JP2002032740A - Color image inspection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a color image inspection device which can visually recognize the relation between consistent and inconsistent parts in an image and discriminate between the consistent and inconsistent parts visually easily. SOLUTION: Inconsistent parts M2 and C4 of a 1st proof image and a 2nd proof image are given inconsistency marks. Images of coincident places M1, M3 and M4, C1, C3 and C4... make it easy to discriminate between consistent and inconsistent parts by putting the color density of the original images closer to white.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for comparing a first color image before correction obtained in a plate making process with a second color image obtained by correcting the first color image, The present invention relates to a color image inspection device that outputs the comparison result as a plate inspection result image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, in a plate making process, as shown in FIG. 21, an original film F1 (F1Y, F1M, F1C, F1) is printed in accordance with print designation contents designated in advance.
1K) and print using the original film F1.
The printing plate P1 (P1Y, P1M, P1
C, P1K). Then, in order to check whether the printed matter printed by the printing plate P1 created in this way matches the print designation content, a trial printing, that is, a proof printing (first school) PS1 is printed from the printing plate P1, and the proof printing is performed. PS1 is compared with the print specification contents. At this stage, if a spot that does not match the print designation content is found, the process returns to the plate making process and the original film F2 (F2Y, F2
M, F2C, F2K) and printing plate P2 (P2Y, P2M,
P2C, P2K) are newly created, and a proof print (reprint) PS2 is printed from the printing plate P2. If further correction is necessary, the original film F3 (F3Y, F3M, F3C, F3K) further corrected in the same manner as described above.
Printing plate P3 (P3Y, P3Y, P3Y)
3M, P3C, P3K), and proofs (three schools) PS3 are printed from these printing plates P3.

[0003] Such a correction work is a manual operation and requires a complicated work. Therefore, a portion (a correction required portion) that does not match the print designation contents is not properly corrected or the correction required portion is not properly corrected. It is easy to make correction mistakes such as incorrectly correcting other parts.

[0004] Therefore, conventionally, a number of devices for inspecting such mistakes have been proposed. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open
The apparatuses described in Japanese Patent No. 281697 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-271091 read an image of an original film originally created and an image of a modified original film, compare the two images, and detect a match / mismatch. The operator can determine (check) whether or not the correction content is appropriate based on the detection result.

[0005]

By the way, in an image (inspection result image) expressing such a plate inspection result,
It is difficult to determine the approximate image portion of the original image from the connection with the surrounding image only by specifying only the position of the mismatched portion.

Therefore, it is conceivable that the image of the matching portion is also expressed on the inspection result image in the same manner as the original image. However, in this case, the image of the matching portion becomes an obstacle, There is a problem that it is difficult to distinguish between a coincident part and a non-coincident part.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem in the prior art, and expresses a coincidence image and a non-coincidence image by expressing a matching result image in a plate inspection result image. It is an object of the present invention to provide a color image inspection apparatus in which a relationship with an image can be visually recognized, and in which a matching portion and a mismatching portion can be easily identified.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing apparatus comprising: a first color image before correction obtained in a plate making process;
A color image inspection apparatus that compares a second color image obtained by correcting the first color image with a second color image, and outputs the comparison result as an inspection result image. A difference detecting means for detecting a matching part and a mismatching part, respectively, and a processing means for generating a matching part expression image in which the color density of the matching part of the first and second color images is closer to white; Output means for outputting a plate inspection result image in which a mismatch mark is formed at a position corresponding to a mismatch position between the first and second color images, and wherein the match position expression image is formed at the match position. It is characterized by.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the color image inspection apparatus of the first aspect, the processing means sets the color density of each color component at a common ratio for the coincident portion of the first and second color images. It is characterized by changing the color density of the coincident portion close to white.

[0010]

FIG. 1 is a partial external view of a color image inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The YZ rectangular coordinate axes are shown. In this color image inspection apparatus 1, a transparent glass plate 3 is mounted on the upper surface of a main body 2, and proof printing, an original film, a printing plate, and other reading objects can be placed on the transparent glass plate 3. I have.
A Y-side end of a cover member 4 having a plane size slightly larger than the transparent glass plate 3 is connected to the upper surface of the main body 2 on the (+ Y) side of the transparent glass plate 3. It can swing freely. Therefore, the operator performs proof printing on the transparent glass plate 3 and places any one of the original film and the printing plate on the transparent glass plate 3.
Is folded over the transparent glass plate 3, the sheet-like object to be read is sandwiched between the transparent glass plate 3 and the cover member 4 and held. As described above, in this embodiment, the transparent glass plate 3 and the cover member 4 constitute a holding unit that holds an object to be read such as a proof print.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the color image inspection apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 in a state where the cover member 4 is laid on the transparent glass plate 3. Inside the main body 2, a base frame 5 is arranged on the bottom side, and X
A Y drive mechanism 10 is provided. This XY drive mechanism 1
0, as shown in the figure, is composed of an X drive unit 11a extending in the X direction and a Y drive unit 11b extending in the Y direction.

In the X drive unit 11a, the ball screw 1
One end of 2a is rotatably supported by a bearing (not shown) and the other end is connected to an X drive pulse motor (not shown). A coupling block 13a is screwed into an intermediate portion of the ball screw 12a. Further, a Y drive unit 11b is fixed on the coupling block 13a. The basic configuration of the Y drive unit 11b is the same as that of the X drive unit 11a, and a description thereof will be omitted.

In the XY drive mechanism 10 configured as described above, by controlling the X drive and Y drive pulse motors, a ball screw (not shown) of the Y drive unit 11b is provided.
The connecting block 13b screwed to the
Can be moved dimensionally.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the structure of the structure 50. As shown in FIG. As shown in the drawing, the illumination unit 20 and the optical system 30 are provided in the two-dimensionally movable coupling block 13b.
And a structure 50 formed by integrating the color CCD camera 40.

In the lighting unit 20, a round fluorescent lamp 22 is housed in a cylindrical main body cover 21, and the lighting controller turns on and off the light. When the round fluorescent lamp 22 is turned on, the illumination light IL from the round fluorescent lamp 22 is emitted.
Passes through the opening 23 provided at the upper part of the main body cover 21, further passes through the transparent glass plate 3, and enters a part of the object to be read (proof print, original film, printing plate) S. As described above, in this embodiment, the illumination light IL locally illuminates a part of the object S to be read by the round fluorescent lamp 22, so that the illuminance distribution in the illumination area can be made uniform. .

The light reflected from the illumination area of the object S is guided to the color CCD camera 40 by the optical system 30. The optical system 30 includes a zoom lens and a lens driving motor 32 that drives the zoom lens to change the magnification of the zoom lens. The motor controller drives the zoom lens to increase the magnification in three stages. It is possible to change to.

In the structure 50 constructed as described above, the reading unit S placed on the transparent glass plate 3 is locally and uniformly illuminated by the illumination unit 20 and the optical system 30 is illuminated.
, The image of the illumination range is appropriately scaled, and the image is captured by the color CCD camera 40. Moreover, this structure 5
0 is attached to the coupling block 13b, so that the X- and Y-drive pulse motors are controlled by the motor controller while capturing the local image of the object S to be read in the two-dimensional manner as described above. When the structure 50 is moved, the entire image on the object S can be read.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an electrical configuration of the color image inspection apparatus 1 together with a control system of the optical configuration and the mechanical configuration.

This device has a CP as a control arithmetic unit 61.
A computer unit having a U and a memory. As an input / output device of the control operation device 61, a color CRT 62, a keyboard 63, a mouse 64, a monochrome plotter 65, and a color printer 66 are provided. Further, the control arithmetic unit 61 controls the voice unit 68 via the voice unit controller 67 to transmit a voice message to the worker. In addition, the control arithmetic unit 6
1 controls the turning on and off of the round fluorescent lamp 22 via the lighting controller 69. The image signals (image information) of the three RGB components obtained by the color CCD camera 40 are supplied to an image input circuit 70, and after undergoing appropriate image processing,
It is sent to the control arithmetic unit 61. In addition, the control arithmetic unit 61
Can control the lens drive motor 32 via the motor controller 71 and
X and Y driving pulse motors 14a,
14b can be controlled individually. Further, a magnetic disk 73 is electrically connected to the control arithmetic unit 61 as an external recording medium.

Next, the operation of the color image inspection apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, a proof print (first school) PS1 is prepared according to the flow shown at the top of FIG. That is, the original film F1 according to the print designation content designated in advance.
(F1Y, F1M, F1C, F1K) are prepared, and printing and development processing is performed using the original film F1 to form a printing plate P1 (P1Y, P1M, P1C, P1K), and then proofreading from the printing plate P1. Printing (first school) PS1 is printed.

When the operator places the first school PS1 thus created on the transparent glass plate 3 and operates the keyboard 63 or the mouse 64 to select the first school reading instruction, the first school reading process is executed. FIG. 5: Step S1).

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the first school reading process. In the first school reading process, the operator selects the first school reading menu (step S101).
Prompts the operator to input reading parameters on the color CRT 62. These reading parameters are related to not only the reading process of the first school PS1 but also the reading process of the second school PS2 described later. These reading parameters are composed of “JOB name”, “composed paper size”, “reading resolution”,..., And can be input by the operator operating the keyboard 63 or the mouse 64. Then, when the operator sets the reading parameters (step S102), steps S103 to S109 are executed according to these reading parameters to read the color image on the first school PS1.

In step S103, the lens drive motor 32 is controlled via the motor controller 71 to set the magnification of the zoom lens, and the X drive and Y drive pulse motors 14a, 14b are set via the motor controller 72. To return the structure 50 including the color CCD camera 40 to the origin position. Then, in step S104, the structure 50 is moved so that the color CCD camera 40 is located at the reading start position (camera initial position).

Subsequently, in step S105, the color CCD
An image on the first school PS1 is captured by the camera 40, and image signals (image information) of RGB three-color components related to the image are supplied to the image input circuit 70, and the image is appropriately processed. (Not shown). In this way, a part of the image on the first school PS1 (an image for one frame) can be read with an image size corresponding to the magnification set in step S103.

As described above, in this embodiment, only a part of the image is read by the color CCD camera 40. Therefore, the whole image is divided in the X and Y directions by one frame unit, and X CCD camera 40
And one-frame images are sequentially read while moving two-dimensionally in the Y and Y directions.

More specifically, it is determined in step S106 whether or not the number of movements of the color CCD camera 40 in the Y direction matches the number of divisions in the Y direction (the number of Y divisions). Step S
After moving the color CCD camera 40 by one frame in the Y direction at 107, an image of the one frame is read (step S105). On the other hand, if "Yes" is determined in the step S106, the process proceeds to a step S108.

In this step S108, it is determined whether or not the number of movements of the color CCD camera 40 in the X direction is equal to the number of divisions in the X direction (the number of X divisions). If "No" is determined in this step S108, After moving the color CCD camera 40 by one frame in the X direction in step S109, the image of the one frame is read (step S105). On the other hand, “Yes” in step S108
, The process proceeds to step S110.

By executing steps S105 to S109 as described above, the images of all the frames can be read, and the first school PS1 serving as a reference in the plate inspection process described later.
Is read. After that, step S11
The image of the first school PS1 read at 0 is displayed on the color CRT 62. Then, the completion of the reading of the first school PS1 is notified to the worker from the voice unit 68 via the voice unit controller 67 (voice announcement).

When the reading process of the first school PS1 is completed as described above, the operator puts the first school PS1 on the transparent glass plate 3.
After being removed from the first school PS1, the re-school PS2 to be compared with the first school PS1 is placed on the keyboard 63 or the mouse 64.
Is operated to select the re-reading instruction, the first-school reading process is executed (FIG. 5; step S2).

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the re-reading process. In this re-reading process, the operator selects the re-reading menu (step S201).
Then, steps S202 to S208 are executed based on the read parameters set in step S102, and
The image on S2 is read. Steps S202 to S202
208 correspond to steps S103 to S103 described above.
This corresponds to S109, and the object to be read is the re-established PS2.
Since they are the same except for the following, the description of the processing contents is omitted here.

When the entire image of the recalibration PS2 is read, the read image of the recalibration PS2 is displayed on the color CRT 62 (step S209), and then, in step S210, the recalibration PS2 is displayed.
The operator is informed by the audio unit 68 via the audio unit controller 67 that the reading of the image No. 2 has been completed (audio announcement).

When the reading process of the re-establishment PS2 is completed as described above, the alignment process (FIG. 5; step S)
Execute 3). FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the alignment processing. In this alignment processing, the operator selects the plate inspection start menu (step S301), and further operates the mouse 64 while viewing the image displayed on the color CRT 62 to indicate the approximate position of the alignment mark (step S302). It has become. Normal,
For the alignment in the plate making-printing process, two cross marks, so-called registration marks, are printed on each of the first school PS1 and the second school PS2, and these are used as alignment marks. When the registration mark is not attached or the registration mark is unclear, the characteristic portion of the image is used as an alignment mark. Therefore, in step S303, the operator selects whether to use the registration mark or the characteristic portion as the alignment mark, and obtains the alignment reference coordinates according to the selection.

When "register mark" is selected in step S303, the flow advances to step S304, and the alignment reference coordinates are obtained as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, in the area A specified in step S302,
As shown in FIG. 9A, the registration mark RM exists, and when the color densities of the three RGB components of each pixel are projected and added in the Y direction, the density distribution in the X direction as shown in FIG. Is obtained. Similarly, a density distribution in the Y direction as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the maximum coordinates XC and YC having a high density corresponding to the registration mark RM in each of the X and Y directions.
Is the alignment reference coordinate.

On the other hand, when "characteristic part" is selected in step S303, the process proceeds to step S305, where the operator operates the mouse 64 to specify one point of the characteristic part, and uses the coordinates of the specified point as alignment reference coordinates. I have.

In steps S304 and S305, two alignment reference coordinates are obtained for the first school PS1 and two alignment reference coordinates are obtained for the second school PS2.

Then, in the next step S306, the rotation / movement amount of the re-adjustment PS2 with respect to the first adjustment PS1 is calculated based on the four alignment reference coordinates obtained as described above. Subsequently, in Step S307, the re-school P
The image of S2 is rotated and moved, and the re-school PS2 is the first school PS1.
Are superimposed on each other, and the image information (re-calibration data) of the re-calibration PS2 is corrected so that the coincidence / non-coincidence of the two images can be compared.

Further, based on the image information after the correction,
The entire image in S2 is displayed again on the color CRT 62 (step S308).

When the alignment process is completed as described above, a plate inspection process (FIG. 5, step S4) is performed.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the plate inspection process. In this plate inspection process, the operator sets the "threshold"
"Dust removal size", "Display format", "Display method",
Set plate inspection conditions such as "display color", ... (step S
401), a difference detection process for detecting a difference between the first school PS1 and the second school PS2 is executed (step S402). That is, the image data of the first school PS1 and the second school PS2 are each divided into (n × m) pieces, and the difference between the two images while locally matching the images of the first school PS1 and the second school PS2 for each of the divided areas. Is calculated, and the difference is compared with the threshold value set in step S401. If the difference is larger than the threshold, it is determined that there is a difference in the divided area. As a result, the first school PS1 and the second school PS2
Are detected, and a non-coincidence point where there is a discrepancy between both PS1 and PS2 is detected. Further, as for the mismatched portion, there are a reduced portion deleted by the correction based on the first school PS1 and an added portion added.
Then, a difference display image is created according to the “display format” and “display color” set in step S401.

In this embodiment, the following five basic display formats are used as the “display format”: “frame output to plotter”, “point output to plotter”, “first school output to printer”,・ "Reprint to printer" and "Output to increase / decrease to printer". The details will be described later with reference to specific examples.

The "display color" can be selected and set as follows.

. Matching portions: "4 colors", "white mask",
"Monochrome" ・ Additions: "4 colors", "Monochrome", "Red",
"Green", "Blue"-Decreased parts: "4 colors", "monochrome", "red",
“Green”, “Blue” ・ Frame: “Red”, “Green”, “Blue” Therefore, by setting these display colors appropriately, it is easy to identify mismatched parts (increased and decreased parts) by color. Can be.

Here, the "white mask" is a process for increasing the color density of each of the color components of the pixels constituting the image of the coincident portion so as to make the image of the coincident portion closer to white. Then, the color density of the RGB color component is set to 0.
The following formula is used to calculate the R color component after processing = {(R color component before processing) +500}.
{3, G color component after processing = {(G color component before processing) +500}
{3, B color component after processing = {(B color component before processing) +500}
# 3, the color density of the RGB color components is increased.

That is, in this embodiment, each color component (B
GR) is changed at a common ratio (in this example, a parameter value of “500” or “3”) to bring the color density of the matched portion closer to white. Therefore, although the image of the matching portion approaches white, its color component balance substantially corresponds to the original image, and there is no significant disturbance from the visual impression of the original image.

"Monochrome" refers to a process of displaying an achromatic color while maintaining the color density of each of the color components of the pixels constituting the image of the corresponding portion. The following formula is used to calculate R color component after processing = (R color component before processing) × 0.3 +
(G color component before processing) × 0.6 + (B color component before processing)
× 0.1, G color component after processing = (R color component before processing) × 0.3 +
(G color component before processing) × 0.6 + (B color component before processing)
× 0.1, B component after processing = (R component before processing) × 0.3 +
(G color component before processing) × 0.6 + (B color component before processing)
× 0.1, the color density of the RGB color components is kept constant to achieve monochrome.

The "frame" means the next step S40.
3, which is obtained by executing S404, and is a mark indicating a mismatched portion.

Next, the difference detection processing described above (step S
Upon completion of step 402), contour extraction processing is performed in step S403. That is, as shown in FIG.
This is a process of extracting a block B (hatched area in FIG. 3) connected from image data in which the difference between the first school PS1 and the second school PS2 is greater than or equal to the threshold value. Is deleted by proofreading, a block B corresponding to the character size is extracted.
In addition, when a difference between the first school PS1 and the second school PS2 occurs as a result of a phenomenon that is essentially unrelated to calibration, such as the attachment of minute dust, a relatively minute block B occurs. As described above, the size of the block B greatly differs depending on the type of the cause of the difference between the first school PS1 and the second school PS2.

When the contour extraction processing (step S403) is completed, the process proceeds to step S404, where the number of pixels constituting the contour of the block B obtained by the contour extraction processing is counted, and the dust removal size set in step S401 and Compare. From the comparison result, for the block B whose pixel count is larger than the dust removal size, as shown in FIG. 12, a frame F surrounding the block B is virtually considered, and each of the X and Y coordinates constituting the frame F is considered. The minimum position (Xmin, Ymin) and the maximum position (Xmax, Ymax) are obtained and stored on the magnetic disk 73.

When the plate inspection process (FIG. 5; step S4) is completed, the process proceeds to step S5 (FIG. 5) to output the result of the plate inspection process. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the output process. In this output process, the operator selects an output menu and determines what format to output (step S501). Then, steps S502 to S511 are executed to output in the specified output format.

That is, first, in step S502, it is determined whether or not to output a frame to the monochrome plotter 65.
If "es" is determined, frame data consisting of the four positions Xmin, Ymin, Xmax, and Ymax obtained in step S404 is read from the magnetic disk 73, and a frame corresponding to the block B is drawn on output paper by the plotter 65 (step S5).
03). On the other hand, if “No” is determined in step S502, the process proceeds to step S504.

In this step S504, it is determined whether or not to output a point to the monochrome plotter 65. If "Yes" is determined, for the block B larger than the dust removal size, individual pixels of the block B The position coordinates are obtained and stored on the magnetic disk 73, and the position coordinates are given to the monochrome plotter 65 to plot each point on output paper (step S505). On the other hand, step S
If “No” is determined in step 504, step S50
Proceed to 6.

In this step S506, it is determined whether or not to output the first school to the color printer 66, and if "Yes" is determined, a frame indicating a portion that does not match the image of the first school PS1 is output to the color printer 66 ( Step S507). On the other hand, if “No” is determined in step S506,
Proceed to step S508.

In this step S508, it is determined whether or not to output the recalibration PS2 to the color printer 66.
If "s" is determined, a frame indicating a position that does not match the image of the re-establishment PS2 is output on output paper (step S509). On the other hand, if “No” is determined in step S508,
Proceed to step S510.

In this step S510, it is determined whether or not to output the increase / decrease to the color printer 66. If "Yes" is determined, the increase image, the decrease image, the image of the coincidence portion, and the frame indicating the non-coincidence portion are displayed. Is output on output paper (step S511). On the other hand, “No” in step S510
When the determination is made, the process returns to step S502.

Thus, the inspection result is output in the designated format.

Next, the first school (reference object) PS1 and the re-school (PS2) are displayed in any display format while showing typical specific examples.
Whether a non-coincidence mark (a frame or a dot display described later) indicating a non-coincidence point is output on output paper will be described for each of the five cases.

For convenience of explanation, four symbols M1 to M4 and three Greek letters C1 to C3 are printed on the first school PS1, for example, as shown in FIGS. The symbol M2 is deleted, and the Greek letter C4 of "δ" is added to create the re-establishment PS2. In each case, the same first-stage PS1 and re-establishment PS2 are targeted.

Display Format 1 (FIG. 14) First, in the plate inspection condition setting in step S401, if “output frame to plotter” is set as the display format, the first school P
A difference between S1 and PS2 is calculated (step S40).
2) A mismatching portion between the first school PS1 and the second school PS2, that is, blocks corresponding to the symbol M2 of "◇" and the Greek character C4 of "δ" are respectively extracted (step S40).
3), the minimum position of the frame surrounding the symbol M2 (X1min, Y1mi
n) and the maximum position (X1max, Y1max), and the minimum position (X2min, Y2min) and the maximum position (X2max, Y2max) of the frame surrounding the Greek letter C4 are stored in the magnetic disk (step S404).

Since "frame output to plotter" is set in step S401, "Y" is set in step S502.
es ", the frame data including the minimum position (X1min, Y1min) and the maximum position (X1max, Y1max) is read out, and the monochrome plotter 65 indicates the first non-coincidence point (the deletion point of the symbol M2). Is drawn on the translucent tracing paper (output paper) TP,
The minimum position (X2min, Y2min) and the maximum position (X2max,
Y2max) is read out, and the frame FR2 indicating the second mismatching point (the point where the character C4 is added) is translucent by the monochrome plotter 65.
Pictured above.

As described above, the translucent tracing paper T
The format for outputting only the frames FR1 and FR2 indicating the mismatched portion on P is "display format 1", and the tracing paper TP
Is superimposed on the re-established PS2 based on the registration mark mark, the mismatched portion can be easily and clearly identified, and a correction mistake during the plate making process and a mistake that occurs in a stage from creation of the original film to completion of printing. A wide range of inspections can be easily performed.

Display Format 2 (FIG. 15) First, in the plate inspection condition setting in step S401, if "point output to plotter" is set as the display format, the first school P
The difference between S1 and the re-established PS2 is calculated, and the mismatching point between the first-stage PS1 and the re-established PS2, that is, the symbol M2 of “◇” and the Greek letter C4 of “δ” are detected, An image is created. (Step S40
2).

Since "point output to plotter" is set in step S401, "Y" is set in step S504.
es ", the process proceeds to step S505, and the difference data is converted into a dot. The monochrome plotter 65 uses the dot image DI1 (in the area AA in FIG. 15) indicating the first non-coincidence point (the deletion point of the symbol M2) and its outline. Yes, FIG.
) And a second mismatch (character C
4) and a dot image DI2 showing the outline thereof.
(The area BB in FIG. 15 and is enlarged in FIG. 17) are drawn on the translucent tracing paper TP.

As described above, the translucent tracing paper T
Dot image DI showing the unmatched part and its outline on P
The format that outputs only DI and DI2 is "display format 2".
The same effect as in the case of “display format 1” is obtained.

Display Format 3 (FIG. 18) First, in the plate inspection condition setting in step S401, when "first school output to printer" is set as the display format, the difference between first school PS1 and second school PS2 is calculated (step S401). S40
2) As in the case of "display format 1", the minimum position (X1min, Y1min) and the maximum position (X1max, Y1max) of the frame surrounding the symbol M2, and the minimum position (X2min, Y2max) of the frame surrounding the Greek character C4 Y2min) and maximum position (X2m
ax, Y2max) is stored in the magnetic disk (step S404).

Since "first school output to printer" is set in step S401, "Yes" is determined in step S506, and the image data of the first school PS1 and the frame data created in step S404 are combined. Read out,
According to the color printer 66, a frame F indicating a first mismatched portion (a deleted portion of the symbol M2)
R1 and • a frame F indicating a second mismatched portion (added portion of the character C4)
R2, and the image of the first school PS1 are drawn on the color printer paper CP.

The format in which the image of the first school PS1 is superimposed on the frames FR1 and FR2 indicating the inconsistent portion and output is the "display format 3".
It is possible to easily and clearly identify a portion that does not match with the re-established PS2 from the image output to P, and includes a correction error during the plate making process and an error that occurs during the stage from the original film production to the completion of printing. A wide range of inspections can be easily performed.

Display Format 4 (FIG. 19) First, this is the display format when “reprint output to printer” is set as the display format in the plate inspection condition setting in step S401, and a frame indicating a portion that does not match the reprint PS2. FR
This is different from "Display format 3" in which the first school PS1 and the frames FR1 and FR2 indicating the mismatching point are output in a superimposed manner, and the other points are "Display format 3". Is the same as

That is, in the "display format 4", in response to the setting of "reprint output to printer" as the display format in the plate inspection condition setting in step S401, the first school PS1 and the second school PS2 are set in step S402. Is calculated,
As in the case of “display format 1”, the minimum position (X1min, Y1min) and the maximum position (X1
1max, Y1max), the minimum position (X2min, Y2min) and the maximum position (X2max, Y) of the frame surrounding the Greek letter C4.
2max) is obtained (step S404). And
In step S508, "Yes" is determined, and
Are read out and the frame data created in step S404 are read out by the color printer 66. A frame F indicating a first mismatched portion (a deleted portion of the symbol M2)
R1 and • a frame F indicating a second mismatched portion (added portion of the character C4)
R2 and the image of the re-establishment PS2 are drawn on the color printer paper CP.

For this reason, the color printer paper C
It is possible to easily and clearly identify a mismatched point with the first school PS1 from the image output to P, and to include a correction mistake during the plate making process and a mistake that occurs in a stage from the original film production to the printing completion. A wide range of inspections can be easily performed.

Display Format 5 (FIG. 20) This “display format 5” is an example in which the color density of the matching portion is made closer to white, corresponding to the feature of the present invention.

First, in the plate inspection condition setting in step S401, if "increase / decrease output to printer" is set as the display format, the difference between the first school PS1 and the second school PS2 is calculated (step S402). When the “display color” of the matching portion is set to “white mask”, the color densities of the respective color components of the pixels forming the image of the matching portion are calculated based on the above formula, and the image of the matching portion becomes white. Get closer.

Subsequently, the minimum position (X1min, X1min,
Y1min) and the maximum position (X1max, Y1max), and the minimum position of the frame surrounding the Greek letter C4 (X2min, Y2min)
And the maximum position (X2max, Y2max) are obtained and stored in the magnetic disk (step S404).

Since "increase / decrease output to printer" is set in step S401, "Yes" is determined in step S510, and the image data of the matched portion subjected to the white mask processing, the image data of the increased portion, and The image data of the reduced portion and the frame data created in step S404 are read out, and the color printer 66 outputs a frame F indicating a first mismatched portion (deletion of the symbol M2).
R1 and • a frame F indicating a second mismatched portion (added portion of the character C4)
R2, an image of a matching portion (symbols M1, M3, M4 indicated by broken lines and characters C1 to C3), an increased image of an increasing portion (character C4 indicated by a solid line), and an increased image of a decreasing portion (solid line). Are drawn on the color printer paper CP. Although the description has been omitted in the above description, “output to increase / decrease to the printer”
Is set, the presence or absence of “frame output” is set. When the frame output is set, as shown in the above specific example (display format 5), the frame is superimposed on the increased and decreased images. FR1 and FR2 are drawn, but when no frame output is set, the drawing of the frames FR1 and FR2 is omitted, and only the image of the matching portion, the increased image, and the reduced image are drawn.

The format in which the images of the coincidence, increase and decrease portions and the frames FR1 and FR2 indicating the non-coincidence portions are superimposed and output is "display format 5", which is output to the color printer dedicated paper CP. It is possible to easily and clearly identify the inconsistency between the first school PS1 and the second school PS2 from the image, and to correct errors during the plate making process and errors that occur during the stage from the original film production to the printing completion. A wide range of inspections can be easily performed.

Further, since the image of the matching portion is subjected to white mask processing to make the matching portion closer to white, the mismatching portion can be identified more clearly and easily.
This makes the inspection even easier.

Further, regarding the “display color”, there are the above choices, and it is desirable to select and set according to the contents of the print designation so that the unmatched portions can be clearly combined and applied. For example, in the “display format 5” of FIG. 20, the respective display colors are as follows: • Matching portion: “white mask”; • Increasing portion: “red”; • Decreasing portion: “green”; If you select "Red", the mismatch will be clearer,
From the display color of the mismatched portion, it can be easily determined whether it is an increased portion or a decreased portion.

In the "display format 1" and the "display format 2", the frames FR1 and FR2 indicating the portions that do not match the translucent tracing paper TP are output. Needless to say, it is good. In the “display format 3” to the “display format 5”, the color printer dedicated paper C
Although output is performed on P, the output paper is not limited to this, and may be output on ordinary copy paper or the like.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the first school PS1 is used as a reference object and the second school PS2 is used as an object, but the original film F2 created based on the first school PS1 is used.
(F2Y, F2M, F2C, F2K) and the printing plate P2 (P2Y, P2M, P2C, P2K) obtained by printing and developing using the original film F2, respectively. You may make it compare with. The original film F2 and the printing plate P2 are not themselves color images because they are represented by binary dots,
Each color component of the original film F2 (F2Y, F2M, F2C,
F2K) and each color component (P2Y, P2M, P2) of the printing plate P2.
C, P2K) represents a color image.
In response to this situation, the “second color image” in the present invention is a concept that also includes images of each color component of a set that constitutes a color image as a whole.

As shown in FIG. 21, there is a case where the calibration is not completed at the stage of the re-establishment PS2 and the three-stage PS 3 is required.
Original film F3 (F3Y, F3
M, F3C, F3K) and printing plate P3 (P3) obtained by printing and developing using original film F3.
Y, P3M, P3C, P3K) and a proof print (three schools) PS3 printed from the printing plate P3 may be set as the object. If it is necessary to create four or more schools, the proof is used as a reference as described above, and the original film modified based on the proof and the original film are printed and developed. Any one of the printing plate obtained as described above and a new proof printed on the printing plate may be used as the object.

Further, in the above embodiment, the images are read in the order of the reference object (first school PS1) and the object (re-school PS2), but the reading order may be reversed.

[0082]

As described above, claims 1 and 2 are as described above.
According to the invention, not only a mismatch mark is formed at a position corresponding to a mismatched portion, but also a plate inspection result image in which a matched portion representation image closer to white is formed at the matched portion is output. In addition to being able to visually recognize the relationship with the image of the matching portion, it is easy to visually identify the matching portion and the non-matching portion.

In particular, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the color density of each color component is changed at a common ratio at the coincidence portion of the first and second color images so that the color density at the coincidence portion approaches white. The color component balance of the image at the location is not significantly disturbed from the original image.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of one embodiment of a color image inspection apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the color image inspection apparatus of FIG. 1 in a state where a cover member is laid on a transparent glass plate.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a structure.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an electrical configuration of the color image inspection apparatus in FIG. 1 together with a control system of the optical configuration and the mechanical configuration.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an overall operation of the color image inspection apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a first school reading process.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a re-reading process.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an alignment process.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the contents of an alignment process.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating plate inspection processing.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing the contents of a plate inspection process.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing the contents of a plate inspection process.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an output process.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram for describing “display format 1”.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram for describing “display format 2”.

FIG. 16 is a partially enlarged view of FIG.

FIG. 17 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 15;

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram for describing “display format 3”.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram for describing “display format 4”.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram for describing “display format 5”.

FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram showing a flow of a plate making process-proofing process which is a technical background of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 61 Control arithmetic unit C1 to C3 characters (image of matching portion) C4 characters (increased image) CP paper for color printer (output paper) F1, F2, F3 Original film FR1, FR2 frame M1, M3, M4 characters (matching portion) Image) M2 symbol (reduced image) P1, P2, P3 Printing plate PS1 First school (proof print) PS2 Re-school (proof print) PS3 Three school (proof print) TP tracing server (output paper)

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Shinji Kawashima 425 Kuze Oyabu-cho, Minami-ku, Kyoto F-term (reference) 2H095 AD05 AD11 5B057 AA11 CA01 CA08 CA12 CA16 CB01 CB08 CB12 CB16 CE16 DA07 DC32 5C077 LL11 MP08 PP31 PP43 PP58 PQ20 TT08 5C079 HA15 KA02 LA01 LB11 NA06 PA07

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A first color image before correction obtained in a plate making process is compared with a second color image obtained by correcting the first color image, and the comparison result is used as an inspection result. A color image inspection device that outputs the image as an image, wherein the first and second color images are compared with each other, and a difference detection unit that detects a coincidence portion and a non-coincidence portion, respectively; Processing means for generating a match point representation image in which the color density of the match point of the image is close to white; a mismatch mark formed at a position corresponding to the mismatch point of the first and second color images; An output unit that outputs a plate inspection result image in which a representation image is formed at the coincident portion. 2. The color image inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit changes the color density of each color component at a common ratio with respect to the coincidence portion of the first and second color images. A color image inspection apparatus, wherein the color density of a portion is made closer to white.