Patent ID: 7009731

Claim:
An image processing apparatus converting an input signal representing a level in density of each pixel with a predetermined number of tones, into a signal with a number of tones smaller than said predetermined number of tones, comprising: a first outputter comparing said input signal having a level in density falling within a first range with a first threshold value to output a signal of a first tone or a second tone; a second outputter comparing said input signal having a level in density falling within a second range subsequent to said first range with a second threshold value to output a signal of said second tone or a third tone; a switcher determining for each pixel from the level in density of said input signal which of said first and second outputters should be used, and accordingly switching between said first and second outputters; and a corrector using a difference between the level in density of said input signal and a signal output from one of said first and second outputters to calculate a correction value correcting the level in density of a subsequent pixel and apply said correction value for correction, wherein when said first outputter is switched to said second outputter, or vise versa, a symbol of the correction value calculated by said corrector is inverted.