Image processing apparatus, printing apparatus, and image processing method

摘要

Area information is obtained with respect to a specified color and nozzle position having color unevenness. Then, coordinate information indicating a nozzle position corresponding to the above area information is obtained in a printing head or nozzle array corresponding to an ink color relating to the specified color information. Next, the number of candidate correction values or candidate patches is obtained on the basis of nozzle coordinates obtained corresponding to the area, by referring to a table. In this table, for example, the number of candidate correction values is small at a nozzle position where an effect due to the variations of nozzle ejection characteristics such as a nozzle ejection volume is small and a change direction is constant, and the number of candidate correction values is large at a nozzle position where an effect due to variations of nozzle ejection characteristics is large.

主权项

1. An image processing apparatus for printing an image on a print medium by using a first nozzle array in which a plurality of nozzles for ejecting first ink to the print medium are arranged in a predetermined direction and a second nozzle array in which a plurality of nozzles for ejecting second ink to the print medium are arranged in the predetermined direction, said apparatus comprising:
a first printing control unit constructed to control a plurality of nozzle groups, each of which corresponds to each of a plurality of areas on the print medium and each of which includes respective predetermined number of nozzles arranged in each of the first and second nozzle arrays, to be used for printing images on the plurality of areas based on a color signal representing a predetermined color that is reproduced with at least the first and second inks; an acquiring unit constructed to acquire information indicating one of the plurality of areas; and a second printing control unit to control the plurality of nozzle groups to be used for printing a color correction image that includes an image to be printed by using nozzles corresponding to the area indicated by the information acquired by said acquiring unit, based on input color correction signal representing a correction color that is acquired by performing color correction to the color signal representing the predetermined color, and an image to be printed by using nozzles other than the nozzles corresponding to the area indicated by the information acquired by said acquiring unit, based on input color signal representing the predetermined color which has not been subjected to the color correction, wherein said second printing control unit controls the plurality of nozzle groups to be used for printing a plurality of the color correction images that differ from each other in the correction color, said second printing control unit determining the number of printed color correction images according to a position of the area corresponding to the information in the plurality of areas.