JP2004276259A - Image formation device, its control method, computer program, and computer readable storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable printing convenient for both of users among whom one regards a printing speed as important rather than color reproduction, and the other desires color reproduction with high precision to printing data expressed by a Separation color space or a DviceN color space. <P>SOLUTION: In the case where the printing data expressed by the Separation color space or the DviceN color space are received, the data are converted to an alternative color space (S4 and S9). In the case where setting is made to perform color management, a normal process is carried out. On the other hand, in the case where setting is made not to perform the color management, the alternative color space is kept as it is if it is CMYK, and is converted to CMYK if it is other than a CMYK space (S7 and S12). The data are printed as data of the CMYK color space (S8 and S13). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a technique for printing in accordance with data described in a page description language (Page Description Language = PDL).
[0002]
[Prior art]
A typical page description language is PostScript (registered trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States, hereinafter referred to as "PS"). PS has evolved to version 1, 2 as its version, and now to PS level 3.
[0003]
In PS Levels 1 and 2, three color spaces, RGB, CMYK, and Gray, can be selected, and the color space can be obtained by analyzing the description in the print data.
[0004]
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the printer determines whether it is DeviceRGB, DeviceCMYK, or DeviceGray, and according to the result of the determination, performs a simple process to perform C (Cyan), M (Magenta) which is the color space of the printer. ), Y (Yellow), and K (Black), and print processing is performed. For example, in the case of DeviceRGB of RGB signals of Red, Green and Blue, in order to convert a brightness signal into a density signal, the inverse signal is inverted by the inverse unit (101) and converted into CMY, and the under color removal is performed by the UCR and BG unit (102). Under color removal is performed by (UCR), black is generated by Black Generation (BG), and a CMYK signal is generated. If the device is CMYK of the CMYK signal, it is output as it is without any processing because it is the same as the output printer space. Further, in the case of DeviceGray of one color of Gray, since the brightness and the density are inverted, the inverse component (103) inverts it to generate a K component, generates a CMYK signal of only K, and performs a printing process.
[0005]
On the other hand, by specifying the UseCIEColor parameter from PS Level 3, DeviceRGB, DeviceCMYK, and DeviceGray can be color-managed and output. That is, when the UseCIEColor parameter is set to true, a color processing flow as shown in FIG. 2 is taken, and when set to False, the processing of FIG. 1 is applied.
[0006]
Hereinafter, the color management processing of FIG. 2 will be described. First, in the case of DeviceRGB, a preset RGB Source Profile is selected, and the color is converted into an XYZ color space (204) in which colors are normalized using the selected profile. Next, in order to output the XYZ color space, in accordance with the Output Profile (205) which is a profile containing information on what combination of CMYK is appropriate, the XYZ color space is converted into CMYK values by the selected profile, The input RGB is output to a chromaticity correct value by the printer.
[0007]
The input of DeviceCMYK is converted to an XYZ color space (204) by a preset CMYK Simulation Profile (202). In addition, the input of DeviceGray is converted into an XYZ color space (204) by a Gray Profile (203) preset in the device. The conversion from the converted XYZ color space (204) to CMYK is the same as the conversion in DeviceRGB, and a description thereof will be omitted.
[0008]
The actual flow of each signal will be described with reference to FIG. When the UseCIEColor parameter is set to true, DeviceRGB is converted to CIEBasedABC or CIEBasedDEF, DeviceCMYK is converted to CIEBasedDEFG, and DeviceGray is converted to CIEBaseA. Further, the image data is converted to an XYZ color space which is an intermediate color space of the PS color management. Next, the image data is converted from the XYZ color space to CMYK in accordance with the settings of Output Profile (205).
[0009]
As described above, PS Level 3 has been described. In PS Level 3, Separation is used in order to correspond to an expensive dedicated printing machine that prints using a special color material different from the color spaces of YMCK, RGB, and GRAY. It is possible to define a color space, DeviceN color space. For example, in the Separation color space, colors that cannot be reproduced by the basic CMYK are supported. In the DeviceN color space, colors are added to the standard CMYK colors to expand the color gamut. Used by users.
[0010]
The Separation color space and the DeviceN color space are mainly for printing on a dedicated printing press, but the printing cost on this dedicated printing press is very high. Therefore, test printing is also performed with a normal CMYK four-color printer.
[0011]
The problem here is that the Separation color space and the DeviceN color space are those of a high-performance dedicated printing press as described above, and can be directly reflected in the color space of a color printer using a normal YMCK color material. It is impossible. That is, a normal color printer cannot directly print data in the Separation color space or the DeviceN color space.
[0012]
Therefore, in PS level 3, the Separation color space and the DeviceN color space are described as an alternative color space, and can be printed by a normal color printer.
[0013]
For example, a definition example of the Separation color space is as follows.
[/ Separation
(Logo Green)
/ DeviceCMYK
｛Dup 0.84 mul exch 0.0 exch dup 0.44 mul exch 0.21 mul｝
Setcolorspace
The meaning of such a description is that the print data is for the color “LogoGreen”, and the color space is expressed in a YMCK color space (alternate color space) as a space color converted by the parameters described in {. It specifies what is equivalent.
[0014]
Therefore, when there is the print PS data as described above, first, the color LogoGreen color space is expressed by the parameters for the given CMYK color space, and the color LogoGreen of the color LogoGen described by the print data received thereafter. The value will be processed as indicating the YMCK value in this alternative color space.
[0015]
Next, the description in the case of the DeviceN color space is as follows.
[/ DeviceN
[/ Cyan / Black]
/ DeviceCMYK
{003-1 rule}
]
The above meaning indicates that printing is performed using two color materials (cyan and black) (an example of N = 2 in DeviceN), and the color space represented by the two colors is represented by the alternative color space CMYK. At this time, the conversion to the alternative color space is defined by the parameters defined by the following {...}.
[0016]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, in PSLevel3, by defining the Separation color space and the DiceN color space in the alternative color space as described above, it is possible to perform printing with a normal YMCK color printer.
[0017]
In the case of the Separation color space exemplified above, the alternative color space CMYK will be used. Therefore, the subsequent processing is performed assuming that data in the “CMYK” color space shown in FIG. 2 is input. Will be. This is the same in the above-described example of the DeviceN color space (when the UseCIEColor parameter is True).
[0018]
Then, when the data of the Separation color space or the DeviceN color space is received, first, the data is converted into the alternative color space, then, it is converted into the standard color space XYZ, and finally, the printer has Conversion to YMCK based on OutPut Profile and color space conversion are required many times. Therefore, when the printing target is a bitmap image, the conversion processing must be performed for each pixel, and the time required for the processing is no longer negligible, resulting in a reduction in printing throughput. .
[0019]
The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and a user who attaches importance to a printing speed rather than a color reproduction for print data expressed in a Separation color space or a DeviceN color space, and a user who wants color reproduction with high accuracy. It is an object of the present invention to provide a technique for realizing convenient printing for both sides.
[0020]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve this problem, for example, a method for controlling an image forming apparatus of the present invention includes the following steps. That is,
A method of controlling an image forming apparatus which receives print data expressed in a Separation color space or a DeviceN color space, converts the print data into a print color space, and prints the print data.
A setting step of setting whether or not to perform color management;
A conversion step of converting the received print data expressed in the Separation color space or the DeviceN color space into an alternative color space according to the description;
When color management is set in the setting step, a first conversion step of converting the color space obtained in the conversion step into a print color space by color management,
A second conversion step of converting the color space obtained in the conversion step to a print color space without color management processing when the setting step does not perform color management.
[0021]
Also, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, office users may suffice with colors in the alternative color space, thereby saving color management processing time. Also, Graphic Arts users are not satisfied with the alternative color space, and users who need color management can select color management to compensate for color reproduction.
[0022]
There is an effect that the user can select a preferable process by selecting the above-described color management. Further, the processing in the device color space of the alternative color space and the processing in the device color space can be performed separately, and there is an effect that a desired movement of the user can be supported conventionally. Further, by setting in advance according to the performance of the machine, an effect of reducing the troublesomeness of the user setting can be obtained.
[0023]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0024]
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a printer to which the embodiment is applied. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a CPU that controls the entire apparatus, 2 denotes a ROM that stores processing procedures of the CPU 1 and font data, and 3 denotes a RAM that is used as a work area of the CPU 1. Reference numeral 4 denotes an operation panel on which a liquid crystal display and various keys are arranged. Reference numeral 5 denotes a non-volatile memory (for example, a RAM that constantly receives battery power, or an EEPROM or a flash memory), which holds setting information. Reference numeral 6 denotes an interface for receiving print data from a host computer. In addition, you may function as a network printer. In this case, the interface 6 receives print data from the host computer by connecting to the network. Reference numeral 7 denotes a frame memory capable of developing bitmap images (four colors of Y, M, C, and K) to be printed, and reference numeral 8 denotes a printer engine that actually performs a printing process. Reference numeral 9 denotes an engine interface for outputting bitmap image data of each color component developed in the frame memory 7 to the printer engine 8. The printer engine will be described as a laser beam printer engine, but is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a printer that ejects ink droplets. In this case, the capacity of the frame memory 7 only needs to have a memory capacity necessary for one or several scanning movements of the recording head.
[0025]
In the above configuration, in the printer according to the embodiment, the setting of the purpose of use is registered by the operation panel 4. FIG. 4 shows a selection menu displayed on the display device of the operation panel 4, which sets whether or not to perform color management when print data in the Separation color space or the DeviceN color space is received. . If the operation panel 4 is a touch panel, the setting is performed by touching a corresponding button, but it may be selected by a physical switch.
[0026]
Here, when “execute” is selected, and when data in Separation or DeviceN color space is received, first, the data is converted into an alternative color space. After the conversion, the color management processing is performed in accordance with the procedure shown in FIG. 2, that is, the conversion to the standard color space XYZ using the color profile (specified by the user) and the YMCK color using the OutPut Profile Convert to space and print.
[0027]
On the other hand, when “do not perform” is selected and the data of Separation or DeviceN color space is received, the process of converting to the alternative color space is performed. However, as the subsequent process, as shown in FIG. The printing is simply performed in the YMCK color space without conversion to. At this time, if the alternative color space is CMYK, subsequent conversion is unnecessary and the printing process is performed as it is.
[0028]
Therefore, when “do not perform” is selected, although the color tone is not as intended as when “do” is selected, the number of color space conversions is reduced (when the alternative color space is CMYK, Once), the printing process can be performed at high speed, and an optimal state can be provided for office documents.
[0029]
When the setting by the operation panel 4 is performed as described above, the setting (ON / OFF) of whether or not to perform the color management process on the Separation color space and the DeviceN color space is made in the nonvolatile memory 5 as shown in FIG. OFF flag) is set and stored. Therefore, even if the power of the apparatus is turned on again, the printing process is performed according to the previous settings.
[0030]
Next, an operation process of the CPU 1 of the printer according to the embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG.
[0031]
First, in steps S1 and S2, it is determined whether or not the print data received from the host computer is in the Separation color space and in the DeviceN color space. If not, that is, if it is determined to be any of DeviceRGB, DeviceYMCK, or DeviceGray, the process proceeds to step S3, and print processing is performed according to the description of the PS data.
[0032]
If it is determined in step S1 that the received print data is data in the Separation color space, the process proceeds to step S4, and conversion to an alternative color space is performed according to the description. Next, the process proceeds to step S5, where data of "Separation color management" in the nonvolatile memory 5 is read, and it is determined whether the flag is on or off, that is, whether or not to perform color management. If it is set to perform color management, the process proceeds to step S3 in order to perform the processing of FIG. 2 starting from the alternative color space. If it is determined in step S5 that the color management process is not to be performed, the process advances to step S6 to determine whether the alternative color space is a CMYK space. If it is determined that the color space is other than CMYK, the alternative color space is converted to the CMYK color space in step S7. Then, in step S8, printing is performed according to the CMYK color space.
[0033]
If it is determined in step S2 that the received print data is in the DeviceN color space, the process proceeds to step S9, and conversion to an alternative color space is performed according to the description. Next, the data of “DeviceN color management” in the nonvolatile memory 5 is read, and it is determined whether the flag is on or off, that is, whether or not to perform color management. If it is set to perform color management, the process proceeds to step S3 in order to perform the processing of FIG. 2 starting from the alternative color space.
[0034]
If it is specified not to perform the color management process, the process proceeds to step S11, and it is determined whether or not the alternative color space is a CMYK space. If it is determined that the alternative color space is not CMYK, the alternative color space is converted to the CMYK color space in step S12. Then, in step S13, printing is performed according to the CMYK color space.
[0035]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, when a Separation color space or a DeviceN color space, which is a special color space different from the normal one, is specified in a page description language such as PSLevel3, depending on the user setting, Printing can be performed without performing color management, and the printing process can be simplified, and as a result, the printing process can be performed at high speed.
[0036]
<Second embodiment>
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the print data is in the Separation color space or the DeviceN color space has been described. However, when the device RGB, DeviceYMCK, and DeviceGray data are received and UceCIEColor is true, unconditionally, FIG. The procedure shown below will be performed.
[0037]
However, even a general-purpose color space such as DeviceRGB, DeviceYMCK, or DeviceGray is converted into a standard color space XYZ, and then converted into a YMCK color space using an Output Profile. Color space conversion needs to be performed. It can be said that this is an excessive function for a user who requests office documents mainly composed of monochrome and high-speed printing. In other words, it can be said that this is an item required by the user whose main purpose is graphics art.
[0038]
Therefore, in the second embodiment, it is possible to set whether or not to perform color management, not only for the Separation color space and the DeviceN color space, but also for the print data of DeviceRGB, DeviceYMCK, and DeviceGray.
[0039]
In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, one of “Office” and “Graphic Arts” is selected on the operation panel 4 as the purpose of use.
[0040]
In other words, “office” suitable for many office documents that do not require high color reproducibility and “Graphic Arts” for printing high color reproduction such as graphics art are prepared. Let me choose.
[0041]
When “office” is selected, color management is not performed for all of the Separation color space, DeviceN color space, DeviceRGB, DeviceYMCK, and DeviceGray. Also, when "Graphic Arts" is selected, as shown in FIG. 2, a profile to be used can be selected for each of DeviceRGB, DeviceYMCK, and DeviceGray.
[0042]
For example, when print data described in the color space RGB is received, as a profile to be used,
sRGB,
HDTV γ1.5
HDTV γ1.8
HDTV γ2.4
Custom
None
You can choose from. Each of sRGB, HDTV γ1.5, HDTV γ1.8, and HDTV γ2.4 is a profile used when converting the color space RGB into the standard color space XYZ, and has different degrees of conversion. The Custom is provided when the user creates or downloads his or her favorite profile (when a predetermined command is received from the host computer, the subsequent profile is stored and used). None means that no color management is used.
[0043]
Further, in the case of YMCK, a selection is made from among SWOP, EuroScale, JapanColor, Custom, and None, and in the case of Gray, a flag indicating whether or not the conversion to the XYZ color space is interposed with a profile (in the case of OFF, None).
[0044]
In any case, such setting contents are stored and held in the nonvolatile memory 4.
[0045]
If the profile set for the color space of interest is "None" in step S3 in FIG. 8, the processing procedure in the second embodiment is as follows. In other cases, conversion to the XYZ color space and color conversion according to the OutPut Profile may be performed according to the set profile, and printing may be performed.
[0046]
As described above, according to the second embodiment, the number of color space conversions for a user in a specific specialty such as graphics art, regardless of the color space of the input print data. , And printing can be performed, so that the printing processing speed can be increased.
[0047]
<Description of Other Embodiments>
In the first and second embodiments, an example has been described in which the printer receives print data of PSLevel3 (any of RGB, YMCK, and Gray color spaces) and processes the print data in accordance with the content set by the user.
[0048]
However, the processing up to the final output of YMCK data may be performed on the host computer side. In this case, the contents set by the user may be stored in a hard disk or the like of the host computer, and the above processing may be realized by a program of a type that is added to the printer driver or the PS printer driver. . That is, it is obvious that the present invention also includes a computer program in its category. Further, since a program that operates on the host computer is usually executable by setting a computer-readable storage medium such as a CDROM and copying or installing the same in the system, such a computer-readable storage medium is also included in the scope of the present invention. Obviously.
[0049]
Further, in the embodiment, the Separation color space and the DeviceN color space have been described as examples using PSLevel3 as an example, but an alternative color space is set when printing data for a special printing device to a normal printer. The present invention is not necessarily limited to PSLevel3 because any applicable page description language can be applied.
[0050]
As described above, according to the embodiment, the office user can suffice with the colors in the alternative color space, thereby saving the processing time of the color management. Further, since Graphic Arts users will be required to reproduce colors as close to the original as possible, it is possible to perform color management and respond to the request.
[0051]
Further, the processing in the device color space of the alternative color space and the processing in the device color space can be performed separately, and there is an effect that a desired movement of the user can be supported conventionally.
[0052]
Further, by setting in advance according to the performance of the machine, an effect of reducing the troublesomeness of the user setting can be obtained.
[0053]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, for print data expressed in Separation color space or DeviceN color space, both users who value printing speed rather than color reproduction and users who want color reproduction with high accuracy are convenient. It is possible to realize good printing.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an outline of a printing process in PS levels 1 and 2;
FIG. 2 is a diagram for describing an outline of a printing process when performing color management in PS Level 3. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram for describing an outline of a color management process by a PS.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen for color management / non-color management in the embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a setting screen for color management / non-color management according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a printer according to the embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing contents of a nonvolatile memory in the embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of the printer according to the embodiment.

Claims (8)

A method of controlling an image forming apparatus which receives print data expressed in a Separation color space or a DeviceN color space, converts the print data into a print color space, and prints the print data.
A setting step of setting whether or not to perform color management;
A conversion step of converting the received print data expressed in the Separation color space or the DeviceN color space into an alternative color space according to the description;
When color management is set in the setting step, a first conversion step of converting the color space obtained in the conversion step into a print color space by color management,
A second conversion step of converting the color space obtained in the conversion step to a print color space without performing color management processing when the setting of the color management is not performed in the setting step. A method for controlling an image forming apparatus. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the second conversion step, when the alternative color space is a color space equivalent to a recording color component, printing is performed in the alternative color space. . The print data is data described in PostScript. When color management is performed, color conversion is performed when the UseCIEColor parameter is True, and when color management is not performed, the UseCIEColor parameter is false. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the color conversion is performed. An image forming apparatus that receives print data expressed in a Separation color space or a DeviceN color space, converts the print data into a print color space, and prints the print data.
Setting means for setting whether or not to perform color management;
Converting means for converting the received print data expressed in the Separation color space or the DeviceN color space into an alternative color space in accordance with the description thereof;
When color setting is set by the setting unit, a first conversion unit that converts the color space obtained by the conversion unit into a printing color space by performing color management,
A second conversion unit configured to convert the color space obtained by the conversion unit to a print color space without color management processing when the setting unit sets not to perform color management. Image forming apparatus. A method for controlling an information processing apparatus, which converts a print data into a print color space according to a description of print data expressed in a Separation color space or a DeviceN color space and outputs the converted data to a printing device,
A setting step of setting whether or not to perform color management;
A conversion step of converting the received print data expressed in the Separation color space or the DeviceN color space into an alternative color space according to the description;
When color management is set in the setting step, a first conversion step of converting the color space obtained in the conversion step into a print color space by color management,
A second conversion step of converting the color space obtained in the conversion step to a print color space without performing color management processing when the setting of the color management is not performed in the setting step. Control method for an information processing apparatus. An information processing device that converts the data into a print color space according to a description of the print data expressed in a Separation color space or a DeviceN color space and outputs the converted data to a printing device,
Setting means for setting whether or not to perform color management;
Converting means for converting the received print data expressed in the Separation color space or the DeviceN color space into an alternative color space in accordance with the description thereof;
When color setting is set by the setting unit, a first conversion unit that converts the color space obtained by the conversion unit into a printing color space by performing color management,
A second conversion unit configured to convert the color space obtained by the conversion unit to a print color space without color management processing when the setting unit sets not to perform color management. Information processing device. A computer program for an information processing device that converts to a printing color space and outputs to a printing device in accordance with a description of print data expressed in a Separation color space or a DeviceN color space,
Setting means for setting whether or not to perform color management;
Converting means for converting the received print data expressed in the Separation color space or the DeviceN color space into an alternative color space in accordance with the description thereof;
When color setting is set by the setting unit, a first conversion unit that converts the color space obtained by the conversion unit into a printing color space by performing color management,
When the setting unit sets not to perform the color management, the color space obtained by the conversion unit functions as a second conversion unit that converts the color space into a print color space without performing color management processing. And a computer program. A computer-readable storage medium storing the computer program according to claim 7.

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