Method for encoding rendering hints into a bitmap image
AssigneeSharp Laboratories of America, Inc.
InventorAndrew R. Ferlitsch
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods, systems and software are disclosed for embedding and using rendering hints in a bitmap image. Print objects (204)(304) are determined by an application (202)(302). In a modified bitmap driver process (208)(308), internal objects are formed, and rendering hints are assigned to each internal object (410). These rendering hints are embedded in the output bitmap image (210)(310) without increasing its size by reusing selected bit planes (314)(440). Output quality is maintained by reusing the least significant bit planes and then masking those planes (622) during the output device (firmware) RIP process (630).
Claims20
A digital document processing system comprising:
- an application for creating a digital document and providing document data comprising a plurality of print objects;
- a color bitmap driver for receiving the print objects and forming a set of internal objects responsive to the print objects;
- the color bitmap driver producing a bitmap output image of the internal objects, the bitmap output image including embedded rendering hints;
- and
- an output device, the output device arranged to execute a firmware process to receive the bitmap image from the color bitmap driver, extract the embedded rendering hints from the bitmap image, and apply the extracted rendering hints in rendering the bitmap image data into output device engine ready data.
A method for encoding rendering hints into a bitmap image, the method comprising:
- receiving a description of a digital document in which the description defines a plurality of print objects;
- converting the print objects into a plurality of internal objects;
- for each internal object, deriving a corresponding rendering hint for use in rendering the document on an output device;
- tagging at least one internal object with the corresponding rendering hint;
- and
- forming an output bitmap image of the received digital document, the bitmap image including both the internal objects and the corresponding rendering hints for each internal object that was tagged with a hint.
A firmware program comprising executable code stored in machine-readable media for execution in a processor of a document output device, the firmware program including:
- code to receive input bitmap image data;
- code to render the input bitmap image data into raster output data;
- and
- code to extract rendering hint data from at least one lower bitplane of the input bitmap image data;
- and
- wherein the extracted rendering hint data is used as input to the rendering code to render the input bitmap image data into the raster output data.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.