Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and storage medium

1. An image processing apparatus comprising:

one or more memories storing instructions; and

one or more processors executing the instructions:

to obtain document data before printing;

to set an inspection area that is an inspection target for an image represented by the obtained document data;

to update, in a case when the document data is modified, the set inspection area based on the modified document data; and

to generate, based on the modified document data, a reference image for inspection of a printed material.

2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the set inspection area is stored in association with the document data.

3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, in the updating, the set inspection area is transformed based on the modified document data.

4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, in the setting, an area on the image, designated by a user via a user interface screen, is set as the inspection area, and

the transformed inspection area, which is transformed in accordance with the modified document data, is displayed on the user interface screen.

5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein, in the setting, in accordance with instructions by a user via the user interface screen, the inspection area that is already set at the point in time of the instructions is stored in association with the document data.

6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, in the updating:

an identical object in a correspondence relationship is specified by comparing an object included in the image represented by the document data and an object included in an image represented by the modified document data area;

for each specified identical object, a drawing area in the image represented by the modified document data is calculated; and

based on the calculated drawing area, the set inspection area is transformed.

7. The image processing apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the object included in the image is a text object whose attribute is text, and,

in a case when an inspection area of the text object is included in the set inspection area and a font of a character string represented by the text object is modified in the modified document data, in the updating:

in a case when a drawing area of the text object is enlarged by modification of the font, the set inspection area is transformed in accordance with the enlarged drawing area; and

in a case when the drawing area of the text object is reduced by modification of the font, the set inspection area is transformed in accordance with the reduced drawing area.

8. The image processing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein, in the updating, the set inspection area of the text object is transformed based on a glyph width of each character configuring the character string represented by the text object and drawing position origin information.

9. The image processing apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein, in a case when another object having an attribute other than text is further included in the image, on a condition that an inspection area of the other object is further included in the set inspection area, in the updating:

in a case when the drawing area of the text object changes by modification of the font, the set inspection area of the other object is transformed by geometrical conversion so that a position relationship between the drawing area having changed and the drawing area of the other object is maintained.

10. The image processing apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the other object is an image object whose attribute is an image or a graphics object whose attribute is graphics.

11. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, in the updating, in a case when the set inspection area is an inspection area of a preprint area, the updating is not performed.

12. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, in a case when images corresponding to a plurality of pages are included in the document data, the set inspection area is stored in association with a page number of a corresponding image, and,

in a case when the document data is modified, in the updating, the set inspection area stored in association with the page number is transformed in accordance with the image of the page number in the modified document data.

13. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, in the generating, the reference image is generated without printing based on the document data.

14. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, in the generating, the reference image is generated by Raster Image Processor.

15. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the document data is Page Description Language data.

16. An image processing method comprising the steps of:

obtaining document data before printing;

setting an inspection-target inspection area for an image represented by the obtained document data;

updating, in a case when the document data is modified, the set inspection area based on the modified document data; and

generating, based on the modified document data, a reference image for inspection of a printed material.

17. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to perform an image processing method comprising the steps of:

obtaining document data before printing;

setting an inspection-target inspection area for an image represented by the obtained document data;

updating, in a case when the document data is modified, the set inspection area based on the modified document data; and

generating, based on the modified document data, a reference image for inspection of a printed material.