JP2004213317A - Color output adjustment device, image forming device and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily select the value of a color to be adjusted. <P>SOLUTION: This color output adjustment device for performing a color adjustment for color printing comprises a pattern storage part 209 for storing an adjustment pattern to be referred to in adjustment of a color to be printed, a color designation device 202 for inputting the color to be adjusted, and a pattern composition device 210 for forming an adjustment sheet from the color designated by the means 202 and the adjustment pattern stored in the storage part 209. When an output of adjustment sheet is instructed from an adjustment sheet start command input device 207, adjustment sheet formation information is outputted from the pattern composition device 201, and the adjustment sheet is printed out by a printer. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a color output adjustment device using an adjustment sheet, a color image forming apparatus provided with the color output adjustment device, and a computer program for performing color output adjustment.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Regarding the color of a color printer, a color target is generally set by a printer maker in a color space that can be output by a printer according to a unique design policy, and a color profile is created. However, regarding colors, there are differences in memory colors by users, differences in appearance colors due to differences in use environments such as light sources, differences in preferred colors depending on the purpose of use, and the like, and preferred output colors are often different. . In some cases, a color is determined by a color value in a user's environment, and the output of a color having that value is not always the same for all color printers. Therefore, it may be different from the color intended by the user.
[0003]
Thus, in the inventions disclosed in Patent Documents 1-3, an adjustment sheet is output, visually checked, and fed back to absorb a difference between the density of each of the CMYK colors due to the temporal change of the printer from the design time. Like that. Further, in the invention disclosed in Patent Document 2, in order to determine replacement of consumables related to a color printer, an adjustment sheet is read by a sensor before printing and discharging, and a determination is made based on the read value. .
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-2002-120405 [0005]
[Patent Document 2]
JP-A-2002-142116
[Patent Document 3]
JP 2001-130056 A
[Patent Document 4]
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
On the other hand, as a means for the user to adjust the output color from the printer, generally, settings such as “brightness”, “contrast”, “saturation”, and “color balance” are often prepared in advance. However, it is difficult for these adjustment means to understand what the result will be, and to adjust the entire color. Therefore, it is difficult to adjust a specific color and not unintentionally change surrounding colors.
[0009]
In addition, when selecting a color to be adjusted, it may be difficult to recognize the color value, and the user cannot use the function. The present invention has been made in view of such a situation of the related art, and has as its object to provide a color output adjustment apparatus, an image forming apparatus, and a computer program which can easily select a color value to be adjusted. It is in.
[0010]
Further, it may be troublesome to perform special color adjustment for such a special color because, for example, the continuity of colors may be lost in some documents. Therefore, another object of the present invention is to provide a color output adjustment device, an image forming apparatus, and a computer program that can selectively apply whether or not to perform a special color adjustment for a certain special color. It is in.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a first means is a color output adjustment device for performing color adjustment for color printing, wherein a pattern storage means for storing an adjustment pattern to be referred when adjusting a color to be printed; Input means for inputting a color to be input, and adjustment sheet output means for synthesizing and outputting an adjustment sheet from the color input by the input means and the adjustment pattern stored in the pattern storage means. And
[0012]
A second means is the first means, wherein the input means inputs a color by directly selecting a color used for display on a display screen.
[0013]
A third means is the first means, wherein the input means directly inputs RGB values and / or CMYK values by numerical values.
[0014]
A fourth means is the first means, wherein the adjustment sheet output means includes a selection device for selecting a desired pattern from a plurality of the adjustment patterns, and inputs the pattern selected by the selection device and the input from the input means. An adjustment sheet is created from the input values to be adjusted and output.
[0015]
Fifth means is a means for inputting a color selected as a preferable color from the adjustment pattern as a special color in the first to fourth means, and after adjusting a value selected by the user for the special color. And a means for storing the adjusted value to a subsequent stage.
[0016]
The sixth means is the fifth means, further comprising a switching means for determining whether to use the adjusted value.
[0017]
A seventh means is characterized in that a color image forming apparatus is constituted by the color output adjusting device according to the first to sixth means, and a printing means for printing out the adjustment sheet.
[0018]
An eighth means for storing, in a pattern storage means, an adjustment pattern to be referenced when adjusting a color to be printed, in a computer program which is downloaded to a computer and executed by the computer to perform color output adjustment; A procedure for synthesizing an adjustment sheet from the color to be adjusted input by the input means and the adjustment pattern stored in the pattern storage means and outputting the adjusted sheet is written by a computer so as to be executable.
[0019]
A ninth means is a method according to the eighth means, wherein a color selected as a preferable color from the adjustment pattern is input as a special color, and a value selected by the user for the special color is a value after adjustment. A procedure for storing and a procedure for outputting the value after the adjustment to a subsequent stage are further written.
[0020]
The tenth means is characterized in that, in the ninth means, a procedure for determining whether or not to output the adjusted value to a subsequent stage is further written.
[0021]
According to the first and eighth means, since a desired color can be selected with reference to the adjustment sheet for an arbitrary color, color adjustment according to an actual use environment can be easily performed.
[0022]
According to the second means, since a color is directly selected on the display screen, even a user who is unfamiliar with the application can easily specify a color to be adjusted.
[0023]
According to the third means, since the RGB values and / or CMYK values are directly input by numerical values, a user who wants to specify the color exactly can make the adjustment by specifying the color exactly.
[0024]
According to the fourth means, there is provided a selection device for selecting a desired pattern from a plurality of adjustment patterns, and an adjustment sheet is created from the pattern selected by the selection device and the input value to be adjusted input from the input means. Therefore, it is possible to select a pattern according to the user's ease of use and necessity and adjust the color.
[0025]
According to the fifth and ninth means, a color selected as a preferable color from the adjustment pattern is input as a special color, and a value selected by the user for the special color is stored as an adjusted value, Since the value after the adjustment is output to the subsequent stage, the adjustment can be used even in the subsequent print processing by one adjustment.
[0026]
According to the sixth and tenth means, it is possible to select whether or not to use the adjusted value. Therefore, in the subsequent print processing, select whether or not to use the adjusted value as necessary. Becomes possible.
[0027]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0028]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a flow of color designation and color adjustment from a general application. When an application 100 of a personal computer (not shown) is started up and a color is designated from the color designation screen of the application 100, the designated color is passed to an OS (Operation System) 110, and is passed from the OS 110 to the printer driver 120. The printer driver 120 includes a color adjustment unit 121 and a color matching unit 122. The color adjustment unit 121 performs general color adjustment functions for the entire image, such as saturation adjustment, color balance adjustment, and contrast adjustment. Are provided in a usable form (see FIG. 8). After this adjustment, the color matching processing unit 122 uses a color matching function based on a color matching profile provided by the manufacturer. The color subjected to the color matching adjustment by the color matching unit 122 is sent to the printer 130. The printer 130 is provided with a K generation unit 131, a γ conversion unit 132, a gradation processing unit 133, and a printer engine 134. Color matching is performed by the printer 130, and if necessary, color information is obtained by the K generation unit 131K. After generation, the color is changed to the color of the ink used in the printer. Subsequently, γ processing and gradation processing are performed according to the printer, and the result is passed to the printer engine 134.
[0029]
Here, as an example, a case in which the color matching processing is performed in the printer driver 120 and the subsequent processing is performed in the printer 130 has been described. However, anywhere between the color matching processing unit 122 and the gradation processing unit 133 There may be a boundary between the printer driver 120 and the printer 130.
[0030]
In the present embodiment, an adjustment sheet 500 (see FIG. 5) for reflecting the color preference is output so that the adjustment can be easily performed. The adjustment sheet 500 may be built in the printer 130 in advance, or may be created by calculating an input from an input device for inputting a color to be adjusted by an adjustment sheet creation device and combining them.
[0031]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration and a data flow of the color adjustment device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[0032]
The color adjustment device 200 according to the present embodiment includes a pattern synthesis device 201, a color designation device 202, a color adjustment data creation device 203, a selection pattern input device 204, an adjustment data storage device 205, a color adjustment processing device 206, an adjustment sheet start command. It comprises an input device 207, an adjustment value input device 208, and a pattern storage unit 209.
[0033]
In the present embodiment, an adjustment sheet output command is received from the adjustment sheet activation command input device 207, an adjustment sheet in which the color to be adjusted and other colors are arranged is output, and a color that is preferable for the user is selected to adjust the color. I do. The activation of the output of the adjustment sheet and the input of the adjustment values may be performed by selection from the printer driver 120 or may be performed by the printer main body 130. That is, the adjustment sheet activation command input device 207 and the adjustment value input device 208 may be provided on the printer driver 120 side or on the printer main body 130 side.
[0034]
The processing in the present invention is in the printer driver 120 in the color flow shown in FIG. 1, and is performed before the color adjustment as shown in FIG. By making sure that the color to be adjusted is included in the adjustment sheet, and creating the adjustment sheet 500 at this stage, the original color is output through the same color processing path as usual, and the comparison with the normal print can be performed. It will be easier.
[0035]
Further, the pattern synthesizing device 201 reads out the color information specified by the color specifying device 202 and the pattern specified by the selected pattern input device 204 from the pattern storage unit 200, and creates an adjustment pattern 510 (FIG. 5). In general, the user often does not know the color value itself because the color designation is performed using a palette provided by the application, and it is often difficult to check the color value later if the user is unfamiliar with the application itself. . Therefore, a designation window (cursor) 302 for designating a color is prepared in a color designation dialog 301 of the driver (FIG. 3), and an image on an application including a color to be adjusted by a user is displayed. By moving the window 302 to the part 303 of the color to be designated in the display image 300 and clicking, the OS takes out the color used for the screen display from the OS and takes it into the color designation dialog 301. It is generally not guaranteed that the value of this color is exactly the same as the value of the color that the user has unknowingly specified on the application, but almost the same color is specified. With this function, the user can easily specify an approximate color.
[0036]
Further, in the color adjustment device 200 of FIG. 2, the color input dialogue to be adjusted in the printer driver 120 more directly receives a user's input of a numerical value and passes it to the pattern synthesis device 201 as an adjustment color. You can also That is, the color designation dialog 400 is displayed by the printer driver 120 as shown in FIG. 4, and the designated values are inputted into the blanks 410, 420, and 430 for inputting the R value, the G value, and the B value to perform the color designation. You can also. In this case, it is also possible to use CMYK values instead of the RGB values. This allows the user to specify an arbitrary color as the center of the adjustment pattern (adjustment basic color), and can perform more precise adjustment.
[0037]
The adjustment sheet 500 is a sheet in which the values of R and G are increased or decreased in fixed value increments and printed in a 5 × 5 matrix as shown in FIG. 5A, for example. Compare colors.
[0038]
Further, as described above, the pattern synthesizing device 201 reads out the color information specified by the color specifying device 202 and the pattern specified by the selected pattern input device 204 from the pattern storage unit 200 to create the adjustment pattern 510 (FIG. 5). The adjustment pattern to be adjusted is created, but the pattern stored in the pattern storage unit 209 always includes the color selected to be adjusted in the sheet, and changes each component from the selected color little by little around it. Place it. Since the output is output using the current color processing of the printer, the output of the selected color is the current ability of the printer, and the colors to be compared are always in the sheet, so that the comparison is easy. Some patterns have different numbers and arrangements that can be selected by adjustment, so that the user can select a pattern that is easy to use and has a habit of the printer body. That is, a user who wants to make fine adjustments selects a pattern with many choices, and a user who wants to make general adjustments easily can select a pattern with few choices. Further, for a user who is worried that the exact color varies depending on the printing position, it is also possible to select a pattern having no output at that position.
[0039]
Further, the pattern includes a number or a symbol for the user to select. For example, when the adjustment pattern 510 in FIG. 5 is created, the pattern synthesizing apparatus 201 receives RGB color designations, and first sets the values of R and G to fixed values based on the number of colors required in the selected pattern. The color adjustment data creation device 203 creates (5 × 5-1) pieces that have been increased or decreased in increments. The created color is arranged according to the pattern stored in the pattern storage unit 209 (in this pattern, the selected color 501 is indicated by the center position-black frame), filed in a printer language, and passed to the next step of the printing process.
[0040]
Further, since colors are generally represented in three or more dimensions such as RGB, a pattern that cannot be arranged on two-dimensional paper is composed of a plurality of patterns. For example, in the example of FIG. 5B, the RGB B component is changed on another page. That is, with respect to the B component, data is created by increasing or decreasing the RG component by the B component at the same value as other sheets. Subsequently, the created color 502 is arranged according to the pattern stored in the pattern storage unit 209. However, since the original color is arranged at the center, a pattern obtained by changing the RG value B at the center is arranged outside the basic pattern (3C-reference numeral 511) (FIG. 5B). This is filed in a printer language and passed to the next step of the printing process.
[0041]
In the case of the adjustment pattern 510 shown in FIG. 5, when the user considers that a certain color is preferable as the color after adjustment, the adjustment value input device 208 matches the alphabet at the top of the figure with the horizontal numerical value as “B4”. Input. The input is performed from an information processing apparatus in which an application (not shown) is installed, for example, a keyboard of a personal computer.
[0042]
The value after the adjustment is stored in the adjustment data storage device 205 so that a specific color can be adjusted in the subsequent printing. The adjustment data storage device 205 stores, for example, a value 601 before adjustment and a value 602 after adjustment as shown in FIG. 6, and the color adjustment processing device 206 checks whether a color to be used is a specific color. If the color is a specific color, the color is changed to that value with reference to the adjusted color in the adjustment data storage device 205, and is passed to the next step. As a result, the adjustment can be reflected even in the subsequent printing. The adjustment data storage device 205 shown in FIG. 6 can store both RGB and CMYK values.
[0043]
Further, by validating / invalidating the value in the adjustment data storage device 205, it is possible to prevent the adjustment data from being reflected on unnecessary documents. This example is shown in FIG. In the adjustment data storage device 205 shown in FIG. 7A, an area 701 for storing validity / invalidity is extended in addition to the value 601 before adjustment and the value 602 after adjustment. The switching between the validation and the invalidation is performed, for example, from the adjustment value input dialog 702 of the adjustment value input device 208 shown in FIG.
[0044]
FIG. 8 shows a user setting screen 800 for print quality of an application. By clicking the image quality adjustment tab 801 on the user setting screen 800, the image quality adjustment screen 802 is displayed. Color adjustment and color matching are performed on the image quality adjustment screen 802. That is, brightness, contrast, saturation, and color balance are set in the color adjustment setting unit 803 of the image quality adjustment screen 802, and a color matching profile is selected in the color matching setting unit 804. The functions of the color adjustment unit 121 and the color matching unit 122 in the printer driver 120 shown in FIG. 1 are executed by the setting input of the color adjustment setting unit 803 and the color matching setting unit 804.
[0045]
The color image forming apparatus can also be used in a case where the color changes due to fluctuations and it is desired to return only a specific color to the original color.
[0046]
The printer 130 shown in FIG. 1 can be any type of printer as long as it is a full-color printer that forms a visible image on a recording medium. That is, the type of the print engine 134 does not matter. Many of electrophotographic full-color image forming apparatuses and inkjet full-color image forming apparatuses using color toners are used, and the present invention is suitable for image forming apparatuses or image processing apparatuses of these systems. . Since the image forming apparatuses of these types are known, description thereof is omitted.
[0047]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily select a color value to be adjusted. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to selectively apply whether or not to perform a special color adjustment for a certain special color, and there is no possibility that color continuity is lost.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a flow of color designation and color adjustment from a general application.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration and a data flow of a color adjustment device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display screen at the time of direct input in the adjustment value input device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display state of a color designation dialog for inputting a designated color value in the adjustment value input device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a color adjustment sheet on which an adjustment pattern is printed according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of data storage of an adjustment data storage device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a valid / invalid instruction is added and stored in data of the adjustment data storage device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user setting screen for print quality of an application according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
Reference Signs List 120 printer driver 121 color adjustment unit 122 color matching unit 130 printer 134 print engine 200 color adjustment device 201 pattern synthesis device 202 color designation device 203 color adjustment data creation device 204 selection pattern input device 205 adjustment data storage device 206 color adjustment processing device 207 Adjustment sheet start command input device 208 Adjustment value input device 209 Pattern storage unit 400 Color designation dialog 500 Adjustment sheet 501 Selected color 502 Color 510 changed by B of selected color Adjustment pattern 702 Adjustment value input dialog

Claims (10)

In a color output adjustment device that performs color adjustment for color printing,
Pattern storage means for storing pattern information of an adjustment pattern to be referred to when adjusting a color to be printed;
Input means for inputting a color to be adjusted;
Adjustment sheet information output means for creating adjustment sheet information from the color input by the input means and the pattern information stored in the pattern storage means and outputting the adjustment sheet information,
A color output adjustment device comprising: 2. The color output adjustment device according to claim 1, wherein said input means inputs a color by directly selecting a color used for display on a display screen. 2. The color output adjusting device according to claim 1, wherein said input means directly inputs RGB values and / or CMYK values by numerical values. The adjustment sheet information output unit includes a selection device that selects desired pattern information from a plurality of the pattern information,
2. The color output adjustment device according to claim 1, wherein adjustment sheet information is created and output from the pattern information selected by the selection device and an input value to be adjusted input from the input means. Means for inputting a color selected as a preferred color from the adjustment pattern as a special color,
Means for storing a value selected by the user for the special color as a value after adjustment,
The color output adjustment device according to claim 1, further comprising: outputting the adjusted value to a subsequent stage. 6. The color output adjustment device according to claim 5, further comprising a switching unit for determining whether to use the adjusted value. A color output adjusting device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
Printing means for printing out the adjustment sheet based on the adjustment sheet information output from the color output adjustment device,
A color image forming apparatus comprising: In a computer program downloaded to a computer and executed by the computer to perform color output adjustment,
A procedure for storing pattern information of an adjustment pattern to be referred to when adjusting a color to be printed in a pattern storage unit;
Creating adjustment sheet information from the color to be adjusted input by the input unit and the pattern information stored in the pattern storage unit, and outputting the adjustment sheet information;
A computer program characterized by being written by a computer to be executable. Inputting a color selected as a preferred color from the adjustment pattern as a special color,
Storing a value selected by the user for the special color as an adjusted value;
Outputting the adjusted value to a subsequent stage,
9. The computer program according to claim 8, wherein is further written. 10. The computer program according to claim 9, further comprising a step of determining whether to output the adjusted value to a subsequent stage.

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