Image forming apparatus performing halftone processing shifting scan line start position in main-scan direction when scan lines are shifted in sub-scan direction relative to target

1 . An image forming apparatus, comprising:

a photosensitive body;

a scanning unit configured to form an electrostatic latent image using a plurality of scan lines on the photosensitive body by, on a basis of an image signal, performing scanning of the photosensitive body in a main scan direction using one or more scanning beams repeatedly in a sub-scan direction orthogonal to the main scan direction;

a generating unit configured to perform halftone processing on image data and generate the image signal; and

a storing unit configured to store start position information indicating start positions in the main scan direction of the plurality of scan lines,

wherein, in a case where scan positions in the sub-scan direction of the plurality of scan lines are linearly shifted relative to a target position with a period of N (N being an integer of 2 or more) scan lines, the start position information indicates to linearly shift the start positions of N scan lines in the main scan direction along the sub-scan direction.

2 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the scanning unit includes a light source that generates N scanning beams, and

a shift with a period of the N scan lines is caused by a difference between an interval in the sub-scan direction of the N scanning beams at the photosensitive body and a reference interval.

3 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein

the scanning unit is arranged such that the interval in the sub-scan direction of the N scanning beams at the photosensitive body is greater than the reference interval.

4 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the start position information indicates to linearly shift the start positions of the N scan lines to a positive side or a negative side of the main scan direction along the sub-scan direction depending on whether a linear shift with a period of the N scan lines is a shift to a positive side or a negative side of the sub-scan direction relative to the target position and a type of the halftone processing.

5 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein

the type of the halftone processing includes:

the halftone processing of a first type in which a first direction orthogonal to a direction of moire caused by a linear shift with a period of the N scan lines is shifted to a positive side of the main scan direction along the sub-scan direction, and

the halftone processing of a second type in which the first direction is shifted to a negative side of the main scan direction along the sub-scan direction.

6 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein

the type of the halftone processing includes:

the halftone processing of a first type in which a direction of a first vector which forms a smaller angle with the sub-scan direction of two vectors of the halftone processing is shifted to a positive side of the main scan direction along the sub-scan direction, and

the halftone processing of a second type in which the direction of the first vector is shifted to a negative side of the main scan direction along the sub-scan direction.

7 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein

in a case of the generating unit using the halftone processing of the first type and the scan positions of the N scan lines being shifted to a positive side of the sub-scan direction, the start position information indicates to linearly shift the start positions of the N scan lines to a negative side of the main scan direction along the sub-scan direction.

8 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein

in a case of the generating unit using the halftone processing of the first type and the scan positions of the N scan lines being shifted to a negative side of the sub-scan direction, the start position information indicates to linearly shift the start positions of the N scan lines to a positive side of the main scan direction along the sub-scan direction.

9 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein

in a case of the generating unit using the halftone processing of the second type and the scan positions of the N scan lines being shifted to a positive side of the sub-scan direction, the start position information indicates to linearly shift the start positions of the N scan lines to a positive side of the main scan direction along the sub-scan direction.

10 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein

in a case of the generating unit using the halftone processing of the second type and the scan positions of the N scan lines being shifted to a negative side of the sub-scan direction, the start position information indicates to linearly shift the start positions of the N scan lines to a negative side of the main scan direction along the sub-scan direction.

11 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

in a case where an area of a first halftone dot of the halftone processing formed by only the N scan lines in one period of a linear shift of the plurality of scan lines is increased to more than when there is no linear shift of the plurality of scan lines, due to a shift in the start positions of the N scan lines indicated by the start position information, a shape of the first halftone dot is a parallelogram-like shape with a side inclined to an opposite side relative to the sub-scan direction to a first direction orthogonal to a direction of moire caused by a linear shift with a period of the N scan lines.

12 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

in a case where an area of a first halftone dot of the halftone processing formed by only the N scan lines in one period of a linear shift of the plurality of scan lines is decreased to less than when there is no linear shift of the plurality of scan lines, due to a shift in the start positions of the N scan lines indicated by the start position information, a shape of the first halftone dot is a parallelogram-like shape with a side inclined to an identical side relative to the sub-scan direction as a first direction orthogonal to a direction of moire caused by a linear shift with a period of the N scan lines.

13 . An image forming apparatus, comprising:

a photosensitive body;

a scanning unit configured to form an electrostatic latent image using a plurality of scan lines on the photosensitive body by, on a basis of an image signal, performing scanning of the photosensitive body in a main scan direction using one or more scanning beams repeatedly in a sub-scan direction orthogonal to the main scan direction;

a generating unit configured to perform halftone processing on image data and generate the image signal; and

a storing unit configured to store start position information indicating start positions in the main scan direction of the plurality of scan lines,

wherein, in a case where an interval between the plurality of scan lines formed by the scanning unit is shifted such that, with a period of N consecutive intervals along the sub-scan direction, (N−1) consecutive intervals from among the N intervals is a first interval and a remaining one interval is a second interval different from the first interval, the start position information indicates to linearly shift the start positions of N scan lines forming the (N−1) intervals in the main scan direction along the sub-scan direction.