easiness of the dot formation according to the error diffusion method.

4. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the error diffusion section is configured to vary a control level for the easiness of the dot formation on the basis of the size of the data grayscale value.

5. The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

the error diffusion section is configured to increase the control level for the easiness of the dot formation with respect to high grayscale data which is within a predetermined range in which the data grayscale value is relatively large, among the image data, compared with low grayscale data which is within a predetermined range in which the data grayscale value is relatively small.

6. The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

the error diffusion section is configured to vary by stages the control level for the easiness of the dot formation according to the size of the data grayscale value.

7. The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

the error diffusion section is configured to control the easiness of the dot formation so that the control level for the easiness of the dot formation increases as the data grayscale value increases at least when the data grayscale value is within a predetermined part of the entire range of the data grayscale value.

8. The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

the error diffusion section is configured to stop the control for the easiness of the dot formation in a case where the data grayscale value is within a first range.

9. The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

the halftone processing section is configured to stop the generation of the dot data according to the error diffusion method and to generate the dot data according to a dithering method using the comparison result of the comparison section, in a case where the data grayscale value is within a second range.

10. The printing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein

the second range is a range having a relatively high data grayscale value in a case where the entire range of the data grayscale value is divided into two ranges.

11. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the related grayscale value is equal to the data grayscale value.

12. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the related grayscale value includes a grayscale value obtained by increasing or decreasing the data grayscale value by a predetermined positive value.

13. The printing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein

the related grayscale value is a grayscale value obtained by increasing the data grayscale value by the predetermined positive value, and

the error diffusion section is configured to control the easiness of the dot formation in a case where the related grayscale value is smaller than the corresponding one of the thresholds of the dither mask as the comparison result of the comparison section, so that the dot formation is hard to occur or does not occur.

14. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the dither mask has a blue noise characteristic.

15. (canceled)

16. A method of generating printing data of image data corresponding to a plurality of pixels representing a predetermined image, comprising:

inputting the image data including data grayscale values of the pixels;

comparing, for at least one of the pixels, a related grayscale value relating to the data grayscale value of the input image data with a corresponding one of a plurality of thresholds included in a dither mask; and

generating dot data for indicating the presence or absence of formation of a dot in each of the pixels according to an error diffusion method on the basis of the data grayscale values of the image data, while controlling the easiness of the dot formation on the basis of a comparison result.

17. A computer usable medium storing a printing data generating program for generating printing data of image data corresponding to a plurality of pixels representing a predetermined image with the printing data generating program causing and to a computer to execute functions of:

inputting the image data including data grayscale values of the pixels;

comparing, for at least one of the pixels, a related grayscale value relating to the data grayscale value of the input image data with a corresponding one of a plurality of thresholds included in a dither mask; and

generating dot data for indicating the presence or absence of formation of a dot in each of the pixels according to an error diffusion method on the basis of the data grayscale values of the image data, while controlling the easiness of the dot formation on the basis of a comparison result.