Image Processing Apparatus That Performs Color Conversion and Image Processing Method

An image processing apparatus comprising:

• a color conversion processing unit configured to perform color conversion from an input color value of a target image to a corresponding output color value to obtain a tentative output color value;
• a color value modulating unit configured to modulate the tentative output color value to integer values by rounding a decimal fraction of each color component of the tentative output color value according to a probability determined from the decimal fraction;
• and
• an output unit configured to output the image according to the color value obtained after the modulation.

An image processing method comprising:

• performing color conversion from an input color value of a target image to a corresponding output color value to obtain a tentative output color value;
• creating modulation candidates, wherein the modulation candidates include combinations of integer values obtained by rounding up or down a decimal fraction of each color component of the tentative output color value;
• selecting a modulation candidate at random and performing modulation by replacing the tentative output color value with the selected modulation candidate;
• and
• outputting the image according to the color value obtained after the modulation.