JP2009282632A - Recording system and its profile generation method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To generate a highly precise profile while enhancing convenience in an operator by preventing the recording and color measurement of a useless patch. <P>SOLUTION: The profile is generated based on the color measurement result of a color measuring instrument by the use of a recording system including: a host computer; a printer for recording the plurality of patches on a recording medium; and the color measuring instrument for performing the color measurement of the plurality of patches. The ink reception amount of the recording medium is determined, and then, the printer is controlled so as to suppress the recording of the patch where recording is performed by the ink whose amount exceeds the ink reception amount. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording system and a profile creation method thereof.

  In a device such as a printer or monitor that is connected to the host computer and outputs an image based on the image data generated by the host computer, an image with different color reproduction depending on the characteristics of the device even if the same image data is input Is output. Further, even image data based on the same subject is image data corresponding to an image in which different color reproduction is performed depending on the input device of the image data such as a digital camera and a scanner. Color management is performed in order to reduce differences in output images and generated image data due to differences in devices.

  Color management is performed using profiles. The profile relates to the color relationship of images corresponding to image data input / output in each device. Specifically, the correspondence between color data of a color system independent of the device and color data of the color system unique to the device is described. The color data of the color system independent of the device includes CIE (Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage) XYZ and L * a * b *. In addition, device-specific color data includes device-specific color data such as RGB (red, green, blue) and CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black).

  For example, the printer uses a CMYK profile among ICC profiles that are in a format defined by the ICC (International Color Consortium). This is a conversion table in which mutual conversion values of values expressed by L * a * b * (L * a * b * values) and values expressed by CMYK (CMYK values) are described. In order to create a CMYK profile for a color printer that outputs based on CMYK color data, it is necessary to create a conversion table that converts L * a * b * values into CMYK values. Conventionally, CMYK profiles have been created by the following procedures (1) to (3).

(1) Generation and printing of patch data In general, a printer profile is created by outputting a standard rectangular image (patch) from the printer and measuring the color with a dedicated color measuring device such as a spectrophotometer. Is required. Since the color reproduction characteristics of color printers are non-linear, the number of colors to be measured is usually several hundred to several thousand. For example, 625 types (5 × 5 × 5 × 5) of patch data in which C, M, Y, and K are combined in five levels of 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% recording density And 625 types of patches based on the patch data are printed.

(2) Color measurement of patches 625 types of printed patches are measured with a spectrophotometer, and L * a * b * values of the respective patches are obtained. By the color measurement of each patch, the correspondence between the CMYK value and the L * a * b * value of each patch is obtained.

(3) Creation of conversion table for converting L * a * b * values into CMYK values Based on the correspondence between CMYK values and L * a * b * values of each patch, a certain L * a * b * value Repeat the interpolation calculation of the CMYK values. Thus, a conversion table for converting L * a * b * values into CMYK values is created.

  Conventionally, in order to create a CMYK profile, patches are printed with all combinations of a plurality of predetermined recording densities for each color of C, M, Y, and K (see Patent Document 1).

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a conventional patch recording method. 5 (C) × 5 (M) × 5 (Y) × 5 (K) = 625 by combining each color of C, M, Y, and K at 5 recording densities from 25% from 0% to 100% It shows how each patch was recorded.
JP 2002-330302 A

  However, since the above-described conventional technology records patches with all combinations of a plurality of predetermined recording densities for each color of C, M, Y, and K, the recording time and colorimetric time can be increased by increasing the number of patches. Has become a heavy burden on the operator.

  On the other hand, since a conversion table for converting L * a * b * values into CMYK values is created from L * a * b * values obtained by patch colorimetry, the number of patches must be set to create a highly accurate profile. I had to increase it. In addition, when using a recording apparatus that performs recording using inks of colors other than CMYK, such as red (R) and green (G), R and G are created in order to create a profile including R and G. It was necessary to increase the number of patches corresponding to the. In order to record such a large number of patches, it may be necessary to record patches across a plurality of recording media.

  By the way, recording media used in ink jet printers have different amounts of ink received depending on their types. In addition, when ink is applied beyond the amount of ink that can be received by the recording medium, the ink overflows on the recording medium, and the quality of the recorded image may deteriorate. Therefore, since recording is not normally performed at a recording density that exceeds the amount of ink received by the recording medium, recording is not performed with a combination of ink and recording density that achieves such a recording density. Is not used in profiles. For this reason, recording and colorimetry of patches corresponding to the combinations are useless.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to create a highly accurate profile while improving operator convenience by preventing useless patch recording and colorimetry.

The present invention for solving the above-described problems is to record a plurality of patches on a recording medium by using a host computer and a plurality of different color inks to vary at least one of the combination of the inks and the respective recording densities. A recording system that includes a printer capable of measuring color and a color measurement device capable of measuring colors of the plurality of patches, and creates a profile based on a color measurement result of the color measurement device,
Determining means for determining an ink receiving amount of the recording medium;
Control means for controlling the printer to suppress recording of a patch in which an amount of ink exceeding the ink receiving amount is recorded;
It is characterized by providing.

Another aspect of the present invention for solving the above-described problems is that a host computer and a plurality of patches are recorded on a recording medium by differentiating at least one of the combination of the inks and the respective recording densities by a plurality of different color inks. A profile creation method for creating a profile based on a colorimetric result of the colorimetric device, in a recording system comprising a printer capable of recording in a colorimeter and a colorimetric device capable of colorimetrically measuring the plurality of patches Because
A determination step of determining an ink acceptance amount of the recording medium;
A control step for controlling the printer to suppress recording of patches in which an amount of ink exceeding the ink receiving amount is recorded;
It is characterized by having.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to create a highly accurate profile while improving operator convenience by preventing useless patch recording and colorimetry.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

  In this specification, “recording” (hereinafter also referred to as “printing”) is not only for forming significant information such as characters and figures, but also for images on a wide range of recording media, regardless of significance. A case where a pattern, a pattern, or the like is formed or a medium is processed is also expressed. It does not matter whether it has been made obvious so that humans can perceive it visually.

  “Recording medium” refers not only to paper used in general recording apparatuses but also widely to cloth, plastic film, metal plate, glass, ceramics, wood, leather, and the like that can accept ink. Shall.

  The term “ink” should be broadly interpreted in the same way as the definition of “recording”. When applied to a recording medium, the “ink” forms an image, a pattern, a pattern, or the like, or processes the recording medium. It represents a liquid that can be subjected to the treatment. Examples of the ink treatment include solidification or insolubilization of the colorant in the ink applied to the recording medium.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a recording system to which the present invention can be applied.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a host computer that controls the entire recording process. Reference numeral 102 denotes a printer that records patches on the recording medium 103. Reference numeral 104 denotes a color measurement device for measuring the color of the patch of the recording medium 105 on which the patch is recorded. The host computer 101 generates patch data and outputs the patch data to the printer 102, while inputting the color measurement result (color measurement data) of the color measurement device 104 to create a profile of the printer 102.

  In this embodiment, the printer 102 is an inkjet printer, and receives image data from the host computer 101. Based on the received image data, a plurality of colors of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), black (K), or more than five colors including other colors are used by an inkjet method. A recorded image is formed on a recording medium using ink. The printer 102 may be an electrophotographic printer or a sublimation printer. The recording medium 103 may be printed with a bar code indicating the type of the recording medium in advance, and information regarding the type of the recording medium used for the host computer 101 may be input.

  In this embodiment, the recording system is such that the host computer 101, the printer 102, and the color measurement device 104 are provided separately, but a recording system in which some or all of these are integrated. It may be.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the host computer and the printer in the recording system of FIG.

  First, the printer 102 will be described. The CPU 301 controls the entire printer 102. A ROM 302 stores a control program for the entire printer 102 and various data. The RAM 303 writes and reads various data when the printer 102 operates. A communication interface (communication I / F) 304 is a communication unit for communicating with the outside. A recording head holder 306 fixes a detachable recording head 305 to the printer 102. The ink tank holder 308 fixes a removable ink tank 307 to the printer 102. Each component of the printer 102 is connected by a system bus 310. Further, the printer 102 is provided with a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor (temperature / humidity sensor 309) capable of measuring temperature and humidity.

  Next, the host computer 101 will be described. The CPU 201 controls the entire host computer 101. The HDD 202 and FDD 203 store a boot program, various application software, image information, a recording setting file, a printer driver, and the like. The ROM 204 stores various data and programs. The RAM 205 is used for writing and reading various data. Connected to the VRAM 206 is a CRT 207 that provides an image display and recording setting screen to the user. A communication interface (communication I / F) 208 is a communication means for performing communication with the outside. A system bus 209 connects each component of the host computer 101. A colorimetric device 104 is connected to the host computer 101. Further, a keyboard and a pointing device are connected to the host computer 101 via an interface (not shown), and input such as the type of recording medium to be used can be received.

  The host computer 101 and the printer 102 are connected by a communication cable 300. Here, the communication cable 300 may be a general-purpose cable such as a parallel cable, a SCSI cable, a serial cable, a network cable, or a dedicated cable. Image data is transmitted from the host computer 101 to the printer 102, and the printer 102 performs recording based on the image data.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the profile creation method of this embodiment.

  First, in step S110, the operator inputs the type of the recording medium on which the patch is recorded by the host computer 101. In addition to plain paper, there are many types of recording media such as coated paper, photo glossy paper, and fine art paper depending on the application. Note that a reading device is provided in the printer 102 so that the type of the recording medium to be used can be determined by reading a barcode indicating the type of the recording medium printed on the recording medium. A configuration in which the host computer 101 can automatically determine the type of the recording medium from the information on the recording medium input from the printer 102 may be adopted.

  Next, in step S120, patch data is generated.

  Next, in step S130, based on the type of recording medium input in step S110, the type of printer that performs printing, the type of ink to be used, the environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity, and the patch data generated in step S120. To record the patch.

  Next, in step S140, the color measured in step S130 is measured using the colorimetric device 104.

  Finally, in step S150, a profile is created based on the colorimetric data of the patch colorimetrically measured by the host computer 101 using the colorimetric device 104 in step S140.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a patch recording method based on the patch data in the present embodiment. FIG. 3 shows a state in which each patch is recorded on plain paper corresponding to an ink amount corresponding to a recording density of 150% based on the generated patch data.

  When C, M, Y, and K inks are combined at different recording densities every 20% from 0% to 100%, 6 (C) × 6 (M) × 6 (Y) × 6 (K) There are combinations corresponding to 1296 patches. In the patch data generation method of the present embodiment, the combined recording densities of C, M, Y, and K inks are added, and the recording of the patch with the added recording density exceeding 150% is not performed. In this way, the number of patches to be recorded can be significantly reduced by excluding patches for which the added recording density exceeds 150% from the target of profile creation and not recording this patch.

  An example of calculation related to whether or not the patch shown in FIG. 3 is recorded is shown below.

  A patch having 0% recording density for C, M, Y, and K is recorded because the total recording density is 0%.

  For patches with a C recording density of 20% and M, Y, and K recording densities of 0%, the total recording density is 20%, and recording is performed.

  A patch having a C recording density of 100% and M, Y, and K recording densities of 0% is recorded because the total recording density is 100%.

  A patch having a C recording density of 100%, a Y recording density of 20%, and M and K recording densities of 0% is recorded because the total recording density is 120%.

  A patch having a C recording density of 100%, M and Y recording densities of 20% and K recording density of 0% is recorded because the total recording density is 140%.

  For patches with a C recording density of 100%, an M recording density of 40%, a Y recording density of 20%, and a K recording density of 0%, the total recording density is 160%, which exceeds 150%. Not recorded.

  Here, information regarding the ink reception amount for each type of recording medium may be stored as a parameter file in the HDD 200 of the host computer 101. In addition, information regarding the amount of ink received for each type of recording medium may be stored in the ROM 302 or the like in the printer 102 and output to the host computer 101 as necessary. The amount of ink received varies depending not only on the type of recording medium but also on the type of printer to be used, the type of ink, and the like. Then, the host computer 101 determines the ink reception amount based on this information, and determines a patch to be recorded by the printer 102.

  Further, the ink acceptance amount may be corrected according to environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity around the printer. In an environment where it is difficult to dry the ink, if an amount of ink close to the upper limit of the acceptable amount is applied to the recording medium, the recording medium may wave and the recording head may come into contact with the recording medium. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the recording head from coming into contact with the recording medium by correcting the ink acceptance amount according to the environmental conditions.

  If the color of a patch that has not been recorded because it exceeds the ink acceptance amount can be expressed by another ink combination, the other ink combination is used in profile creation. For example, a color corresponding to a patch having a C, M, and Y recording density of 100% and a K recording density of 0% has a C, M, and Y recording density of 0% and a K recording density of 100%. The profile to be recorded by replacing with. In this way, it is possible to create a profile based on a patch that has a low recording density and can be recorded for colors that are not recorded due to the high recording density, and can be profiled with high accuracy. Become.

  By the way, with the arrangement of patches as shown in FIG. 3, there is a blank space where a patch is not recorded. As shown in FIG. 5, a large number of patches are recorded on one recording medium by arranging and arranging patches to be actually recorded in a recording area in which recording of patches whose recording is suppressed is assumed. Can do. In order to create a high-accuracy profile, more patches are required, and in a printer that further uses ink such as R and G, more patches are required. Therefore, by arranging and arranging in this way, it is possible to reduce the total number of recording media necessary for creating a profile.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a recording system to which the present invention can be applied. It is a flowchart of the profile creation method of this embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the recording method of the patch based on the patch data in this embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the recording method of the patch performed conventionally. FIG. 10 is an arrangement diagram of patches when patches are recorded by filling a portion where no patches are recorded. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a host computer and a printer in the recording system of FIG. 1.

Explanation of symbols

101 Host Computer 102 Printer 103 Recording Medium 104 Colorimetric Device 105 Recording Medium 201 with Patches Recorded CPU

Claims (6)

A host computer, a printer capable of recording a plurality of patches on a recording medium by differentiating at least one of a combination of the inks and a recording density of each of the inks with different colors; and the plurality of patches. A recording system that creates a profile based on a color measurement result of the color measurement device, comprising a color measurement device capable of performing color measurement,
Determining means for determining an ink receiving amount of the recording medium;
Control means for controlling the printer to suppress recording of a patch in which an amount of ink exceeding the ink receiving amount is recorded;
A recording system comprising: The host computer, the printer, and the color measuring device are provided separately,
The recording system according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit and the control unit are provided in the host computer.   The recording system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit records another patch in a recording area where recording of the patch whose recording is suppressed is assumed. At least one of a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor;
Correction means for correcting the ink acceptance amount determined by the determination means based on at least one of the temperature measured by the temperature sensor and the humidity measured by the humidity sensor;
The recording system according to claim 1, further comprising: The plurality of different color inks are cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks,
The color expressed on the recording medium by the cyan, magenta and yellow inks can be expressed by the black ink with an ink amount lower than the total ink amount of the cyan, magenta and yellow inks. The recording system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: A host computer, a printer capable of recording a plurality of patches on a recording medium by differentiating at least one of a combination of the inks and a recording density of each of the inks with different colors; and the plurality of patches. A profile creation method for creating a profile based on a color measurement result of the color measurement device in a recording system comprising a color measurement device capable of performing color measurement,
A determination step of determining an ink acceptance amount of the recording medium;
A control step for controlling the printer to suppress recording of patches in which an amount of ink exceeding the ink receiving amount is recorded;
A profile creation method characterized by comprising:

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