# US 11,115,564 B2 · Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and storage medium > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,115,564 B2 - Document ID: US11115564B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/842,824 - Filed: 2020-04-08 - Published: 2020-10-15 - Granted: 2021-09-07 - Earliest claimed: 2019-04-15 - Assignees: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha - Applicants: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha - Inventors: Tsukasa Doi; Hiromitsu Yamaguchi; Akitoshi Yamada - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11115564B2 ## CPC - B41J 2/21: for multi-colour printing - H04N 1/6097: {depending on the characteristics of the output medium, e.g. glossy paper, matt paper, transparency or fabrics} - B41J 2/2103: {Features not dealing with the colouring process per se, e.g. construction of printers or heads, driving circuit adaptations} - H04N 1/54: Conversion of colour picture signals to a plurality of signals some of which represent particular mixed colours, e.g. for textile printing - H04N 1/6075: {Corrections to the hue} - B41J: TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS - H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION ## Abstract Provided is an image processing apparatus including a generating unit configured to print data to be used in a process of printing a metallic image using a metallic ink containing silver particles in an inkjet printing apparatus capable of ejecting the metallic ink and at least one type of chromatic color ink; and an obtaining unit configured to obtain metallic image data corresponding to a predetermined region on a print medium and indicating a tone in the metallic image. The generation unit generates print data of the metallic ink to be printed in the predetermined region based on the metallic image data and generates print data of the chromatic color ink to be printed in the predetermined region based on the metallic image data obtained by the obtaining unit and pre-stored data indicating the correspondences between tone values of the metallic image data and amounts of the chromatic color ink. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An image processing apparatus comprising: a generation unit configured to generate print data to be used in printing a metallic image using a metallic ink containing silver particles in an inkjet printing apparatus capable of ejecting the metallic ink and at least one type of chromatic color ink; and an obtaining unit configured to obtain metallic image data corresponding to a predetermined region on a print medium and indicating a tone in the metallic image, wherein the generation unit generates print data of the metallic ink to be printed in the predetermined region based on the metallic image data obtained by the obtaining unit and generates print data of the chromatic color ink to be printed in the predetermined region based on the metallic image data obtained by the obtaining unit and pre-stored data indicating correspondences between tone values of the metallic image data and amounts of the chromatic color ink. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the chromatic color ink is an ink of a color that reduces visibility of coloring appearing at an outer periphery of a metallic dot of the metallic ink. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the generation unit generates the print data of the chromatic color ink such that a hue is within ±60 degrees from a direction opposite from a hue of a color of the coloring appearing at the outer periphery of the metallic dot, and a saturation is less than two times a saturation of the color of the coloring. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, the apparatus further comprising a storing unit configured to store the pre-stored data indicating correspondences between tone values of the metallic image data and amounts of the chromatic color ink. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the generation unit performs a first color separation process of performing color separation on the metallic image data obtained by the obtaining unit into image data of a color of each chromatic color ink, and generates the print data of the chromatic color ink by using first image data obtained by the first color separation process. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the obtaining unit further obtains color image data indicating a tone in a color image to be printed with the chromatic color inks, and the generation unit performs a second color separation process of performing color separation on the color image data into image data of the color of each chromatic color ink, and generates the print data of the chromatic color ink by using the first image data and second image data obtained by the second color separation process. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the generation unit calculates a sum of a pixel value of each pixel in the second image data and a pixel value of a corresponding pixel in the first image data, and generates the print data of the chromatic color ink by using image data in which each pixel has the sum. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The image processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the generation unit generates the print data of the chromatic color ink by quantizing the image data in which each pixel has the sum. ### Claim 9 (depends on 5) The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the generation unit determines a pixel value of each pixel in the first image data based on a tone value of a corresponding pixel in the metallic image data. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The image processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein in a case where a tone value of a pixel in the first image data generated by the generation unit has a maximum value, the tone value of a pixel in the metallic image data corresponding to the pixel in the first image data is smaller than a maximum pixel value. ### Claim 11 (depends on 5) The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein for each of unit regions in the metallic image data, the generation unit determines a pixel value of each pixel in the first image data corresponding to the unit region. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The image processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the generation unit determines an adjustment degree of the chromatic color ink for each of the unit regions in the metallic image data, and determines the pixel value of each pixel in the first image data such that the higher the determined adjustment degree, the higher the corresponding pixel value in the first image data. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The image processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein each of the pixels forming the unit regions in the metallic image data is a printing target pixel in which a metallic dot is to be arranged or a pixel in which a metallic dot is not to be arranged. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The image processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the generation unit determines the adjustment degree of the chromatic color ink for each of the unit regions based on the number of other printing target pixels adjoining a printing target pixel in the unit region. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The image processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the generation unit derives a higher adjustment degree for a first pixel among printing target pixels in each of the unit regions than the adjustment degree for a second pixel in the unit region, the first pixel having a smaller number of adjoining other printing target pixels than the second pixel does, and determines a value obtained by adding up the adjustment degrees derived for the printing target pixels in the unit region as the adjustment degree for the unit region. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The image processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the adjoining other printing target pixels are four pixels arranged on upper, lower, left, and right sides of the printing target pixel. ### Claim 17 (depends on 5) The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a setting unit capable of setting a printing mode among a plurality of printing modes according to a type of a print medium onto which to eject the metallic ink, the plurality of printing modes including: a first printing mode in which a pixel value of a predetermined pixel in the first image data obtained from predetermined metallic image data is set at a first value; and a second printing mode in which the pixel value of the predetermined pixel is set at a second value smaller than the first value, wherein the generation unit generates the print data of the metallic ink and the print data of the chromatic color ink based on the printing mode set by the setting unit and the metallic image data obtained by the obtaining unit. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The image processing apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the setting unit sets the first printing mode in a case of using such a print medium that density of silver particles in a single metallic dot formed on a surface of the print medium by ejecting the metallic ink onto the print medium is a first density, and sets the second printing mode in a case of using such a print medium that density of silver particles in a single metallic dot formed on a surface of the print medium is a second density higher than the first density. ### Claim 19 An image processing method, comprising: generating print data to be used in printing a metallic image using a metallic ink containing silver particles in an inkjet printing apparatus capable of ejecting the metallic ink and at least one type of chromatic color ink; and obtaining metallic image data corresponding to a predetermined region on a print medium and indicating a tone in the metallic image, wherein the generating includes generating print data of the metallic ink to be printed in the predetermined region based on the metallic image data obtained in the obtaining and generating print data of the chromatic color ink to be printed in the predetermined region based on the metallic image data obtained in the obtaining and pre-stored data indicating correspondences between tone values of the metallic image data and amounts of the chromatic color ink. ### Claim 20 A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a program which causes a computer to perform an image processing method, the image processing method comprising: generating print data to be used in printing a metallic image using a metallic ink containing silver particles in an inkjet printing apparatus capable of ejecting the metallic ink and at least one type of chromatic color ink; and obtaining metallic image data corresponding to a predetermined region on a print medium and indicating a tone in the metallic image, wherein the generating includes generating print data of the metallic ink to be printed in the predetermined region based on the metallic image data obtained in the obtaining and generating print data of the chromatic color ink to be printed in the predetermined region based on the metallic image data obtained in the obtaining and pre-stored data indicating correspondences between tone values of the metallic image data and amounts of the chromatic color ink.