JP2001113684A - Print system for providing index of dry-up of ink - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To determine dry-up of ink easily. SOLUTION: A dry-up check pattern is printed at a margin when an image is printed. The dry-up check pattern is printed with a patch A formed of black ink and patch B formed of composite black. The patches A, B are set to represent the same brightness under dry up state. Since the patch B contains a larger quantity of ink than the patch A, it requires a longer time for dry up. Since the brightness increases as the ink dries up, the patch A appears brighter than the patch B when ink does not dry sufficiently and the difference of brightness disappears when ink dries up.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing apparatus for printing an image by discharging ink, and more particularly, to determining whether or not ink has dried to such an extent that color development is sufficiently stabilized when printing with the printing apparatus. Related to technology.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Ink jet printers have become widespread as output devices for images generated by various application programs on a computer and images subjected to processing such as image retouching. The ink jet printer performs printing by, for example, ejecting ink of each color such as cyan, magenta, yellow, and black to form dots on a print medium. At this time, multicolor images are printed by forming dots of each color at various recording rates.

[0003] As is well known, after ink is ejected, its coloring varies depending on the degree of drying. Therefore, when printing is performed by an inkjet printer, the printed material immediately after printing and the printed material after a sufficient time have been visually recognized as different colors. In general, it takes about one hour to reach a state where the color is stable, that is, a state where the ink is sufficiently dried and the color does not change. However, drying of the ink greatly depends on environmental conditions such as humidity and temperature at the time of printing, and conditions such as recording density of dots at the time of printing, and fluctuates in a range of 40 minutes to 1 hour or more.

[0004]

When performing processing such as retouching of an image on a computer, the time required for the color to stabilize has been a major issue. When performing retouching or the like, the image displayed on the display of the computer and the printed image usually do not exactly match in terms of color, texture, and the like. Therefore, it is necessary to perform the retouching operation while confirming the effect of the printed matter as the final output form. In order to confirm the effect by printing with an ink jet printer, it is necessary to wait for the ink to dry sufficiently and stabilize the color.

However, conventionally, there was no index for judging whether or not the color was stable. For this reason, conventionally, the effect of the retouching has been confirmed after a lapse of time to the extent that the color is considered to be sufficiently stable. As described above, since the drying of the ink is affected by environmental conditions and the like, it is usual to wait for a long period of time, that is, one hour or more, in which the color can be almost certainly determined to be stable under any conditions. However, in the early case, the color may be stabilized in about 40 minutes. Therefore, judging the color stability based on only the elapsed time without any index causes a wasteful waiting time, and the retouching is not performed. Workability was significantly reduced.
This is not limited to retouching, but is a common problem in various operations that require waiting for the ink of printed matter to dry.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of visually judging color stability in a printing apparatus that prints an image by discharging ink. I do.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems and Their Functions / Effects In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following constitutions. The present invention relates to a print control apparatus that generates print data for controlling an operation of a printing unit that prints an image on a print medium by discharging ink, wherein the ink is sufficient such that the color attribute does not substantially change. Printing that prints at least some of a plurality of patches satisfying a condition in which a stabilization time required until drying is different and a condition in which at least one attribute of a color expressed after the elapse of the stabilization time is equivalent. The gist of the invention is to provide a patch data generation unit that generates data without depending on image data input from the outside.

When such print data is supplied to the printing unit,
The patches described above can be printed. A patch refers to an image printed by uniformly forming dots in a predetermined area. The shape is not particularly limited, but it is preferable to select a shape that has a size that allows a change in the color attribute to be visually recognized and that is suitable for comparing a plurality of patches. A part of the plurality of patches may be prepared in advance, and the remaining part of the patches may be printed, or the plurality of patches may be simultaneously printed.

In any of the embodiments, since the plurality of patches have different stabilization times required for stabilizing the colors, the color attributes of the patches that stabilize early and those that stabilize late are compared by comparing the color attributes. It can be determined whether the color of the printed image is stable. In other words, it can be determined that the color is not stable while the attribute of the color of the plurality of patches is different, and it can be determined that the color is stable when the attribute no longer has a difference. The patches that are stabilized early include patches whose colors are already stable. For example, a “prepared patch” in a mode in which a part of the patch is prepared in advance and the remaining part of the patch is printed Corresponds to this.

By comparing two or more types of patches having different stabilization times and determining whether there is a difference in color attributes, it is possible to determine color stability relatively easily and accurately. Can be. It is not impossible to judge color stability by observing the temporal change of color attributes for one type of patch, but human vision is relatively insensitive to such temporal changes. For this reason, it is difficult to determine color stability with sufficient accuracy by such a method. Also,
In order to make such a determination, it is necessary to continuously observe the brightness of the patch until the color becomes stable, and the burden is large. On the other hand, when comparing two or more types of patches, human vision is relatively sensitive to the presence or absence of attribute differences between patches, so that color stability can be detected easily and accurately. . Further, it is not necessary to make such determination continuously, but only at appropriate time intervals, so that the burden of determining color stability is very small. With such an effect, when the present invention is applied, it is possible to eliminate a useless waiting time in a work in which it is necessary to wait for a color of a printed material to be sufficiently stable, such as retouching of an image, and to improve work efficiency. It becomes possible.

According to the present invention, as described above, the degree of drying of the ejected ink, that is, the stability of color, is detected by comparing the color attributes of two or more types of patches. As the plurality of patches, at least two types are sufficient. However, by preparing three or more types of patches, it becomes possible to more finely determine an estimate of a time required until the color is sufficiently stabilized. In the present invention, the above-mentioned patch may be printed together with the image to be printed, or only the patch may be printed separately. When printing together with an image to be printed, the patch may be printed on the same print medium as the image, or the page may be changed and the patch may be printed on another print medium. The lower and upper limits of the patch stabilization time are not limited, but are used as an index to determine the color stability of the printed image, so the patch stabilization time must be longer than the image stabilization time Is desirable.

In the present invention, various patches can be used. For example, the plurality of patches can be patches having the same brightness. Generally, the brightness of ink changes due to drying, and therefore, a patch having the same brightness after the lapse of the stabilization time can be easily used to detect color stability. Of course, in the case of using a mixture of inks, the hue, the saturation, etc., as well as the brightness, change due to drying. Therefore, a patch having the same value may be used.

The patch may be formed in an achromatic color such as gray or black, but it is more preferable to use a patch using a chromatic color for the following reasons. In general, it is difficult to form a plurality of patches in a completely achromatic color, and a slight difference in hue often occurs between patches.
Human vision is very sensitive to such differences in hue, so if patches are formed in achromatic colors, it may be difficult to determine whether the brightness is equal or not, depending on the differences in hue. Many. If patches are formed with chromatic colors with significant saturation, the effect of hue differences is relatively reduced, so whether or not the color attributes are equivalent without being confused by the differences Makes it easier to make a judgment.

As described above, the present invention can be configured in such a manner that a plurality of patches are printed at positions that can be compared with each other, and color stability is determined by comparing with each other. This mode is convenient because it is not necessary to prepare a separate patch for comparison. Examples of the plurality of patches formed in this manner include patches having different total amounts of ejected ink. In general, a patch having a larger amount of ink requires more time for drying, and thus a plurality of patches formed in this way satisfy the condition that the stabilization times are different. Note that the position that can be compared with each other means that an incomparable state such as a case where a plurality of patches are overlaid and printed is excluded. This is not intended to limit to printing at a position where comparison can be easily performed, such as arranging a plurality of patches at a close distance.

As an example of a patch having different amounts of ink, when a black ink and a plurality of colored inks capable of expressing the same color as the black ink by mixing colors are provided in the printing unit, the black ink is used. And a patch formed by replacing the black ink with a mixed color of the plurality of colored inks. For example, a black patch can be formed by mixing three color inks of cyan, magenta, and yellow. The present invention is not limited to a black patch, and a patch in which a chromatic color is mixed can be used. Other examples of patches having different ink amounts include a patch formed by a large amount of light ink and a patch formed by a small amount of dark ink when a plurality of types of inks having different densities are provided in a printing unit. Can also be used.

When a plurality of patches are printed using a printing unit that ejects a variable amount of ink, patches having different ink amounts are used as described above, and patches formed by dots having different ink amounts are included. You can also. For example, when two types of dots, large and small, can be formed, a patch formed by a small number of large dots and a patch formed by a large number of small dots can be used. In order to match the color attributes, the total amount of ink ejected to both patches is almost equal, but it is known that dots with a small amount of ink are generally easier to dry than dots with a large amount of ink. Therefore, the two types of patches satisfy the condition that the stabilization times are different. It is also possible to form patches with different amounts of ink using dots with different amounts of ink, such as forming patches with a small amount of dark ink using small dots and forming patches with a large amount of light ink using large dots. It is.

When a plurality of patches are printed, the patches can be printed at various timings. However, it is preferable to print the patches after the printing of the image input from the outside, that is, the image to be printed. For example, if a patch is printed prior to printing an image, the color of the image may not be sufficiently stable even if the color of the patch is stable. If the printing of a patch serving as a color stability determination index is performed after printing of an image is completed, such a possibility can be suppressed, and color stability can be more appropriately determined.

As described above, the present invention can also be realized in a mode in which a pre-printed patch is compared with a printed patch. In this case, since the color attribute of the printed patch changes depending on the printing conditions, it is desirable to provide a unit for compensating for such change. For example, in the print control apparatus of the present invention, the print control apparatus further includes a print condition input unit for inputting print conditions when printing is performed, and the patch data generating unit includes a detection patch for comparing with a pre-printed reference patch. Patch data generating means for generating print data to be printed under predetermined reference printing conditions; and means for acting on the patch data generating means, wherein the detection patch after the elapse of a stable time and the color of the reference patch Correction means for generating print data in which the attribute of the color of the detection patch is corrected in accordance with the input printing conditions so that the attributes match.

By generating print data in this way,
Even if the printing conditions change, it is possible to print a patch having the same color attribute as a previously printed patch. The correction can be performed in various ways according to the type of the stored patch data. For example, if patch data is prepared in a format before color conversion processing or halftone processing is performed, that is, in a color or gradation value that cannot be directly expressed by the printing unit, the gradation value of the patch data Is corrected, print data can be generated by performing the above-described processing. When patch data is prepared in a format that can be directly output to the printing unit, the data can be directly corrected to be print data. As printing conditions,
The type of print medium, the resolution at the time of printing, and the like can be increased, and the correction amount for these can be stored in advance in the form of a table, a function, or the like in accordance with the printing conditions.

The shape of the patch in the present invention is not particularly limited, but it is also possible to use a patch having a shape in which the difference in the color attribute gives a sense of perspective or a visual effect related to the shape. The visual effect means an effect in which even if the shapes have the same area, the two look different due to the difference in brightness, and an effect in which a difference in perspective causes a difference in perspective. As specific shapes, various shapes known to cause a so-called optical illusion due to a difference in color attributes can be applied.
By utilizing such an effect, differences in color attributes can be more easily recognized, and color stability can be determined easily and accurately.

The present invention can be configured in various modes, and may be configured as a print control device for generating print data for controlling a print unit, or a printing device including such a print control device and a print unit. It can also be configured as
In addition, it may be configured as a printing control method for controlling the printing unit in the above-described manner, or may be configured as a printing method for performing printing by performing such control. Further, it may be configured as a recording medium on which a program for realizing the control is recorded. Here, examples of the recording medium include a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, a magneto-optical disk, an IC card, a ROM cartridge, a punched card, a printed matter on which a code such as a barcode is printed, and a computer internal storage device (such as a RAM or a ROM). Various computer readable media are available, such as memory and external storage.

In the aspect in which the stability of the color is determined by comparing with a previously printed patch, an invention having a so-called sub-combination with the above-described printing apparatus is characterized by the fact that the stabilization time elapses due to the printed patch. It is also possible to configure an inspection sheet on which a patch having at least one attribute equal to a color expressed later is printed in advance.
The inspection sheet may be configured in the form of a print medium on which a patch can be printed by a printing device on the sheet, or may be configured in a sheet or card form separate from the medium on which the printing device prints the patch It may be. In order to compensate for changes in color attributes caused by printing conditions,
An inspection sheet may be prepared for each printing condition. This eliminates the necessity of correcting the patch data on the printing apparatus side, and has an advantage that the processing for generating the patch data is simplified.

[0023]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples in the following order. A. Overall configuration of device: Printing mode and print control processing: Effect: D. Modifications: Second embodiment F. First Modification of Second Embodiment: Second Modification of Second Embodiment: Third embodiment:

A. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printing system as an embodiment. The printing system of the present embodiment includes a printer PRT connected to a computer P
C and a cable CB. The computer PC controls the operation of the printer PRT by transferring, to the printer PRT, print data including raster data for specifying the dot formation state on each raster and feed data for specifying the sub-scan feed. To serve as a print control device. As described later, these print data include data for printing image data to be mainly printed and data for printing a dry check pattern for checking the degree of drying of ink. is there. These processes are performed based on a program called a printer driver. Printer PRT
Performs main scanning and sub scanning according to print data,
Print the image.

The computer PC can load and execute a program from a recording medium such as a flexible disk or a CD-ROM via a flexible disk drive FDD or a CD-ROM drive CDD. The computer PC is connected to an external network TN, and can access a specific server SV to download a program. As a matter of course, these programs may adopt a mode in which the entire program necessary for printing is loaded collectively, or a mode in which only some modules are loaded.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing functional blocks of the printing system. In the computer PC, an application program 110 operates under a predetermined operating system. The printer driver 120 is incorporated in the operating system. The application program 110 performs processing such as retouching of image data according to a user operation. The printer driver 120 includes an input unit 122 and a print data generation unit 12.
4. Each functional unit of a dry check pattern print data generating unit 126, a dry check pattern memory 128, and an output unit 130 is provided.

When a print command is issued from the application program 110 by a user operation, the input unit 1
22 receives image data that has been subjected to processing such as retouching. This image data is image data to be mainly printed, unlike a dry check pattern described later. Hereinafter, in the present specification, when simply referred to as image data, it means the main target image data. In the present embodiment, the image data is provided as data having gradation values of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) for each pixel.

The print data generator 124 generates print data to be transferred to the printer PRT based on the input image data. The printer PRT forms dots on each pixel using inks such as cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) to print an image. In order to specify on / off of dots at each pixel by the printer PRT, the print data generation unit 124 performs color conversion processing, halftone processing, and the like to generate raster data. The color conversion process is a process of converting the R, G, B color system of the image data into a color system such as C, M, Y, K, etc., which matches the ink used by the printer PRT. The halftone process is a process for expressing multi-level gradation values by dot distribution. Various well-known techniques can be applied to each process, and thus detailed description is omitted here. The print data generation unit 124, together with the raster data described above,
Feed amount data for specifying the feed amount of the sub-scan is also generated.

The printing system according to the present embodiment can print a dry check pattern for checking whether or not the ink of the printed matter is dry, in addition to the image data designated by the user. Dry check pattern memory 128
Is a memory for storing data for printing patches constituting the dry check pattern. In this embodiment,
The patches are stored in the same R, G, and B gradation values as the image data so that the patches can be formed in accordance with the printing conditions such as the change in resolution and printing paper. The dry check pattern print data generation unit 126
Similarly to the print data generation unit 124, print data for printing a patch stored in the dry check pattern memory 128 is generated by performing color conversion processing, halftone processing, and the like. In the dry check pattern memory 128,
It is not always necessary to store the patches with the gradation values of R, G, and B, and the patches may be stored in the form of raster data of the printer PRT. In such a case, the dry check pattern print data generating unit 126 reads out data corresponding to a desired patch from the dry check pattern memory 128 and generates print data together with the feed amount data.

The print data generated by the above functional blocks is output to the printer PRT via the output unit 130. In FIG. 2, the print data generation unit 124 and the dry check pattern print data generation unit 126 are shown as separate functional blocks for convenience of illustration, but they may be configured by substantially the same functional block. is there.
Further, it is not always necessary to cause the dry check pattern print data generation unit 126 to function in response to the execution result of the print data generation unit 124. Both may function in parallel or in reverse order, or one of them may be selectively executed. It can be possible.

In the printer PRT, the print data transferred from the output unit 130 on the computer PC side is input to the input unit 14.
0 is received and temporarily stored in the buffer 142. Then, in accordance with the data stored in the buffer 142, the main scanning unit 144 and the sub-scanning unit 146 perform main scanning of the head and transport the printing paper, and the head driving unit 148 drives the head to print an image.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of the printer PRT. As shown in the drawing, the printer PRT includes a circuit for transporting the paper P by a paper feed motor 23, and a carriage 31 by a carriage motor 24.
A circuit for reciprocating in the axial direction, a circuit for driving a print head 28 mounted on a carriage 31 to eject ink and form dots, a paper feed motor 23, a carriage motor 24, a print head 28, The control circuit 40 controls the exchange of signals with the panel 32.

The circuit for reciprocating the carriage 31 in the axial direction of the platen 26 includes a sliding shaft 34 laid parallel to the axis of the platen 26 and holding the carriage 31 slidably.
A pulley 38 for extending an endless drive belt 36 between the carriage motor 24 and a position detection sensor 39 for detecting the origin position of the carriage 31 are provided.

The carriage 31 of the printer PRT has a cartridge 71 for black ink (K) and five colors of cyan (C), light cyan (LC), magenta (M), light magenta (LM) and yellow (Y). Can be mounted. A total of six ink ejection heads 61 to 66 are formed on the print head 28 below the carriage 31. In each head, a plurality of nozzles are arranged at regular intervals.

The control circuit 40 has a CPU, PRO inside
It is configured as a microcomputer having M, RAM and the like. Further, a transmitter for periodically outputting a driving voltage for driving the print head 28, a driving buffer for storing on / off of dots for each pixel for each nozzle Nz, and the like are provided. When the data stored in the driving buffer is sequentially output to the print head 28 when performing main scanning, ink is ejected from each nozzle to each pixel according to the data. In this embodiment, a plurality of types of waveforms of the drive voltage output to the print head can be used properly, and dots having different ink amounts can be formed according to the use.

B. Printing Mode and Print Control Process: FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a printing mode when an image is printed by the printing system of the present embodiment. FIG. 4A shows an overall state of the printing paper P. As shown in the drawing, a patch Pt for checking the degree of drying of the ink is printed in a margin portion where the image Pic designated by the user is printed, in the same manner as in the normal printing. If there is not enough margin, the page may be changed and the patch Pt may be printed on another print sheet. The patch Pt is printed when the user designates printing of a dry check pattern when inputting printing conditions of an image on the computer PC. Here, the case where the patch Pt is printed together with the image Pic is illustrated, but it is also possible to print only the patch Pt by designating. Of course, it is also possible to print only the image Pic without printing the patch Pt.

FIG. 4B is an enlarged view of the patch Pt. In the present embodiment, two types of patches A and B are alternately arranged and printed. Patch A is a patch in which an area is solid-painted with black ink. Patch B is a patch that expresses black by mixing these colors by discharging cyan, magenta, and yellow in equal amounts. The patch A and the patch B are in a state where the ink is sufficiently dried, and the ejection amount of the ink is set so that the brightness of the two becomes equal.
That is, the dot recording rate is set.

Next, a process for generating print data for realizing printing in the above-described manner will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the print control processing routine. This is a process executed by the CPU of the computer PC. When this process is started, the CPU first inputs image data and printing conditions (step S10). As described above, the image data is data that provides R, G, and B gradation values for each pixel. The printing conditions include an instruction such as resolution at the time of printing and whether or not to print a dry check pattern.

Next, the CPU generates print data (step S12). As described above with reference to the functional block of FIG. 2, the image data is subjected to color conversion processing, halftone processing, and the like, to generate raster data for specifying the on / off state of the dots of each pixel, and Set the amount. The print data generated in this way is sequentially stored in the printer P
It is output to the RT side (step S14). The CPU repeatedly executes the generation of the print data until the printing of the image Pic ends (step S16). The printer is
The print data output in this way is received, and the main scan and the sub-scan are executed according to the raster data and the feed amount data of the sub-scan.

As shown in FIG. 4, the printing system of this embodiment can print a dry check pattern in addition to the image Pic. After finishing printing the image, the CPU
When printing of the dry check pattern is instructed, print data for printing the dry check pattern is generated and the print data is output (step S1).
8, S20, S30). As described in the functional block of FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, the data of the patches constituting the dry check pattern is stored in the memory in advance in the form of R, G, B gradation values. Therefore, in the print data generation process (step S20) and the print data output process (step S30), the stored data is subjected to color conversion processing, halftone processing, and the like, as in the processing in step S12. Generate and output data. The printer PRT operates according to the print data shown in FIG.
The patch of the mode shown in FIG. If printing of the dry check pattern has not been instructed, these processes are skipped and the print control processing routine ends.

C. Effect: According to the printing system of the present embodiment, by printing the drying check pattern shown in FIG. 4, the user can determine the drying condition of the ink as described below, and whether the color is stable or not. Can be easily determined. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the change over time in the brightness of each patch in the dry check pattern. In this embodiment, the patch A is a solid-painted patch with black ink, and the patch B is a so-called composite black patch. The amount of ink in patch A is patch B
Less than the amount of ink.

As the time after the ejection of each patch elapses and the ink dries, the brightness increases in accordance with the general tendency of the ink. However, the brightness T1 of the patch A is higher than the brightness T2 of the patch B immediately after ejection, that is, at time 0, due to the difference in the amount of ink between the patches A and B. That is, immediately after the ejection, the patch A is visually recognized as being brighter than the patch B. Then, over time, patch A,
The brightness of both patches B increases, and when the ink is sufficiently dried, the brightness hardly changes. Since the patch A has a smaller amount of ink, it dries faster than the patch B. Therefore, the time ta required for the patch A to dry and for the color to be sufficiently stable (hereinafter referred to as a stabilization time) is shorter than the stabilization time of the patch B. After the elapse of the stabilization time ta of the patch A, the brightness of the patch A does not change, so that the difference in brightness between the two patches decreases with time, and the stabilization time tb of the patch B
Elapses, the lightness difference is almost eliminated. Therefore, by observing the brightness difference between the patch A and the patch B, it can be determined that the ink is sufficiently stable when the brightness difference between the two is substantially eliminated.

In this embodiment, by applying two types of patches having different stabilization times in this manner, color stability can be determined relatively easily and accurately. Even if only one of the patches A and B is used, it is not impossible to determine the stability of the color by observing the temporal change in the brightness. However, since human vision is relatively insensitive to such temporal changes, it is difficult to determine color stability with sufficient accuracy using only one patch. In order to make such a determination, it is necessary to continuously observe the brightness of the patch until the color stabilizes, which imposes a heavy burden.

On the other hand, when two types of patches are used as in the present embodiment, since the human qualification is relatively sensitive to the difference in brightness between the two, whether or not the difference in brightness has been eliminated. Can be easily and accurately detected. Further, it is not necessary to make such determination continuously, but only at appropriate time intervals, so that the burden of determining color stability is very small. According to the above effects, according to the printing system of the present embodiment, it is possible to easily and accurately determine the stability of color. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently perform an operation such as retouching an image, the operation of which needs to be confirmed based on a printing result. Becomes possible.

D. Modified Example: In the above-described embodiment, the case where the patch A formed of black ink and the patch B formed of so-called composite black are used is illustrated. Various other types of patches can be applied to the patches A and B. As shown in FIG.
Any condition may be used as long as the condition that the stabilization time is different and the condition that the color attributes expressed after the stabilization time elapse match.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a patch applicable as a dry check pattern. Here, nine types of patches are exemplified. The patch of number 1 corresponds to the patch applied in the embodiment. That is, the patch A is formed with black ink (K), and the patch B is formed with cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y). in this case,
Since both patches A and B are achromatic, the main attribute for determining color stability is lightness. It is assumed that the respective ink amounts of the patch A and the patch B are adjusted so that the brightness after the elapse of the stable time becomes equal.

The patch number 2 is an example using chromatic patches. The main attributes for determining color stability are brightness and hue. Patch A is formed in a mixed color of black and cyan. The patch B is formed by replacing the black of the patch A with the composite black and using a mixed color of cyan, magenta, and yellow. To realize the same hue as that of patch A, the amount of cyan ink in patch B is larger than the amounts of magenta and yellow ink. In FIG. 7, “◎” added to cyan means that a larger amount of ink is used than magenta and yellow.

The use of a chromatic color patch like the number 2 has the advantage that the color stability can be determined more accurately than the number 1 patch using an achromatic color for the following reason.
Since it is difficult to realize a complete achromatic color due to a mixture of cyan, magenta, and yellow in the patch of number 1 using an achromatic color, the patches A and B usually generate a slight hue difference. . Generally, human vision easily detects such a difference in hue sensitively. The patch number 1 is affected by the hue difference between the patch A and the patch B, and may erroneously determine whether there is a brightness difference. In contrast, number 2
As described above, when a chromatic patch is used, the influence of the hue difference on vision is relatively reduced, so that color stability can be accurately detected. Although FIG. 7 shows an example of a patch based on a mixed color of cyan and black, it is also possible to use a patch based on a mixed color of magenta and black and yellow and black.

The patch No. 3 is an example using dots having different amounts of ink. As described above, the printer PRT of the present embodiment can form large dots with a large amount of ink and small dots with a small amount of ink. In the patch of No. 3, using these dots, a patch formed using small dots of black ink is applied as patch A, and a patch formed using large dots of cyan, magenta, and yellow as patch B. Apply a patch. Since each patch needs to be formed so that the lightness after the elapse of the stabilization time becomes equal, the patch A is formed by using a large number of small dots, and the patch B is formed by using a small number of large dots. become.

When large and small dots are used as in the number 3,
For the following reasons, there is an advantage that the difference in the stabilization time between the patch A and the patch B can be increased, and the determination of the color stability is facilitated. In other words, since the small dots are easier to dry than the large dots, by applying the small dots to the patch on the side that dries faster, that is, the patch A in the case of the number 3,
The stabilization time can be shortened, and by applying a large dot to the patch on the side that dries slowly, that is, patch 3 in the case of No. 3, the stabilization time can be extended. If the difference in the stabilization time is widened, it becomes easier to detect the brightness difference after the patch A is stabilized, so that it is easy to determine the stability of the color.

The patches No. 1 to No. 3 correspond to a case where a difference is provided in the stabilization time between the patches A and B based on the difference in the amount of ink between the two. On the other hand, it is also possible to configure a patch that provides a difference in the stabilization time based on the difference in the types of dots applied to the patch A and the patch B.
Number 4 is an example of such a patch. In No. 4, a patch using a large number of small dots of black ink is formed as patch A, and a patch using a small number of large dots of black ink is formed as patch B. Both patches use the same type of ink, and are different from the patches No. 1 to No. 3 in that the total amount of ink used to form the patches is the same for patch A and patch B.

As described above, since the small dots tend to dry faster than the large dots, the patch A of the patch No. 4 dries faster than the patch B. In No. 4, since the patch A and the patch B are formed with the same type of ink, the difference in the stabilization time is not so remarkably obtained as when the difference in the ink amount is provided, but the brightness after the elapse of the stabilization time is easily matched. There are advantages that can be.

Since the printer PRT of this embodiment has low density inks for cyan and magenta, light cyan and light magenta, it is possible to apply patches using these inks. Number 5 is an example of such a patch. In the case of the patch No. 5, similarly to the patch of the patch No. 1, the patch A is formed of black ink, and the patch B is formed of composite black. However, this is different from No. 1 in that patch B is made of light cyan, light magenta, and yellow composite black. Since light cyan and light magenta are low-density inks, the total amount of ink required to realize composite black is larger than that of the patch of No. 1. Therefore, since the change in the brightness of the patch B from the time immediately after the ejection to the time when the patch B becomes stable becomes very large, it is easy to determine whether there is a brightness difference from the patch A. Further, in the patch of No. 5, the difference between the ink amounts of the patch A and the patch B can be enlarged, and the difference in the stabilization time can be enlarged accordingly. There is also an advantage that can be determined.

In the case of patches using light cyan and light magenta, chromatic patches can be formed as in the case of No. 2. Number 6 is an example of such a patch.
That is, a patch of black ink and cyan is formed as the patch A, and a patch of a mixed color of cyan, light magenta, and yellow is formed as the patch B. Patch B using light cyan, light magenta and yellow
It is also possible to form However, in this case, in order to realize the same hue as that of the patch A, light cyan needs to be used in a larger amount than other inks. As a result, in combination with realizing composite black using light magenta, the ink amount of the patch B becomes extremely large, and may exceed the upper limit of the ink amount that can be absorbed by the print medium, that is, the so-called duty limit. In FIG.
In consideration of the duty limitation, cyan is used instead of light cyan in order to suppress the amount of ink of the patch B. Of course, light cyan and cyan may be used within the duty limit range. According to the patch of No. 6, both advantages of using a large difference in ink amount and advantages of using chromatic colors can be obtained. Note that the patch number 6 is an example of a patch of a mixed color of black and cyan, but it is also possible to form a patch of a mixed color of magenta and yellow.

In the case of patches using light cyan and light magenta, a patch using large dots and small dots can be formed as in the case of No. 3. Number 7 is an example of such a patch. That is, patch A is formed by small dots of black ink, patch B is light cyan,
It is formed by large dots of light magenta and yellow. In this case, in addition to the advantage due to the large difference in the amount of ink, the advantage that the difference in the stabilization time caused by the difference in the type of dot is obtained is obtained.

It is not always necessary to use black ink for one of the patches. Number 8 is an example of a patch formed only with chromatic ink. Patch A is formed of cyan and yellow, and patch B is formed of light cyan and yellow. In patch B, a large amount of light cyan is used to form a patch so that the lightness and hue of the two after the lapse of the stable time match. As a result, the patch A and the patch B differ in the total amount of ink, and the stabilization times differ. Similarly, a patch of a mixed color of magenta and yellow may be formed.

It is also possible to form a patch using only inks having different densities. Number 9 is an example of such a patch. Patch A is formed with cyan ink, and patch B is formed with light cyan ink. Since the two have different ink amounts, the stabilization times are different. According to such a patch,
Similar to number 4, it is difficult to secure a difference in stabilization time,
The brightness after the stabilization time has passed can be easily matched,
There is an advantage that it is easy to determine the presence or absence of a brightness difference.

Although various examples of patches have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these, as long as they satisfy the conditions of different stabilization times and the condition of matching color attributes expressed after the elapse of the stabilization time. , More patches can be applied. Since the printer PRT of this embodiment has six colors of ink, any of the nine types of patches shown in FIG. 7 can be applied. In a printer including four color inks of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow, any of the numbers 1 to 4 can be applied. Only one of these dry check patterns may be used, or a plurality of dry check patterns may be easily selected by the user.

E. Second Embodiment Next, a printing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment, the case where two types of patches having different stabilization times are printed as the patch Pt has been exemplified. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that only one type of patch is printed, and the stability of the color is determined based on comparison with a separately prepared check card. The patch printed on the check card, which has been separately facilitated, is already sufficiently stable in color, and thus corresponds to a patch having a stabilization time of zero. Therefore, also in the second embodiment, the check card patch and the patch printed by the printer PRT satisfy the condition that the stabilization time is different.

The hardware configuration and functional blocks in the second embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment (see FIGS. 1 to 3). In the second embodiment, the contents of the patches stored in the drying check pattern memory 128 are different from those in the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a printing mode in the second embodiment. Similarly to the first embodiment, in the second embodiment, the patch Pt1 is printed below the image Pic on the printing paper. Whether or not to print the patch Pt1 can be specified by the user as in the first embodiment. Here, the patch Pt1 to be printed is formed in one type of printing mode as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, patches formed of cyan, magenta, and yellow composite black are printed.

In the second embodiment, the stability of the color is determined by comparing the patch Pt1 printed in this way with the patch printed on a check card prepared in advance. FIG. 8 shows an example of a check card. In the check card CA, the brightness represented with the passage of time of the patch Pt1 is represented by four-stage patches p1 to p4. The brightness of the patch p4 is equal to the brightness realized by the patch Pt1 after the elapse of the stabilization time. Therefore, by comparing the brightness difference between the patch Pt1 and the patches p1 to p4 of the check card CA, it is possible to determine the stability of the color of the printed image. In addition,
It is sufficient for the check card to have at least a patch having a brightness equal to the brightness represented by the patch Pt1 after the lapse of the stabilization time, that is, a patch p4. That is, a check card on which only the patch p4 is printed may be used. In the present embodiment, for convenience of setting a time guide until the color is stabilized, 4 corresponding to the lapse of time since the patch Pt1 was printed on the check card CA.
Different types of patches are available.

The brightness expressed by the patch Pt1 after the elapse of the stable time differs depending on the printing conditions. For example, the expressed brightness differs between when the patch Pt1 is printed on plain paper and when it is printed on dedicated paper such as coated paper. It may be different depending on conditions such as print resolution. In view of such a difference, in the present embodiment, several types of check cards c on which patches corresponding to each printing condition are printed
1, c2 and c3 were prepared. By selecting a check card suitable for printing conditions such as the type of printing paper and the printing resolution, it is possible for the user to appropriately judge color stability.

F. First Modification of Second Embodiment: In the second embodiment, an example is described in which a separately prepared check card is compared with a printed patch Pt1. The check card can be prepared in various modes. FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a first modification of the check card. Here, a case where the check card is configured as the test paper P1 for printing the image and the patch Pt1 will be exemplified.
That is, the patches p1 to p4 are printed on the test paper P1 in advance. These are patches equivalent to the patches p1 to p4 printed on the check card CA of the second embodiment. The user uses the test paper P1 to create an image P
ic and the patch Pt1 are printed. The patch Pt1 is a patch printed in composite black as in the second embodiment. The patch p4 becomes the patch P after the stabilization time has elapsed.
It is printed so that the lightness represented by t1 is equal. Therefore, the brightness of the patches p1 to p4 differs between the test paper using plain paper and the test paper using the special paper.

In this mode, the printed patch Pt1
By comparing with the patches p1 to p4 printed in advance, the stability of the color can be determined. Although this test paper P1 is disposable each time, it is not necessary to select a check card depending on the type of print paper, so that the test paper P1 is highly convenient and avoids erroneous determinations caused by a mistake in selecting a check card. There are advantages that can be.

G. Second Modified Example of Second Embodiment: In the second embodiment and the first modified example, the case where the check card or the test paper is properly used according to the printing conditions has been illustrated.
On the other hand, only one type of check card may be used, and the amount of ink forming the patch Pt1 to be printed may be corrected according to the printing conditions. For example, when the patch Pt1 is printed on plain paper, the brightness increases. Therefore, the amount of ink is increased to match the check card. When the patch Pt1 is printed on the special paper, the brightness decreases. It suppresses.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a dry check pattern generation processing routine according to the second modification. FIG. 6 shows the processing performed in step S20 of FIG. 5 in detail. The processing in the case where the ink amount of the patch Pt1 is corrected according to the type of printing paper has been illustrated. When this process is started, the CPU inputs the type of printing paper (step S23), and corrects the R, G, B gradation values of the check pattern according to the printing paper (step S24). For example, when plain paper is designated as the printing paper, the R, G, B colors are set so that the brightness of the patch Pt1 is low.
Is reduced. The correction amount of the gradation value can be set in advance by an experiment or the like according to the type of the printing paper to be selected. Generally, the R, G, and B tone values need only be reduced uniformly, but may be reduced at an individual rate for each color.

On the basis of the tone value thus corrected, C
The PU generates print data (Step S25). This processing is equivalent to the processing described in step S20 of the first embodiment. That is, color conversion processing, halftone processing, and the like are performed on the R, G, and B gradation value data to generate raster data, and the feed amount data is set according to the sub-scanning mode.

According to the second modification, there is an advantage that patches prepared in advance can be unified into a single type regardless of printing conditions. In particular, the effectiveness is high when a patch that is used repeatedly like the check card shown in FIG. 8 is used.

In the flowchart of FIG. 10, the case where the correction is performed before the generation of the print data has been described, taking as an example the case where the dry check pattern is stored with the gradation values of R, G and B. The second modified example can be configured in various modes as long as the patch print data is corrected according to the printing conditions. It is not always necessary to perform correction before generating print data, and it is also possible to directly correct the amounts of cyan, magenta, and yellow ink after generating print data or in the process of generating print data. This correction is performed when the check pattern is R,
The present invention can be applied not only to the case where the image data is stored in G and B gradation values, but also to the case where the image data is stored in the form of raster data of each color such as cyan, magenta and yellow.

In the second embodiment and its modifications, the case where the patch Pt1 is formed of composite black has been exemplified, but it goes without saying that various combinations of patches shown in FIG. 7 can be applied. However, in this case, it is preferable to apply the patch B shown in FIG. 7, that is, the patch on the long stabilization time side, to the patch Pt1 on the printing side. If a patch with a too short stabilization time is applied to the patch Pt1 to be printed, a phenomenon that the color of the image Pic is not stable may occur even if the color of the patch is stable, so that there is a possibility that the determination of the color stability may be erroneous. It is.

H. Third Embodiment: Next, a printing system according to a third embodiment will be described. The printing system of the third embodiment differs from the first and second embodiments in the shape of the patch applied to the determination of ink drying. In the third embodiment, a patch using a visual effect resulting from a difference in color attributes is applied. Since the hardware configuration and software configuration of the third embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment, the description is omitted here.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view illustrating a patch Pt in the third embodiment. Here, a case where two concentric patches are used has been exemplified. Each painted portion is formed with black ink, and the hatched portion is formed with composite black. In such a patch Pt, a visual effect is produced in which the center of the circle appears to jump out or to see in due to the difference in brightness between the portion formed of black ink and the portion formed of composite black. As shown in FIG. 6, immediately after the patch is formed, the patch of the composite black looks darker than the patch of the black ink. Therefore, FIG.
In the left patch in 1, the circumference of the circle is darker than the center,
The center part pops out and is visible. On the other hand, in the right patch, the center of the circle is darker than the surroundings, so the center is retracted and visually recognized. When the ink dries and the brightness difference between the composite black and the black ink disappears, the visual effect described above is reduced, so that the right and left patches lose the perspective of the center and surroundings, and are viewed as a flat circle. Become like

As described above, according to the third embodiment, by using a patch utilizing a visual effect, it becomes easier to recognize differences in color attributes more prominently, so that color stability can be determined easily and accurately. It becomes possible. Note that, in the above-described example, the case where the visual effect in which the perspective is different due to the brightness difference is used is illustrated. Even if the shapes have the same area, an effect that the area looks different due to the difference in brightness between the two may be used. Also in the third embodiment, it goes without saying that patches can be formed not only by a combination of black ink and composite black but also by various combinations illustrated in FIG.

Also in the third embodiment, it is possible to form a part of the patch in the form of the check card or the test sheet shown in the second embodiment. Check card is
For example, by forming a part of a patch on a transparent film and superimposing it on a patch formed on a printing paper, FIG.
The configuration shown in FIG.

Although various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and it goes without saying that various configurations can be adopted without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the above-described control processing may be realized by software or by hardware. Further, in the above-described embodiments, rectangular patches have been exemplified, but it goes without saying that the shape and printing position of the patches are not limited to these.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printing system as an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating functional blocks of a printing system.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printer PRT.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a printing mode when an image is printed by the printing system of the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a print control processing routine.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a temporal change in brightness of each patch in a dry check pattern.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a patch that can be applied as a dry check pattern.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a printing mode in a second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a first modification of the check card.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a drying check pattern generation processing routine according to a second modification.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a patch Pt in the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 23 ... Paper feed motor 24 ... Carriage motor 26 ... Platen 28 ... Print head 31 ... Carriage 32 ... Operation panel 34 ... Sliding shaft 36 ... Drive belt 38 ... Pulley 39 ... Position detection sensor 40 ... Control circuit 61-66 ... Ink ejection Head 71 ... cartridge 72 ... color ink cartridge 110 ... application program 120 ... printer driver 122 ... input unit 124 ... print data generation unit 126 ... dry check pattern print data generation unit 128 ... dry check pattern memory 130 ... output unit 140 ... Input unit 142 Buffer 144 Main scanning unit 146 Sub-scanning unit 148 Head driving unit

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A print control apparatus for generating print data for controlling an operation of a printing unit that prints an image on a print medium by discharging ink, wherein the print data is generated so that a color attribute does not substantially change. At least one of a plurality of patches that satisfies the condition that the stabilization time required for the ink to sufficiently dry and the condition that at least one attribute of the color expressed after the lapse of the stabilization time is equivalent. A print control apparatus comprising: a patch data generating unit configured to generate print data for printing a set of patches without depending on externally input image data. 2. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of patches are patches having the same brightness. 3. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of patches are patches using chromatic colors. 4. The printing control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said patch data generating means generates data for printing two or more patches at positions that can be compared with each other. 5. The print control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of patches include patches having different total amounts of ejected ink. 6. The printing control device according to claim 5, wherein the printing unit includes black ink and a plurality of colored inks capable of expressing a color equivalent to the black ink by mixing colors. A print control device, wherein the plurality of patches include a patch formed by using the black ink and a patch formed by replacing the black ink with a mixed color of the plurality of colored inks. 7. The printing control device according to claim 4, wherein the printing unit is a printing unit that discharges a variable amount of ink, and the plurality of patches are formed by dots having different amounts of ink. A print control device that includes: 8. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print data generated by the patch data generation means is data for printing the patch after printing of an externally input image is completed. 9. The printing control device according to claim 1, further comprising a printing condition input unit for inputting printing conditions for performing printing, wherein the patch data generating unit compares with a pre-printed reference patch. Data generating means for generating print data for causing a detection patch to be printed under predetermined reference printing conditions, and means for acting on the patch data generating means, the detection patch being provided after a lapse of a stable time. And a correction unit that generates print data in which the color attribute of the detection patch is corrected in accordance with the input printing condition so that the color attribute of the reference patch matches the color attribute of the reference patch. . 10. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of patches are patches having a shape in which the difference in the color attribute provides a visual effect related to perspective or shape. 11. A printing apparatus comprising: a printing unit that prints an image on a print medium by discharging ink; and a print control device that generates print data for controlling the operation of the printing unit. A printing device, wherein the printing control device is the printing control device according to any one of claims 1 to 10. 12. An inspection sheet on which a patch printed by the printing apparatus according to claim 11 and in which at least one attribute is equal to at least one attribute with a color expressed after the stabilization time has elapsed. 13. A printing method for performing printing by controlling a printing unit capable of printing an image on a printing medium by discharging ink, wherein (a) the ink is such that the color attribute does not substantially change. At least some of a plurality of patches satisfying a condition in which a stabilization time required for sufficient drying is different and a condition in which at least one attribute of a color expressed after the stabilization time is equivalent are printed. A printing method, comprising: generating print data without depending on image data input from the outside; and (b) printing the patch by driving the printing unit based on the print data. 14. A recording medium recording a computer-readable program for generating print data for controlling a printing unit capable of printing an image on a print medium by discharging ink, wherein the color attribute A plurality of patches satisfying a condition that the stabilization time required for the ink to sufficiently dry so that the ink does not substantially change, and a condition that at least one attribute of a color expressed after the elapse of the stabilization time are equivalent A program for realizing a function of generating print data for printing at least a part of patches irrespective of image data input from the outside.