JP2012118846A - Information processing apparatus, data processing method and program in information processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing apparatus which is capable of easily preventing print misalignment when printing a color two-dimensional barcode.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus produces recording material data for printing a two-dimensional barcode by imparting a recording material onto a recording medium on the basis of image data representing the two-dimensional barcode comprised of a plurality of color patches. The information processing apparatus acquires image data represented in RGB, and corrects sizes of areas to which recording materials in a plurality of colors are imparted, so as to cover areas of color patches in which areas to which the recording materials in the plurality of colors constituting any color of RGB are imparted are recorded in any color of RGB.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that processes data for printing a color two-dimensional barcode.

  In recent years, there has been a remarkable development and spread of automatic recognition technology. Since the conventional one-dimensional code (bar code) is one-dimensional, the amount of information is as small as around 1 KB, and it is difficult to meet the demand for an increase in handling items and management items such as handling companies, regions, and countries. In addition, a one-dimensional code requires a dedicated reader for reading the code, and a plurality of one-dimensional codes cannot be read simultaneously. Although this code and the reader are not in contact with each other, they can only be separated to within 1 m in order to read with high reliability.

  On the other hand, there is a two-dimensional code as a code that has been widely spread in recent years due to a large amount of information. Such a two-dimensional code is said to contain about four times as much information as a one-dimensional code. In recent years, a color code has been attracting attention. The color code is recognized as read code data by making the cell correspond to the color and arranging the cells two-dimensionally.

  Compared to the one-dimensional and two-dimensional codes that are expressed in a single color of only Bk (black), the color code uses the three primary colors (RGB or CMYK) to dramatically increase the amount of information that can be handled. . In addition to the large amount of information, the currently used color code can be recognized even when the reading distance is as long as several hundred meters. Regarding the running cost, the amount of ink actually used for printing with the color code represented by the four colors is small, so that it is slightly higher than the one-dimensional barcode printed with the Bk single color.

  Under such circumstances, color digital printing has also been digitized and is expected to contribute greatly to the expansion of color codes. That is, the electrophotographic method is a representative color digital printing technology. There are a thermal transfer method and an ink jet method, and the spread in recent years is remarkable. The feature of digital printing is that color codes can be printed on demand in a variable manner, and of course, large-scale printing is also possible. Therefore, it can be easily printed as various merchandise management labels, and it is also easy to print by changing the color code for each merchandise. In addition, there are various application proposals such as product management system code, logistics management system code, security management system code, entrance / exit management system code, etc. The necessity of color code printing by color digital printing is very It is growing.

  However, there are some issues to be noted in the application of a color digital printer to color code printing. For example, in conventional color code printing, unevenness in the conveyance speed in the conveyance of the recording paper, which is a recording medium, occurrence of deviation of the paper, and unintentional skew due to the influence of deviation due to the inclination of each color recording head As a result, ink is ejected to a location that is originally out of the recording position, and color misregistration or color loss occurs in the printing result. As a result, the reliability as a color code is reduced.

  In Patent Document 1, a measurement pattern is printed for detecting a color misregistration amount, and a color misregistration correction control is performed such that a correction value for setting the color misregistration amount to 0 with respect to the color misregistration value obtained by the color misregistration detection. A configuration is described in which color misregistration correction is performed so that the color misregistration is minimized immediately after being fed back to the system.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, in order to stabilize color misregistration, an appropriate offset value that minimizes the color misregistration value with time until the next color misregistration correction control is added to the correction value. In addition, a configuration is described in which a writing position in the main scanning direction, a scanning width, a writing position in the sub-scanning direction, and the like are predicted over time and color misregistration correction is performed. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 describes a configuration that performs color shift correction with little image quality degradation by performing skew correction at a resolution finer than the printing resolution or performing dither processing after skew correction in order to cope with a fine tilt of the recording head. Has been.

JP 2006-154072 A JP 2003-337456 A JP 2007-30207 A

  However, in the printing systems described in Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3, a measuring instrument for monitoring the deviation amount and a configuration for printing the measurement pattern are necessary, and the cost of building the printing system and operating the printing system is high. turn into. In Patent Documents 1 and 2, regarding the correction of the shift amount, the shift amount can be controlled for each color. However, since the correction is performed on the entire image, the adjustment range is limited to a specific region of the image. I can't. Along with this, it is not possible to cope with misalignment in multiple directions by one printing or printing within one page. Further, in Patent Document 3, the process for correcting the shift amount is not simple. When control is performed in real time, high precision is required to control a point for correcting an image.

  An object of the present invention is to solve such conventional problems. In view of the above points, an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus that can easily prevent printing misalignment when printing a color two-dimensional barcode, a data processing method in the information processing apparatus, and a program.

In order to solve the above problems, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention provides a two-dimensional bar by providing a recording material on a recording medium based on image data representing a two-dimensional barcode composed of a plurality of color patches. An information processing apparatus for generating recording material data for printing a code,
The image forming apparatus includes an area correction unit that corrects the size of the area to which the recording material is applied so that the area to which the recording material is applied covers a corresponding one color patch area.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily prevent printing misalignment when printing a color two-dimensional barcode.

1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the detailed structure of host PC and a printing apparatus. It is a figure which shows the comparison with the case where correction processing is not applied and the case where it is applied in the color code. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating correction amounts set for each color of CMYK based on the relationship between the position of the recording head and the conveyance speed of the recording medium. It is a figure which shows typically a mode that a correction process is performed, converting RGB to CMYK. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an overall procedure of printing processing including correction processing according to the present exemplary embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of the other result of a correction process.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the following embodiments do not limit the present invention according to the claims, and all combinations of features described in the present embodiments are not necessarily essential to the solution means of the present invention. . The same constituent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The printing system includes a host PC 101 that is an information processing apparatus that generates print data, a printing apparatus 103 that prints print data in accordance with an instruction from the host PC 101, and a cable 102 that connects the host PC 101 and the printing apparatus 103. . The printing apparatus 103 prints a print medium (recording medium) 104. In this embodiment, the printing apparatus 103 is an inkjet color digital printing apparatus. However, the printing apparatus 103 is not particularly limited to the inkjet system, and any color digital printing apparatus capable of printing an image with dots. good.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the host PC 101 and the printing apparatus 103. The host PC 101 includes a ROM 205 that stores print data, a printer driver for executing correction processing (to be described later), an application, and the like, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201 that controls the entire host PC 101, and a temporary processing during the processing by the CPU 201. RAM 202 that is a storage area for reading and writing typical data at high speed, a communication interface 204 such as USB and LPT necessary for communication with the printing apparatus 103, a large-capacity storage area HDD 203, and a display 206 that displays information to the user And an input device 207 such as a mouse and a keyboard. The CPU 201 executes correction processing, which will be described later, using a printer driver stored in the ROM 205. Here, print data, a printer driver, an application, and the like may be stored in the HDD 203.

  The printing apparatus 103 includes a ROM 212 that stores print data, firmware, and the like transmitted from the host PC 101, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 208 that controls the entire printing apparatus 103, and temporary data during processing by the CPU 208 at high speed. In accordance with the print data, the RAM 209, which is a storage area for reading and writing data, the communication interface 211 such as USB and LPT necessary for communication with the host PC 101, the large-capacity storage area HDD 210, the display 213 for displaying information to the user, It has a recording head 214 for drawing on a recording medium.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a comparison of images when a correction process (to be described later) is not applied to a color code in layout data and applied when executed by a program stored in the ROM 205 of the host PC 101, for example. is there. In this embodiment, the program stored in the ROM 205 may be, for example, a printer driver or an application.

  The layout data 301 shown in FIG. 3 includes a color code 302. The color code 302 corresponds to each color in cell units (303: also referred to as a color patch in FIG. 3), and is displayed as code data by arranging these cells two-dimensionally and recognized as read code data. It is. While the one-dimensional and two-dimensional codes are expressed in a single color of Bk (black) only, the three primary colors (R, G, B on the display and C, M, Y, Bk on the print) are used. ing. The color code 302 can be created as unique data by a user using an arbitrary application.

  The cell 303 is an excerpt of a partial area of the color code 302 of the layout data 301. For example, the dotted cell area is painted red with a mixed color of magenta ink and yellow ink, and outside the dotted cell area, that is, A region between cells in the color code indicates data intended to be filled with black ink.

  An area 304 indicates a result of printing the cell 303 when the correction process in this embodiment is not applied. Yellow indicated by an area 306 is printed out of the dotted cell area of the area 304. Therefore, it can be seen that the dotted line cell region of the region 304 that should originally be painted in red is in a color misalignment state in which magenta indicated by the region 304 and red indicated by the region 305 are mixed.

  An area 307 shows the result of printing the cell 303 when the correction processing in this embodiment is applied. A correction amount is set in consideration of the possibility that the yellow indicated by the area 309 and the magenta indicated by the area 307 are printed out of the dotted line area. The correction amount is set from the dotted cell area corresponding to the cell 303 which is the original filled area. Has also been made a big hit. As a result, red indicated by the area 308 fills all the dotted cell areas corresponding to the cells 303, thereby indicating that no color deviation occurs in the dotted cell areas corresponding to the cells 303. Here, the region 309 and the region 307 are set to a size that does not overlap with the adjacent cell region by the correction processing in the present embodiment. Note that magenta (region 307) and yellow (region 309) outside the dotted cell area corresponding to the cell 303 are filled with black as described above, so that there is no particular problem unless they overlap with adjacent cell areas. .

  FIG. 4 shows the position of the recording head 214 provided with a row of ink ejection openings composed of a plurality of ink ejection sections arranged in a crossing direction intersecting the paper conveyance direction, and the paper conveyance speed as an example of the recording medium. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of correction amounts set for each color of CMYK, assuming that variations occur in the recording positions of each color of CMYK. As shown in FIG. 4, the CMYK recording heads are arranged along the transport direction. The order in which the CMYK recording heads are arranged is not limited to that shown in FIG. 4, but may be arranged in another order. As shown in FIG. 4, layout data 301 is printed on a recording medium. The recording medium is conveyed in the direction indicated by arrow 405. The correction processing described in FIG. 3 is applied to the area of each cell 303 of the color code 302.

  Each of the recording heads 401, 402, 403, and 404 is a recording head that discharges each color ink configured in the order of K, C, M, and Y. The distance 406 indicates the distance between adjacent recording heads in the recording heads 401 to 404, and is assumed to be 1 inch in this embodiment. A setting 415 indicates the content to be set based on an example of the variation amount of the recording position caused by the unevenness of the sheet conveying speed in the sheet conveying direction indicated by the arrow 405 and the positional relationship between the recording heads 401 to 404.

  The results 407, 408, 409, and 410 show images of printing results when the area of each cell 303 is filled with each color of C, M, Y, and K when the correction processing in this embodiment is not applied. On the other hand, the results 411, 412, 413, and 414 perform correction processing based on the setting 415 when the area of each cell 303 is filled with each color of C, M, Y, and K with respect to the results 407 to 410. An image of the result is shown. Assuming that the conveyance speed of the recording medium is 2.0 [inch / sec] ± 0.5%, there is 2 inches between the recording heads 401 (K) and 403 (M). .010 inch (0.254 mm). This is a variation of ± 6 dots when the recording dot density is 600 dpi. Therefore, when recording using magenta (M), the rectangular area of the cell 303 is recorded in a rectangular area enlarged by 6 dots vertically and horizontally.

  Similarly, since the distance between the recording heads 401 and 402 is 1 inch, the variation in the recording position is ± 0.005 inch (0.127 mm). This is a variation of ± 3 dots when the recording dot density is 600 dpi. Therefore, when recording using cyan (C), the rectangular area of the cell 303 is recorded in a rectangular area enlarged by 3 dots vertically and horizontally. Similarly, since the distance between the recording heads 401 and 404 is 3 inches, the variation in the recording position is ± 0.015 inches (0.381 mm). This is a variation of ± 9 dots when the recording dot density is 600 dpi. Accordingly, when recording is performed using yellow (Y), the rectangular area of the cell 303 is recorded in a rectangular area enlarged by 9 dots vertically and horizontally. As a result, as in the results 411 to 414, the correction amount is arbitrarily increased stepwise from K → C → M → Y in order from the recording head upstream in the transport direction.

  FIG. 5 shows that when input image data having a correction area is RGB (256 values), one raster including the correction cell area is converted to CMYK (binary) while performing correction processing in the X direction. It is a figure which shows a process typically. Data 501 represents one raster (X direction) of image data including an RG cell region, and each of the R, G, and B cell regions is a correction target region. Data 502 represents an image expanded in the X direction in accordance with an arbitrary correction amount for each of R, G, and B correction target areas included in the data 501. Data 503 indicates data obtained by separating and converting the data 501 into CMYK colors. Data 504 indicates data obtained by separating and converting the data 502 into CMYK colors.

  The data 505 is obtained by combining (superposing) the raster data K1 acquired from the data 503 and the raster data C2, M2, and Y2 acquired from the data 504 so that the correction process described in FIG. (Value) raster is completed, and when this is recorded on a sheet by the recording head 214, it is possible to guarantee printing of the cell area.

  In FIG. 5, a specific example is described with respect to the X direction of one raster, but the same procedure can be performed for the Y direction. In addition, if it is two-dimensional, the shape can be applied to a unique figure regardless of the rectangle, and the processing method can be applied as appropriate, such as processing in units of blocks including cells instead of processing in units of rasters. is there.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the correction process executed on the designated cell area of the color code existing in the designated layout data by the program stored in the ROM 205 of the host PC 101. The processing shown in FIG. 6 is realized by executing a printer driver by the CPU 201 of the host PC 101, for example.

  When the printing process is started, the printing process is started by using the display 206 and the input device 207 of the host PC 101 and receiving a print instruction for the layout data arbitrarily created or selected by the user using the program stored in the ROM 205. . In step S601, layout data designated via the display 206 or the like is analyzed. In this embodiment, the layout data includes an input image, attribute information indicating whether or not the image is a color code, color code position information, position information of a cell in the color code, and a setting indicating a correction enlargement amount of each color. Contains information. In step S <b> 602, color code position information in the layout data is acquired from the analysis result in step S <b> 601 and stored in a storage area such as the RAM 202 or the HDD 203. In step S603, cell area information in the color code is acquired from the analysis result in step S601. In step S604, setting information of the correction enlargement amount of each color for the cell in the color code is acquired from the analysis result in step S601.

  In this embodiment, it is assumed that the input image is processed in band units. Therefore, in S605, the count value N indicating the processing target band up to the last band is secured in the storage area, and the count value N is initialized to zero. In S606, the count value N is incremented by 1 until the band to be processed reaches the final band.

  In step S <b> 608, it is determined whether or not a cell region (that is, a color patch) to be corrected exists in the processing target band indicated by the count value N. This determination is made based on attribute information indicating whether the image is a color code. The determination is made by referring to the information acquired in S603. If it is determined that a correction area exists, the process advances to step S608, and thereafter, correction processing is executed. On the other hand, if it is determined that the correction area does not exist, the process proceeds to S610, and the correction process is not performed and the band data is commanded.

  In S608, the correction enlargement amount for RGB (256 values) of the cell area is set. In setting the correction enlargement amount, the setting information of the correction enlargement amount of each color acquired in S604 is used. In step S609, correction processing is performed on the correction target cell region in accordance with the correction enlargement amount setting information in step S608. As for the processing method, correction processing is sequentially performed on each raster in the processing target band as shown in FIG. The processing unit of the correction method may be arbitrarily determined by a program such as a raster unit or a block unit.

  In step S610, the image data of the processing target band indicated by the count value N is converted into a command. The command is not particularly limited as long as the CPU 208 of the printing apparatus 103 can interpret the command. In step S611, the command generated in step S610 is transmitted to the printing apparatus 103.

  In S612, it is determined whether or not the count value N indicating the processing target band indicates the final band. If it is determined that the last band is not indicated, the process returns to S606, and the next band is set as a processing target band. On the other hand, if it is determined that the last band is indicated, the present printing process is terminated. When this print processing is finished, processing such as clearing the information temporarily stored in the storage area in steps S602 to S604 is performed, and a print end command is transmitted to the printing apparatus 103.

  In the present embodiment, the processing target band data is converted into a command by color processing, pixel data storage method, line sequential to plane sequential conversion, and data format conversion from RGB (256 values) to CMYK (binary). Including binarization processing. The data format and processing procedure in the band processing as described above are not particularly limited.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating another example of the result of the correction process described in this embodiment. As described above, in this embodiment, in the process of converting RGB data into CMYK data, the correction process for enlarging the CMYK print area is performed as shown in FIG. Can be obtained.
Such an enlargement process is not limited to the example shown in FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the area in which CMYK is printed may be enlarged in any form as long as it covers the RGB cell area (color patch). FIG. 3 shows a case where the cell area is rectangular and the CMYK print area is rectangular. On the other hand, FIG. 7 shows a case where the cell region is not rectangular. In that case, as shown in FIGS. 7A to 7D, the CMYK print area may be enlarged so as to be similar to the shape of the cell area, or the shape of the cell area Even if it does not become a similar shape, it may be enlarged so as to cover the target cell region. In the case of enlarging so as to have a similar shape, the interval between the outline of the corrected area and the outline of the cell area may be enlarged so as to be, for example, 3 dots described with reference to FIG. In the case of enlarging to a dissimilar shape, for example, a circumscribed rectangle of the cell area is obtained, and the interval between the outline of the circumscribed rectangle and the outline of the corrected area is, for example, 3 dots described in FIG. You may enlarge. Further, in the present embodiment, the configuration for printing on a recording medium by a CMYK recording head has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. In other words, printing may be performed by a CMK recording head, a MYK recording head, or a CYK recording head.

101 Host PC
102 Cable 103 Printing device 104 Recording medium 201, 208 CPU
202, 209 RAM
203, 210 HDD
204, 211 I / F
205, 212 ROM
206, 213 Display 207 Input device 214 Recording head

Claims (8)

An information processing apparatus that generates recording material data for printing a two-dimensional barcode by applying a recording material on a recording medium based on image data representing a two-dimensional barcode composed of a plurality of color patches. There,
An information processing apparatus comprising: an area correction unit that corrects the size of the area to which the recording material is applied so that the area to which the recording material is applied covers a corresponding color patch area.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the correction unit expands an area to which the recording material is applied so as to be similar to the area of the corresponding one color patch.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the correction unit enlarges an area to which the recording material is applied so as to be different from an outer shape of the area of the corresponding one color patch.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the correction unit expands the area to which the recording material is applied so as to include one color patch area.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording material includes at least one of cyan, magenta, and yellow.   6. The information processing according to claim 1, wherein the recording material data is set so as to be printed in black between the plurality of color patches in the two-dimensional barcode. apparatus. In an information processing apparatus for generating recording material data for printing a two-dimensional barcode by applying a recording material on a recording medium based on image data representing a two-dimensional barcode composed of a plurality of color patches A data processing method to be executed,
An area correcting step of correcting the size of the area to which the recording material is applied so that the area to which the recording material is applied covers a corresponding one color patch area; A data processing method characterized by the above.   The program which makes a computer perform each process of the data processing method of Claim 7.

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