1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, an image forming method, and a computer-readable recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are conventionally-known image forming apparatuses that form images on a recording medium, such as sheet, by using colorless and transparent toner in addition to colored toner of CMYK, or the like. Furthermore, in order to utilize the above-described image forming apparatuses, there is a known technology for achieving visual surface effects by attaching control data to document data, such as “control code for providing predetermined glossy texture to the surface of an image although it is hard to be recognized as a pattern” or “control code for specifying a pattern that may be definitely recognized as a pattern”.
For example, there is a disclosed printing control device that applies a visual effect to a recording medium (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2012-083736). Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2012-083736 discloses the configuration of the printing control device that processes the gloss-control plate data that specifies the gloss control value for determining the type of surface effect to be applied and its area on the recording medium on a pixel by pixel basis.
However, according to the above-described conventional technology for applying visual surface effects, the control code, processed by a raster image processor (RIP), is replaced with a pattern. Therefore, if images are recorded after the document data is reduced in size, e.g., images are combined before they are formed on a recording medium, the pattern of the transparent toner is used without being reduced in size; therefore, there is a problem in that it is difficult to achieve the desired visual surface effect.
In view of the conventional problem, there is a need to provide an image forming apparatus, an image forming method, and a computer-readable recording medium having a computer program that make it possible to achieve the desired visual surface effect even in a case where an image is recorded on a recording medium after the document data is reduced or enlarged in size.