Printing apparatus, control method thereof, control program thereof, and manufacturing method of printing material

• US 9,202,151 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2013
• Issued: 12/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Kakutani, Toshiaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo, Quang N
• Application Number:
  US14/134,349
• Publication Number:
  US 20140177003A1
• Time in Patent Office: 712 Days
• Field of Search: 358/3.1, 358/3.13, 358/1.9, 358/3.01, 358/3.14
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/1881 Halftoning halftoning of still images in general H04N1/405, H04N1/52
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/4051 producing a dispersed dots halftone pattern, the dots having substantially the same size different sizes H04N1/4057

Abstract

A printing apparatus is provided with a CPU. The CPU generates dot data where dots are regularly distributed and arranged in a case where gradation values which are represented by image data are a predetermined value or less by using a dither mask where thresholds are set for each printing pixel and comparing the gradation values of each of the pixels which configure the original image and the thresholds for each of the printing pixels which are set in the dither mask, and generates the dot data such that the degree of regularity of the dots which are distributed and arranged is reduced as the gradation values are increased in a case where the gradation values which are represented by the image data exceed the predetermined value through execution of a dot data generating module.

Claims

1. A printing apparatus which performs printing on a printing medium, comprising:

a dot data generating section which generates dot data which indicates a dot formation state for each printing pixel in a printing image which is to be formed on the printing medium by performing a half-toning process with regard to image data which represents gradation values of each pixel which configures an original image; and

a printing image generating section which generates the printing image by forming dots at each of the printing pixels according to the dot data,

wherein the dot data generating section generates the dot data by using a dither mask where thresholds are set for the printing pixels and comparing the gradation values of the pixels which configure the original image and the thresholds for the printing pixels which are set in the dither mask, with the thresholds equal to a predetermined value or less being assigned in the dither mask such that the thresholds equal to the predetermined value or less are regularly arranged in the dither mask, and the thresholds exceeding the predetermined value being assigned in the dither mask such that the degree of regularity of the dots is reduced as the gradation values increase in a case where the gradation values which are represented by the image data exceed the predetermined value.

2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein, in a case where the gradation values which are represented by the image data exceed the predetermined value, the presence or absence of dot forming for each of the printing pixels is determined according to the gradation values of each of the pixels which configure the original image and the thresholds for each of the printing pixels which are set in the dither mask by using the dither mask where thresholds are set for each of the printing pixels in the half-toning process, and

for the gradation values which exceed the predetermined value, the thresholds for each of the printing pixels are set in the dither mask such that the distribution of the dots which are formed on the printing medium approaches a blue noise characteristic or a green noise characteristic as the gradation values increase.

3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the printing image generating section forms a printing image on a printing medium using at least inks of each color of yellow, magenta, and cyan, and

the half-toning process is performed when forming dots of at least cyan or magenta.

4. A method of manufacturing printing material which manufactures printing material by forming a printing image on a printing medium, comprising:

generating dot data which indicates a dot formation state for each printing pixel of the printing image which is to be formed on the printing medium by performing a half-toning process with regard to image data which represents gradation values of each pixel which configures an original image; and

printing a printing image on the printing medium by forming dots at each of the printing pixels according to the dot data;

the generating of the dot data including generating the dot data by using a dither mask where thresholds are set for the printing pixels and comparing the gradation values of the pixels which configure the original image and the thresholds for the printing pixels which are set in the dither mask, with the thresholds equal to a predetermined value or less being assigned in the dither mask such that the thresholds equal to the predetermined value or less are regularly arranged in the dither mask, and the thresholds exceeding the predetermined value being assigned in the dither mask such that the degree of regularity of the dots is reduced as the gradation values increase in a case where the gradation values which are represented by the image data exceed the predetermined value, in the half-toning process.

5. A control method for a printing apparatus which performs printing on a printing medium, comprising:

generating dot data which indicates a dot formation state for each printing pixel of the printing image which is to be formed on the printing medium by performing a half-toning process with regard to image data which represents gradation values of each pixel which configures an original image; and

printing a printing image on the printing medium by forming dots at each of the printing pixels according to the dot data,

the generating of the dot data including generating the dot data by using a dither mask where thresholds are set for the printing pixels and comparing the gradation values of the pixels which configure the original image and the thresholds for the printing pixels which are set in the dither mask, with the thresholds equal to a predetermined value or less being assigned in the dither mask such that the thresholds equal to the predetermined value or less are regularly arranged in a dither mask, and the threshold exceeding the predetermined value being assigned in the dither mask such that the degree of regularity of the dots is reduced as the gradation values increase in a case where the gradation values which are represented by the image data exceed the predetermined value, in the half-toning process.

6. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a control program for a printing apparatus which performs printing onto a printing medium and is provided with a printing image generating section, which generates a printing image by forming dots at each printing pixel, and a computer, by the computer functioning as a control unit, the control program comprising instructions for:

controlling a dot data generating section which generates dot data which indicate a dot formation state at each of the printing pixels of the printing image which is to be formed on the printing medium by performing a half-toning process with regard to image data which represents gradation values of each pixel which configures an original image and the printing image generating section so as to generate the printing image by forming dots at each of the printing pixels according to the dot data,

wherein, in the half-toning process, the generating of the dot data includes generating the dot data by using a dither mask where thresholds are set for the printing pixels and comparing the gradation values of the pixels which configure the original image and the thresholds for the printing pixels which are set in the dither mask, with the thresholds equal to a predetermined value or less being assigned in the dither mask such that the thresholds equal to the predetermined value or less are regularly arranged in the diether dither mask, and the thresholds exceeding the predetermined value being assigned in the dither mask such that the degree of regularity of the dots is reduced as the gradation values are increased in a case where the gradation values which are represented by the image data exceed the predetermined value.