Image forming method and image forming apparatus
US7385618B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 4, 2005 |
| Grant date | Jun 10, 2008 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 3, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N1/40025
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An image with sufficient gray-scale representation and high resolution is formed on a medium to be recorded, such as an intermediate transfer body, using a thermal printer employing thermal transfer ink. When thermal transfer ink of a thermal transfer ink ribbon 18 is thermally transferred onto an intermediate transfer body 12 by a thermal head 14, gray-scale values of pixels of a filter image having a threshold value pattern used to determine whether each of a plurality of pixels of an original image is an object to be printed, based on gray-scale values of the pixels, are compared with the gray-scale values of the pixels of the original image, and then the gray-scale values of the pixels of the original image are converted based on the result of the comparison. A gray-scale conversion table in which energy applied to the pixels at the time of printing is prescribed corresponding to the gray-scale values of the pixels is compared with the converted gray-scale values of the pixels of the original image, and the converted gray-scale values of the pixels of the original image are further converted on the basis of the result of the comparison. In addition, the application of a current…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.