Patent ID: 7110128

Claim:
An image processing apparatus that transmits, via a network, binary image data to an external image recording device, which records an image based on the binary image data, said apparatus comprising: input means for inputting, pixel by pixel, multilevel image data containing gray-scale information; binarization means for binarizing the multilevel image data by using a dot connectivity parameter which is variably controllable to control dot connectivity in a binary image; communication means for communicating with the external image recording device via the network; characteristic-information acquisition means for acquiring, by said communication means, characteristic-information concerning dot reproducibility from the external image recording device, wherein the characteristic-information differs according to a type of the external image recording device; determination means for determining the dot connectivity parameter to be used by the binarization means in accordance with the characteristic-information acquired by said characteristic-information acquisition means; and transmitting means for transmitting image data binarized by said binarization means to the external image recording device, wherein said binarization means binarizes the multilevel image data using the dot connectivity parameter determined by the determination means, and said transmitting means transmits the image data binarized by said binarization means to the external image recording device from which the characteristic-information is acquired.