JP2004351929A - Method and system for printing management - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable the color management in the method and system for printing management at a newspaper printing plant to be properly performed. <P>SOLUTION: The system is provided with plural kinds of newspaper rotary presses. The image information of each space edited as multivalue image data is acquired together with the relative information of the space. The machine plates for each space are prepared based on the image information. At performing the printing task with the above each newspaper rotary press using the prepared machine plates, the newspaper rotary presses and printing materials used for each space are selected based on the acquired multivalue image data and the relative information. In corresponding to the kinds of the selected newspaper rotary presses and the printing materials, the compensation processing for color reproduction is performed based on the color management information prepared in advance. This multivalue image data is converted to a binary image data, then the machine plates are prepared. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing management method and a printing management system suitable for printing newspapers in newspaper printing factories provided in various places when publishing newspapers for a wide area such as national paper.

  For example, in the case of a newspaper company that publishes newspapers for a wide area, such as national newspapers, the head office edits the paper all at once and prints newspapers in various places so that the latest information can be delivered to subscribers as much as possible. In general, systems such as those used in installed newspaper printing factories have been adopted. In this case, the newspaper printing factory receives the edited print data by communication with the head office, performs plate making based on the print data, and performs printing.

For example, FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram showing an example of such a currently operated newspaper printing system. As shown in FIG. 9, on the head office side, newspaper editing is performed by an editing system (an editing system for composite media including not only newspapers but also other media has been put to practical use).
The result of the editing operation is given as multi-valued image data. Generally, the print data transmitted from the head office to each newspaper printing factory is converted from the multi-valued image data into binary image data in advance by RIP processing (Raster-image data). Image-Processing) is sent. For example, in the case of color paper, binary image data (dot data or bitmap format paper image information) for each color of CMYB (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) is transmitted from the head office to each newspaper printing factory. Will be.

  When each newspaper printing factory receives print data (binary image data) from the head office, the factory management system uses the corresponding page index (version name) for the binary image data (page image information) on each page. , Page, color code, etc.) and information on the printing machine to be used, etc. On the other hand, a register mark and a cutoff mark are attached to the binary image data (paper image information) of each paper. These register marks and cutoff marks are respectively pasted to predetermined positions on the paper surface.

  When the binary image data of each page is thus completed, plate making is performed based on the respective binary image data. For this plate making, for example, a CTP (Computer-To-Plate) device or a CTF (Computer-To-Film) device is used, and a plate is output with a CTP device, but a film is output with a CTF device. Perform plate making using the film. The printing plate thus prepared is usually manually mounted on a plate cylinder of a corresponding newspaper rotary press by an operator.

  Thereafter, printing is performed in each newspaper rotary press. At the time of this printing, the rotary press itself is automatically controlled by the rotary press control system. At this time, the register adjustment is performed by the automatic register device with reference to the registered register mark, and the cut-off cut-off is performed. The cutoff controller performs cutoff adjustment with reference to the mark.

  By the way, in newspaper printing, it is required not only to provide latest information to subscribers quickly but also to provide information with high accuracy. Needless to say that the character information is not mistaken, it is also required to faithfully reproduce and provide the image information. In particular, in recent years, newspaper pages have been colorized, and there are various difficulties in faithfully printing and reproducing color image information.

That is, in a general color printing apparatus such as a lithographic offset, it is required not only to perform registration of each color of CMYB (cyan, yellow, magenta, and black) with high accuracy but also to faithfully reproduce a color tone. Such demands are also increasing in newspaper color printing.
In this regard, it is proposed to apply the color management technology used in color monitors on computers that display image data and color printers that obtain color output using image data to general printing devices such as lithographic offset. (See Patent Document 1).

  The color management technology applied here has the problem that colors reproduced on a color monitor on a computer that displays image data or a color printer that obtains color output using image data do not match even if the same image data is used. A device profile (hereinafter simply referred to as a profile) that describes color reproduction characteristics for each input device or output device using digital data is prepared, and the device is not dependent on the device based on this profile. This is a technique for performing color conversion of image data via a device independent color. As the profile, an ICC profile defined by ICC, which is an international standardization organization, is used as an industry standard.

  In general printing equipment such as lithographic offset, the plate making process exists separately from the printing process, and the printing plate used is often created by analog exposure. It was not proposed, but with the practical application of the above-mentioned technology called CTP (that is, a printing plate creation technology for forming an image on a printing plate based on digital image data), it was proposed in Patent Document 1. As described above, it is considered that color management can be performed using profile data in a general printing apparatus such as offset printing.

For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-157, a printing plate is created using image data, and color management is performed in plate making printing in which ink is supplied onto the created printing plate to perform printing.
That is, first, multi-valued image data constituting a print is converted into binary image data by RIP processing, and an image including a color chart of a plurality of gradations is printed on a printing plate using the converted binary image data. Recording (plate making), at least one type of ink or printing paper to be used for printing is determined, and printing is performed by a printing apparatus using the determined ink and / or printing paper and the printing plate obtained by the plate making. Perform The printing color of each color chart is measured for the obtained printed matter, and the printing characteristics of the printing apparatus when the ink and / or printing paper is used are profiled based on the measured printing colors. Create as data. The profile data thus obtained is stored in association with the type of the ink and / or the printing paper, and when the printing apparatus uses the ink and / or the printing paper, the profile data is stored before the RIP process. Color correction of the image data based on the As a result, color management can be performed according to the profile even in a general printing apparatus.

  It is considered that such a color management technique can be applied to printing of newspapers in which color printing is increasing in recent years.

JP 2001-301124 A

  By the way, a newspaper printing factory is often provided with a large number of different types of newspaper rotary presses. In this case, depending on the number of newspaper pages to be printed and the content of each page (color printing or monochrome printing). The newspaper rotary press to be used is assigned to each page.

  In particular, a single newspaper rotary press is provided with about 20 printing cylinders, and in such a single newspaper rotary press, there are printing presses having different inking and dampening methods. The page to be printed is set according to the operating conditions and the like, and generally differs almost every time. Such a situation is unique to newspaper printing.

In addition, printing materials (ink, paper, etc.) used for printing on each page may be changed according to the type of the newspaper rotary press or the page content.
Therefore, when the above-described color management technology is applied to newspaper printing in a newspaper printing factory, erroneous color management is performed unless printing is managed in consideration of such a situation unique to the newspaper printing factory. There is also a risk. That is, simply storing the profile data in association with the type of ink and / or printing paper makes it possible to appropriately perform color management corresponding to different types of newspaper rotary presses or individual newspaper rotary presses. Can not.

  In addition, since color management is performed on multi-valued image data, a conventional system for transmitting paper information edited at the head office as binary image data to newspaper printing factories installed in various locations using communication means is used in a newspaper printing factory. In such a case, only binary image data is available, so that each newspaper printing factory cannot perform color management according to each newspaper rotary press provided.

  Further, in managing printing, it may be necessary to accurately perform registration, take into account fan-out, and accurately perform cutoff. For example, if a register mark is attached to a fixed position on the paper surface, if there is no color printing on the column at the register mark position (on the same position in the print roll width direction), the ink will be insufficient, and the register mark will be clearly marked. Printing cannot be performed, causing misrecognition of the register mark. This is particularly likely to occur in the recognition of a register mark of a color close to the background color (brightness) such as yellow. In addition, when a cutoff mark is pasted at a fixed position on the paper surface, a pattern similar to the cutoff mark is placed on the same left and right position (on the same position in the web width direction) that is shifted in the vertical direction with respect to the pasting position. If there is, there is a possibility that erroneous recognition may be caused.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a printing management method and a printing management system for a newspaper printing factory, which can appropriately perform color management in a newspaper printing factory. I do.

  In order to achieve the above object, a printing management method of a newspaper printing factory according to the present invention includes a plurality of types of newspaper rotary presses, and outputs image information of each page edited as multi-value image data together with related information of the page. Acquiring and creating a printing plate for each sheet based on the image information, and a printing management method of a newspaper printing factory that performs printing by the above-described newspaper rotary press using the created printing plate. A data acquisition step of acquiring multi-valued image data and the related information and recording these information as print data; and based on the multi-valued image data and the related information acquired by the data acquisition step, the plurality of types of A printing press for selecting a newspaper rotary press and a printing material to be used for each sheet from among the newspaper rotary presses, and recording print schedule information including these selection information as the print data. Joule setting step, based on the color management information created in advance according to the combination of the type of each newspaper rotary press and the type of each printing material, based on the multi-valued image data acquired in the data acquisition step. On the other hand, a color correction step of performing color reproducibility correction processing according to the type of newspaper rotary press and the type of printing material selected in the print schedule setting step, and the multi-value corrected by the color correction step A RIP processing step of performing RIP processing on image data to convert the image data into binary image data; a plate making step of recording an image on a plate using the binary image data converted by the RIP processing step to create a printing plate; Using the printing plate prepared in the plate making process and the printing material selected in the printing schedule setting process, the new printing plate selected in the printing schedule setting process. It is characterized in that it includes a printing step of performing printing of the paper surface by a rotary press.

It is assumed that the above-mentioned multi-value image data includes binary image data whose resolution is much higher than the print resolution level, to the extent that the print resolution level can be converted into multi-value information.
In addition, the above-mentioned related information on paper corresponds to, for example, plate name information, page information, color information, and the like, and the above-mentioned printing material corresponds to ink, printing paper, and the like.

  As a preparation step of the color correction step, the printing color of each color chart printed using each printing material that can be used for each of the above-described newspaper rotary presses is measured, and the printing is performed based on the measured printing colors. The color management information is created by creating printing characteristics of the newspaper rotary press when the material is used as profile data and storing the profile data in association with the type of the newspaper rotary press and the type of the printing material. Preferably, the color management information generating step is performed.

  In addition, before the color correction step, a position where each print color is reliably printed is searched from the multi-valued image data, and a register mark attaching step of attaching a register mark to the searched position is provided. In the printing step, it is preferable that the register mark attached in the register mark attaching step is monitored to perform register by feedback control.

In this case, the register mark monitoring means for monitoring the register mark is provided so as to be position adjustable, and the position of the register mark monitoring means is automatically adjusted based on the position information of the register mark attached in the register mark attaching step. Preferably.
Further, after the printing step, a cut-off step of cutting off the printed continuous paper to a predetermined length is provided, and before the color correction step, a pattern similar to a cut-off mark is extracted from the multi-valued image data. A search is made for a position that does not exist, and a cut-off mark attaching step of attaching a cut-off mark to the searched position is provided. In the cut-off step, the cut-off mark attached in the cut-off mark attaching step is monitored. It is preferable that the cutoff position is adjusted by feedback control.

  Alternatively, after the printing step, a cut-off step of cutting off the printed continuous paper to a predetermined length is provided, and before the color correcting step, the multi-valued image data is approximated to a cut-off mark and other And a cut-off mark setting step of setting a specific pattern that is not confused with the pattern as the cut-off mark. In the cut-off step, feedback control is performed by monitoring the specific pattern set in the cut-off mark setting step. It is also preferable to adjust the cutoff position by using the following method.

In these cases, the cutoff mark monitoring means for monitoring the cutoff mark is provided so as to be position-adjustable, and the cutoff mark attached in the cutoff mark attaching step or set in the cutoff mark setting step. Preferably, the position of the cutoff mark monitoring means is automatically adjusted based on the position information.
Preferably, the image processing apparatus further includes a fan-out correction step of performing a fan-out suppression correction on the binary image data processed in the RIP processing step.

  Further, at an editing center outside the newspaper printing factory, an editing step of editing the image information of each page as the multi-valued image data, and the multi-valued image data edited by the editing step and the edited It is preferable that a transmission step of transmitting the relevant information corresponding to the multi-valued image data from the editing center to the data acquisition step of the newspaper printing factory via communication means is provided.

  The printing management system of a newspaper printing factory according to the present invention is a printing management system of a newspaper printing factory equipped with a plurality of types of newspaper rotary presses, and includes a type of each of the above rotary presses and a type of each printing material used. A database in which color management information created in accordance with the combination of the above, the image information of each page edited as multi-valued image data, related information of the page, and a newspaper rotary press used for printing on the page. Regarding the print data recording device recorded by linking the information of the type and the type of the printing material to each other, and the type of the newspaper rotary press and the type of the printing material used for printing each page recorded on the print data recording device Acquiring the corresponding color management information from the database, and updating the multi-valued image data of each page based on the color management information. A color management device that performs color reproducibility correction processing according to the type of newspaper rotary press and the type of printing material, and RIP-processes the multi-value image data corrected by the color management device into binary image data. RIP processing device for conversion, plate making device for recording an image on a plate using the binary image data converted by the RIP processing device to create a printing plate, and link relationship recorded on the print data recording device And the above-described newspaper rotary press, which mounts the printing plate created by the plate-making apparatus and prints each page using the selected printing material.

  An imaging device that measures the printing color of each color chart printed using each printing material that can be used for each newspaper rotary press described above, and uses the printing material from the printing colors measured by the imaging device. A profile data creating device for creating printing characteristics of the newspaper rotary press as profile data at the time of performing the above, and associating the profile data created by the profile data creating device with the type of the newspaper rotary press and the type of the printing material. Preferably, the database is created by storing the data.

In addition, the newspaper rotary press includes a register mark attaching device that searches a position where each print color is reliably printed from the multi-valued image data and automatically pastes a register mark at the searched position. It is preferable that the register mark attached by the register mark attaching device is monitored and the register is registered by feedback control.
In this case, a register mark monitoring device for monitoring the register mark is provided so as to be position-adjustable, and the position of the register mark monitoring device is automatically adjusted based on the position information of the register mark attached by the register mark attaching device. Preferably.

  Further, the newspaper rotary press is provided with a cut-off device for cutting off the printed continuous paper to a predetermined length, and searching for a position where a pattern similar to a cut-off mark does not exist from the multi-valued image data, A cut-off mark attaching device that automatically attaches a cut-off mark to the searched position is provided. In the cut-off device, the cut-off mark attached by the cut-off mark attaching device is monitored and feedback control is performed. It is preferable to perform cutoff position adjustment.

  Alternatively, the newspaper rotary press is provided with a cut-off device for cutting off the printed continuous paper to a predetermined length, and a specific pattern which is similar to a cut-off mark from the multi-valued image data and is not confused with another pattern. A cut-off mark setting device that sets the cut-off mark to the cut-off mark. The cut-off device monitors the specific pattern set by the cut-off mark setting device and adjusts the cut-off position by feedback control. Is also preferred.

In these cases, a cut-off mark monitoring device that monitors the cut-off mark is provided so as to be position-adjustable, and the cut-off mark attached by the cut-off mark attaching device or set by the cut-off mark setting device. Preferably, the position of the cut-off mark monitoring device is automatically adjusted based on the position information.
It is preferable that the image processing apparatus further includes a fan-out correction device that performs fan-out suppression correction on the binary image data processed by the RIP processing device.

  Further, an editing system provided at an editing center outside the newspaper printing factory for editing the image information of each page as the multi-valued image data, and the multi-valued image data edited by the editing system. Preferably, a communication device is provided for transmitting the relevant information corresponding to the multi-valued image data from the editing center to the newspaper printing factory.

Further, the plate making device is preferably an on-press plate making machine that makes a plate on each of the above-described newspaper rotary presses based on information recorded in the print data recording device.
In this case, it is more preferable that the on-press plate-making machine is of an ink jet type.

  According to the printing management method and the printing management system of a newspaper printing factory of the present invention, a printing schedule is set, and this information is shared to perform printing management. Therefore, in a newspaper printing factory equipped with many types and many printing machines. Color management can be appropriately performed, and the paper surface of color printing can be reproduced with a high degree of accuracy in a desired color tone, thereby improving print quality.

In particular, when a newspaper is edited at an editing center (for example, the headquarters of a newspaper company), page data is sent to a newspaper printing factory in each area, and printing is performed at each newspaper printing factory, the page information of the multi-valued image data is used. Also in the case of transmission / reception, the above-described color management can be easily and reliably performed on the sent page information.
Also, by searching the multi-valued image data for a position where each of the print colors is reliably printed, and pasting a register mark at the searched position, the register mark is reliably recognized, and color misregistration is performed. Can be prevented.

In this case, by automatically adjusting the position of the register mark monitoring means based on the register mark position information, register control can be easily and accurately performed.
Further, by searching for a position where a pattern similar to the cutoff mark does not exist, and pasting the cutoff mark at the searched position, the cutoff mark can be reliably recognized and cutoff can be accurately performed. Become like

Also in this case, the cutoff can be easily and accurately performed by automatically adjusting the position of the cutoff mark monitoring means based on the cutoff mark position information.
Furthermore, by performing fan-out suppression correction on the RIP-processed binary image data, print quality can be improved.

Also, if an on-press plate making machine that performs plate making on each newspaper rotary press based on information recorded in a print data recording device is used as a plate making device, labor saving can be further promoted and human error can be reduced. .
Further, in this case, the printing control in the newspaper printing factory can be made easier by using the on-press plate making machine of the ink jet type. That is, the misregistration is achieved by performing plate making on a machine in such a manner that ink is ejected from the inkjet head onto the hydrophilic printing material in accordance with the binary image data to form a lipophilic image portion. The printing management of the newspaper printing factory can be more appropriately performed, for example, such that the printing does not substantially occur. In particular, in the ink jet method, ink is ejected onto a hydrophilic printing plate material based on binary image data to form an oleophilic image area and plate making is performed. And the printing management at the newspaper printing factory can be performed more quickly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 to 8 and 10 show a print management method and a print management system of a newspaper printing factory according to an embodiment of the present invention. Description will be made based on the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 2, in an editing center (a center that edits not only newspapers but also composite media including other media) provided outside the newspaper printing factory (usually the head office of a newspaper company), an editing system is provided. 5, the editing work of the newspaper is performed, and the result of the editing work is transmitted to the communication device 6 including the data transmitting device 6A provided in the editing system 5 and the data receiving device 6B provided in the newspaper printing factory in each place. And is sent in the form of multi-valued image data.
It should be noted that the image information sent to the newspaper printing factory may be any information that can be substantially handled as multi-valued image data, and the print resolution level is higher than the print resolution level that can be converted to multi-valued information. It is assumed that binary image data is included. When the newspaper printing factory receives such high-resolution binary image data, it is assumed that the high-resolution binary image data is temporarily converted into multi-value image data and the following processing is performed.

  At each newspaper printing factory side, the print data of each page is received as the page image information of the multi-valued image data by the data transmitting device 6B, and the register mark pasting device (register position setting device) 2 first registers the image data with the register image. A mark is pasted, and a cutoff mark is pasted by a cutoff mark pasting device (cutoff position setting device) 3. Next, color management processing (color correction) is performed by a color management system (CMS) 1, and further, RIP (Raster-Image-Processing) processing device 12 RIP-processes the multi-valued image data into binary image data in advance. Thereafter, the fanout correction device 4 performs fanout correction on the binary image data.

  In the case of a color paper, the binary image data thus processed is binary image data (dot data or paper image information in a bitmap format) for each color of CMYB (cyan, magenta, yellow, black). Then, the sheet is sent to the plate making apparatus 51 to make a plate, and thereafter, a printing plate is set on each newspaper rotary press to perform printing.

Note that each newspaper printing factory receives operating condition data such as “version name”, “page number”, and “ink color used for printing” as related information on the paper, along with the multi-valued image data on each paper. It is supposed to.
The operation condition data 61a is recorded in the print data recording device 61. The print data recording device 61 includes data (printer data) 61b of each printing press provided in the newspaper printing factory and various types of printing materials (paper, ink, dampening solution, blanket, etc.). ) Is recorded (material information data) 61c. The printing press data is data on the maker and model of the printing press, the inking method, the dampening method, and the like used.

  As a preparation stage for printing, a printing machine (newspaper rotary press) provided in a newspaper printing factory is assigned to correspond to printing on each page based on the operating condition data 61a, and further, a printing material used for each printing machine is used. (Paper, ink, dampening solution, blanket, etc.). These assignments may be performed by the operator, or the printing machine may be automatically assigned based on the operating condition data 61a and the printing press data 61b recorded in the print data recording device 61. It may be automatically performed based on the machine data 61b and the material information data 61c.

Here, the pasting of the register mark, the pasting of the cut-off mark, the color management, and the fan-out correction will be further described.
As shown in FIG. 3A, each printing roll (printing cylinder) 102 provided with a printing plate has a plurality of printing plates 103a, 103a, 103b, 103c, and 103d are attached, and printing on the paper surfaces 104a, 104b, 104c, and 104d is performed on the web 101, as shown in FIG. Here, it is assumed that the register control and the cut-off control are performed with each two-page spread as one unit.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the register mark pasting device 2 searches the full-color portion of each page (shown by hatching in FIG. 4A) from the page image information of the multi-valued image data, Set the same mark on the same column (the area where all the colors used on the paper are printed) (on the margin of the paper at the same position in the horizontal direction of the paper) as the registration mark position, and the corresponding position on the multi-valued image data A register mark is pasted on the mark.

  In other words, the adjustment of the ink supply to the print roll 102 is performed in the roll width direction, and only a minimum amount of ink corresponding to the color is supplied to a position where a certain color is not printed (a position in the roll width direction). Therefore, if the register mark position is set without considering this, if there is a color that is not printed on the column at the register mark position, the register mark cannot be printed clearly.

Therefore, an area where all the colors used on the paper are printed is searched from the paper, and the margin of the paper at the same position in the roll width direction as the area is set as a register mark position. It is possible to avoid.
In addition, the area where each color used on the paper is printed can be searched from the above-described paper image information, and if the position of the register mark in the vertical direction is set in advance, the operation of the operator is not required. The position can be set automatically.

In addition, since there is a place on the margin of the paper where characters are written and a register mark cannot be attached, for example, the upper margin of the paper is a first candidate for the vertical position, and the lower margin of the paper is the first candidate for the vertical position. It may be set as a second candidate or the like so that the register mark can be set reliably.
In addition, the registration of the register mark may be performed automatically without any operator's work by superimposing the register mark image information on the paper surface image information.

  As shown in FIG. 4 (b), the cut-off mark pasting device 3 changes a pattern portion similar to a cut-off mark from a pattern to be printed on each sheet based on the sheet image information of the multi-valued image data [FIG. Is indicated by hatching), the column corresponding to this part (on the margin of the paper at the same position in the horizontal direction of the paper) is excluded from the cutoff mark pasting position candidates, and the remaining positions are set as the cutoff mark pasting positions. Set.

In other words, the cutoff mark is usually a line segment having a predetermined width and extending in the left-right direction on the paper surface. However, if a portion similar to such a cutoff mark is present in a printed pattern, the cutoff mark is mistaken. There is a risk of detection.
Therefore, the column corresponding to the pattern part similar to the cut-off mark is excluded from the cut-off mark pasting position candidates, and the remaining positions are set as the cut-off mark pasting positions, so that such a problem can be avoided. It is.

Note that a portion similar to a cutoff mark can be searched from the above-described paper surface image information, and if the position of the cutoff mark in the vertical direction is set in advance, the position can be automatically set without operator's work. can do.
In this case as well, there are places where characters and register marks are written and cut-off marks cannot be pasted on the margin of the paper, so that, for example, the upper margin of the paper is the first candidate for the top-to-bottom direction, and the lower margin of the paper is May be set as the second candidate of the position in the top and bottom direction and the like so that the register mark can be surely set.

Also, the cut-off mark can be attached by superimposing the cut-off mark image information on the paper surface image information, and this can also be performed automatically without the need for operator's work.
The color management device 1 acquires corresponding color management information from the database 62 with respect to the type of printing machine and the type of printing material used for printing each page recorded on the print data recording device 61, and stores the acquired color management information in the color management information. Based on the multi-valued image data on each page, color reproducibility correction processing is performed according to the type of printing press and the type of printing material.

  In order to create color management information, a system as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is used. In this printing system, a DTP (Desktop Publishing) device 11, a RIP processing device 12, a CTP (Computer To Plate) device 51, a printing machine 52, a CMS (Color Management System) 1A, a monitor (display device) 20, an inkjet printer 21, It comprises an ICC profile converter (creating means) 17 and a spectrometer (measuring means) 16.

  In this printing system, the DTP device 11 creates image data 15 of a picture to be printed. The image data 20 created by the DTP device 11 is expanded into a bitmap (binary image data) by the RIP device 12 and then input to the CTP device 51. The CTP device 51 makes the printing plate 14 directly from the input image data without performing the printing process using the film. The printing plate 14 is mounted on the plate cylinder of the printing press 52 to perform printing, whereby a printing sheet on which a picture corresponding to the image data 15 is printed is completed.

  In order to confirm the color tone of the completed printed sheet, a comparison target for proofreading is required. In the printing system according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, as a comparison object for calibrating the actual printed matter 15 b, in addition to creating the proof print 15 d with the inkjet printer 21, the proof image 15 c is displayed on the monitor 20. Can also be displayed. In order to create the proof print 15d and the proof image 15c, the ink jet ICC profile 18d and the monitor ICC profile 18c are required. For this purpose, the ICC profile 18a of the printing press 52 is required.

  In the printing system according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, first, the plate 14 is made by the CTP device 51 based on the image data 15 created by the DTP 11 device, and the plate 14 is mounted on the printing press 52. Then, a color chart (test sheet) 15a for creating an ICC profile is obtained. Then, the color chart 15a is measured by the spectrometer 16, and an ICC profile 18a is created by the ICC profile converter 17 from the measured data.

The created ICC profile 18a is stored in the memory 62a and used as the CMS database 62. Such an ICC profile 18a is created for each printing machine in correspondence with each usable printing material (paper, ink, dampening solution, blanket, etc.), and stored.
Particularly, in the case of a newspaper printing factory, since a large number of printing presses including different types of printing presses are used in combination, the CMS database 62 stores the ICC profiles 18a clearly arranged for each printing press. The color management apparatus 1 clearly recognizes the type of the printing press used for printing on each page from the print data recording device 61, and uses the CMS database 62 to execute the printing used for each printing press. In accordance with the type of the material, correction processing of color reproducibility is performed on the multi-valued image data of each page according to the type of printing machine and the type of the printing material.

  In the fan-out correction device, as shown in FIG. 5, binary image data processed by the RIP processing device 12 is assumed so as to correspond to the characteristic that the web becomes wider as the web proceeds downstream due to the action of dampening water or the like. In accordance with the fan-out amount to be performed, the correction is made wider toward the downstream side. This is because not only the correction is made wider toward the downstream side in one printing plate, but also the overall correction is made wider as the printing plate 102 of the printing roll 102 on the downstream side is used.

For the plate making, a CTF device may be used in addition to the above-mentioned CTP device. A plate is output with a CTP device, but a film is output with a CTF device, so plate making is performed using this film. . The printing plate thus prepared is usually manually mounted on a plate cylinder of a corresponding newspaper rotary press by an operator.
Further, an on-press plate making system 53 is provided so that the above-described fan-out corrected binary image data can be directly sent to the on-press plate making system 53 so that printing can be started from plate making without manual operation. Is also good. Also in this case, by performing the control based on the information from the print data recording device 61, it is possible to surely execute the stencil making in the printing machine corresponding to each sheet.

  Further, the printing press is provided with an automatic register device 54 and a cut-off controller 55. In the automatic register device 54, a register mark is monitored by a monitoring camera (register mark monitoring device) (not shown), and register adjustment is performed by feedback control based on the monitoring information. The cutoff controller 55 also monitors the cutoff mark by a monitoring camera (cutoff mark monitoring device) (not shown) and adjusts the cutoff position by feedback control based on this monitoring information.

  Each monitoring camera (register mark monitoring device, cut-off mark monitoring device) used at this time automatically obtains registration mark and cut-off mark setting position information in the register mark attaching device 2 and the cut-off mark attaching device 3, respectively. The position is adjusted. That is, since each mark is not a fixed position, each monitoring camera can be surely monitored by adjusting the width direction position of the web 101 to the width direction position of each mark.

  In the case of the cutoff control, there is a camera that detects each mark at a predetermined timing with a camera and adjusts the cutoff, but the cutoff mark position is not fixed in the running direction of the web (vertical direction on the paper). In this case, the camera cannot detect each mark at a predetermined timing. In this case, the position of the camera itself can be adjusted also in the running direction of the web (vertical direction of the paper), and the position of the cutoff mark is automatically set automatically from the cutoff mark setting position information in the cutoff mark attaching device 3. It may be adjusted.

Since the printing management method and the printing management system of the newspaper printing factory as one embodiment of the present invention are configured as described above, the printing management of the newspaper printing factory is performed as shown in FIG. 8, for example.
First, as shown in FIG. 8B, a database relating to the ICC profile is created in advance.

  That is, a combination of a newspaper rotary press and each type of printing material (paper, ink, dampening solution, blanket, etc.) is selected (step b10), and a color chart is printed (step b20). Then, the printing color of the color chart is measured (step b30), the printing characteristics are determined from the measurement result, and an ICC profile is created (step b40). Further, it is stored (recorded) in correspondence with the newspaper rotary press and the printing material using the created ICC profile (step b50). After the determination in step b60, all possible combinations of the newspaper rotary press and each printing material are recorded and a database is created.

  When printing a newspaper, as shown in FIG. 8 (a), an editing operation of the newspaper is performed as multi-value image data by an editing system 5 of an editing center provided at the head office of the newspaper company (step a10). Data is transmitted and received (step a20). Each newspaper printing factory acquires the data by receiving the print data of each page as the page image information of the multi-value image data (step a30), and first sets a print schedule (step a40). That is, based on the operating condition data 61a such as "plate name", "page number", and "ink color used for printing" received together with the multi-valued image data, a printing machine (newspaper ring) provided in a newspaper printing factory. (A turning point) is assigned so as to correspond to printing on each page, and printing materials (paper, ink, dampening solution, blanket, etc.) used for each printing press are assigned.

  Next, a registration mark attaching process by the register mark attaching device 2 (step a50) and a cutoff mark attaching process by the cutoff mark attaching device 3 (step a60) are performed on the paper surface image information. The color management process (color correction) is performed by the CMS 1 using the CMS database 62 (step a70). Further, the RIP processing device 12 RIP-processes the multi-valued image data into binary image data (step a80), and then performs fan-out correction on the binary image data by the fan-out correction device 4 (step a90).

Thus, plate making (step a100) and printing (step a110) are performed based on the obtained binary image data.
As described above, according to the print management method and print management system of this newspaper printing factory, multi-value image data is acquired, a print schedule is further set, and this information is shared to perform print management. Thus, color management can be appropriately performed in a newsprint factory equipped with a large number of printing presses. As a result, the paper surface of the color printing can be reproduced with a desired color tone with high accuracy, and the merchantability of the newspaper can be improved.

  In particular, when a newspaper is edited at an editing center at the headquarters of a newspaper company, page data is sent to a newspaper printing factory in each location, and printing is performed at each newspaper printing factory, multi-valued image data (or multi-valued image data) is used. By transmitting and receiving the page information of the binary image data (changeable to data), the CMS 1 can easily and reliably perform color management on the transmitted page information.

Further, the register mark attaching device 2 searches the multi-valued image data for a position where each print color is reliably printed, and pastes the register mark at the searched position, so that the register mark can be reliably recognized. As a result, color shift can be prevented.
In addition, since the position of the camera (register mark monitoring means) is automatically adjusted based on the position information of the register mark, register control can be easily and accurately performed.

Further, the cut-off mark pasting device 3 searches for a position where there is no pattern similar to the cut-off mark, and pastes the cut-off mark at the searched position, thereby reliably recognizing the cut-off mark. The cutoff can be performed accurately.
Also in this case, since the position of the cutoff mark monitoring means is automatically adjusted based on the position information of the cutoff mark, the cutoff can be easily and accurately performed.

Furthermore, the fan-out correction device 4 performs fan-out suppression correction on the RIP-processed binary image data, thereby improving print quality.
Also, if an on-press plate making machine that performs plate making on each newspaper rotary press based on information recorded in a print data recording device is used as a plate making device, labor saving can be further promoted and human error can be reduced. .
In this case, it is more preferable that the on-press plate-making machine be an ink jet system.
There are various known plate-making machines of the ink-jet type. For example, FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of an on-press plate-making machine of the ink-jet type described in JP-A-2001-171071.
As shown in FIG. 10, an ink jet recording apparatus 202 which is a drawing unit of the on-press plate making machine is configured by an ink supply unit 224 having an ink jet discharge head 222. The ink supply unit 224 has an ink tank 225, an ink supply device 226, and an ink concentration control device 229 in addition to the inkjet discharge head 222. Means 227 for stirring the ink, and means 228 for controlling the temperature of the ink so that a high-quality image can be stably formed without changing the physical properties of the ink due to a change in the surrounding temperature and without changing the dot diameter. And is included.
The ink may be circulated in the ejection head 222. In this case, the ink supply unit also has a collecting and circulating function. As the ink stirring means 227, any one of a rotary wing, an ultrasonic vibrator, and a circulating pump, or a combination thereof is used. As the ink temperature management means, a heating element or a cooling element such as a heater or a Peltier element is arranged in the ink tank together with a stirring means so as to keep the temperature distribution in the tank constant, and controlled by a temperature sensor such as a thermostat. A publicly known method such as the above method is used.
Note that the stirring means for keeping the temperature distribution in the tank constant may be shared with the ink stirring means for suppressing the precipitation and aggregation of the solid components of the ink.
In this example, an ink density control unit 229 is further provided for performing high-quality drawing, and the ink density is controlled by optical detection, measurement of physical properties such as conductivity measurement, clay measurement, or management based on the number of drawn sheets. I do. When performing management by physical property measurement, an optical detector, a conductivity measuring instrument, and a clay measuring instrument are provided alone or in combination in the ink tank 225 or the ink flow path, and controlled by an output signal thereof. In the case of performing management based on the number of drawn sheets, the supply of liquid from the replenishing concentrated ink tank or the diluted ink carrier tank (not shown) to the ink tank 225 (that is, the liquid discharged from the inkjet discharge head 222) Ink amount).
Further, a head separation / contact device 231 for moving the head, a head sub-scanning means 232, and an encoder 230 installed on the plate cylinder are provided, and the image data calculation control unit 221 performs the processing based on the input binary image data. The timing pulse from the encoder 330 is taken in, and the head is moved by the head separation / contact device 231 and / or the head sub-scanning means 232 according to the timing pulse.
Thus, the position accuracy in the sub-scanning direction can be improved, but the plate cylinder is driven at the time of drawing by the ink jet recording apparatus by using a high-precision driving unit different from the driving unit at the time of printing. In this case, it is desirable to drive the plate cylinder only by mechanically separating the blanket cylinder, the impression cylinder, and the like. Specifically, for example, there is a method in which the output from a high-precision motor is reduced by a high-precision gear or a steel belt or the like to drive only the plate cylinder. When performing high-quality drawing, such means are used alone or in combination.
The above-described on-press plate making machine of the ink jet system is an example, and the specific configuration of the ink jet system is not limited thereto. If ink is ejected from the ink jet head onto the hydrophilic printing material in accordance with the data to form a lipophilic image area, register misregistration does not substantially occur by plate making on the machine Printing management in a newspaper printing factory can be performed more appropriately. In particular, in the ink jet method, ink is ejected onto a hydrophilic printing plate material based on binary image data to form an oleophilic image area and plate making is performed. And the printing management at the newspaper printing factory can be performed more quickly.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist of the present invention.
For example, before the color correction step, a cutoff mark setting step of setting a specific pattern that is close to the cutoff mark from the multi-valued image data and is not confused with another pattern as the cutoff mark is provided. Alternatively, a specific pattern set in the cut-off mark setting step may be monitored to adjust the cut-off position by feedback control. In this case, a cut-off mark setting device that detects a specific pattern that is close to the cut-off mark from the multi-valued image data and that is not confused with other patterns and automatically sets this as a cut-off mark is configured. It is preferable to set automatically.

1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a print management method and a print management system of a newspaper printing factory as one embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a relationship between a head office (an editing center outside a newspaper printing factory) and a newspaper printing factory according to a printing management method and a printing management system of a newspaper printing factory as one embodiment of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows the printing roll and web which concern on one Embodiment of this invention, (a) is a typical perspective view which shows the printing roll equipped with the printing plate, (b) is a schematic front which shows the printing state on a web. FIG. It is a schematic diagram on paper explaining the mark sticking position concerning one Embodiment of this invention, (a) is a figure shown about a register mark, (b) is a figure shown about a cutoff mark. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a fan-out correction according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention, focusing on a processing flow when an ICC profile is created. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention, focusing on a processing flow at the time of color matching. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a print management method of a newspaper printing factory as one embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a flowchart illustrating a print management process, and (b) is a flowchart illustrating a database creation process. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a print management method and a print management system of a newsprint factory according to the related art. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of a printing apparatus according to a print management method of a newspaper printing factory as one embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of reference numerals

1 Color Management System (CMS)
2 Register mark sticking device (register position setting device)
3 Cut-off mark pasting device (cut-off position setting device)
Reference Signs List 4 fan-out correction device 5 editing system 6A data transmission device 6B data reception device 6 communication device 11 DTP device 12 RIP processing device 16 spectrometer 17 ICC profile conversion device 20 monitor (display device)
Reference Signs List 21 inkjet printer 51 CTP device 52 printing machine 61 print data recording device 62 database for CMS 101 web 102 print roll (print cylinder)
103a, 103b, 103c, 103d Printing plate 104a, 104b, 104c, 104d Paper surface 202 Inkjet recording device 221 Image data operation control unit 222 Inkjet ejection head 224 Ink supply unit 225 Ink tank 226 Ink supply device 227 Ink stirring means 228 Ink temperature management Means 229 Ink density control device 230 Encoder 231 Head separation / contact device 232 Head sub-scanning means

Claims (20)

Providing a plurality of types of newspaper rotary presses, acquiring image information of each page edited as multi-value image data together with related information of the page, creating a printing plate for each page based on the image information, A printing management method for a newspaper printing factory that performs printing by the above-described newspaper rotary presses using the created printing plate,
A data acquisition step of acquiring the multi-value image data and the related information and recording these information as print data;
Based on the multi-valued image data and the related information obtained in the data obtaining step, a newspaper rotary press and a printing material to be used for each sheet are selected from the plurality of types of newspaper rotary presses, and these are selected. A print schedule setting step of recording print schedule information including the selection information as the print data;
Based on the color management information created in advance in accordance with the combination of the type of each newspaper rotary press and the type of each printing material, the printing is performed on the multi-valued image data acquired in the data acquiring step. A color correction step of performing color reproducibility correction processing according to the type of newspaper rotary press and the type of printing material selected in the schedule setting step;
A RIP processing step of performing RIP processing on the multi-valued image data corrected by the color correction step and converting the multi-valued image data into binary image data;
A plate making step of recording an image on a plate using the binary image data converted by the RIP processing step to create a printing plate;
A printing step of printing each sheet by the newspaper rotary press selected in the print schedule setting step, using the printing plate prepared in the plate making step and the printing material selected in the print schedule setting step; A printing management method for a newspaper printing factory, comprising: As a preparation step of the color correction step, the printing color of each color chart printed using each printing material that can be used for each of the above-described newspaper rotary presses is measured, and the printing is performed based on the measured printing colors. The color management information is created by creating printing characteristics of the newspaper rotary press when the material is used as profile data and storing the profile data in association with the type of the newspaper rotary press and the type of the printing material. 2. The printing management method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of creating the color management information. Before the color correction step, a position where each print color is reliably printed is searched from the multi-valued image data, and a register mark attaching step of attaching a register mark to the searched position is provided.
3. The printing management method according to claim 1, wherein in the printing step, the register mark attached in the register mark attaching step is monitored and the register is registered by feedback control. Register mark monitoring means for monitoring the register mark is provided so as to be adjustable in position, and the position of the register mark monitoring means is automatically adjusted based on the position information of the register mark attached in the register mark attaching step. The printing management method for a newspaper printing factory according to claim 3, characterized in that: After the printing step, a cut-off step of cutting off the printed continuous paper to a predetermined length is provided,
Prior to the color correction step, the multi-valued image data is searched for a position where a pattern similar to a cutoff mark does not exist, and a cutoff mark attaching step of attaching a cutoff mark to the searched position is provided.
5. The cut-off step, wherein the cut-off mark attached in the cut-off mark attaching step is monitored, and the cut-off position is adjusted by feedback control. 3. A printing management method for a newspaper printing plant according to the above. After the printing step, a cut-off step of cutting off the printed continuous paper to a predetermined length is provided,
Before the color correction step, there is provided a cutoff mark setting step of setting a specific pattern that is close to a cutoff mark from the multi-valued image data and is not confused with another pattern as the cutoff mark,
The cut-off step, wherein the cut-off position is adjusted by feedback control by monitoring the specific pattern set in the cut-off mark setting step. The printing management method of the newspaper printing factory described in the above. A cut-off mark monitoring means for monitoring the cut-off mark is provided so as to be position-adjustable, and the position information of the cut-off mark attached in the cut-off mark attaching step or the cut-off mark set in the cut-off mark setting step is provided. 7. The printing management method according to claim 5, wherein the position of the cutoff mark monitoring means is automatically adjusted based on the information. The newspaper printing factory according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a fan-out correction step of performing a fan-out suppression correction on the binary image data processed in the RIP processing step. Print management method. An editing step of editing the image information of each page as the multi-valued image data at an editing center outside the newspaper printing factory;
Transmitting the multi-valued image data edited in the editing step and the related information corresponding to the edited multi-valued image data from the editing center to the data acquisition step in the newspaper printing factory via communication means; The printing management method according to claim 1, further comprising a process. It is a printing management system of a newspaper printing factory equipped with a plurality of types of newspaper rotary presses,
A database in which color management information created according to the combination of the type of each newspaper rotary press and the type of each printing material used is recorded,
Print data recorded by linking image information of each page edited as multi-valued image data, related information of the page, and information of the type of newspaper rotary press and the type of printing material used for printing on the page. A recording device;
With respect to the type of newspaper rotary press and the type of printing material used for printing on each page recorded in the print data recording device, the corresponding color management information is acquired from the database, and based on the color management information, A color management device that performs a color reproducibility correction process according to the type of the newspaper rotary press and the type of printing material on the multi-valued image data on paper,
A RIP processing device for performing RIP processing on the multi-valued image data corrected by the color management device and converting the multi-valued image data into binary image data;
A plate making device for recording an image on a plate using the binary image data converted by the RIP processing device to create a printing plate;
Based on the link relationship recorded in the print data recording device, the newspaper rotary press described above that performs printing on each page using the printing material selected by mounting the printing plate created by the plate making device. A print management system in a newspaper printing factory, comprising: An imaging device that measures the printing color of each color chart printed using each printing material that can be used for each newspaper rotary press described above, and uses the printing material from the printing colors measured by the imaging device. A profile data creation device that creates the printing characteristics of the newspaper rotary press as profile data at the time of
11. The newspaper printing according to claim 10, wherein the database is created by storing the profile data created by the profile data creating device in association with the type of the newspaper rotary press and the type of the printing material. Factory print management system. A register mark attaching device for automatically searching a position where each print color is reliably printed from the multi-valued image data and automatically attaching a register mark at the searched position is provided.
12. The printing management system according to claim 10, wherein the newspaper rotary press monitors the register mark pasted by the register mark pasting device and performs registration by feedback control. . A register mark monitoring device that monitors the register mark is provided so as to be position adjustable, and the position of the register mark monitoring device is automatically adjusted based on the position information of the register mark attached by the register mark attaching device. 13. The printing management system of a newspaper printing factory according to claim 12, wherein: The newspaper rotary press is provided with a cutoff device that cuts off the printed continuous paper to a predetermined length,
A cut-off mark pasting device that automatically searches the multi-valued image data for a position where a pattern similar to the cut-off mark does not exist, and automatically pastes the cut-off mark at the searched position,
14. The cut-off device according to claim 10, wherein the cut-off mark attached by the cut-off mark attaching device is monitored, and the cut-off position is adjusted by feedback control. 2. A printing management system for a newspaper printing plant according to item 1. The newspaper rotary press is provided with a cutoff device that cuts off the printed continuous paper to a predetermined length,
A cut-off mark setting device that sets a specific pattern that is close to a cut-off mark from the multi-valued image data and is not confused with another pattern as the cut-off mark,
The cut-off device according to any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein the cut-off position is adjusted by feedback control by monitoring the specific pattern set by the cut-off mark setting device. The printing management system of the newspaper printing factory described. A cut-off mark monitoring device that monitors the cut-off mark is provided so as to be position-adjustable, and the position information of the cut-off mark attached by the cut-off mark attaching device or set by the cut-off mark setting device is provided. 16. The print management system according to claim 14, wherein the position of the cutoff mark monitoring device is automatically adjusted based on the position. 17. The newspaper printing factory according to claim 10, further comprising a fan-out correction device that performs a fan-out suppression correction on the binary image data processed by the RIP processing device. Print management system. An editing system that is provided at an editing center outside the newspaper printing factory and edits the image information of each page as the multi-valued image data;
A communication device for transmitting the multi-value image data edited by the editing system and the related information corresponding to the edited multi-value image data from the editing center to the newspaper printing factory. The printing management system of a newspaper printing factory according to any one of claims 10 to 17, characterized in that: 19. The machine according to claim 10, wherein the plate making device is an on-press plate making machine that makes a plate on each of the newspaper rotary presses based on information recorded in the print data recording device. 2. A printing management system for a newspaper printing factory according to claim 1. The on-press plate making machine performs plate making using an ink jet head, and discharges ink from the ink jet head onto a hydrophilic printing material in accordance with the binary image data to thereby form a lipophilic image portion. 20. The printing management system of a newspaper printing factory according to claim 19, wherein:

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