Image gloss control apparatus, image forming apparatus, image forming system, and storage medium storing program

An image forming apparatus comprising:

• an image forming/fixing component that forms an image on a recording medium using a colored image formation material and fixes the image;
• and
• an image gloss control apparatus that includes:
• a first control component that controls the image forming/fixing component, which forms the image on the recording medium using the colored image formation material and fixes the image, so that a first image is formed in a high gloss area having a high gloss level on the recording medium or an area including the high gloss area on the recording medium and is fixed to generate a high gloss image in the high gloss area, and
• a second control component that controls the image forming/fixing component, so that a second image having a density lower than a density of the first image is formed in a low gloss area having a gloss level lower than the gloss level of the high gloss area on the recording medium where the first image is formed or the low gloss area on the first image and is fixed,
• wherein the high gloss image is generated without using a transparent toner layer.

An image forming apparatus comprising:

• an image forming/fixing component that forms an image on a recording medium using a colored image formation material and fixes the image;
• a first control component that controls the image forming/fixing component, so that a first image is formed in a high gloss area having a high gloss level on the recording medium or an area including the high gloss area on the recording medium and is fixed at a fixing temperature higher than a predetermined fixing temperature to generate a high gloss image in the high gloss area;
• and
• a second control component that controls the image forming/fixing component, so that a second image having a density lower than a density of the first image is formed in a low gloss area having a gloss level lower than the gloss level of the high gloss area on the recording medium where the first image is formed or the low gloss area on the first image and is fixed at a fixing temperature lower than the fixing temperature controlled by the first control component
• wherein the high gloss image is generated without using a transparent toner layer.

An image forming system, comprising:

• an image gloss control apparatus that includes:
• a first generating component that generates image information indicating a first image, so that the first image is formed in a high gloss area having a high gloss level on a recording medium or an area including the high gloss area on the recording medium and is fixed,
• a second generating component that generates image information indicating a second image, so that the second image having a density lower than a density of the first image is formed in a low gloss area having a gloss level lower than the gloss level of the high gloss area on the recording medium where the first image is formed or the low gloss area on the first image and is fixed, and
• a transmitting component that transmits the image information generated by the first and second generating components;
• and
• an image forming apparatus that includes:
• a receiving component that receives the image information generated by the first and second generating components from the image gloss control apparatus, and
• an image forming/fixing component that forms the first image in the high gloss area on the recording medium or the area including the high gloss area using a colored image formation material, on the basis of the received image information indicating the first image, and fixes the first image to generate a high gloss image in the high gloss area, and that forms the second image in the low gloss area on the recording medium where the first image is formed or the low gloss area on the first image, on the basis of the received image information indicating the second image, and fixes the second image,
• wherein the high gloss image is generated without using a transparent toner layer.

A storage medium readable by a computer, the storage medium storing a program of instructions executable by the computer to perform a function, the function comprising:

• controlling an image forming/fixing component forming an image on a recording medium using a colored image formation material and fixing the image, so that a first image is formed in a high gloss area having a high gloss level on the recording medium or an area including the high gloss area on the recording medium and is fixed to generate a high gloss image in the high gloss area;
• and
• controlling the image forming/fixing component, so that a second image having a density lower than a density of the first image is formed in a low gloss area having a gloss level lower than the gloss level of the high gloss area on the recording medium where the first image is formed or the low gloss area on the first image and is fixed,
• wherein the high gloss image is generated without using a transparent toner layer.