Patent ID: 7880932

Claim:
An image processing method for generating a halftone-dot image, the image processing method comprising: receiving an input image signal; generating first binarized data D01 representing a halftone-dot that is represented by a plurality of dots and corresponds to an intensity of the input image signal; generating second binarized data D02 representing a plurality of dots in response to the intensity of the image signal when the intensity of the image signal is in a first predetermined range, the generating second binarized data including selecting profile data according to at least one of a gap-size fixed system and a gap-size variable system, generating third binarized data D03 when the intensity of the image is in a second predetermined range; generating a binarized recording signal Dout, wherein Dout=D01−(D02−D03); changing a part of dots that are inside contour dots of the halftone dot that is represented by the first binarized data to non-output dots based on the second binarized data, wherein the contour dots of the halftone-dot represented by the first binarized data are output dots that contribute to forming of a contour of the halftone-dot to obtain halftone-dot data; outputting the halftone-dot data; and when the intensity of the image signal is not within the first predetermined range, outputting the generated first binarized data.