JP2007176025A - Apparatus and method of determining printing agent placed amount limit value, program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable any user to easily determine a precise printer ink placed amount limit value without the need for making decision with his/her heuristics, and thereby to eliminate wastes of paper, ink and time used for determining the printer ink placed amount limit value so as to suppress color management costs and variation of results depending on operators. <P>SOLUTION: A chart preparation section 2 and a chart output section 3 print a patch pattern having a plurality of different colored and mutually adjacent patch images on a sheet for each of the plurality of ink placed amounts with a printer 4, and read the patch pattern images from the printed sheet with a scanner 6. A feathering searching section 8 determines whether a feathering is generated in each patch adjacent section in the read patch pattern, and then determines as the ink placed amount limit value of the printer 4, the maximum ink placed amount of printer ink placed amounts corresponding to the patch pattern which is determined such that the feathering is not generated in any patch adjacent sections therein. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to control for determining an appropriate value for limiting the amount of printing agent such as ink ejected from a printer onto paper.

  In the case of a CMYK printer, the applied ink amount value is the sum of the amounts of ink discharged to the paper for each of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (B). It's about value.

  For example, when cyan = 100%, magenta = 100%, yellow = 100%, and black = 100%, the applied ink amount value is 400%.

  However, if the ink application amount value is not limited, the ink absorption amount of the paper will be exceeded, blurring of the edge of the output image due to bleeding or ink overflow, and the reproducibility of lines / characters will deteriorate. The phenomenon that the tonality deteriorates may occur, and the output image may fail.

  Therefore, when a limit value is set for the applied ink amount value and the limit value is exceeded, the ink discharge amount is controlled by suppressing the discharge amounts of cyan, magenta, and yellow inks by calculation as shown in FIG. There is a method of suppressing the occurrence of the breakdown of the output image by not exceeding the ink absorption amount.

  The idea of this formula is to reduce the cyan, magenta, and yellow ink discharge amounts and reduce the ink discharge amounts for cyan, magenta, and yellow by reducing the relative ratio between the ink discharge amount limit value and the black discharge amount. The amount of applied ink is suppressed.

  More specifically, InkTotal is the sum of the ink ejection amounts of cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) for a certain pixel. InkLimit is an ink application amount limit value. Subtract the black (K) value from InkLimit. Then, C ′, M ′, and Y ′ are obtained based on the ratio between InkTotal and InkLimit, and the ink ejection amounts for cyan, magenta, and yellow are reduced.

  Conventionally, in order to determine an appropriate applied ink amount limit value for an ink application amount limit value determination target printer, the same operation is repeated, and the applied ink amount limit value is determined based on human empirical rules.

  As a specific work, an appropriate ink application amount limit value is set based on human rule of thumb, and a chart or an image is output. And the blurring of the output chart and image, whether the ink has penetrated the paper firmly, whether bleeding has occurred, the ink has not overflowed, or there is no problem with the gradation of the high density part, etc. Is visually checked to determine whether the ink application amount limit value is appropriate. If it is determined that it is not appropriate, the ink application amount limit value is increased or decreased to an appropriate value and a chart or image is output. And we have done whether it is improved compared to the charts and images output last time.

As a method for determining the ink application amount, there is Patent Literature 1. This is because, when an appropriate toner application amount limit value is not set when toner is placed on a sheet, an abnormal flying phenomenon such as development scattering or transfer scattering occurs. By utilizing this phenomenon, various loading amount value lines are printed on the printing paper and scanned using a scanner. In this method, it is confirmed whether or not an abnormal flight phenomenon has occurred from the scan image, and an application amount limit value with the lowest phenomenon occurrence rate is automatically obtained.
JP 2004-78030 A

  However, the method of determining an appropriate ink application amount limit value based on the above human rule of thumb is not an operation that anyone can do, and the same result can be obtained even if two people perform the same operation. The nature is low. Accordingly, there has been a problem that consistent color management cannot be performed and maintenance work of the printer is difficult.

  Moreover, although the appropriate amount limit value obtained by the method of Patent Document 1 is effective for the reproducibility of characters and lines, the case where a certain amount of ink is ejected with respect to the sheet area width is used. This is not expected. Further, no consideration is given to the interference of ink with adjacent regions having different colors. Therefore, there is a problem that the ink application amount is not appropriate for color printing such as photographs and graphics composed of various colors.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. The object of the present invention is not to be determined by humans based on empirical rules, and anyone can easily and accurately set the ink application amount limit value of the printer. To eliminate the waste of paper, waste of ink and waste of time used to determine the ink application amount limit value of the printer, and suppress color management costs and variations in results by workers. Is to provide a mechanism that can

  The present invention provides a first output unit that causes a printing device to print a patch pattern in which a plurality of patch images of different colors are adjacent to each other for each of a plurality of printing agent loading amounts, and the printing by the first output unit. First determination means for causing a patch device to read a patch pattern image from a sheet printed by the device and determining whether or not bleeding has occurred in each patch adjacent portion in the read patch pattern; The first determination means determines the printing agent loading amount corresponding to the patch pattern determined to be free of bleeding in any patch adjacent portion as the printing agent loading amount limit value of the printing apparatus. And determining means.

  According to the present invention, it is not necessary for a human to make a decision based on an empirical rule, and anyone can easily determine the ink application amount limit value of the printer with high accuracy. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the waste of paper, the waste of ink, and the waste of time used for determining the ink application amount limit value of the printer, and it is possible to suppress the cost of color management, the variation in results by the operator, and the like.

  Accordingly, consistent color management is possible and printer maintenance is facilitated. In addition, because the reproducibility of characters and lines is improved, and blurring due to interference with adjacent areas of different colors is taken into account when determining the applied amount limit value, it is composed of photographs and various colors. As a result, it is possible to improve the quality of color printing of the printed figures.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a system to which an applied ink amount limit value determining apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention can be applied.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a personal computer (PC) as an ink application amount limit value determining apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  Reference numeral 2 denotes an ink application amount limit value determination chart creation unit that creates a chart for determining the ink application amount limit value. Reference numeral 3 denotes a chart output unit that outputs the created chart to the printer 4 that is the target for determining the applied ink amount limit value. Reference numeral 4 denotes a printer, which prints out a chart (ink applied amount limit value determination image output product 5) in CMYK colors according to an instruction from the chart output unit 3. The printer 4 is a target for determining the ink application amount limit value of the present embodiment.

  A color scanner 6 reads the chart (ink applied amount limit value determination image output product 5) output from the printer 4 and generates a color image. A scan image correction unit 7 corrects the scan image of the chart read by the scanner 6.

  Reference numeral 8 denotes a blur investigation unit which investigates blur from the scan image corrected by the scan image correction unit 7.

  The ink application amount limit value determination chart creation unit 2, the chart output unit 3, the scan image correction unit 7, and the bleeding investigation unit 8 are configured in one personal computer (PC) 1. Specifically, the CPU 1 (not shown) of the PC 1 reads out a program stored in a recording medium such as a hard disk into the RAM and executes it, whereby the ink application amount limit value determination chart creation unit 2, the chart output unit 3, and the scan image correction The functions of the unit 7 and the bleeding investigation unit 8 are realized.

  With such a configuration, an appropriate ink application amount limit value of the printer is automatically determined (that is, without a person making a judgment based on an empirical rule).

  Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG. 14, the applied ink amount limit value determining process of the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a first control processing procedure in the applied ink amount limit value determining apparatus of the present invention, and corresponds to the applied ink amount limit value determining process. This flowchart process is realized by a CPU (not shown) of the PC 1 reading a program stored in a recording medium such as a hard disk into the RAM and executing it. In addition, the ink application amount limit value determination process is roughly divided into two processes, which are indicated by S11 and S12 in the figure.

  In step S11, the CPU of the PC 1 performs an ink application amount limit value determination process using the line pattern chart (details are shown in FIG. 3). In step S12, based on the result of the ink application amount limit value determination process in step S11, the ink application amount limit value determination process based on the adjacent patch chart is performed (details are shown in FIG. 9).

  Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 3 to FIG. 8, processing of the applied ink amount value determination method based on the line pattern chart in step S <b> 11 will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a second control processing procedure in the ink applied amount limit value determining apparatus of the present invention, and corresponds to the process of the ink applied amount value determining method based on the line pattern chart in step S11 of FIG. . This flowchart process is realized by a CPU (not shown) of the PC 1 reading a program stored in a recording medium such as a hard disk into the RAM and executing it. In the figure, S101 to S109 indicate steps.

  First, in step S101, the CPU of the PC 1 causes the ink applied amount limit value determination chart creating unit 2 to thicken a plurality of lines with various ink applied amount values as shown in FIG. A line pattern chart configured as described above is created, and the chart output unit 3 performs a process of outputting from the ink application amount limit value determination target printer (printer 4 in FIG. 1).

  In step S <b> 102, the CPU of the PC 1 scans the line pattern chart output in step S <b> 101 (the applied amount limit value determination image output product 5 in FIG. 1) from the scanner 6 and outputs it from the printer 4 that is the target for determining the applied ink amount limit value. The image data of the line pattern chart is acquired. Note that, in order to increase the accuracy of the line blur determination process, it is preferable that the scanner resolution is equal to or higher than the output resolution of the printer that has performed the line pattern chart printing process. For example, if output from a printer having an output resolution of 600 dpi, it is preferable to scan at 600 dpi or higher.

  In step S103, the CPU of the PC 1 uses the scan image correction unit 7 to correct the image scanned in step S102. A specific processing flow is shown in FIG. Here, the image correction processing will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a line pattern chart output from the printer when determining an appropriate applied ink amount limit value based on line bleeding in the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the lie pattern chart of the present embodiment is obtained by printing a plurality of thickness lines (bleeding confirmation lines 15, 16, and 17) for each ink application amount.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a third control processing procedure in the applied ink amount limit value determination apparatus of the present invention, and corresponds to the scan image correction processing in step S103 of FIG. This flowchart process is realized by a CPU (not shown) of the PC 1 reading a program stored in a recording medium such as a hard disk into the RAM and executing it. In the figure, S201 to S207 indicate each step.

  First, in step S201, the CPU of the PC 1 determines whether or not the acquired scan image of the line pattern chart is upside down (upside down), and if it is determined upside down (upside down), the process proceeds to step S202. The process of rotating the acquired image by 180 ° is performed. Then, the process proceeds to step S203.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S201 that the acquired scan image of the line pattern chart is not upside down (upside down), the process proceeds to step S203 as it is.

  As a method for confirming whether the scanned image is upside down (upside down), it is determined whether the scanned line pattern chart is upside down by confirming whether the line pattern chart identification mark 13 shown in FIG. 4 is in a predetermined location. .

  In step S203, the CPU of the PC 1 calculates the tilt angle of the scan image from the tilt confirmation mark 14 shown in FIG. This process will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a method of checking the inclination of the paper when correcting the inclination of the scanned line pattern chart shown in FIG. 4. The same components as those in FIG. is there.

  Reference numerals 14 at both ends of FIG. 6 are two points, ie, a tilt confirmation mark and a parallel tilt confirmation mark, which are in a parallel state in the line pattern chart image output from the printer. However, when the line pattern chart output from the printer is scanned while being tilted to the scanner platen, the acquired scan image of the line pattern chart is tilted as a whole, and accordingly, the two tilts that were parallel The confirmation mark is also tilted.

  From the coordinate values of the two tilt confirmation marks, the coordinate values in the case of being parallel as shown in FIG. Then, the inclination angle of the sheet is obtained using the trigonometric ratio from the three coordinate values of the two inclination confirmation marks and the obtained coordinate value in the case of being parallel. Further, since the tilt confirmation marks are evenly arranged on the inner periphery of the sheet, a plurality of tilt angles are obtained and an average value is obtained, and the average angle is set as the sheet tilt correction angle. When arranging a plurality of confirmation marks, the corresponding confirmation marks (confirmation marks arranged in parallel) are output with different colors so that the corresponding confirmation marks can be easily identified by color determination. good.

  Returning to the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S204, the CPU of the PC 1 determines whether the inclination is within an allowable range from the average angle obtained in step S203. If it is determined that it is out of the allowable range, the process proceeds to step S207, and a message prompting to scan the line pattern chart output from the printer anew (re-scanning) is output to the monitor of the PC1. Then, the process ends with an error.

  On the other hand, if the CPU of the PC 1 determines in step S204 that the inclination is within the allowable range, the process proceeds to step S205.

  In step S205, the CPU of the PC 1 performs inclination correction from the angle obtained in step S203.

  In step S206, the CPU of the PC 1 confirms whether the scan image is correct. In the present embodiment, a line pattern chart (FIG. 4) and an adjacent patch pattern chart (FIG. 10 to be described later) are used. In the case of ink application amount limit value determination processing using a line pattern chart, a scan image of the line pattern chart is used. Will be necessary. If the scan image is not a line pattern chart, it is determined that the scan image is not correct.

  If it is determined in step S206 that the scan image is not correct, the CPU of the PC 1 advances the process to step S207 and sends a message prompting the user to scan the correct line pattern chart (redo scan) on the monitor of the PC 1. Output. Then, the process ends with an error.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S206 that the scan image is correct, the CPU of the PC 1 ends the process normally.

  The description returns to the flowchart of FIG.

  When the scan image correction process in step S103 ends normally, the process proceeds to step S104. In the case of an error end, the process ends with an error.

  In step S104, the CPU of the PC 1 performs a process of setting an initial value for finding an appropriate applied ink amount limit value from the scan image of the line pattern chart corrected in step S103.

  The values to be set are the “line thickness” to be investigated and the “applied amount value” at which the investigation is started. The “thickness of line” is set to the thinnest line (15 in FIG. 4), and the “applied amount value” is set to the maximum value (“400%” in FIG. 4) within the ink applied amount limit value range. Thereafter, the thickness of the line to be investigated is described as “line thickness”, and the applied ink amount value to be investigated is described as “applied amount value”, which is surrounded by “”.

  Next, in step S105, the CPU of the PC 1 performs line blurring determination processing based on the parameters of “line thickness” and “applied amount value”. The process here is a process of finding an appropriate applied ink amount limit value for the value set in “line thickness”. Details of this processing are shown in FIGS.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a fourth control processing procedure in the applied ink amount limit value determining apparatus of the present invention, and corresponds to the line blur determination processing in step S105 in FIG. This flowchart process is realized by a CPU (not shown) of the PC 1 reading a program stored in a recording medium such as a hard disk into the RAM and executing it. In the figure, S301 to S306 indicate steps.

  First, in step S <b> 301, the CPU of the PC 1 investigates whether there is a blur in the line portion set with “line thickness” with respect to the currently set “load amount value”. This investigation method will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a state in which the line width of the line pattern chart shown in FIG. 4 is thickened due to bleeding. The same components as those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  In FIG. 8, reference numerals 15, 16, and 17 denote the lines shown in FIG.

  21 and 22 are the upper and lower ends of the line width. If the applied ink amount value is appropriate or less, printing is performed with an assumed line width that does not cause blur and does not become thicker than the upper end 21 and the lower end 22 of the line width.

  However, if the amount of applied ink is too large, bleeding occurs, and the line width is printed partially thicker than the upper end 21 and the lower end 22 of the line width. We will investigate the scanned image for this phenomenon.

  In step S302 in FIG. 7, it is determined whether there is a blur based on the result of the investigation in step S301. If it is determined that there is blur, the CPU of the PC 1 advances the process to step S303.

  In step S303, the CPU of the PC 1 determines whether or not all the “applied amount values” in the line width specified by the “line thickness” have been checked. The CPU proceeds with the process to step S305 and ends the process with an error.

  On the other hand, if the CPU of the PC 1 determines in step S303 that all the “applied amount values” in the line width specified by “line thickness” have not been investigated yet, the process proceeds to step S304.

  In step S304, the CPU of the PC 1 performs a process of changing the “load amount value” so as to investigate the next “load amount value” line, and returns the process to step S301.

  If it is determined in step S302 that there is no blur, the CPU of the PC 1 advances the process to step S306, determines that the ink applied amount limit value is “appropriate ink applied amount limit value” in “line thickness”, and performs the process. Completes normally.

  Hereinafter, the processing returns to the flowchart of FIG.

  When the line blur determination process in step S105 ends normally, the process proceeds to step S106. In the case of an error end, the process ends with an error.

  In step S106, the CPU of the PC 1 has determined an appropriate ink application amount limit value in the “line thickness” determined in the process of step S104, and based on this value, investigates the next thick line width. Update the “loading amount value” parameter.

  Next, in step S107, the CPU of the PC 1 determines the appropriate ink application amount limit value for “line thickness”, and therefore checks the appropriate ink application amount limit value for the next thick line width. Change the "Thickness" parameter.

  Next, in step S108, the CPU of the PC 1 performs processing for changing the parameter of “line thickness” in step S107, but the changed parameter of “line thickness” is checked with the line pattern chart. Check if the target line width is exceeded. And when it is judged that it is not exceeded, the process from step S105 is repeatedly performed based on the parameter changed by step S106, S107.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S108 that the “line thickness” parameter changed in step S107 exceeds the target line width to be investigated in the line pattern chart, the process proceeds to step S109.

  In step S109, the CPU of the PC 1 ends the appropriate ink application amount limit value determination process in the line pattern chart. At this time, the value set in the “applied amount value” is an appropriate applied ink amount limit value in the line pattern chart.

  That is, in the applied ink amount limit value determination process based on the line pattern chart, the maximum applied ink amount among the applied ink amounts corresponding to the line patterns that are determined to have no blur in any line image. Is determined as an appropriate applied ink amount limit value in the line pattern chart of the printer 4.

  Based on the appropriate ink applied amount limit value obtained by the process of the ink applied amount limit value determining method based on the above line pattern chart, the ink applied amount limit value determining process based on the adjacent patch chart in step S13 of FIG. 2 is performed. .

  Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 9 to FIG. 14, the ink application amount limit value determination process based on the adjacent patch chart in step S <b> 13 of FIG. 2 will be described.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of a fifth control processing procedure in the applied ink amount limit value determining apparatus of the present invention, and corresponds to the applied ink amount limit value determining process based on the adjacent patch chart in step S13 of FIG. This flowchart process is realized by a CPU (not shown) of the PC 1 reading a program stored in a recording medium such as a hard disk into the RAM and executing it. Moreover, S401-S411 shows each step in the figure.

  First, in step S401, the CPU of the PC 1 sets the “applied amount value” obtained by the ink applied amount limit value determining process (S11 in FIG. 2) based on the line pattern chart as a parameter. An adjacent patch chart is created based on the parameter “load amount value”, and processing for determining whether there is blur is performed.

  Next, in step S <b> 402, the CPU of the PC 1 creates an adjacent patch chart as shown in FIG. 10 based on the currently set “applied amount value” parameter by the applied ink amount limit value determination chart creating unit 2. To do. This adjacent patch chart will be described.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an adjacent patch chart that is output from the printer when an appropriate applied ink amount limit value is determined based on blurring of adjacent portions of patches of various colors in the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 10, reference numeral 32 denotes an adjacent patch group, which is configured by increasing the difference in brightness, hue, and saturation of adjacent patches so that blurring can be determined in advance by a scanner. This patch is created within the ink application amount limit value range. The individual patches constituting the adjacent patch chart do not necessarily have to be output with a fixed ink application amount value, but a plurality of patches are always printed using ink of the application amount limit value. When the total amount of CMYK of one patch exceeds the “applied amount value” specified in step S401, the ink applied amount limit value determination chart creation unit 2 calculates the “applied amount” of CMYK according to the calculation formula shown in FIG. To the value of "value". This calculation formula will be described.

  FIG. 11 is a calculation formula for suppressing the CMYK total amount to the ink applied amount limit value when the CMYK total amount of one pixel exceeds the ink applied amount limit value.

  This calculation formula reduces the discharge amount of each of cyan, magenta and yellow by the relative ratio between the discharge amount of cyan, magenta and yellow and the value obtained by subtracting the use amount of black from the ink application amount limit value, In other words, the applied amount values of cyan, magenta, and yellow are suppressed.

  More specifically, InkTotal, which is the sum of the ink ejection amounts of cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) for a certain pixel, is calculated. Next, a value obtained by subtracting the black (K) value from the ink application amount limit value InkLimit is set as a new ink application amount limit value InkLimit. Then, C ′, M ′, and Y ′ are obtained by multiplying C, M, and Y by the ratio of InkTotal and InkLimit. C ′, M ′, and Y ′ are used as the ink discharge amounts of cyan, magenta, and yellow, respectively, and the ink discharge amount is reduced, and the total amount of CMYK is suppressed to the applied amount limit value.

  Hereinafter, the description returns to the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S403, the CPU of the PC 1 performs a process of outputting the adjacent patch chart image created in the process of step S402 from the ink application amount limit value determination target printer (printer 4) by the chart output unit 3.

  Next, in step S <b> 404, the CPU of the PC 1 performs processing for placing the adjacent patch chart image output in step S <b> 403 on the document table of the scanner 6 and scanning it. When scanning, in order to improve the accuracy of the blur determination process at the patch boundary portion, for example, the bit depth of the image data to be read is set to 16 bits, and the scanner resolution is read at 600 dpi or more.

  Next, in step S405, the CPU of the PC 1 performs a process of correcting the image data of the adjacent patch chart image scanned in step S404 by the scan image correction unit 7. This process is almost the same as the process shown in step S103 of FIG. Only processing unique to the adjacent patch chart will be described.

  In step S206 in FIG. 5, the CPU of the PC 1 checks the number of sheets. This is because a plurality of adjacent patch chart images may be output, and it is considered that the scanned adjacent patch chart is not a speculative adjacent patch chart.

  Therefore, as shown at 19 in FIG. 10, a mark (paper number confirmation mark) for determining the number of the adjacent patch chart is added. An enlarged view of this mark is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of the sheet number confirmation mark 19 shown in FIG.

  This mark is the first bit, the second bit, and the third bit from the right. These bits are “ON” in the case of a triangle filled with black, and “OFF” in the case of a white triangle. Then, in accordance with the fill state of these bits, it is determined what number of adjacent patch charts are present.

  When all the bits are white, it is determined as the first adjacent patch chart. In the case of FIG. 12, since the first bit is painted black and the second and third bits are white, it is determined as the second adjacent patch chart.

  Hereinafter, the description returns to the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S406, the CPU of the PC 1 performs a blur determination process based on the corrected image data of the scanned adjacent patch chart. Details of this processing will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a sixth control processing procedure in the applied ink amount limit value determining apparatus of the present invention, and corresponds to the adjacent patch blur determination processing in step S406 in FIG. This flowchart process is realized by a CPU (not shown) of the PC 1 reading a program stored in a recording medium such as a hard disk into the RAM and executing it. In the figure, S501 to S505 indicate each step.

  First, in step S501, the CPU of the PC 1 investigates one patch adjacent portion in the patch group indicated by 32 in FIG. 10 and performs a process of examining whether there is a color change. This investigation method will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a state in which blur occurs in a portion where adjacent patches in the adjacent patch chart output from the printer are adjacent to each other.

  In FIG. 14, reference numeral 41 denotes an adjacent portion of the patch, and it is investigated from the scanned image whether there is a blur in this portion. If blurring has occurred, blurring such as 23 occurs on the right and left sides of the central patch adjacent portion.

  Hereinafter, the processing returns to the flowchart of FIG.

  Next, in step S502, the CPU of the PC 1 determines whether there is an adjacent patch in which bleeding has occurred based on the processing result in step S501. If it is determined that there is no blur, the CPU of the PC 1 proceeds with step S503.

  In step S503, the CPU of the PC 1 determines whether all patch adjacent portions have been checked. If it is determined that all patch adjacent portions have not been checked yet, the CPU 1 returns the processing to step S501 and checks The adjacent patch is moved to investigate the adjacent patch.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S503 that all patch adjacent portions have been examined, the CPU of the PC 1 determines that “no bleeding has occurred” in step S504, and ends the adjacent patch bleeding determination processing.

  If it is determined in step S502 that there is an adjacent patch in which bleeding has occurred, the CPU of the PC 1 determines in step S505 that “bleeding has occurred”, and blur determination processing by the adjacent patch is performed. Ends.

  Hereinafter, the description returns to the flowchart of FIG.

  Then, the process proceeds to step S407, and the CPU of the PC 1 determines whether or not a blur has occurred from the result of the adjacent patch blur determination process in step S406. If it is determined that bleeding has occurred, a determination process is performed in step S409 to determine whether the “applied amount value” parameter is less than or equal to the minimum value of the applied ink amount limit value determination range. If it is determined that the “applied amount value” parameter is less than or equal to the minimum value of the applied ink amount limit value determination range, the CPU of the PC 1 ends the process with an error.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S409 that the “applied amount value” parameter is not less than or equal to the minimum value of the ink applied amount limit value determination range, the CPU of the PC 1 decreases the “applied amount value” in step S410. The process returns to step S402.

  If it is determined in step S407 that no blur has occurred from the result of the adjacent patch bleeding determination process in step S406, the CPU of the PC 1 sets the current “loading amount value” parameter in step S408. The ink application amount limit value is determined as an appropriate ink application amount limit value for the target printer, and the process ends.

  In other words, in the applied ink amount limit value determination process based on the adjacent patch chart, the largest ink among the applied ink amounts corresponding to the patch pattern (patch chart) for which it is determined that no blur has occurred in any patch adjacent portion. The applied amount is determined as the ink applied amount limit value of the printer 4.

  As described above, in the applied ink amount limit value determining apparatus according to this embodiment, the chart output from the applied ink amount limit value determination target printer 4 is scanned from the scanner 6 and printed for a certain applied amount value. Judge whether the lines and patches are blurred. Then, an appropriate applied ink amount value at which this blur does not occur is automatically found, and this value is set as the applied ink amount limit value of the printer.

  With such a configuration, it is not necessary for a human to make a decision based on an empirical rule, and anyone can easily determine the ink application amount limit value of the printer with high accuracy. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the waste of paper, the waste of ink, and the waste of time used for determining the ink application amount limit value of the printer, and the cost of color management can be suppressed.

  Accordingly, consistent color management is possible and printer maintenance is facilitated. In addition, the reproducibility of characters and lines can be improved, and the quality of color printing such as photographs and figures composed of various colors can be improved.

  It should be noted that the configuration and contents of the various charts described above are not limited to this, and it is needless to say that the various charts and configurations are configured according to applications and purposes.

  Although one embodiment has been described above, the present invention can take an embodiment as, for example, a system, apparatus, method, program, or recording medium, and specifically includes a plurality of devices. The present invention may be applied to a system including a single device.

  In the above embodiment, the method of determining the ink application amount limit value has been described. However, the printing agent that is the target of the ink application amount limit value is not limited to ink. The present invention can also be applied to the case where the application amount limit value of other printing agents such as toner is determined. The present invention can also be applied to a limit value for the amount of ink sublimated from an ink sheet by a sublimation printer or the like.

  Further, since the degree of bleeding varies depending on the type of paper (recording medium), the printing agent loading amount limit value of the printer may be configured to be set for each type of recording medium.

  Therefore, the ink application amount determination process described above is executed for each recording medium, and the ink application amount limit value is determined for each recording medium type.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the data processing program that can be read by the ink application amount limit value determining apparatus (PC1) according to the present invention will be described with reference to the memory map shown in FIG.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining a memory map of a recording medium (storage medium) that stores a data processing program that can be read by the ink application amount limit value determining apparatus (PC1) according to the present invention.

  Although not specifically shown, information for managing a program group stored in the recording medium, for example, version information, creator, etc. is also stored, and information depending on the OS on the program reading side, for example, a program is identified and displayed. Icons may also be stored.

  Further, data depending on various programs is also managed in the directory. In addition, when a program or data to be installed is compressed, a program to be decompressed may be stored.

  2, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 13 in this embodiment may be performed by a host computer by a program installed from the outside. In this case, the present invention is applied even when an information group including a program is supplied to the output device from a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a flash memory, or an FD, or from an external recording medium via a network. Is.

  As described above, a recording medium in which a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is recorded is supplied to the system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus is stored in the recording medium. It goes without saying that the object of the present invention can also be achieved by reading and executing the program code.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the recording medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the recording medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

  As a recording medium for supplying the program code, for example, a flexible disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, DVD-ROM, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, EEPROM, A silicon disk or the like can be used.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) or the like running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included.

  Furthermore, after the program code read from the recording medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted in the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the case where the CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

  Further, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or apparatus. In this case, by reading a recording medium storing a program represented by software for achieving the present invention into the system or apparatus, the system or apparatus can enjoy the effects of the present invention.

  Furthermore, by downloading and reading out a program represented by software for achieving the present invention from a server, database, etc. on a network using a communication program, the system or apparatus can enjoy the effects of the present invention. It becomes.

  In addition, all the structures which combined each embodiment mentioned above and its modification are also included in this invention.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a system to which an ink application amount limit value determining device according to an embodiment of the present invention can be applied. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the 1st control processing procedure in the ink applied amount limiting value determination apparatus of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the 2nd control processing procedure in the ink applied amount limit value determination apparatus of this invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a line pattern chart output from a printer when an appropriate ink application amount limit value is determined by line bleeding in the present embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a third control processing procedure in the applied ink amount limit value determining apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a method of checking the inclination of a sheet when correcting the inclination of the scanned line pattern chart shown in FIG. 4. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the 4th control processing procedure in the ink applied amount limit value determination apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a mode that the line width of the line pattern chart shown in FIG. 4 is thickened by bleeding. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the 5th control processing procedure in the ink applied amount limit value determination apparatus of this invention. 6 is an adjacent patch chart that is output from a printer when an appropriate ink application amount limit value is determined by blurring of adjacent portions of patches of various colors in the present embodiment. This is a calculation formula for suppressing the CMYK total amount to the ink applied amount limit value when the CMYK total amount of one pixel exceeds the ink applied amount limit value. It is the figure which expanded the paper sheet number confirmation mark shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the 6th control processing procedure in the ink applied amount limit value determination apparatus of this invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state in which blur occurs in a portion where patches in an adjacent patch chart output from a printer are adjacent to each other. It is a figure explaining the memory map of the recording medium (storage medium) which stores the data processing program which can be read with the ink applied amount limit value determination apparatus (PC1) based on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Personal computer (PC)
2 Ink amount limit value determination chart creation unit 3 Chart output unit 4 Printer 5 Ink amount limit value determination image output product 6 Scanner 7 Scan image correction unit 8 Blur processing unit

Claims (10)

A first output unit configured to print a patch pattern in which a plurality of patch images of different colors are adjacent to each other on a sheet by a printing apparatus by setting a maximum amount of printing agent applied;
A patch pattern image is read by a reading device from a sheet printed by the printing device by the first output means, and it is determined whether or not bleeding has occurred in each patch adjacent portion in the read patch pattern. First judging means to
The printing agent loading amount of the printing apparatus based on the maximum value of the loading amount of the printing agent corresponding to the patch pattern determined by the first determination means that no blur has occurred in any patch adjacent portion. First determining means for determining a limit value;
A printing agent application amount limit value determination device characterized by comprising: Change that changes the maximum amount of printing material applied to a new maximum value less than or equal to the maximum value of the applied amount when it is determined by the first determining means that bleeding has occurred in an adjacent portion of the patch Further comprising means,
The first output means sets the new maximum value as a maximum value of the printing material loading amount value, and causes the printing apparatus to print the patch pattern on a sheet. Printing material application amount limit value determination device. A second output means for printing a line pattern consisting of a line image on a sheet by the printing apparatus for each of a plurality of printing agent loading amounts;
Whether a line pattern for each amount of printing agent is read from a sheet printed by the printing apparatus by the second output unit using a reading apparatus, and whether or not bleeding has occurred in a line image in the read line pattern A second determination means for determining whether or not
The printing agent loading amount corresponding to the line pattern having the largest printing agent loading amount among the printing agent loading amounts corresponding to the line patterns determined to have no bleeding in the line image by the second determination means. And second determining means for determining the first printing agent loading amount,
The first output means sets a loading amount equal to or less than the first printing agent loading amount as a maximum printing agent loading amount, and causes the printing apparatus to print the patch pattern. Or the printing agent applied amount limit value determination apparatus of 2 or 2.   The printing material applied amount limit value determining apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the line pattern includes a plurality of line images having different thicknesses. A first output step in which a patch pattern in which a plurality of patch images of different colors are adjacent to each other is set on a sheet by a printing device by setting a maximum value of the amount of printing agent applied;
The patch pattern image is read by the reading device from the sheet printed by the printing device in the first output step, and it is determined whether or not bleeding has occurred in each patch adjacent portion in the read patch pattern. A first determination step,
In the first determination step, the maximum value of the printing material loading amount corresponding to the patch pattern that is determined not to have bleeding in any patch adjacent portion is set as the printing material loading amount limit value of the printing apparatus. A first determining step to determine
A method for determining a printing material application amount limit value, comprising: When it is determined in the first determination step that the adjacent portion of the patch is blurred, it further includes a change step of changing a new maximum value that is equal to or less than the maximum value of the printing material loading amount value,
The first output means sets the new maximum value as the maximum value of the printing material loading amount and causes the patch pattern to be printed on a sheet by a printing device. Method for determining the printing material application amount limit value. A second output step of printing a line pattern composed of line images on a sheet by the printing apparatus for each of a plurality of printing agent loading amounts;
Whether or not a line pattern for each amount of printing agent is read from the sheet printed by the printing apparatus in the second output step by the reading apparatus, and bleeding is generated in the line image in the read line pattern. A second determination step for determining whether or not
The printing agent loading amount corresponding to the line pattern having the largest printing agent loading amount among the printing agent loading amounts corresponding to the line patterns determined to have no bleeding in the line image by the second determination step. A second determining step for determining the first printing agent loading amount,
The first output step sets the applied amount not more than the first printed applied amount as a maximum value of the applied amount of the printing agent, and causes the printing apparatus to print the patch pattern. 6. The printing agent applied amount limit value determination method according to 6.   The method of claim 7, wherein the line pattern includes a plurality of line images having different thicknesses.   The program for making a computer perform the printing agent applied amount limit value determination method described in any one of Claims 5-8.   A recording medium storing a computer-readable program for causing a computer to execute the printing agent applied amount limit value determining method according to claim 5.

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