Patent ID: 7933446

Claim:
A method, performed by a device having a processor, of detecting images and text in a master copy, the method comprising: choosing a first background color from the master copy, wherein the master copy includes an image portion, a text portion, and an empty portion containing neither an image nor text; condensing the master copy based at least in part on the first background color by omitting the empty portion to create a condensed copy of the master copy, the condensed copy containing the image portion and the text portion; transversely and vertically dividing the entirety of the condensed copy into a plurality of first areas; for each of the first areas choosing a second background color from the first area; determining whether the first area includes the image portion or the text portion based at least in part on the second background color; if the first area includes the image portion, marking the first area as an image area; if the first area includes the text portion, marking the first area as a text area; and if a determination that the first area includes the image portion or the text portion is not made, then either marking the first area as an image area, or replacing the first background color with the second background color; condensing the first area based at least in part on the second background color; transversely and vertically dividing the first area into a plurality of second areas; and for each of the second areas determining whether the second area includes the image portion or the text portion based at least in part on the second background color; if the second area includes an image portion, marking the second area as an image area; and if the second area includes a text portion, marking the second area as a text area, wherein at least one first area is marked as an image area in response to the determination that the at least one first area includes the image portion or the text portion not being made; processing, by the device, the image areas with halftone processing; processing, by the device, the text areas with line art processing; and outputting the processed images and processed text as a whole.