EP0476035B1 - A method and a system for control of printing processes - Google Patents

A method and a system for control of printing processes Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0476035B1
EP0476035B1 EP19900909639 EP90909639A EP0476035B1 EP 0476035 B1 EP0476035 B1 EP 0476035B1 EP 19900909639 EP19900909639 EP 19900909639 EP 90909639 A EP90909639 A EP 90909639A EP 0476035 B1 EP0476035 B1 EP 0476035B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
colours
colour
printing
pattern
fields
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP19900909639
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German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
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EP0476035A1 (en
Inventor
Bjarne Christian Nielsen
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Individual
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Individual
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Priority to AT90909639T priority Critical patent/ATE88136T1/de
Publication of EP0476035A1 publication Critical patent/EP0476035A1/en
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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41F—PRINTING MACHINES OR PRESSES
    • B41F33/00—Indicating, counting, warning, control or safety devices
    • B41F33/0036—Devices for scanning or checking the printed matter for quality control
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41F—PRINTING MACHINES OR PRESSES
    • B41F33/00—Indicating, counting, warning, control or safety devices
    • B41F33/0081—Devices for scanning register marks

Definitions

  • the invention concerns a method and a system for controling whether the colours printed on a medium in a printing process are placed correctly with respect to each other, i.e. whether they are in register.
  • the medium is printed with a control print in the margin which is subsequently cut away.
  • the control print can e.g. be a cross and may be provided by printing all the colours of the print on the medium so that they form a coinciding and substantially colourless cross.
  • the register of the colours is controlled by inspecting the control print manually, where the operator can observe a shadow on the cross in case of misregister, the shadow of the colour depending upon the displaced colour.
  • This technique has the drawback that the displacement is observed by random sampling, so that quite large amounts of print may be out of register before the damage is discovered. These prints must then be rejected if they do not satisfy the quality requirements.
  • control marks comprise a structure of partially overlapping lines.
  • the control marks are controlled with measuring equipment detecting the relationship between a print area and a nonprint area. The detection must be made for each of the colours with respect to black. It is a serious drawback of this art that paper is used for separate control marks for each colour to control registration with black. Further, it takes a long time to perform the many control measurements. This problem increases with the number of colours.
  • Another US Patent Specification 4 546 700 discloses a corresponding system, but with a different control mark, where the colours are printed individually with a black margin, following which the relationship between the areas of the coloured field and a complementary white field within the margin is used for controlling the printing unit. Since, here too, the registration of the printing units is controlled individually with respect to the black margin, the above-mentioned drawbacks are also present here.
  • the mutual positions of the register marks indicate the register of the inking units of a printing system.
  • the register marks may e.g. be concentric circles of different diameters. This register of one or more inking units is detected by measuring the mutual distance of the circles. Though this measurement is performed using video technique and sophisticated data processing, it is a relatively slow process, in particular if more than 2-3 different inking units are present. Nor is it easy for an operator to inspect the register marks visually since misregister is to be of a certain size before being detectable.
  • the object of the invention is to provide a method and a system to detect whether the colours in a print are placed correctly with respect to each other. Further, the system may advantageously be designed such that it is possible, on the basis of the detected colour of the control print, to generate control signals capable of correcting the printing device causing the misregistration, which can be done without interruption of the printing process.
  • This object is achieved in that a characteristic pattern coinciding for the colours is printed on the medium, said pattern leaving a plurality of evenly distributed, uncoloured fields, and detecting the colours of the fields which are uncoloured when correctly positioned.
  • the pattern coinciding for the colours appears by printing register marks for respective inking units on each other to form a control field with a characteristic pattern.
  • This pattern has fields with ink and is produced by printing together the colours incorporated in the print, for which reason these fields will be colourless (grey or black), as well as fields without ink and therefore with the colour of the medium, which is normally white.
  • At least two and preferably four identical base patterns preferably with black colour are printed on the medium. These base patterns are then printed with the characteristic patterns coinciding for the colours, which can be formed in pairs by complementary parts of the base pattern. Since the pattern coinciding for the colours is printed on the base pattern and is contained in it, registration will make it appear as if it was only the base pattern that was printed on the medium. When one of the printing devices is displaced, the colour detectable on the usually uncoloured background in the base patterns will depend upon the direction in which the printing device is displaced. The order of the printing of the colours is of secondary importance.
  • Fig. 1 shows a printing unit 10 with associated colour control equipment 20.
  • a printing medium which is a web 5 of paper in this case, is moved past the printing machine 10, where its printing devices 11-19 apply colour to the paper web.
  • the printing machine contains one printing device per colour and typically has a total of 2-9 devices. These printing devices 11-19 apply colour to the paper web 5 to form the actual colour image, and in addition also a plurality of control prints which will be described later.
  • the colour of the control prints is measured with the colour control equipment 20 comprising a light source 22 and a colour detector 24.
  • the colour control equipment may e.g. be of the type stated in the Danish Patent Application 5875/87.
  • the colour control equipment 20 generates an output signal in response to the measured colour, which is added through a connection 26 to a register control system 30 capable of adjusting the individual printing devices upon adjustment of the print and during printing, so that the print can be moved in the longitudinal and transverse direction of the paper web, i.e. be x-y controlled. This control can take place through the signal path 32.
  • the colour control equipment 20 typically has three sensors, which are sensitive in the green, the red and the blue spectral range respectively.
  • the intensity measured by the sensors in the red and the green spectral bands is normalized with the sum of the measured intensities in the three spectral bands. This provides two figures between 0 and 1 which can be related to a so-called CIE colour coordination system which is shown in fig. 2.
  • the relative intensity measured with the red sensor is plotted on the x axis of the system of coordinates, while the relative intensity measured with the green sensor is plotted on the y axis of the system of coordinates.
  • the pure spectral colours will be plotted on a substantially horseshoe-shaped curve.
  • the system of coordinates will have a colourless point E with the coordinates (0.33, 0.33).
  • the blue spectral colour will be represented in the blue point A in the horseshoe, while B is the green point, C the yellow point and D the red point. Blends between the colours will be represented on connecting lines between the respective colour points, where e.g. blends between red and blue will be represented on the connecting line between A and D, which applies e.g. for the colours violet, lilac and magenta. If the colour measuring region consists of a blend of grey, i.e. uncoloured regions, and yellow, the measurement result will be on the connecting line between E and C.
  • Fig. 6 shows some patterns with which it is possible to detect colour displacement, but it is not possible to detect in which direction the colour has been displaced.
  • the control device 30 must either cause the printing unit 10 to stop automatically, or sound an alarm signal which can tell the operator that at least one of the colours is out of register.
  • the patterns in question leaving an evenly distributed number of uncoloured fields can e.g. comprise a first plurality of parallel lines, with an optionally corresponding number of intersecting lines, which appears from fig. 6a.
  • Another applicable pattern may consist of parallel lines as shown in fig. 6b, which, however, has the limitation that displacement longitudinally along the lines cannot readily be detected.
  • the design may consist of dots as appears from fig. 6c.
  • the pattern may also consist of screen fields, which, as shown in fig. 6e, consist of four-sided fields with a line in parallel with the diagonal, where the area below the line is provided with colour, while the area above the line is uncoloured.
  • a figure in % can indicate how great a portion of the entire field is provided with colour.
  • these patterns can only be used for detecting whether a colour has been displaced.
  • Fig. 3 shows how the control fields are placed in the preferred embodiment. Forwardly there is a plurality of preferably four-sided control fields 41, which are fields with a coverage of 100%. Then follows a plurality of control fields 42 where the screen coverage corresponds to 50%. The number of control fields 41 as well as 42 corresponds to the number of colours or devices. With the control fields 41 it is possible to place the measured colours in the colour system coordinates shown in fig. 2. It is moreover possible to identify which colour originates from the individual devices.
  • the control fields 42 may be used for controlling the point extension and thereby e.g. controlling the viscosity of the inks which can be changed by filling new ink.
  • control prints 43 to 46 which may likewise be composed as screen fields, but may advantageously have a chessboard chequered black base print.
  • a pattern characteristic of the colours is then printed on top of this, said pattern being substantially formed by base pattern parts complementary in pairs.
  • Fig. 4 shows an enlarged section of these patterns where the patterns characteristic of the colours, in case of correct positioning of the colours, are within one half of the black checks of the chessboard pattern divided by the diagonal.
  • the checks indicated by 50 will be without ink and can assume the colour the background material, e.g. paper, has.
  • the triangular fields 52 and 51 will be dark colourless areas, both of which have received dark colourless ink, preferably black.
  • the regions 51 are moreover printed with the characteristic pattern coinciding for the colours, which will appear colourless owing to the blend of several colours and will be difficult to distinguish from the areas 52. It appears from figs. 4a-4d that the area 51 in the individual coloured checks is turned 90° with respect to the intersection of the diagonal for the individual control fields. In case of colour displacement the areas of the checks 50 forming part of the control prints 43-46 and provided with colour will vary in fixed mutual relationship in response to the direction in which the colour is displaced. Measurement of the control areas 43-46 with the colour control equipment gives a set of coordinates making it possible to determine, on the basis of the colour system of coordinates used, which colour has been displaced, in which direction and how far.
  • control fields 43-46 will all have a colour corresponding to the one shown with E in the colour system of coordinates (fig. 2), which corresponds to the colourless point.
  • the position of the four colours can be determined with the colour measurement of the fields 41 and will show that magenta, cyan, yellow and black are present at the points M, S, C and about E, respectively. If the yellow colour is displaced, it can be observed in part of the otherwise uncoloured field 50 and can contribute to the colour measurement since the resulting measured colour will be on the connecting line between E and C, where the distance from E depends upon how far the colour is displaced.
  • the colour prints 43-46 are additionally enlarged so that only a black field from the chessboard chequered background pattern is visible. There will still be a large field formed by the areas 52 and 51′.
  • a colourless adjacent field will be coloured in an area 55 which depends upon the displaced colour and the size of the displacement.
  • the size of the area 55 in the four control fields 43-46 depends upon the direction in which the colour control takes place, and on how much the colour is displaced.
  • This determination is made in an associated calculating member of the control device 30, so that this is capable of correcting the position of the individual devices 11-19. It will be relatively simple to generate the mentioned control signals on the basis of simple algorithms once the colour coordinate set has been calculated for the four control fields 43-46.
  • control prints 43-46 which give the greatest accuracy. If it is merely desired to detect that a colour has been displaced, while the direction and distance are of no importance, a simple control field 43-46 will be sufficient. It is not necessary currently to measure all the fields in the control fields 41 and 42 if the colour measuring equipment cannot keep up with the production rate. A measurement may e.g. be performed on a single field of those forming part of the control fields 41 and 42 each time the control fields 41 and 42 pass by. The colour of the control fields 43-46 may advantageously be measured each time these pass by.
  • the information from these fields 41 and 42 comprises firstly a correlation between which colour the individual devices contain, then information on whether these colours have been applied correctly to the medium, i.e. control of the colour amounts and control of correct viscosity.
  • control of the colour amounts and control of correct viscosity The greatest sensitivity to colour displacement is obtained by colour measurements with a relationship between the printed pattern and the background of 50%.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Quality & Reliability (AREA)
  • Inking, Control Or Cleaning Of Printing Machines (AREA)
  • Spectrometry And Color Measurement (AREA)
  • Color, Gradation (AREA)
  • Recording Measured Values (AREA)
EP19900909639 1989-06-08 1990-06-07 A method and a system for control of printing processes Expired - Lifetime EP0476035B1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AT90909639T ATE88136T1 (de) 1989-06-08 1990-06-07 Verfahren und system zum steuern eines druckprozesses.

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DK2805/89 1989-06-08
DK280589A DK164972C (da) 1989-06-08 1989-06-08 Fremgangsmaade og anlaeg til kontrol af trykkeprocesser

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0476035A1 EP0476035A1 (en) 1992-03-25
EP0476035B1 true EP0476035B1 (en) 1993-04-14

Family

ID=8115961

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP19900909639 Expired - Lifetime EP0476035B1 (en) 1989-06-08 1990-06-07 A method and a system for control of printing processes

Country Status (6)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0476035B1 (ja)
JP (1) JPH04505897A (ja)
AU (1) AU5852990A (ja)
DK (1) DK164972C (ja)
ES (1) ES2040124T3 (ja)
WO (1) WO1990014955A1 (ja)

Families Citing this family (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DK0836942T3 (da) * 1996-09-23 2002-02-18 Wifag Maschf Måleblok og fremgangsmåde til registrering af kvalitetsdata i flerfarveoplagstryk
US5819655A (en) * 1997-08-20 1998-10-13 Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Cyclinder color printing method and product using improved misregistration detection
AU1205400A (en) * 1998-10-23 2000-05-29 Cc1, Inc. System and method for register mark recognition
FR2974029B1 (fr) * 2011-04-14 2014-01-17 Serge Hasle Camille Procede de tests d'impression sur un substrat et son dispositif de mise en oeuvre

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3015266A (en) * 1959-06-10 1962-01-02 Armstrong Cork Co Method and apparatus for indicating registration in a rotary multicolor printing machine
US4546700A (en) * 1981-12-30 1985-10-15 Kollmorgen Technologies Corporation Method and apparatus for sensing and maintaining color registration
US4534288A (en) * 1982-05-06 1985-08-13 Harris Graphics Corporation Method and apparatus for registering overlapping printed images
DE3809941A1 (de) * 1987-03-26 1988-10-06 Koenig & Bauer Ag Verfahren zum positionieren von plattenzylindern in einer mehrfarben-rotationsdruckmaschine

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DK164972B (da) 1992-09-21
AU5852990A (en) 1991-01-07
DK280589D0 (da) 1989-06-08
WO1990014955A1 (en) 1990-12-13
ES2040124T3 (es) 1993-10-01
DK164972C (da) 1993-02-15
JPH04505897A (ja) 1992-10-15
DK280589A (da) 1990-12-09
EP0476035A1 (en) 1992-03-25

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