Image processing method and system for performing monochrome/color judgement of a pixelised image

An image processing system for processing a pixelised image, the system comprising:

• a pre-processor for analyzing pixel data representative of said pixelised image in a color space and based thereon determining a gray axis defined as a straight line connecting a white point with a black point, and determining for each pixel of said pixelised image the shortest distance to said gray axis;
• an analyzer for analyzing a relationship between the pixels of said pixelised image in a cumulative histogram, said cumulative histogram being formed by plotting for the pixels of said pixelised image a value of said shortest distance versus a cumulative pixel count being the number of associated pixels having at least said value of said shortest distance;
• and
• a judging unit for judging, based on said relationship between the pixels in said cumulative histogram, whether said pixelised image is to be processed as a monochrome image or a color image.