Patent ID: 7817303

Claim:
An image processing device for outputting an image from image data, comprising: a determination unit configured to determine a size by which to divide the image data into pixel groups based on a resolution of the image data and a size of a printed output of the image; a dividing unit configured to divide, according to the determined size, the image data into a plurality of pixel groups, each of the pixel groups comprising a plurality of pixels; an averaging unit configured to average, for each of the pixel groups, luminance values of the pixels; a calculation unit configured to calculate, for each group, the chroma value from the averaged luminance values; a highly chromatic pixel group extraction unit configured to extract, out of the plurality of pixel groups, a plurality of highly chromatic pixel groups, each of whose averaged chroma value is higher than a predetermined value; a determining unit configured to determine an adjoined pixel group comprising a plurality of the extracted highly chromatic pixel groups of a particular color adjoining each other; a concentration calculation unit configured to calculate a concentration level for the adjoined pixel group, wherein the concentration level indicates a ratio of the area coverage of the adjoined pixel group to the area coverage of the image; a parameter setting unit configured to set a chroma parameter for a chroma of the adjoined pixel group such that (a) the chroma is suppressed when the concentration level for the adjoined pixel group is high, and (b) the chroma is emphasized when the concentration level for the adjoined pixel group is low; and a correction unit configured to correct the adjoined pixel group of the image data using the parameter set by the parameter setting unit, to produce a modified image data.