A method is provided for pre-processing an image to be printed. The pre-processing is performed with a processor of a hand-held camera. The method involves the step of capturing an image with an image sensor of the camera including a Bayer color filter array (CFA). The captured image includes a plurality of color pixel blocks. The captured image is linearized using look-up tables to form a linearized image. The linearized image is planarized to form a planarized image including a plurality of image planes each relating to a respective color.