Patent ID: 8223401

Claim:
An image processing apparatus comprising: an information acquiring unit that acquires information indicating whether a color material used at least for image formation is saved; and an image-information generating unit that creates, when the information acquiring unit acquires the information for saving the color material, image information using the color material of which consumption is saved, wherein the information acquiring unit is an image-information acquiring unit that acquires image information for an original image and saving-status information indicating whether the color material used for image formation is saved, the image-information generating unit is an image-information creating unit that creates image information for color-material saving for saving color material usage, being image formation information for causing an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording material to form the image, when the saving-status information is information for saving the color material, and that creates normal image information when the saving-status information is information for not saving the color material, the image-information creating unit creates information, being the image information for color-material saving, to which information for notification image indicating saving condition is added so as to notify that the image is formed under color-material saving condition, the image-information acquiring unit is configured so as to acquire saved-amount information indicating how much amount of a color material is saved with respect to an amount of the color material required to form the original image, the image-information creating unit creates information, being the image information for color-material saving, which is image information indicating that the image can be formed by a color-material saved amount indicated by the saved-amount information and which is added with a saved-amount notification image for notifying the saved-amount information, the image information for color-material saving is image information for saving a color material only on a specific type of image in a plurality of types of images contained in the original image, the image-information creating unit determines whether the specific type of image is contained in the original image, and, when the specific type of image is not contained therein, creates information without the information for the notification image, being the image information for color-material saving, even if the saving-status information indicates that the color material is saved, or creates the normal image information being the image formation information, instead of the image information for color-material saving, and the image-information creating unit creates information, being the image information for color-material saving, formed by superimposing the specific type of image and the notification image on each other.