Patent ID: 7903288

Claim:
An image processing apparatus comprising: image processing unit configured to perform image processing so as to make the color of a light portion lighter or white in an image obtained by reading an image on a sheet; identifying unit configured to identify a large dot region, in which large dots of a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image consecutively exist, and a small dot region, in which small dots of a copy-forgery-inhibited pattern image consecutively exist, on a resulting image obtained after image processing by the image processing unit; determining unit configured to determine whether a difference between a degree of brightness of the large dot region identified by the identifying unit and a degree of brightness of the small dot region identified by the identifying unit is greater than or equal to a threshold value; and processing unit configured to prohibit printing using the resulting image when the determining unit determines that the difference is less than the threshold value, and to permit printing using the resulting image when the determining unit determines that the difference is greater than or equal to the threshold value.