Image processing apparatus which previews both input and edited image data

An image processing apparatus comprising:

• setting means for setting a color process and an edit process;
• discriminating means for discriminating whether or not the color process has been set;
• inputting means for inputting luminance data;
• luminance-to-density conversion means for performing luminance-to-density conversion on the luminance data;
• processing means for performing the edit process on data output from said luminance-to-density conversion means and for performing the color process on the data output from said luminance-to-density conversion means in a case that the color process has been set;
• and
• preview processing means for performing a preview process based on data output from said processing means,
• wherein, in a case that a color process has not been set, said luminance-to-density conversion means does not perform the luminance-to-density conversion and said processing means performs the edit process on the luminance data.

An image processing apparatus comprising:

• input means for inputting image data which corresponds to an original image;
• setting means for setting an editing process;
• editing means for effecting the editing process set by said setting means on the input image data;
• first preview image data output means for providing preview image data which is based on the image data input by said input means;
• second preview image data output means for providing preview image data which is based on the image data which has been subjected to the editing process by said editing means;
• and
• selection means for selecting said first or second preview image data output means based on the editing process set by said setting means;
• wherein the image data input by said input means comprises luminance data, and image data output from said editing means comprises density data, and wherein the apparatus further comprises luminance-density conversion means for converting the luminance data, input by said input means, into density data;
• and
• wherein the editing process effected by said editing means includes a process involving color conversion, and, in a case that said editing process involving the color conversion is not set by said setting means, conversion from the luminance data into the density data is not conducted in said luminance-density conversion means and the editing process in said editing means is conducted with the luminance data.

An image processing method comprising:

• a discriminating step for discriminating whether or not an image editing process has been set;
• an input step for inputting luminance data;
• a luminance-to-density conversion step of converting the luminance data into density data;
• an image processing step of performing the image editing process on the density data produced by said luminance-to-density conversion step in a case that it is descriminated in said discriminating step that the image editing process has been set;
• an outputting step having (1) a first mode to output preview image data based on the luminance data, and (2) a second mode to output preview image data based on the density data subjected to the image editing process;
• and
• a controlling step of controlling said outputting step to operate in the first mode or the second mode based on whether on not it is discriminated in said discriminating step that the image editing process has been set.

An image processing method comprising:

• a setting step of setting a color process and an edit process;
• a discriminating step for discriminating whether or not the color process has been set;
• an inputting step for inputting luminance data;
• a luminance-to-density conversion step of performing luminance-to density conversion on the luminance data;
• a processing step of performing the edit process on data output from said luminance-to-density conversion step and for performing the color process on the data output from said luminance-to-density conversion step in a case that the color process has been set;
• and
• a preview processing step for performing a preview process based on data output in the processing step;
• wherein, in a case that a color process has not been set, said luminance-to-density conversion step does not perform the luminance-to-density conversion and said processing step performs the edit process on the luminance data.