IMAGE FORMING SYSTEM HAVING AN IMPROVED IMAGING DATA GENERATOR

An image forming system includes an imaging data generator which generates a dot intensity data from each of a series of pixels contained in an input image, each pixel having bits indicative of an intensity of the pixel only, the imaging data generator including a plurality of discrimination patterns to detect the presence of a 1-pixel-thick vertical line or a multipixel-thick line edge in the input image. An optical writing unit modulates an emission power and/or an emission time of a laser diode by using the dot intensity data, and determines the emission power of the laser beam per dot based on the dot intensity data, so that the laser diode emits the laser beam to a photoconductive medium in accordance with the modulation data. When an intensity pattern related to a subject pixel and neighboring pixels thereof matches one of the discrimination patterns, the imaging data generator selects a corrected intensity value corresponding to the matched discrimination pattern as the dot intensity data. When the intensity pattern does not match any of the discrimination patterns, the imaging data generator selects the intensity of the subject pixel as the dot intensity data.