Patent ID: 7706635

Claim:
A method for scaling an input image, the method comprising steps of: selecting, by a computer processor implementing a computer program, one pixel from the input image; selecting, by the computer processor, a pixel neighborhood comprising a plurality of pixels from the input image, said plurality of pixels neighboring the one pixel from the input image, and the one pixel; comparing, by the computer processor, the pixel neighborhood to a predetermined pattern in order to determine whether the predetermined pattern is present in the pixel neighborhood; and obtaining, by the computer processor, pixel data for pixels from a scaled image by applying a predetermined scaling algorithm if the predetermined pattern is present in the pixel neighborhood, the pixel data for pixels from the scaled image being obtained from input image data for at least some pixels from the pixel neighborhood; selecting, by the computer processor, one pixel from the scaled image; selecting, by the computer processor, another pixel neighborhood comprising a plurality of pixels from the scaled image neighboring the one pixel from the scaled image and the one pixel from the scaled image; comparing, by the computer processor, the another pixel neighborhood to another predetermined pattern in order to determine whether the another predetermined pattern is present in the another pixel neighborhood; and obtaining, by the computer processor, pixel data for a processed scaled image by applying a toner scatter compensation algorithm if the another predetermined pattern is present in the another pixel neighborhood, the pixel data for the processed scaled image being obtained from scaled image data for at least some pixels from the pixel neighborhood, wherein applying the predetermined scaling algorithm comprises steps of: providing, by the computer processor, pixel data from at least two pixels in the pixel neighborhood; and obtaining, by the computer processor, from at least one look-up table, pixel data for at least one pixel in the scaled image.