Patent ID: 8284453

Claim:
An image processing apparatus comprising: an image segmentation unit that divides image information into image areas in a first direction; a random number memory that stores random numbers; a reference position determination unit that determines a reference position in a first pixel line extending in the first direction and in a first line extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, the reference position being different from another reference position in a second pixel line extending in the first direction and in a second line extending in the second direction, the first line being different from the second line, the reference position to be referred to for determining a pixel as a target to be subjected to correction processing; a pixel determination unit that determines the pixel as a target to be subjected to the correction processing, for each of the image areas, according to the random numbers stored in the random number memory and according to the reference position determined by the reference position determination unit, among pixels in each of the image areas; and an image width change unit that performs the correction processing on the pixel determined by the pixel determination unit, to change an image width of the image information in the first direction, wherein an offset value between the reference position in the second pixel line and the reference position in the first pixel is determined based on a length of the image area in a main scanning direction.