Patent · US Expired

Multilevel screening for color laser printer

US6185008A · kind A · utility

3Cited by
13References
21Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 29, 1999
Grant dateFeb 6, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 29, 2019

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04N1/40087
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Tone reproduction of an image is improved by the use of error diffusion or dithering in the mapping of input pixel values on an input values scale to printer pixel values on a printer values scale, where the input values scale and the printer values scale both have more than two levels, to generate an image where a spatial average of printer values approximates a spatial average of the corresponding input values, as measured on the printer values scale. To improve the tone reproduction of reduced-resolution images, the printer pixel values are grouped into multi-pixel cells, printer pixel values within each cell are mapped to a font index value, and a font cell corresponding to the index level is printed at the location of the cell. The font set is chosen such that differences in total deposited ink between consecutive font cells is minimized. In the font cell having a font index value of zero all printer pixel values are zero, in the font cell having a font index value of one all printer pixel values are zero except for a single pixel having an isolated-single-pixel cutoff value, and as the font index value of subsequent font cells is incremented a printer pixel value is increment…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.