JP2013237229A - Print processing system, image processing apparatus, printing verification device and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable efficient comparison of an original image and a printed matter.SOLUTION: A print processing system 1 includes: a printer control device 20 that generates an original image and element attribute information of the original image; an image forming apparatus 30 that generates the printed matter by printing and the original image; and a printing verification device 10 that verifies the printed matter based on the original image. The printing verification device 30 has an image obtaining part 102 that obtains the element attribute information of the original image and the original image and obtains an image of the printed matter, an extraction part 104 that extracts images from the image of printed matter by each one or two or more element attributes included element attribute in the element attribute information, a comparison part 106 that compares the image by the extracted element attribute and the original image based on a comparative verification procedure for one or two or more elements normalized for element attribute and the element attribute information, and a verification part 108 that verifies the printed matter based on the above comparison result.

Description

  The present invention relates to a print processing system, an image processing apparatus, a print verification apparatus, and a program.

  Techniques have been proposed for verifying whether an original image has been correctly printed on a printed material printed on a paper medium (Patent Documents 1 and 2). Also, PVS (Print Verification System) is known as a system for executing such verification of printed matter. In PVS, partial verification of a printed material is generally performed in which an original image and a main part (for example, name and address) of the printed material are compared. In this case, the load of the comparison process is not so high. For this reason, it is possible to perform a real-time verification process immediately after printing even if the printed material and the original image are simply compared.

  In the verification of the entire printed matter, verification processing that is not in real time is also performed. When verifying the printed matter printed on the continuous paper, after winding the continuous paper on a predetermined roller, the continuous paper is taken up again to verify whether the printed matter has been correctly printed as the original image.

  When a defect is found in the printed matter, it is necessary to immediately discard the defective printed matter and print the correct printed matter again. However, in a system in which a printed product is wound around a predetermined roller, and then the printed product is unwound again to verify the printed product, the page containing the defective print must be searched from the wound printed product. It is.

  On the other hand, in the case of a system that performs real-time verification processing immediately after printing, it is not necessary to search for a page with an error from a printed material that has been wound up once. However, for a printed matter having a large size, such as a printed matter printed on a wide continuous paper having a width of about 20 inches, the amount of information in the printed matter is large, and the processing load for comparing and verifying the printed matter and the original image is high. Therefore, in a printer using an approximate printing technique with a high printing speed, real-time verification processing that is performed almost simultaneously with printing becomes particularly difficult in the case of large-scale printed materials with a large amount of information. For this reason, a method for comparing and verifying the printed material with the original image more efficiently is desired.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a print processing system, an image processing apparatus, a print verification apparatus, and a program capable of efficiently comparing a printed material with an original image.

According to one aspect of the invention,
A printer control device for generating an original image and element attribute information of the original image;
An image forming apparatus that prints the original image to generate a printed material;
A print processing system comprising: a print verification device that verifies the printed matter;
The print verification apparatus includes:
An image acquisition unit for acquiring the original image and element attribute information of the original image, and acquiring an image of the printed matter;
An extraction unit that extracts an image for each of one or more element attributes included in the element attribute information from the image of the printed matter;
A comparison unit that compares the extracted image for each element attribute with the original image based on one or more element comparison verification procedures optimized for each element attribute and the element attribute information;
And a verification unit that verifies the printed matter based on the result of the comparison.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a print processing system, an image processing apparatus, a print verification apparatus, and a program that can efficiently compare a printed matter with an original image.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a print processing system according to an embodiment. 1 is a functional configuration diagram of a print processing system according to an embodiment. The figure which showed an example of the element attribute information which concerns on one Embodiment. The figure which showed the other example of the element attribute information which concerns on one Embodiment. The figure which showed the other example of the element attribute information which concerns on one Embodiment. The flowchart which showed the comparison verification process which concerns on one Embodiment. The flowchart which showed the margin verification process which concerns on one Embodiment. The figure which showed the flow of the data used for the verification process which concerns on one Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in this specification and drawing, about the component which has the substantially same function structure, the duplicate description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol.

<Introduction>
For printers who use a printer to print a printed material, the printed material is often a product provided to the user. Therefore, a printed matter having a defect or a printed matter having inferior quality has no value as a product. For this reason, in the printing industry, there is a high demand for verifying a printed material before shipment so that a correctly printed material can be provided to the user. This demand is high not only for printed matter printed on continuous paper but also for printed matter printed on a cut sheet.

  In view of this, a print processing system has been developed that uses a print verification apparatus called PVS to verify a printed matter and remove a printed matter having a defect such as an error in printing contents or a stain on the printed matter based on the verification result. In particular, a print processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention described below is characterized by image processing at the time of verification.

<First Embodiment>
[System overall configuration]
First, the overall configuration of the print processing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a print processing system 1 according to the present embodiment. The print processing system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a print verification apparatus (PVS) 10, a printer control apparatus 20, and an image forming apparatus 30. The print verification apparatus 10, the printer control apparatus 20, and the image forming apparatus 30 are connected via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network).

  The printer control device 20 generates an original image and element attribute information of the original image. The printer controller 20 rasterizes a print format described in a printer language such as PDF (Portable Document Format) or IPDS (Intelligent Printer Data Stream), and generates a bitmap image (original image). The printer control device 20 generates four types of bitmap images of cyan C, magenta M, yellow Y, and black (key plate) K. The four types of bitmap images (CMYK images) are transmitted from the printer control apparatus 20 to the image forming apparatus 30 and the print verification apparatus 10 and printed by the image forming apparatus 30.

  The printer control device 20 generates element attribute information. The element attribute information is transmitted to the print verification apparatus 10 together with the CMYK image. The element attribute information indicates attribute information of each element of the image included in the CMYK image. Examples of element attributes include text (characters), graphics, and barcodes. The element attribute information will be described in detail later.

  The image forming apparatus 30 generates a printed material from the received original image. The image forming apparatus 30 according to the present embodiment can be realized by a printer, a digital copying machine, a digital multifunction machine, or the like having a communication function. The printer engine unit of the image forming apparatus 30 acquires a CMYK image and other information necessary for printing, and prints the CMYK image on a paper medium. Thereby, a printed matter is generated. A paper medium used for printing is supplied from a UW (Unwinder) device 40. In the present embodiment, the paper medium is a continuous paper having a width of about 20 inches, and is wound around the roller 42 of the UW device 40. The continuous paper wound in the form of a roll is unwound from the roller 42 and sent to the image forming apparatus 30.

  The continuous paper passes through a paper feed path in the printer engine unit of the image forming apparatus 30 and is subjected to print processing on the paper by the print head 32. The print head 32 prints C, M, Y, and K color images on a paper medium using the supplied CMYK inks. The printed continuous paper is conveyed to the heat roller 36 and heated by the heat roller 36 to evaporate the water content of the ink on the paper. As a result, the continuous paper is further dried, passes through a paper feed path in the printer engine unit, and is wound around a roller 52 by a W (Winder) device 50.

  A line sensor camera 60 is attached to the image forming apparatus 30. The line sensor camera 60 is installed in the vicinity of the print head 32 of the image forming apparatus 30 and images a printed matter printed by the print head 32 in real time (in actual processing time) on the output side of the print head 32. The line sensor camera 60 continuously captures an image of an area having a strip-like width in a line shape. The line sensor camera 60 can pick up an image printed on a wide continuous paper having a width of about 20 inches in a line shape. The line sensor camera 60 is an example of an apparatus that acquires an image of a printed matter generated by the image forming apparatus 30 in real time. Such an apparatus may be an area camera that acquires an image of a certain area at a time. However, in general, an area camera can capture only an image of a narrower area than the line sensor camera 60 at a time. For this reason, a line sensor camera is preferable to an area camera for capturing an image printed on a large continuous paper having a width of about 20 inches as in the present embodiment. However, it is necessary to have a processing capability to read the image of the printed matter at a speed equivalent to the printing speed.

  The top of the page of the printed material can be recognized by a position mark (for example, a two-dimensional barcode) attached to the printed material. The line sensor camera 60 recognizes the top of the page of the printed material based on the position mark, and picks up images of the printed material in order from the top. The captured images are three types of images (RGB images) of red R, green G, and blue B, and are transmitted to the print verification apparatus 10 as printed images. Thereby, the print verification apparatus 10 acquires an RGB image (image of printed matter).

  The print verification apparatus 10 verifies the printed material. The print verification apparatus 10 converts the CMYK image (original image) sent from the printer control apparatus 20 using the element attribute information into an RGB image, compares it with the RGB image received from the line sensor camera 60, and prints on continuous paper. Verify whether the printed material is printed correctly. The verification items include, for example, whether the printed image matches the original image, the printed material is free of stains or stains, or the image drawn on the printed material is not missing (for example, a defect that occurs when the ink runs out) ), There is no color misregistration in the printed material, the printed content is correct (for example, the name and address are correct), the color balance is not bad if the printed material is a photograph, or the printed material is graphics May be uneven color. Further, in the margin verification described later, in order to verify whether the blank area after blanking all the element attribute images from the printed image is blank, it is verified whether there are ink droplets in the blank area.

[Status at the time of comparison and verification]
The print verification apparatus 10 uses the element attribute information to compare the original image with the actually printed image in real time. At that time, the line sensor camera 60 captures an image at a speed equivalent to the printing speed, and the print verification apparatus 10 also needs to compare both images at the same speed. Therefore, when the printed matter is large and the amount of information contained in the printed matter image is large as in the present embodiment, if the image of the printed matter is simply compared with the original image, unless the processing capability on the print verification apparatus 10 side is increased. Real-time comparison processing is difficult.

  Therefore, in the following, the efficiency of comparison is improved by using element attribute information indicating the attribute of each image as an element in the original image. For this purpose, the print control apparatus 20 generates element attribute information of the original image and notifies the print verification apparatus 10 of the information. In the following, in order to describe the print processing system 1 that performs comparison and verification using element attribute information, the functions and operations of each device constituting the print processing system 1 will be described.

[System functional configuration]
The functional configuration of each device constituting the print processing system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described in the order of the print control device 20, the image forming device 30, and the print verification device 10 with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 shows a functional configuration of each apparatus constituting the print processing system 1 according to the present embodiment.

(Print control device)
The print control apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment includes an image conversion unit 200, an attribute information generation unit 202, and a communication unit 204. The image conversion unit 200 rasterizes a print format described in a printer language represented by PDF or IPDS, and generates a CMYK bitmap image (CMYK image; original image). The printed material of the original image is not limited to a printed material only of text, but also includes brochures and catalogs including photographs and graphic images. The generated CMYK image (original image) is transmitted from the communication unit 204 to the image forming apparatus 30 and the print verification apparatus 10.

  The attribute information generation unit 202 generates element attribute information of the CMYK image (original image). The element attribute information is attribute information of an image serving as each element of the CMYK image. For example, an image having a plurality of element attributes is drawn on the original image in FIG. Among these, the element attributes of the images “ABC” and “DEF” are character elements.

  An example of element attribute information in the case of a character element is shown in FIG. The attribute information generation unit 202 generates element attribute information as shown in FIG. 3 for “ABC” and “DEF” in the CMYK image. The element attribute information has a data structure of element type, position information, and element specific information. The element attribute type indicates what kind of element the element attribute is. The position information indicates at which position of the paper (printed material) the element image is printed. The element specific information indicates element specific parameters such as the shape, color, size, etc. of the image of the element. For “ABC” and “DEF”, the attribute information generation unit 202 sets, for example, the character (one or more characters) as the element attribute type and the coordinates of the lower left corner of the character as the position information. The attribute information generation unit 202 includes, as element specific information, code points of character strings “ABC” and “DEF”, character string size, character string color, character string font style, and other information necessary for character identification. Set. In this way, the attribute information generation unit 202 generates element attribute information of “ABC” and “DEF”. According to this, for the two character elements “ABC” and “DEF”, the size of the image of the character element, the position in the original image, the type of font, and the like can be specified from the generated element attribute information. .

  Similarly, the attribute information generation unit 202 generates element attribute information as shown in FIG. 4 for “◯” in the CMYK image. The element attribute “◯” is a graphic element. The attribute information generation unit 202 sets a circle as the element attribute type and a drawing start point as the position information. The attribute information generation unit 202 sets line thickness, line color, fill color, information on whether the surface is uniform, and other information necessary for graphic identification as element specific information. In this way, the attribute information generation unit 202 generates “◯” element attribute information.

  Similarly, the attribute information generation unit 202 generates element attribute information as shown in FIG. 5 for the “barcode” in the CMYK image. The element attribute of “barcode” is a barcode element. In the case of “barcode” in the CMYK image, the attribute information generation unit 202 sets the barcode as the element attribute type and the drawing start point as the position information. The attribute information generation unit 202 sets the barcode type, the barcode size, and HRI (Human Readable Information) information as the element specific information. The HRI information indicates the content of information embedded in the barcode. In this manner, the attribute information generation unit 202 generates barcode element attribute information. In this embodiment, “barcode” and “two-dimensional barcode” in the CMYK image are described as separate element attributes, but the present invention is not limited to this, and “barcode” and “two-dimensional barcode” May have the same element attribute. In this case, the barcode type of the element specific information includes a two-dimensional barcode.

  From the above, the attribute information generation unit 202 generates element attribute information of images whose element attributes are character elements “ABC” and “DEF” from the original image shown in FIG. The generated element attribute information is transmitted from the communication unit 204 to the print verification apparatus 10. As a result, the print verification apparatus 10 that acquired the element attribute information extracts an image (FIG. 8) of the character element (ABC, DEF) 10b having the position, size, font, and the like according to the element attribute from the original image. Can do. The extracted character element (ABC, DEF) 10b is used by the print verification apparatus 10 to verify the image of the character element.

  Further, the attribute information generation unit 202 generates element attribute information for the graphic element “◯” whose element attribute is from the original image shown in FIG. As a result, the print verification apparatus 10 that has acquired the element attribute information can extract an image (FIG. 8) of the circular graphic element 10e having the position, line type, color, and the like according to the element attribute from the original image. The extracted circular graphic element 10e is used by the print verification apparatus 10 to verify the graphic element image.

  Further, the attribute information generation unit 202 generates element attribute information for the barcode element whose element attribute is from the original image shown in FIG. As a result, the print verification apparatus 10 that has acquired the element attribute information can extract an image of the barcode element 10c having the position, size, HRI information, and the like according to the element attribute from the original image. The extracted barcode element 10c is used by the print verification apparatus 10 for verification of the barcode element image.

  Similarly, the attribute information generation unit 202 generates element attribute information for a two-dimensional barcode element having an element attribute from the original image shown in FIG. Thereby, the print verification apparatus 10 can extract an image (FIG. 8) of the two-dimensional barcode element 10d having the position, size, HRI information, etc. according to the element attribute from the original image. The extracted two-dimensional barcode element 10d is used by the print verification apparatus 10 to verify the image of the two-dimensional barcode element.

  Similarly, the attribute information generation unit 202 generates element attribute information for the line element whose element attribute is from the original image shown in FIG. Accordingly, the print verification apparatus 10 can extract an image (FIG. 8) of a line (line diagram) element 10a having a position, size, line thickness, and the like according to the element attribute from the original image. The extracted line element 10 a is used for verification of the image of the line element by the print verification apparatus 10.

  Similarly, the attribute information generation unit 202 generates element attribute information corresponding to a photographic element whose element attribute is from the original image shown in FIG. As a result, the print verification apparatus 10 can extract the image (FIG. 8) of the photographic element 10f from the original image also in the position, size, pixel size, etc. according to the element attribute. The extracted photographic element 10f is used by the print verification apparatus 10 to verify the image of the photographic element.

  Further, the print verification apparatus 10 can extract a blank area 10g obtained by removing all element attribute images from the original image. The extracted blank area 10g is used by the print verification apparatus 10 for blank verification.

(Image forming device)
The image forming apparatus 30 according to the present embodiment includes a control unit 300, a communication unit 302, a printing unit 304, an image reading unit 306, an image processing unit 308, an image storage unit 310, and an operation display unit 312.

  The control unit 300 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory) (not shown) .The control unit 300 controls each functional unit according to a program written in advance in the ROM. The data input / output during this time is temporarily stored in a predetermined memory area of the RAM.

  The communication unit 302 is connected to the printer control apparatus 20 and the print verification apparatus 10 via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) line, and communicates with these apparatuses. The communication unit 302 receives a CMYK image (original image) transmitted from the printer control apparatus 20.

  The original image is temporarily stored in the image storage unit 310, then subjected to appropriate processing in the image processing unit 308, sent to the printing unit 304, and the printing unit 304 using the print head 32 (see FIG. 1). The CMYK image (original image) is transferred onto a continuous recording sheet and printed out. As a result, a printed matter on which the original image is printed is output.

  The image storage unit 310 has a storage area such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) (not shown), and stores the image data processed by the image processing unit 308 and other various data.

  The operation display unit 312 includes input means such as input keys and switches, and display means such as a liquid crystal display panel. The operation display unit 312 can display the state of the image forming apparatus 30, available paper size, copy magnification, and the like, and can accept an operator's operation through the input unit. The display means may be a liquid crystal touch panel that allows input by touching the liquid crystal screen.

(Print verification device)
The print verification apparatus 10 acquires element attribute information for each original image. The print verification apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes a communication unit 100, an image acquisition unit 102, an extraction unit 104, a comparison unit 106, a verification unit 108, and a storage unit 110. The communication unit 100 is connected to the printer control device 20 via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) line and communicates with the printer control device 20. The communication unit 100 receives the CMYK image (original image) and element attribute information transmitted from the printer control device 20. The communication unit 100 also receives an image of the printed material captured by the line sensor camera 60 in real time.

  The image acquisition unit 102 acquires an original image, element attribute information of the original image, and a printed image from the communication unit 100. The image acquisition unit 102 converts the acquired CMYK image (original image) into an RGB image.

  The extraction unit 104 extracts an image belonging to the element for each element attribute included in the element attribute information from the CMYK image of the printed matter. The element attribute information includes one or more element attributes.

  The comparison unit 106 compares the extracted image for each element attribute with the original image using element attribute information based on one or more element comparison verification procedures optimized for each element attribute. The comparison unit 106 selects an element comparison verification procedure suitable for the element attribute to be compared from one or more element comparison verification procedures for comparison. Thereby, the print verification apparatus 10 can dynamically select an optimal comparison verification algorithm based on the element attribute information.

  The verification unit 108 verifies the printed matter based on the comparison result.

  The storage unit 110 stores element attribute information and various images. The storage unit 110 also stores in advance element comparison verification procedures that are optimized for each element attribute. The element comparison verification procedure is used when comparing the image of the printed matter extracted for each element attribute with the original image. In the comparison verification procedure for elements, a comparison verification algorithm optimized for each element based on the feature on the image for each element attribute is used.

  The image has unique characteristics for each element attribute. Therefore, items to be compared differ for each element attribute in the image. Based on this idea, the element comparison verification procedure is optimized for each element attribute. For example, when the element attribute is an image of a character element, a character recognition technique such as OCR can be used as a character recognition technique for the comparison verification algorithm for the character element.

  In the case of barcodes, the comparison verification algorithm for barcode elements particularly incorporates an algorithm for comparing whether or not all HRI (Human Readable Information) data is contained in the barcode. The “barcode” algorithm can take advantage of well-known techniques already established for various barcodes.

  In the case of a graphic element or a line element, an algorithm for comparing and verifying whether the color is particularly correct is incorporated in the comparison and verification algorithm. In the case of photographs, an algorithm for comparing and verifying whether or not the color tone and color balance are printed exactly correctly is incorporated in the comparison and verification algorithm.

  Thus, the image processing for character recognition and the image processing for image recognition have completely different algorithms. Therefore, in the verification of the printed matter according to the present embodiment, the comparison verification algorithm is optimized for each element attribute, so that the comparison process between the image of the printed matter and the original image can be executed efficiently. Furthermore, in the verification of the printed matter according to the present embodiment, the processing speed can be dramatically improved by performing the parallel verification processing of a plurality of image data extracted for each element attribute in parallel.

  The print verification apparatus 10 includes a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM (not shown). For example, the RAM stores a program indicating the element comparison verification procedure. The CPU compares the image of the printed material, the original image, and each image extracted for each element attribute according to the program stored in the RAM. The CPU processes the programs in parallel for each image extracted for each element attribute using a plurality of programs showing the comparison verification procedure for elements prepared for each element attribute. Thereby, a plurality of verification tasks set for each element attribute can be processed in parallel.

  The storage unit 110 can be realized by a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, or the like, for example. The element comparison verification procedure may be provided by being stored in a recording medium other than the storage unit 110 and read into the storage unit 110 via a driver (not shown), or downloaded and stored from a network (not shown). It may be stored in the unit 110.

  In the print verification apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, the communication unit 100, the image acquisition unit 102, the extraction unit 104, and the comparison unit 106 will be described as functions in the print verification apparatus 10. As a function of the processing device 11, it may be provided separately from the print verification device 10. In this case, the image processing apparatus 11 extracts an image for each element attribute from the printed image, and compares the extracted image for each element attribute with the original image using the element attribute information. The comparison result is transferred from the image processing apparatus 11 to the print verification apparatus 10. In this way, the image processing apparatus 11 may exist in the print processing system 1 as another apparatus that can communicate with the print verification apparatus 10, the printer control apparatus 20, and the image forming apparatus 30, or the print verification apparatus 10, printer Any of the functions of the control device 20 and the image forming apparatus 30 may be incorporated in any of the apparatuses. The image processing apparatus 11 can be manufactured and sold independently as a program (software), an IC circuit (hardware), or a module combining software and hardware.

[Operation]
(Comparison verification process)
Next, the operation of the print processing system 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of the comparison verification process shown in FIG. The comparison verification process according to the present embodiment is executed by the print verification apparatus 10.

  The CMYK (original image) sent from the print control device 20 and the RGB image (printed image) sent from the line sensor camera 60 are both image data. Therefore, the correctness of the characters on the printed image is obtained by comparing the characters drawn on the CMYK (original image) with the characters drawn on the RGB image (printed image) as images. Is difficult for a character having a complicated shape, and the processing load is high.

  Therefore, in the first embodiment, an example will be described in which character elements included in a CMYK (original image) are recognized from an image of a printed material, and only characters included in the printed material are extracted and compared and verified.

  That is, the print verification apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment uses the characters drawn on the printed image (RGB image) as “characters” in order to determine that the characters on the printed material are correctly printed. Read using "recognition" technology. The print verification apparatus 10 compares and verifies the character extracted as a result with the character string stored in the “element specific information” of the character element attribute in the element attribute information sent from the printer control apparatus 20. Thereby, the correctness of the character printed on the printed matter is determined.

  The "character recognition" algorithm can use well-known technologies already established for alphabets, numbers, hiragana, katakana, kanji, etc., and these characters can be used to accurately determine characters on printed matter. be able to. In addition, character identification, comparison and verification can be performed independently of comparison and verification of other elements. Therefore, comparison and verification of character element attributes and comparison and verification of other element attributes can be performed in parallel.

  In the comparison verification process, first, in step S101, the print verification apparatus 10 acquires element attribute information and a CMYK image (original image) from the printer control apparatus 20, and receives an RGB image (printed image) from the line sensor camera 60. To get.

  Next, in step S103, the print verification apparatus 10 converts the CMYK image (original image) into an RGB image, and then, based on the element attribute information, the type of element attribute included in the RGB image (converted original image). Determine. Here, one specific element attribute is determined from a plurality of element attributes included in the RGB image (converted original image). In this embodiment, only character elements such as name and address included in the RGB image (converted original image) are verified, but not limited to character elements, only barcode elements or graphic elements are verified. You may do it.

  For example, the printed image in FIG. 8 includes a character element as the type of element attribute. That is, a character element is included in one of the element attribute information. Accordingly, in step S103, the print verification apparatus 10 determines that there is a character element in the image of the printed material from the element attribute information, and proceeds to step S105, where “ABC” and “DEF” "Is extracted using a character recognition technique. Next, in step S107, the print verification apparatus 10 compares the extracted character element 10b with the element unique information of the original image. At the time of extraction and comparison, the print verification apparatus 10 selects an element comparison verification algorithm optimized for a character element in the element comparison verification procedure stored in the storage unit 110. Then, using the selected element comparison / verification algorithm, the image of the extracted printed text element and the element specific information of the original image are compared and verified. As a result of the comparison, if the print verification apparatus 10 detects a defect such as a missing character or a character different from the original image printed in step S109, the process proceeds to step S111 and the print processing system 1 is stopped. .

  Unless the system is stopped in step S111, the print verification apparatus 10 proceeds from step S109 to step S129, and determines whether there is a next element attribute. In this embodiment, only a character element is determined as a specific element attribute among a plurality of element attributes included in CMYK (original image). Therefore, the print verification apparatus 10 determines in step S129 that there is no next element attribute, and executes a margin verification process (FIG. 7).

(Margin verification processing)
The margin verification process is as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7 and is executed by the print verification apparatus 10. First, in step S201, the print verification apparatus 10 removes all the element attribute images included in the element attribute information from the printed image. Next, in step S203, the print verification apparatus 10 compares whether the blank area after the removal is blank. More specifically, the print verification apparatus 10 compares the blank area with an unnecessary image such as an ink drop in the area after removing all the element attribute images from the original image.

  If an unnecessary image such as an ink drop is detected in the margin area in step S205, the print verification apparatus 10 proceeds to step S207 and stops the print processing system 1. If it is determined in step S205 that the blank area is blank, this process ends because there is no defect.

  In the above description, if any one of the defects is detected, the system is immediately stopped. However, if any mechanism for cutting the paper printed on the image forming apparatus 30 is provided, the system should be cut. It is also possible to identify defective prints, command the specified prints to be cut and discarded, and control the system not to stop. In this case, the operating rate of the system is improved.

  In this embodiment, the comparison verification process of FIG. 6 and the margin verification process of FIG. 7 are processed in parallel. However, after the comparison verification process of FIG. 6, the process may be terminated without executing the margin verification process of FIG. Is possible.

[effect]
If the print verification apparatus 10 receives only the original image and does not receive the element attribute information, the print detection apparatus 10 provides a hint as to which position and size of the original image is drawn in which position of the original image. I don't know. In that case, the print verification apparatus 10 must compare and verify the original image and the image of the printed matter one pixel at a time in order from the top, and the processing speed is increased because the load of image processing is extremely high. Can not. Therefore, particularly when the print size is large, the verification and the verification speed cannot be compared with the printing speed when verifying the printed matter, and it is difficult to compare and verify the image of the printed matter and the original image in real time.

  On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, the print verification apparatus 10 acquires element attribute information from the printer control apparatus 20. The element attribute information has image specific information for each element attribute independently for each page for all pages of the printed matter. Therefore, the print verification apparatus 10 can grasp the print layout of each page using the element attribute information.

  Therefore, the print verification apparatus 10 extracts only the image of the element attribute to be compared from the image of the printed matter using the character recognition technology and the element attribute information, and selects a comparison verification algorithm optimized for the element attribute to be compared. . Then, the extracted image of the element attribute is compared and verified using an optimized comparison and verification algorithm between the image of the printed matter having the element attribute and the element specific information of the original image. In addition to this, verification (margin verification processing) of whether there is a defect such as a stain in the blank area in the area after deleting all the image data belonging to a plurality of element attributes is performed in parallel with the verification of the character element attribute image. May be executed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, by comparing the image to be compared with one element attribute (character element in the present embodiment) using the element attribute information, the image of the printed matter is efficiently compared with the original image. Can be verified. As a result, even when the size of the printed material is large and the amount of image data is large, it is possible to compare and verify the image of the printed material and the original image in real time.

Second Embodiment
In the first embodiment, only a specific image is extracted from the image of the printed matter using the element attribute information, and compared with the original image using the element attribute information. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, all the element attribute images included in the element attribute information are extracted for each element attribute, and the image comparison and verification processing for each extracted element attribute is performed in parallel.

  First, in step S <b> 101, the print verification apparatus 10 acquires element attribute information and a CMYK image (original image) from the printer control apparatus 20, and acquires an RGB image (printed image) from the line sensor camera 60. The print verification apparatus 10 converts the acquired CMYK image (original image) into RGB (converted original image).

  Next, in step S103, the print verification apparatus 10 determines the type of element attribute included in RGB (converted original image) based on the element attribute information. Here, a specific element attribute is shown to be determined one by one from a plurality of element attributes included in RGB (converted original image), but each element attribute is parallel to the plurality of element attributes. The comparison verification process for each element attribute after the determination is performed in parallel for each element attribute.

  For example, the printed image in FIG. 8 includes a character element as the type of element attribute. Therefore, in step S103, the print verification apparatus 10 determines from the element attribute information that there is a character element in the image of the printed matter, and proceeds to step S105, where the print verification device 10 determines the printed matter based on the character recognition technology and the position information of the element attribute information. Character elements 10b (FIG. 8) of “ABC” and “DEF” are extracted from the image. Next, in step S107, the print verification apparatus 10 compares the extracted character element 10b with the element unique information of the original image. As a result of the comparison, if the print verification apparatus 10 detects a defect such as a missing character or a character different from the original image printed in step S109, the process proceeds to step S111 and the print processing system 1 is stopped. .

  Similarly, for example, the printed image of FIG. 8 includes a circular graphic element as the element attribute type. Therefore, in step S103, the print verification apparatus 10 determines that there is a graphic element in the printed image in parallel with the timing at which it is determined that there is a character element, and proceeds to step S113. The graphic element 10e (FIG. 8) is extracted.

  In step S115, the print verification apparatus 10 compares the extracted graphic element 10e with the original image using element attribute information. Here, among the figures, a circle or a rectangle is a graphic element having a very high frequency of appearance. For example, in the present embodiment, detection of a coating surface defect is considered only for a circular shape including a ruled line and having a uniform circular internal coating surface. Specifically, the comparison and verification will focus on the uniformity of the paint surface, such as dirt, fading, and defects. By performing this independently of verification of other element attributes, the processing speed can be improved.

  When the print verification apparatus 10 detects a circular coating surface defect or the like in step S117 as a result of the comparison and verification, the print verification system 10 stops the print processing system 1 in step S119.

  Similarly, for example, the image of the printed matter in FIG. 8 includes a barcode element as the type of element attribute. Accordingly, in step S103, the print verification apparatus 10 determines that there is a barcode element in the printed image in parallel with the timing at which it is determined that there are character elements and graphic elements, and proceeds to step S121, where the printed image The bar code 10c (FIG. 8) is extracted from the above. In step S123, the print verification apparatus 10 compares the extracted barcode 10c with the original image using element attribute information. For example, in the present embodiment, whether the read result matches the HRI information by reading the barcode 10c and comparing and verifying it with the HRI information stored in the “element specific information” of the barcode element attribute of the element attribute information. Confirm. Thereby, it is confirmed and determined whether the printing of the barcode 10c is correct. Note that barcode identification and comparison are suitable for parallel processing with other element attributes because independent processing can be performed in comparison with other element attributes.

  If the print verification apparatus 10 detects a barcode defect in step S125 as a result of the comparison, the print verification system 10 stops the print processing system 1 in step S127.

  Unless the system is stopped in any of steps S111, S119, and S127, the process proceeds from step S109, step S117, and step S125 to step S129, and the print verification apparatus 10 determines whether there is a next element attribute. Here, for convenience of description, it is described that the determination process of step S129 is executed after the determination process of step S103, but the branch from step S103 is not limited to the three shown in FIG. It can be considered that there are as many branches as there are types. Therefore, the process in step S129 is also performed in parallel with the three determination destination processes in step S103 as one of the determination destinations in the determination process in step S103, and the subsequent comparison and verification processes are also processed in parallel.

  If there is the next element attribute in step S129, the print verification apparatus 10 reads the next element attribute in step S131, and determines the type of the element attribute in step S103. As in the original image of FIG. 8, in addition to character elements, graphic elements, and barcode elements, there are two-dimensional barcode elements, line elements, and photographic elements as element attributes. Although the elements are not shown, the two-dimensional barcode element 10d (FIG. 8), the line element 10a (FIG. 8), and the photographic element 10f (FIG. 8) are extracted and compared separately as in the case of the character elements. Is verified. When a defect is detected, the print verification apparatus 10 stops the print processing system 1.

  After the extraction, comparison, and verification processing of each element attribute described above is performed in parallel for all element attributes, the print verification apparatus 10 determines in step S129 that there is no next element attribute, and blank verification processing ( FIG. 7) is executed. Since the margin verification process has been described in the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted here. Also in the second embodiment, the comparison verification process of FIG. 6 and the margin verification process of FIG. 7 are performed in parallel.

[effect]
According to the present embodiment, the print verification apparatus 10 acquires element attribute information from the printer control apparatus 20. Therefore, the print verification apparatus 10 uses the element attribute information to extract an image for each element attribute from the printed image, and selects a comparison verification algorithm optimized for each element attribute. Then, with respect to the extracted images for each element attribute, the comparison verification algorithm optimized for each element attribute is used to perform parallel verification processing of the printed image for each element attribute with the original image. . In addition, the margin verification process is performed in parallel with the verification of the image of each element attribute of the printed matter. This makes it possible to compare and verify the printed image with the original image more efficiently and accurately. As a result, even when the size of the printed material is large and the amount of image data is large, it is possible to compare and verify the image of the printed material and the original image in real time.

  Further, since the images are compared and verified according to the element attribute, the cause of the defect can be classified for each element attribute and notified to the administrator.

  As described above, according to the print processing system 1 according to the first and second embodiments, it is possible to efficiently compare and verify the printed matter with the original image.

  The preferred print processing system of the present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to this example. It is obvious that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field of the present invention can come up with various changes or modifications within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims. Of course, it belongs to the technical scope of the present invention.

  In addition, each unit that realizes each function of the print control apparatus 20, the image forming apparatus 30, and the print verification apparatus 10 according to the present invention may be realized by software including a program group that executes each function. It may be realized by hardware as a semiconductor device such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration) chip including a functional block, or may be realized by using both software and hardware.

  For example, a process for acquiring an original image and element attribute information of the original image, a process of acquiring an image of a printed material obtained by printing the original image, and 1 or 2 included in the element attribute information from the image of the printed material Based on the above-described processing for extracting an image for each element attribute, one or more element comparison verification procedures optimized for each element attribute, and the element attribute information, A program for causing a computer to execute processing for comparing the original image may be constructed, and the print processing system of the present invention may be operated by executing the program.

  The program according to the present invention for executing each function of each device may be stored in a storage means such as a ROM or HDD provided in the computer from the beginning, or a CD-ROM as a recording medium. Alternatively, the program recorded in a nonvolatile recording medium (memory) such as a flexible disk, SRAM, EEPROM, or memory card and recorded in the memory is installed in the computer and executed by the CPU, or the program is executed from the memory by the CPU. Each procedure described above may be executed by reading and executing. Furthermore, it is also possible to download the program from an external device that is connected to the network and has a recording medium that records the program, or from an external device that stores the program in the storage means, and execute the above-described procedures.

  When there are many images that do not belong to any of the element attributes, the conventional comparison verification process may be performed without performing the parallel process of the comparison verification according to the present embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Print processing system 10 Print verification apparatus 20 Print control apparatus 30 Image forming apparatus 32 Print head 60 Line sensor camera 100 Communication part 102 Image acquisition part 104 Extraction part 106 Comparison part 108 Verification part 110 Storage part 200 Image conversion part 202 Generation of attribute information Unit 204 communication unit 300 control unit 302 communication unit 304 printing unit 306 image reading unit 308 image processing unit 310 image storage unit 312 operation display unit

JP 2007-173912 A JP 2007-172027 A

Claims (14)

A printer control device for generating an original image and element attribute information of the original image;
An image forming apparatus that prints the original image to generate a printed material;
A print processing system comprising: a print verification device that verifies the printed matter;
The print verification apparatus includes:
An image acquisition unit for acquiring the original image and element attribute information of the original image, and acquiring an image of the printed matter;
An extraction unit that extracts an image for each of one or more element attributes included in the element attribute information from the image of the printed matter;
A comparison unit that compares the extracted image for each element attribute with the original image based on one or more element comparison verification procedures optimized for each element attribute and the element attribute information;
And a verification unit that verifies the printed matter based on the comparison result. The comparison unit includes:
Based on the comparison verification procedure for two or more elements optimized for each element attribute and the element attribute information, a comparison process between the image of each element attribute of the extracted plurality of element attributes and the original image is performed for each element attribute. The print processing system according to claim 1, wherein the print processing system is executed in parallel. The comparison unit includes:
3. The comparison processing according to claim 1, wherein a comparison process is performed to determine whether a blank area is blank after removing all the element attribute images included in the element attribute information from the original image of the printed matter. Print processing system. The comparison unit includes:
The print processing system according to claim 3, wherein a comparison process as to whether the blank area is blank and a comparison process between the image for each element attribute and the original image are executed in parallel.   The print processing system according to claim 1, further comprising a device that acquires in real time an image of a printed matter generated by the image forming apparatus.   The print processing system according to claim 5, wherein the device that acquires an image of the printed matter in real time is a line sensor camera. The verification unit
The print processing system according to claim 1, wherein when the deficiency of the printed matter is verified as a result of the comparison, the print processing system is controlled to stop. The verification unit
When the deficiency of the printed matter is verified as a result of the comparison, the print processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein control is performed to discard the printed matter for which the deficiency is verified. . The element attribute information is
The print processing system according to claim 1, comprising the one or more element attributes, position information for each element attribute, and element specific information. The element attribute information is
The element-specific information optimized for each element attribute according to the feature of the element attribute on the image,
The extraction unit includes:
The print processing system according to claim 9, wherein an image corresponding to position information and element specific information for each element attribute is extracted for each element attribute. An image acquisition unit that acquires an original image and element attribute information of the original image, and acquires an image of a printed matter obtained by printing the original image;
An extraction unit that extracts an image for each of one or more element attributes included in the element attribute information from the image of the printed matter;
A comparison unit that compares the extracted image for each element attribute with the original image based on one or more element comparison verification procedures optimized for each element attribute and the element attribute information;
An image processing apparatus comprising: The comparison unit includes:
Based on the comparison verification procedure for two or more elements optimized for each element attribute and the element attribute information, a comparison process between the image of each element attribute of the extracted plurality of element attributes and the original image is performed for each element attribute. The image processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the image processing apparatus is executed in parallel. The comparison unit includes:
A comparison process of whether the blank area after the image of all element attributes included in the element attribute information is removed from the original image of the printed matter is blank, and a comparison process of the image for each element attribute and the original image The image processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the image processing apparatuses are executed in parallel.   A print verification apparatus that verifies the printed matter based on a result of comparison using the image processing apparatus according to claim 11.

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