Printing method, device, and program, computer-readable recording medium, printing device control program and method, and printing data generation device, program, and method

A printing device comprising:

• a printing section that prints an image of a plurality of pixels by discharging a plurality of size-varying ink droplets each representing a tone of the corresponding pixel;
• and
• a correction section that corrects any of the tones in accordance with a tone curve that serves as a criterion for a tone correction and defines a tone relationship in terms of before and after the tone correction;
• wherein the printing section prints the image with the tone corrected in the correction section using any of the droplets of a size corresponding to the corrected tone.

A printing device, comprising:

• a printing head including a printing element that is capable of forming a plurality types of dots each corresponding to each of M tones (M≧3) represented by each pixel of an image;
• an image data acquisition unit that acquires image data of pixel values each representing each of the tones of the pixels of the image;
• a dot selection unit that selects from the type-varying dots, for each of the pixel values of the acquired image data, a dot corresponding to each of the tones represented by the pixel values;
• a printing data generation unit that generates, based on the selection result derived for each of the pixel values, printing data in which each of the pixel values is defined by the dot;
• a printing unit that prints, based on the printing data, an image of the image data using the printing head;
• a characteristics information extraction unit that extracts characteristics information from the acquired image data;
• an image type determination unit that determines an image of the acquired image data based on the extracted characteristics information;
• wherein based on the extracted characteristics information, the dot selection unit selects, for any of the pixel values of the acquired image data showing predetermined details of the characteristic information, any of the dots corresponding to any of the tones different from the tone of the pixel value;
• and
• wherein based on the determined image, for any of the dots corresponding to each of the M tones, the dot selection unit determines a tone range for use for a selection process.