JP2013082165A - Color parameter managing device and information managing method for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem that an output color tone of a printer is customized by making a color lookup table (LUT) adapted to a printer, an image recording condition and an output color tone and by applying it to color processing, however, when a new LUT is made and registered by this method, the LUT corresponding to print setting does not exist, or is not specified uniquely.SOLUTION: Correspondence information to make only one LUT correspond to each of combinations of the output color tones and all the image recording conditions is held and managed. When defining the new output color tone, a part or all of the correspondence information concerning the existent output color tone is properly applied. Even when making only the LUTs corresponding to a part of the image recording conditions, a state where the LUTs are made to correspond to all the image recording conditions is maintained.

Description

  The present invention relates to a color parameter management apparatus for managing color parameter data used for color processing and an information management method thereof.

  Color processing using a color look-up table (hereinafter referred to as LUT) is performed to customize the output color tone of the color printer according to the user's request. By creating and adjusting an LUT using this method and using it for color processing, it is possible to absorb differences in color due to differences in the printer used for printing and the paper type to be printed. In addition, by preparing an LUT suitable for the purpose, the output color tone can be changed so that the output color is similar to the output color of other printers or the output color is slightly red.

  Such an LUT needs to be created for each image recording condition such as the type of paper to be printed and for each target output color tone and used separately. Conventionally, color processing has been performed by selecting an ICC profile corresponding to the paper type to be printed using an ICC profile that contains relevant attribute information in addition to the LUT (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 4086562

  However, the ICC profile can be freely registered in the color processing system. For this reason, even if there is a printout corresponding to a specific print setting (color tone, combination of paper types), there is no change in the paper type with the same color tone, or conversely, it corresponds to the specific print setting as described above. There may be multiple ICC profiles. If it does not exist, an error will occur and other ICC profiles may be applied instead. On the other hand, when there are multiple, it is unclear which one will be applied. Even if the user additionally registers an ICC profile for color tone customization, if an ICC profile corresponding to the same print setting already exists, it is not preferable that whether or not the additionally registered ICC profile is used is uncertain. It becomes a state.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to clarify the correspondence between print settings and LUTs in a color processing system and to reliably apply a result of color tone customization.

  A color parameter management apparatus according to the present invention for solving the above-described problems is a color parameter management apparatus that manages color parameters applied to image data to be printed by a printing apparatus, and includes a plurality of sets of color parameters. First storage means for storing, second information for storing association information for associating only one color parameter with all combinations of color tone settings and effective values of image recording conditions in the printing apparatus. Storage means; first registration means for additionally storing new color parameters in the first storage means; second registration means for adding and changing association information of the second storage means; Print setting acquisition means for acquiring the color tone setting and the image recording condition; search the second storage means based on the acquired color tone setting and image recording condition; And having search means for identifying the color parameters given, the acquisition means for acquiring color parameters the identified from the first storing means.

  By associating only one LUT with every combination of print settings in the color processing system, color processing using an appropriate LUT can be applied to the print settings selected by the user. Also, when the LUT is customized, the existing LUT can be overwritten and updated, and the customization result can be applied reliably.

It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of a color processing system. It is a figure which shows the structure of a color printer. It is a figure which shows the structure of color adjustment PC. It is a table | surface which shows the example of the information of a LUT map storage part. It is a table | surface which shows the example of LUT list information. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of a print job. It is the figure which showed an example of the data structure of a customization job. 6 is a flowchart illustrating processing operations during job processing of a color printer. It is a flowchart which shows the processing operation of a color adjustment application. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a color matching processing operation for another printer. It is a flowchart which shows the processing operation of the fine adjustment of a color tone. It is a flowchart which shows the processing operation of the initialization of a color tone. It is a flowchart which shows the addition operation | movement of a paper type. It is a figure which shows the other structure of a color printer. 10 is a flowchart illustrating another example of processing operation during job processing of a color printer. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation when changing job settings of a color printer. It is a figure which shows the other example of a structure of a color processing system. It is a figure which shows the other structure of color adjustment PC. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation at the time of printing processing by a printer driver.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments do not limit the present invention according to the claims, and all combinations of features described in the present embodiments are essential to the solution means of the present invention. Not exclusively.

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a color processing system according to the first embodiment. The color processing system shown in FIG. 1 includes a color printer 101, a client PC 102, and a color adjustment PC 103, which are connected via a network 104. The client PC 102 has a CPU, RAM, and the like necessary for monitor display and image processing, and a communication function necessary for communication via a network.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the color printer 101. The color printer 101 is connected to a network 104 and includes a client PC 102, a network I / F (interface) unit 201 for communicating with the color adjustment PC 103, and a job control unit 202 for controlling job data. Also, a rendering unit 203 that renders image data included in the print job, a color parameter storage unit 204 that stores parameters used for color processing on the image data, an output unit 206 that performs printing, and an engine control unit 205 that controls the output unit 206. Including.

  The color parameter storage unit 204 stores a three-dimensional LUT used for color processing and an LUT storage unit 211 that stores information associated therewith, and association information between print settings and LUTs that should be used in accordance with the settings. The LUT map storage unit 212 is included. Further, the engine control unit 205 temporarily performs color processing using the LUT stored in the LUT storage unit 211 on the rendered image data, and temporarily uses the LUT used by the color processing unit 211. A color parameter temporary storage unit 222 to be stored.

  The hardware of the color printer 101 includes a CPU, an HDD (hard disk drive), a ROM, and a RAM. In addition, the image recording mechanism including a network I / F and an ink jet head is included, and the functions of the above-described units are realized by these hardwares operating together. The job control unit 202, the color parameter storage unit 204, the LUT storage unit 211, and the LUT map storage unit 212 included in the color parameter storage unit 204 in the color printer 101 constitute a color parameter management apparatus according to this embodiment.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the color adjustment PC 103. The color adjustment PC 103 includes a network I / F unit 301 for communicating with the color printer 101, and executes a color adjustment application 302 having a function of setting the output color tone of the color printer 101. Further, it is connected to the colorimeter 321 via a USB (Universal Serial Bus).

  The color adjustment application 302 includes an application control unit 311 that controls the operation of the entire application, and a color processing unit 312 that can perform color processing equivalent to the color processing unit 221 of the color printer 101. Further, it also includes a color measurement unit 313 that controls the colorimeter 321 to read and digitize the color of a printed material, and a print data creation unit 314 that generates a print job for printing by the color printer 101. The color adjustment application 302 further includes an LUT storage unit 315, an LUT map storage unit 316, an image data storage unit 317, and an additional LUT storage unit 318. The LUT storage unit 315 stores an LUT for the color printer 101, and the LUT map storage unit 316 stores information related to the print settings and the LUT in the color printer 101. The LUT and the relation information are acquired from the color printer 101 or generated by the color adjustment application 302. The image data storage unit 317 stores image data to be printed when creating an LUT for the color printer 101 in each process of color matching to other printers and fine adjustment of color tone, which will be described later. The additional LUT storage unit 318 stores an additional LUT to be stored in the LUT storage unit 211 of the color printer 101 in the paper type addition process described later in order to add a paper type that can be used by the color printer 101. The additional LUT is provided by the manufacturer of the color printer 101.

  The hardware of the color adjustment PC 103 includes a CPU, HDD, RAM, a keyboard and mouse as input devices, and an LCD (liquid crystal display) as a display device. Also, including the network I / F and USB I / F, the functions of the above-described units are realized by the cooperative operation of these hardware.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of information stored in the LUT map storage unit 212 of the color printer 101 in a table format. The color tone ID 401 is a unique number assigned to each color tone. The type 402 indicates the type of each color tone, and is either “preset” indicating the color tone provided by the manufacturer of the color printer 101 or “custom” indicating that the color printer 101 user has added. Take the value. Hereinafter, a color tone whose type 402 is “preset” is referred to as a preset color tone, and a color tone which is “custom” is referred to as a custom color tone. The registration state 403 indicates whether each color tone is in a usable state, and takes one of the values “available” and “unregistered”. The base color tone 404 is a color tone ID of a preset color tone from which a custom color tone is derived when a custom color tone is created in each process of color matching to other printers described later and color tone fine adjustment. It shows with. For a preset color tone, the color tone ID of the color tone is held. Further, the base color tone 404 for the unregistered color tone is not set, and is indicated by “-” in FIG.

  The LUT map 405 records information for specifying an LUT to be used according to a combination of image recording conditions in the color printer 101 when printing in each color tone. The image recording conditions in the present embodiment are the type of paper to be used (paper A, paper B,..., Paper X) and the color mode (color or gray scale). As information for specifying the LUT, an LUT ID 501 described later is used. Only one LUT ID is registered for every combination of paper type and color mode in all colors where the registration status 403 is usable.

  This LUT is used during color processing performed by the color processing unit 221 during job processing in the color printer 101 described later. In the color processing, the color values (R ′, G ′, B) of the device color space in which the color values (R, G, B) of the input color space indicating the colors of the respective parts in the input image information are matched with the characteristics of the output unit 206. B '). Of the color tones shown in FIG. 4, those with a color tone ID of 0 are based on the premise that the input color space is the same as the device color space. That is, R ′ = R, G ′ = G, and B ′ = B are set by the conversion, and changing or adjusting all LUTs associated with this color tone is prohibited. For other colors, the input color space is sRGB.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of LUT list information in information stored in the LUT storage unit 211 of the color printer 101 in a table format. Each row in this table holds information about a single LUT. In addition to the LUT list information, the LUT storage unit 211 stores the LUT entity (numerical data group) as an individual file. The LUT ID 501 is information for specifying each LUT, and a different value is assigned to each LUT. The LUT name 502 is information for the user, and includes a character string value representing the contents of each LUT. The target color ID 503 indicates which color tone shown in FIG. 4 is associated with each LUT by the value of the color ID 401 at the time of creation. Even when the LUT is associated with a plurality of color tones or changed to a state not associated with any color tone by each process by the color adjustment application described later, the value of the target color tone ID is not updated and the initial value is maintained. . The target paper type 504 and the target color mode 505 indicate which image recording condition each LUT is associated with, which paper type and which color mode. The fine adjustment count 406 is a value indicating how many times the color tone fine adjustment process described later has been performed since the creation of each LUT, and the initial value is zero. The LUT entity file name 407 includes the file name of each LUT entity stored in the LUT storage unit 211.

  FIG. 6 is a view showing an example of the data configuration of a print job 601 received and processed by the color printer 101 in the printing system of this embodiment. The print job 601 includes print setting information 602 and print data 603, and the print setting information 601 further includes designation information by the user regarding the color tone ID, the paper type that is the image recording condition, and the color mode. The print data includes data indicating an image to be printed by the color printer 101 and data indicating its arrangement information. Upon receiving the print job 601, the color printer 101 prints and outputs an image defined by the print data on the paper under the image recording conditions by job processing in a printer described later.

  FIG. 7 is a view showing an example of the data configuration of the customization job 701 received and processed by the color printer 101 in the printing system of this embodiment. The customization job 701 includes processing type information 702 and processing parameters 703, and further includes an LUT 704 depending on the processing type. A processing type 702 indicates a processing type to be performed by the color printer 101 such as acquisition of a color tone list and registration of an LUT. The process parameter indicates a parameter necessary for performing the process indicated by the process type 702. The LUT 704 holds LUT entity data to be registered when the process type 702 is LUT registration. Upon receiving the customization job 701, the color printer 101 updates and adds the LUT map, the LUT list, and the LUT entity in the color parameter storage unit 204 by job processing in the printer described later.

  Next, the processing operation of the color printer 101 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a processing operation when the color printer 101 processes a job transmitted from the client PC 102 or the color adjustment PC 103 by the network I / F unit 201. These processes are realized when a program recorded in the HDD in the color printer 101 is read into the RAM and the CPU executes the program, or the CPU executes the program recorded in the ROM.

  When the network I / F unit 201 receives a job, the job management unit 202 registers the job in a queue. The job management unit 202 extracts jobs one by one from the queue in the order received, and starts processing the job (step S101). The job management unit 202 refers to the type of the extracted job and determines whether it is a print job illustrated in FIG. 6 or a customized job illustrated in FIG. If it is a print job, the process proceeds to step S103, and if it is a customized job, the process proceeds to step S109 (step S102).

  If the job is a print job, the job control unit 202 acquires the print setting information 602 from the job (step S103). Next, the job control unit 202 passes print setting information 602 and print data 603 to the rendering unit 203. The rendering unit 203 converts the print data into bitmap format image data that can be processed by the engine control unit 205, and returns the image data to the job control unit 202 (step S104).

  Next, the job control unit 202 accesses the color parameter storage unit 204 and acquires an LUT corresponding to a combination of each setting value of the color tone ID, the paper type, and the color mode from the print setting information 602 acquired in step S103. . For example, in the print setting 602 of FIG. 6, the color tone ID is 101, the paper type is paper A, and the color mode is color. On the other hand, the LUT map information stored in the LUT map storage unit 212 is referred to. Referring to the LUT map 405 of the color tone whose color tone ID 401 is 101 in the LUT map of FIG. 4, the color mode is color and the paper type is paper A, the LUT ID is C000. Further, the LUT list information stored in the LUT storage unit 211 is referred to. Referring to the LUT list information in FIG. 5, the file name 507 of the LUT entity of the LUT whose LUT ID 501 is C000 is C000. It is lut. Therefore, the job control unit 202 reads the file name C000. From the LUT storage unit 211. The lut LUT is acquired (step S105).

  Thereafter, the job control unit 202 transfers the LUT acquired in step S105 to the engine control unit 205. The LUT is stored in the color parameter temporary storage unit 222 in the engine control unit 205. At this time, if the LUT used in the previous printing process remains in the color parameter temporary storage unit 222, it is discarded and only the LUT used in the latest printing is held in the color parameter temporary storage unit 222 (step S106). ).

  Next, the job control unit 202 sends image data, which is the rendering result in step S <b> 104, to the engine control unit 205. The color processing unit 221 in the engine control unit 205 performs color processing on the image data using the LUT acquired by the color parameter temporary storage unit 222 in step S106. As a result, image data having color information that matches the characteristics of the output unit 206 and the color tone, paper type, and color mode specified by the print setting 602 is generated (step S107). Thereafter, the engine control unit 205 performs color separation and quantization processing according to the ink color and characteristics used by the output unit 206. The output unit 206 acquires these processing result data, and discharges color ink from the inkjet head onto a sheet according to the data, and outputs a color image (step S108). Thus, the printing process for a single job is completed (step S113).

  On the other hand, if the determination in step S102 is a customization job, the job control unit 202 determines the processing type 702 of the customization job. If the processing type 702 is to acquire information in the color parameter storage unit 204, the process proceeds to step S110, and if the information in the color parameter storage unit 204 is to be updated, the process proceeds to step S112 (step S109). If the process type 702 acquires information, the job control unit 202 accesses the color parameter storage unit 204 and acquires information specified by the process parameter 703 (step S110). The acquired information is transmitted to the job transmission source via the network I / F unit 201 (step S111).

  If the processing type 702 updates information, the job control unit 202 accesses the color parameter storage unit 204 and updates information specified by the processing parameter 703. For example, when the customization job 701 shown in FIG. 7 is processed, the LUT data 704 is first written in the LUT storage unit. At this time, the job control unit 202 assigns a unique file name to the newly written LUT data 704 and saves it as a file. Next, the job control unit 202 adds a new item to the LUT list information in the LUT storage unit 211, and adds the information specified by the processing parameter 703 to the LUT name 502, the target color ID 503, the target paper type 504, and the target color mode 505. Record. The unique file name is recorded in the file name 507 of the LUT entity, and the unique LUT ID is added as the LUT ID 501 and recorded. Further, 0 is recorded in the fine adjustment count 506. In the example of the customization job 701, the item indicated by 511 in FIG. 5 is added to the LUT list information. Thereafter, the job control unit 202 updates the LUT map information stored in the LUT map storage unit 212 based on the designated value of the processing parameter 703. In the example of the customization job 701, information (411 in FIG. 4) about the color tone having the color tone ID 101 is updated. In the LUT map 405 of the color tone, the unique LUT ID is recorded in a column where the color mode is color and the paper type is paper A. Then, the result is returned to the job transmission source via the network I / F unit 201. In the case of the customization job 701 for adding an LUT, the LUT ID 501 of the registered LUT is notified to the transmission source (step S112). When the process of obtaining the information or updating the information is completed, the process for the single customization job is finished (step S113).

  Next, the processing operation of the color adjustment application 302 in the color adjustment PC 103 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. These processes performed by the color adjustment PC 103 are realized by reading a program recorded in the HDD in the color adjustment PC 103 into the RAM and executing the program by the CPU. At this time, by receiving user input via the keyboard and mouse of the color adjustment PC 103 and displaying information to the user through the LCD, the color adjustment PC 103 provides an interactive operating environment for the user.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing processing of the color adjustment application 302 on the color adjustment PC 103. When the color adjustment application 302 is executed (step S201), the application control unit 311 accepts input from the user via the keyboard and mouse of the color adjustment PC 103. Then, the processing type to be executed is acquired from the user input (step S202).

  The application control unit 311 determines the acquired processing type. If it is determined that the color matching is for another printer (step S203), color matching processing for another printer (step S204) described later is performed. When the acquired processing type is color tone fine adjustment (step S205), color tone fine adjustment processing (step S206) described later is performed. When the acquired processing type is color tone initialization (step S207), color tone initialization processing (step S208) described later is performed. If the acquired processing type is addition of paper type (step S209), paper type addition processing (step S210) described later is performed. When any one of these processes is performed, the process proceeds to step S202 described above to accept the next user input.

  If the processing type designated by the user input is none of the above (step S209), the application control unit 311 determines that the user input is an instruction to end the color adjustment application 302, and ends a series of processing ( Step S211).

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the color matching processing operation to another printer performed by the color adjustment application 302. When the color adjustment application 302 starts color matching processing for another printer (step S204 in FIG. 9) (step S301), the application control unit 311 transmits a customization job to the color printer 101. At this time, a job for acquiring information is issued, and the entire LUT map information illustrated in FIG. 4 is requested. In response to this job, the color printer 101 acquires the entire requested LUT map information from the LUT map storage unit 212 through the processing of steps S110 and S111 in the flowchart of FIG. 8 and returns it to the color adjustment PC 103. The application control unit 311 stores the returned LUT map information in the LUT map storage unit 316 (step S302).

  Next, the application control unit 311 receives input from the user via the keyboard and mouse of the color adjustment PC 103. Then, what kind of paper is to be color-matched is acquired from the user input (step S303). The print data creation unit 314 creates a print job using the colorimetric image recorded in the image data storage unit 317 and transmits the print job to the color printer 101. This colorimetric image is an image in which a predetermined number of color patches composed of combinations of predetermined R, G, and B values are arranged. As the print setting of the print job, the color tone ID is 0, that is, a color tone that satisfies R ′ = R, G ′ = G, and B ′ = B during color processing in the color processing unit 221 is designated. As the image recording conditions, the paper type specified in step S303 is specified as the paper type, and the color is specified as the color mode (step S304).

  Next, the color measurement unit 313 performs color measurement of the color patch group printed in step S <b> 304 through communication with the color measurement device 321, and acquires a color measurement value. At this time, the user sets the printed material on the colorimeter and operates the colorimeter (step S305). In addition, the color measurement unit 313 performs color measurement of a color patch group printed by another printer, which is a target for matching the color of the color printer 101, through communication with the color measurement device 321, and acquires a color measurement value. . The color patch is prepared in advance by the user printing the color measurement image with the other printer (step S306). After that, the application control unit 311 creates an LUT for printing with the color printer 101 in a color tone similar to that of the other printer under the image processing conditions based on the color measurement results in the steps S305 and S306. . The created LUT is stored in the LUT storage unit 315 (step S307).

  The application control unit 311 receives input from the user via the keyboard and mouse of the color adjustment PC 103. Then, the LUT name is acquired as LUT information from the user input. This is a character string recorded in the LUT name 502 in the LUT list of FIG. 5, and is used by the user to identify individual LUTs (step S308). Next, the user obtains from the user input which color tone to use as the customization source color tone for registering the newly created LUT. At this time, the user is allowed to specify any color tone except for the registered color tone whose registration status 403 is usable in the LUT map illustrated in FIG. Step S309). Furthermore, the newly created LUT is registered, and the color tone to be registered is acquired from user input. At this time, the user is permitted to designate a color tone whose type 402 is custom in the LUT map illustrated in FIG. The color tone registration state 403 may be either usable or unregistered. The color tone may be the same as the diversion source color tone. In this case, it means that the LUT map of the diversion source color tone is overwritten (step S310).

  Upon receiving these user inputs, the application control unit 311 creates a customization job and transmits it to the color printer 101, thereby registering the created LUT in the color printer 101. First, a customization job for additionally registering the LUT created in step S307 is created and transmitted. At this time, the LUT name in the processing parameter 703 specifies the character string acquired in step S308, the target color ID specifies the color ID acquired in step S310, and the target paper type specifies the paper type acquired in step S303. The target color mode is color, the fine adjustment count is 0, and the LUT data 704 including the LUT data created in step S307 is transmitted to the color printer 101 as a customized job having the configuration illustrated in FIG. The color printer 101 registers the LUT data 704 in the LUT storage unit 211 by the process of step S112 in the flowchart of FIG. 8, and returns the LUT ID of the registered LUT to the color adjustment PC 103 as a result. The application control unit 311 acquires the LUT ID via the network I / F unit 301.

  Next, a customization job for updating and registering the LUT map is created and transmitted. At this time, the color tone ID 401 in the LUT map illustrated in FIG. 4 updates the color tone information that is the color tone ID acquired in step S310. The base color tone 404 copies the base color tone of the color tone selected in step S309. In the LUT map 405, the column in which the color mode is color and the paper type is the paper type acquired in step S303 is the LUT ID returned from the color printer 101. For other combinations of color mode and paper type, the LUT map information acquired in step S302 is copied with the color tone ID 401 being the ID of the diversion source color acquired in step S309. A customized job including the LUT map information for one color tone created in this way as the processing parameter 703 is transmitted to the color printer 101. The color printer 101 overwrites and registers the LUT map information for one color tone in the LUT map storage unit 212 by the process of step S112 in the flowchart of FIG. 8, and updates the registration state 403 of the color tone to be usable (step S311). Thus, a series of processes for color matching with another printer is completed (step S312).

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of fine color tone adjustment performed by the color adjustment application 302. When the color adjustment application 302 starts the fine tone adjustment process (step S206 in FIG. 9) (step S401), the application control unit 311 transmits a customization job to the color printer 101. At this time, a job for acquiring information is issued, and the entire LUT map information illustrated in FIG. 4 is requested. The details of this process are the same as those in step S302 of the color matching process for other printers (step S402).

  Next, the application control unit 311 receives input from the user via the keyboard and mouse of the color adjustment PC 103. And what color tone is to be fine-tuned is acquired from the user input. At this time, selection of a color tone having a color tone ID of 0 is prohibited (step S403). Subsequently, it is acquired from the user input which kind of paper of the color tone is to be finely adjusted (step S404).

  The application control unit 311 specifies, from the acquired target color tone and target paper type, the LUT corresponding to which column in the acquired LUT map is to be finely adjusted. In this embodiment, only the color is set as a fine adjustment target as the color mode. For example, when the registered content of the LUT map is as shown in FIG. 4, if the color tone having the color tone ID 1 is acquired as the target color tone and the paper A is acquired as the target paper type, P100 in the LUT map 405 is finely adjusted. This is the target LUT. Subsequently, the application control unit 311 transmits the customization job to the color printer 101 again. This time, a customization job for requesting acquisition of the LUT corresponding to the specified field in the LUT map is transmitted. In response to this job, the color printer 101 acquires the LUT information from the LUT storage unit 211 by the processing of steps S110 and S111 in the flowchart of FIG. At this time, the color adjustment PC 103 acquires information 502 to 506 related to the requested LUT and entity data of the LUT from the LUT list illustrated in FIG. The acquired information and LUT are stored in the LUT storage unit 315 (step S405).

  Next, the application control unit 311 branches the processing based on the determination of the target color tone type 402 and the fine adjustment count 506 included in the acquired information on the LUT. If the color tone type 402 is preset and the fine adjustment count 506 is greater than or equal to a predetermined integer value T, the process proceeds to step S407, and if not, the process proceeds to step S408 (step S406). . The LUT change for fine tone adjustment performed in this process includes a non-linear conversion process. If the change of the LUT as a change result is repeated again, the image quality is expected to deteriorate when applied to color processing in the color processing unit 221 in addition to being far from the original color tone. Therefore, when the branching condition of step S406 is satisfied, an error is notified to the user via the LCD of the color adjustment PC, and further fine adjustment is prohibited (step S407). Then, the fine tone adjustment process is terminated (step S422).

  On the other hand, when the branching condition of step S406 is not satisfied, the application control unit 311 receives input from the user via the keyboard and mouse of the color adjustment PC. Then, fine adjustment parameter candidates to be applied to the LUT are acquired from user input. As the parameter candidates, for the cyan, magenta, and yellow colors and the five items of density and contrast, numerical values in 21 steps from −10 indicating weakening to +10 indicating increasing are accepted. For example, if the user wants to enhance the yellowness of the image and lower the contrast, a set of values such as cyan = 0, magenta = 0, yellow = + 3, density = 0, contrast = −5 is designated (step S408). Then, it is determined whether the input of parameter candidates is completed from the user input. If the user desires to input the set of numerical values of the five items as further parameter candidates, the process returns to step S408, and the input of the next set of candidate values is accepted. If the input of parameter candidates has been completed, the process proceeds to step S410 (step S409).

  When the user completes input of all adjustment parameter candidates, the application control unit 311 selects one of the adjustment parameter candidates (step S410). Then, using the value of the selected adjustment parameter candidate, an adjustment candidate LUT is created based on the LUT acquired in step S405 and stored in the LUT storage unit 315 (step S411). The application control unit 311 determines whether or not the processing in steps S410 to S411 has been performed on all the adjustment parameter candidates acquired in step S408. If not completed, the process returns to step S410, and the same processing is repeated for the next parameter candidate. If adjustment candidate LUTs based on all adjustment parameter candidates have been created, the process proceeds to step S413 (step S412).

  If all adjustment candidate LUTs have been created, the application control unit 311 selects one adjustment candidate LUT created in step S411 (step S413). The color processing unit 312 of the color adjustment PC performs color processing on the test print image using the selected adjustment candidate LUT, and temporarily stores the resulting image data in the image data storage unit 317. The test print image is prepared and stored in advance in the image data storage unit 317 (step S414). The application control unit 311 determines whether the processes in steps S413 to S414 have been performed on all candidate LUTs created in step S411. If incomplete, the process returns to step S413, and the same processing is repeated for the next candidate LUT. If color-processed image data has been created using all candidate LUTs, the process proceeds to step S416 (step S415).

  Next, the print data creation unit 314 creates a print job using the image group temporarily stored in the image data storage unit 317 by repeatedly executing step S 414, and transmits the print job to the color printer 101. As the print setting of the print job, the color tone ID is 0, that is, a color tone that satisfies R ′ = R, G ′ = G, and B ′ = B during color processing in the color processing unit 221 is designated. Further, the paper type acquired in step S404 is designated as the paper type, and the color is designated as the color mode (step S416). As a result, the color printer 101 prints an image simulating the result of color processing performed by the color processing unit 221 using the candidate LUT. Thereafter, the application control unit 311 receives input from the user via the keyboard and mouse of the color adjustment PC 103. Then, it acquires which image the user has selected from the user input. At this time, the user is allowed to compare the test image groups printed in step S416, and select the image closest to the intended tone from these. The application control unit 311 selects the LUT that adopts the candidate LUT used when the selected image is created (step S417).

  The application control unit 311 continues and acquires a character string having the name of the LUT as LUT information from the user input (step S418). Further, the application control unit 311 calculates the fine adjustment count value for the LUT selected in step S417 by adding 1 to the LUT fine adjustment count value acquired in step S405 (step S419). The application control unit 311 again receives input from the user via the keyboard and mouse of the color adjustment PC 103. Then, the color tone of the registration destination of the created LUT is acquired from the user input. As the color tone of the registration destination, selection of the color tone to be adjusted acquired in step S403 and any custom color tone are permitted, and selection of other color tones is prohibited (step S420).

  Finally, the application control unit 311 creates a customization job and transmits it to the color printer 101 to register the created LUT in the color printer 101. Here, a customization job for additionally registering the LUT selected in step S417 is created and transmitted, and a customization job for updating and registering the LUT map of the color tone selected in step S420 is created and transmitted. Details of this processing are the same as the processing in step S311 of the color matching processing to other printers (step S421). This completes the color tone fine adjustment process (step S422).

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the color tone initialization processing operation performed by the color adjustment application 302. When the color adjustment application 302 starts color tone initialization processing (step S <b> 208 in FIG. 9) (step S <b> 501), the application control unit 311 transmits a customization job to the color printer 101. At this time, a job for acquiring information is issued, and the entire LUT map information illustrated in FIG. 4 is requested. The details of this process are the same as those in step S302 of the color matching process for other printers (step S502).

  Next, the application control unit 311 receives input from the user via the keyboard and mouse of the color adjustment PC 103. Then, which color tone is to be initialized is acquired from the user input (step S503). The application control unit 311 refers to the LUT map information acquired in step S502, and determines whether the target color tone acquired in step S503 is a preset color tone. If it is a preset color tone, the process proceeds to step S505, and if not, the process proceeds to step S508 (step S504).

  If the target color tone is a preset color tone, the LUT map information for the preset color tone is returned to the initial state, that is, the state before fine adjustment of the color tone is performed. Therefore, a customization job is transmitted to the color printer 101. At this time, the list information of all the LUTs exemplified in FIG. 5 is requested. In response to this job, the color printer 101 acquires the entire requested LUT list information from the LUT storage unit 211 by the processing of steps S110 and S111 in the flowchart of FIG. The application control unit 311 stores the returned LUT list information in the LUT storage unit 315 (step S505).

  Thereafter, the application control unit 311 searches the acquired LUT list information for the LUT associated with the target preset color tone in the initial state. For this purpose, the entire LUT list information is searched for the target color tone ID 503 that is the color tone ID selected in step S503 and the fine adjustment count 506 is zero. This is performed for all combinations of color modes (color, gray scale) and paper types (paper A, paper B,... Paper X) registered in the LUT map 405. In the color matching process for other printers, registration to the preset color tone is not permitted (step S310 in FIG. 10). Further, when the LUT created by the color tone fine adjustment process is overwritten with the preset color tone, the fine adjustment count is greater than 0 (step S419 in FIG. 11). For this reason, the LUT associated with the preset color tone in the initial state can be extracted by performing the search under the above conditions. Based on the result, the application control unit 311 creates LUT map information associated with the target preset color tone (step S506).

  The application control unit 311 transmits a customization job for registering an LUT map for the created target color tone to the color printer 101. The color printer 101 registers the LUT map information for the target color tone in the LUT map storage unit 212 by the process of step S112 in the flowchart of FIG. 8 (step S507). This completes the preset color tone initialization process (step S509).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S504 that the color tone is not a preset color tone, the target color tone is a custom color tone. The application control unit 311 transmits a customization job for changing the registration state 403 of the target custom color tone to unregistered to the color printer 101. On the color printer 101 side, the registration state 403 in the target color tone LUT map information is changed to unregistered by the process of step S112 in the flowchart of FIG. 8 (step S508). This completes the custom color tone initialization process (step S509).

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the processing operation for adding the paper type performed by the color adjustment application 302. In order to make it possible for the color printer 101 to use a new paper type that has not yet been registered in the LUT map having the configuration illustrated in FIG. When the paper type addition process (step S <b> 210 in FIG. 9) is started by the color adjustment application 302 (step S <b> 601), the application control unit 311 transmits a customization job to the color printer 101. At this time, a job for acquiring information is issued, and the entire LUT map information illustrated in FIG. 4 is requested. The details of this process are the same as the process in step S302 of the color matching process for other printers (step S602). The paper type addition process corresponds to an operation of adding a new column to the LUT map 405 illustrated in FIG.

  The application control unit 311 acquires information on the additional LUT for the newly added paper type from the additional LUT storage unit 318 (step S603). Here, each information of the LUT name 502 to the target color mode 505 of each additional LUT is acquired. The additional LUT information is provided by the manufacturer of the color printer 101 in association with all preset color tones along with the actual additional LUT. The additional LUT storage unit 318 is included in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM or DVD provided by the manufacturer. The additional LUT storage unit 318 may be included in the HDD of the color adjustment PC 103. In this case, the additional LUT storage unit 318 is configured by copying the additional LUT information and the substance of the LUT from the storage medium such as the CD-ROM or DVD to the HDD. The additional LUT information and the LUT entity may be provided from the manufacturer of the color printer 101 via a communication path such as the Internet and copied to the HDD.

  The application control unit 311 selects one color tone that can be used in the registration state 403 from the LUT map information acquired in step S602 (step S604). Then, it is determined whether or not the selected color tone is a preset color tone. If it is a preset color tone, the process proceeds to step S606, and if not, the process proceeds to step S607 (step S605). If it is a preset color tone, since there is an LUT associated with the color tone in the additional LUT information, the application control unit 311 searches for and acquires the LUT (step S606). If the selected color tone is not a preset color tone, there is no LUT associated with the color tone itself in the additional LUT information. Therefore, the application control unit 311 acquires the base color tone 404 of the selected color tone from the LUT map information, and searches for and acquires an additional LUT associated with the base color tone (step S607).

  In any case, the application control unit 311 updates the LUT map stored in the LUT map storage unit 316. At this time, a column for a combination of the color tone selected in step S604 and the newly added paper type is provided in the LUT map, and the LUT acquired in step S606 or S607 is associated with the LUT map. At this time, since no LUT ID is assigned to each LUT, the file name of each LUT in the additional LUT storage unit 318 is used as association information (step S608). Each process of steps S606 to S608 is performed for all color modes (color, gray scale).

  The application control unit 311 determines whether or not the processing of steps S604 to S608 has been executed for all colors that can be used in the registration state 403 in the LUT map information acquired in step S602. If incomplete, the process returns to step S604, and the same processing is repeated for the next color tone. If all the color tones have been executed, the process proceeds to step S610 (step S609).

  Finally, the application control unit 311 registers the additional LUT in the color printer 101 by transmitting a customization job to the color printer 101. First, a customization job for additionally registering all the LUTs in the additional LUT storage unit is created and transmitted. The color printer 101 registers the LUT data 704 in the LUT storage unit 211 by the process of step S112 in the flowchart of FIG. 8, and returns the LUT ID of each registered LUT as a result to the color processing PC 103. The application control unit 311 acquires the LUT ID via the network I / F unit 301. After registering all the LUTs, the application control unit 311 creates a customization job for updating and registering the LUT map, and transmits it to the color printer 101. At this time, the LUT map for all colors is updated. In the field for the newly added paper type in the LUT map, the LUT ID acquired when registering the LUT is set based on the association information recorded in step S608. A customization job including the LUT map information of each color tone created in this way as the processing parameter 703 is transmitted to the color printer 101. The color printer 101 registers the LUT map information of each color tone in the LUT map storage unit 212 by the process of step S112 in the flowchart of FIG. 8, and updates the registration state 403 of those color tones usable (step S610). Thus, a series of processes for adding the paper type is completed (step S611).

  By adopting the above configuration, no matter what color tone or image recording condition (color mode, paper type) combination is specified as a print setting by the user, only one corresponding to the combination is suitable. The LUT is used for color processing during printing. This is because the association of the LUT with the print setting is defined in the format of the LUT map 405 shown in FIG. Since there is no LUT associated with a combination of print settings and no alternative LUT is selected, printing with an appropriate color can be performed. Conversely, a plurality of LUTs are not associated with a specific combination of print settings. Therefore, if the print setting is determined, the color corresponding to it is also uniquely determined. Even when the color tone is finely adjusted and the result is overwritten with the original color tone, the original LUT is surely replaced, and printing with an unintended color can be avoided.

  Further, when creating a new color tone by each process of color matching to other printers and color tone fine adjustment, only the association with the created LUT is updated based on the LUT map of the existing base color tone (step). S311, S421). As a result, even if an operation for creating a new LUT is not performed for all combinations of image recording conditions, a state in which only one LUT is associated with each combination of image recording conditions is maintained.

  When color adjustment to other printers or fine adjustment of color tone is performed, the LUT is applied to the paper type on which the color measurement chart is printed (step S304) or the image is printed using the candidate LUT (step S416). Are associated (steps S311 and S421). Therefore, the association of the LUT to the paper type is not registered by mistake.

  Preset and custom colors are provided separately, and registration of LUTs created by color matching to other printers and fine adjustment exceeding the predetermined number T are prohibited for preset colors. Therefore, it is possible to adjust the preset color tone within a range that does not deviate from the initial color tone, and to realize customization by the user while protecting the manufacturer's intention for the color tone. On the other hand, there is no restriction on the custom color tone, and the user's free intention can be reflected in the color tone. As the predetermined number T, an arbitrary integer of 1 or more can be applied.

  A common LUT can be shared by a plurality of color tones such as the two color tones with the color tone IDs 1 and 101 in FIG. Therefore, even when an LUT having a large data size is used, the storage capacity of the LUT storage unit 211 inside the color printer can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, only the LUT in which the color mode is color is targeted for customization by the user, but the same effect can be obtained for the LUT for gray scale. In this case, in the color matching process for other printers and the color tone fine adjustment process, in addition to the paper type to be processed, the color mode is acquired from the user input, and the process corresponding to the color mode selected by the user is performed. Good.

  In this embodiment, the paper type and the color mode are taken up as image recording conditions related to the selection of the LUT. If the color printer 101 can select image recording conditions other than those described above, such as the printing speed, print quality, type of ink to be used, etc., these items can also be used as image recording conditions related to the selection of the LUT.

<Embodiment 2>
The configuration of the color processing system in the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. In addition, since there are common parts in the internal configuration and processing operation of the system, the difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the color printer 101 according to the second embodiment. Among these, the network I / F unit 201 to the output unit 206, the LUT storage unit 211, the LUT map storage unit 212, the color processing unit 221 and the color parameter temporary storage unit 222 are the same as those of the color printer 101 in the first embodiment shown in FIG. Therefore, the description is omitted. The color printer 101 according to the present embodiment includes a UI control unit 231 and a touch panel display unit 232 in addition to the components described above. The UI control unit 231 controls the touch panel display unit 232 and provides an interactive operation environment to the operator of the color printer 101.

  The UI control unit 231 receives input of paper type information of the printing paper set in the output unit 206 from the operator of the color printer 101 via the touch panel display unit 232. The UI control unit 231 executes this process every time printing paper is set in the output unit 206 and passes the acquired paper type information to the job control unit 202. In addition, the UI control unit 231 receives an input related to a job setting change registered in the queue from the operator of the color printer 101 via the touch panel display unit 232.

  The color printer in this embodiment processes a print job illustrated in FIG. 6 and a customization job illustrated in FIG. However, as a paper type of the print setting 602 in the print job 601, a value “automatic” can be received and processed in addition to a specific paper type.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a processing operation when the color printer 101 according to this embodiment processes a job transmitted from the client PC 102 or the color adjustment PC 103 by the network I / F unit 201. Of these, steps S1101 to S1103 and S1106 to S1115 are the same as steps S101 to S103 and S104 to S113 in FIG. 8 of the first embodiment.

  In this embodiment, after acquiring the print setting information 602 in step S1103, the job control unit 202 determines whether the designation of the paper type in the print setting information is “automatic”. If it is automatic, the process proceeds to step S1105; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S1106 (step S1104). If it is determined that the paper type designation is “automatic”, the job control unit 202 overwrites and updates the paper type designation in the print setting information with the paper type information of the output unit acquired from the UI control unit 231. (Step S1105). With this process, if the paper type that can be used for printing is not determined when the user transmits a job from the client PC, the paper type can be set to automatic as the print setting. In this case, the LUT associated with the paper set in the output unit 206 is selected in the subsequent step S1107, and printing can be performed with appropriate color processing in step S1109.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the processing operation when the operator of the color printer 101 changes the setting of a job registered in the queue via the touch panel display unit 232 in this embodiment.

  When the operator of the color printer 101 starts a job setting change operation (step S1201), the UI control unit 231 controls the touch panel display unit 232 and receives an input from the operator. The touch panel display unit 232 displays a list of jobs registered in the queue, and acquires selection designation of a print job to be processed from a user input (step S1202). Further, the changed paper type is acquired as the print setting change content of the selected print job (step S1203). The job control unit 202 updates the print setting 602 of the selected and designated print job registered in the queue according to the acquired paper type (step S1204), and ends the job setting change process (step S1205).

  Thereafter, when the selected and designated print job is processed by the process of FIG. 15, the LUT is acquired according to the setting changed by the process of FIG. As a result, the printing paper can be changed according to the state of the color printer 101, the type of paper that can be used on the spot, and the judgment of the operator. At this time, color processing using an appropriate LUT suitable for the print setting after the change can be performed without resetting or resetting the job on the client PC 102 side where the job is submitted.

  Also in this embodiment, the function of the color adjustment application 302 can be applied in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Therefore, it is possible to customize the color tone by color adjustment to other printers or fine adjustment of the color tone, and the print processing and setting change operation as described above can be performed using those color tones.

  By adopting these configurations, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained in this embodiment. In addition, the paper type can be changed after the job is input according to the operator's judgment of the color printer 101 and the situation at the printing site. It is also possible to set the paper type = automatic at the time of job submission and to specify the paper type by setting the color printer 101. In these cases as well, only one LUT associated with the combination of the color tone and image recording condition to be finally applied is used for color processing.

  In this embodiment, the paper type information of the printing paper set in the output unit 206 is input by the operator via the touch panel display unit 232, but the output unit 206 determines the paper type and sends it to the job control unit 202. You may comprise so that a determination result may be passed. At this time, as a paper type determination method, a method of measuring the glossiness of the paper surface can be applied.

<Embodiment 3>
In the first and second embodiments, the color printer 101 is configured to hold color parameters and perform color processing. On the other hand, the present embodiment assumes a color printer that does not have abundant storage capacity or CPU performance.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a configuration of a color processing system in the present embodiment. A color printer 1101 and a client PC 1102 are connected via a network 1103. The color printer 1101 has a function of printing on a sheet according to an image recording command received via the network 1103.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the configuration of the client PC 1102 in this embodiment. The client PC 1102 includes a printer driver 1201, a color adjustment application 1202, a network I / F unit 1203, and a document creation application 1204. The printer driver 1201 generates an image recording command peculiar to the color printer 1101 in order to print the document based on the print setting by the user and the document created by various applications. The printer driver 1201 includes a print setting management unit 1211, a rasterization unit 1212, a color processing unit 1213, a command generation unit 1214, a color parameter storage unit 1215, and a color parameter management unit 1216. The color parameter storage unit 1215 includes an LUT storage unit 1221 and an LUT map storage unit 1222, and stores data similar to the LUT storage unit 211 and the LUT map storage unit 212 in the first embodiment, respectively.

  The color adjustment application 1202 is an application that changes and updates color parameters in the color parameter storage unit 1215 of the printer driver 1201. The color adjustment application 1202 includes an application control unit 1231, a color processing unit 1232, a color measurement unit 1233, and a print data creation unit 1234. Furthermore, an LUT storage unit 1235, an LUT map storage unit 1236, an image data storage unit 1237, and an additional LUT storage unit 1238 are also included. The color measurement unit 1233 controls the color measurement device 1241 connected to the client PC 1102 via the USB I / F. A network I / F unit 1203 realizes communication with the color printer 1101 via the network. The document creation application 1204 has a function of creating a document by a user operation and printing the document on the color printer 1101 by using the printer driver 1201.

  The hardware of the client PC 1102 includes a CPU, HDD, ROM, RAM, a keyboard and mouse as input devices, and an LCD as a display device. Also, including the network I / F and USB I / F, the functions of the above-described units are realized by the cooperative operation of these hardware.

  FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a processing operation at the time of print processing by the printer driver 1201 in this embodiment. When a print request is received from the color adjustment application 1201 or the document creation application 1204 (step S2101), the print setting management unit 1211 acquires print setting information from the request source application. The print setting information includes color tone to be applied to printing, paper type as image recording conditions in the color printer 1101, and designation information of color mode (color, gray scale) (step S2102). Next, the rasterizing unit 1212 acquires drawing information for each page from the request source application, performs rasterization processing based on the drawing information, and converts the image data into bitmap format (step S2103). The color processing unit 1213 acquires the print setting information from the print setting management unit 1211 and acquires an LUT corresponding to the print setting information from the color parameter storage unit 1215. This processing is the same as that performed by the job control unit 202 of the color printer 101 in step S105 of the first embodiment (step S2104). The color processing unit 1213 performs color processing on the bitmap format image data using the acquired LUT. As a result, image data having color information matching the characteristics of the color printer 1101 and the color tone, paper type, and color mode specified by the print setting information is generated (step S2105). The command generation unit 1214 generates an image recording command in a format specific to the color printer 1101 for printing the image based on the image data generated in step S2105. Then, the print command is transmitted to the color printer 1101 via the network I / F unit 1203 (step S2106). Thus, the printing process by the printer driver 1201 is finished (step S2107).

  Next, the processing operation of the color adjustment application 1202 will be described with reference to FIGS. Since the processing procedure of the color adjustment application 1202 is the same as that of the color adjustment application 302 of the first embodiment, a description will be given of a portion where there is a difference in processing at each step. Note that the application control unit 1231 in the color adjustment application 1202 of this embodiment corresponds to the application control unit 311 in the color adjustment application 302 of the first embodiment. Similarly, the color processing unit 1232 corresponds to the component having the same name, such as 312 and the color measurement unit 1233 313.

  In the first embodiment, color tone information and LUT information are acquired by transmitting a customization job to the color printer 101 in steps S302, S402, S502, S505, and S602. Acquisition of the LUT in step S405 was also performed by sending a customization job. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the application control unit 1231 makes an inquiry to the color parameter management unit 1216 of the printer driver 1201. In response to this, the color parameter management unit 1216 acquires the color tone information, the LUT information, and the LUT entity from the color parameter storage unit 1222 and returns them to the color adjustment application 1202. By this processing, the application control unit 1231 acquires color tone information, LUT information, and the LUT entity.

  In steps S304 and S416 of the present embodiment, the print data creation unit 1234 performs printing with the color printer 1101 via the printer driver 1201 based on the image data stored in the image data storage unit 1237. In step S311 of this embodiment, the application control unit 1231 makes a data update request to the color parameter management unit 1216 of the printer driver 1201, thereby registering the LUT in the color parameter storage unit 1222 and updating the LUT map. The same applies to steps S421, S507, S508, and S610. Through these processes, the data in the color parameter storage unit 1215 of the printer driver 1201 is customized in this embodiment, in the same way as the data in the color parameter storage unit 204 in the color printer 101 is customized in the first embodiment.

  By adopting the above configuration, the printer driver 1201 according to the present embodiment can obtain the same effects as those of the color printer 101 according to the first embodiment.

<Embodiment 4>
An object of the present invention is to supply a recording medium recording software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and store the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus in the recording medium. Needless to say, this can also be achieved by reading and executing the program code. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

  As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, a DVD, or the like is used. it can.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an operating system (OS) 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 storage medium is written to the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function is based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the CPU of the expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

101 Color printer 103 Color adjustment PC
202 Job control unit 211 LUT storage unit 212 LUT map storage unit 221 Color processing unit

Claims (8)

A color parameter management apparatus (color printer 101) that manages color parameters applied to image data to be printed by a printing apparatus,
First storage means (LUT storage unit 211) for storing a plurality of sets of color parameters;
Second storage means (LUT map storage unit 212) that stores association information for associating only one color parameter with all combinations of color tone settings and valid values of image recording conditions in the printing apparatus. )When,
First registration means (job control unit 202) for additionally storing new color parameters in the first storage means;
A second registration unit (job control unit 202) for adding and changing the association information of the second storage unit;
Print setting acquisition means (job control unit 202) for acquiring the color tone setting and the image recording conditions;
Search means (job control unit 202) for searching the second storage means based on the acquired color tone setting and image recording conditions and specifying the associated color parameter;
Acquisition means (job control unit 202) for acquiring the specified color parameter from the first storage means;
A color parameter management apparatus comprising: The color parameter management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the color parameter includes a multi-dimensional color lookup table. The second registration means additionally defines a new first color tone when adding the association information, and a part or all of the association information for the existing second color tone is added to the first color tone. The color parameter management device according to claim 2, wherein the color parameter management device is associated with each other. An information management method of a color parameter management apparatus for managing a plurality of sets of color parameters applied to image data to be printed by a printing apparatus (color printer 101),
The color parameter management device includes a plurality of sets of color parameters,
Storing association information for associating only one color parameter with all combinations of color tone settings and effective values of image recording conditions in the printing apparatus;
A first registration step (step S112) for additionally registering a new color parameter;
A second registration step (step S112) for adding and changing the association information;
A print setting acquisition step (step S103) for acquiring the color tone setting and the image recording conditions;
A search step (step S105) for specifying color parameters associated with the acquired color tone settings and image recording conditions based on the acquired color tone settings;
An obtaining step (step S105) for obtaining the specified color parameter;
An information management method characterized by comprising: An information management method according to claim 4, wherein
The information management method, wherein the color parameter includes a multi-dimensional color lookup table. In the second registration step, when adding the association information, a new first color tone is additionally defined, and a part or all of the association information for the existing second color tone is added to the first color tone. (Corresponding to steps S311 and S411)
The information management method according to claim 5, wherein: 7. The control according to claim 4 is executed by controlling a color parameter management apparatus that manages a plurality of sets of color parameters applied to image data to be printed by the printing apparatus. A computer program characterized by the above. A computer-readable recording medium on which the program according to claim 7 is recorded.