JP2015046696A - System, method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To acquire a parameter corresponding to input/output characteristics of an image input/output apparatus.SOLUTION: In a system, at least an image input/output apparatus and a server are connected to each other via a network. When receiving information of a component which is set in the image input/output apparatus and affects input/output characteristics of the image input/output apparatus, the server transmits a parameter related to the input/output characteristics of the image input/output apparatus on the basis of the information of the component. Color conversion processing is executed depending on the transmitted parameter.

Description

  The present invention relates to processing for receiving and transmitting information related to an image input / output device.

  In an image input / output device such as a digital camera, a monitor, and a printer, input / output characteristics of the entire device are determined by components constituting the image input / output device. For example, in a digital camera, characteristics such as a lens, a color filter, and a sensor, and in a printer, color materials such as ink and toner, characteristics of a print head, and the like relate to input / output characteristics of each device. In the image input / output device, color conversion parameters optimized for the input / output characteristics determined by these components are set in advance. Then, a color conversion process based on the color conversion parameter is executed in the image input / output device to realize a desired color reproduction.

  Many of the components related to the input / output device characteristics of the image input / output device such as the lens in the digital camera and the ink in the printer are interchangeable. Therefore, for example, when ink having different characteristics is set in the printer by ink replacement, the output characteristics of the printer change from the conventional output characteristics. Since the printer defines color conversion parameters optimized for the output characteristics before the ink change, there is a problem that the desired color reproduction is not necessarily achieved if the output characteristics change due to ink replacement.

  In order to deal with such a problem, in Patent Document 1, a printer driver acquires ink information from a storage medium provided in an ink cartridge attached to a printer, and performs color conversion of an image based on the ink information. A method is described.

JP 2006-221247 A

  However, in the method of Patent Document 1, color conversion parameters corresponding to the replaced ink need to be prepared in advance in the printer driver. That is, it can only cope with a predetermined combination of inks. Some components related to image input / output characteristics are newly created later. Further, for example, the change in the output characteristics due to the ink replacement described above is a problem that may occur even when the ink lot is changed. As described above, since it is impossible to prepare in advance a component that is created later or a color conversion corresponding to a new lot of ink, the method disclosed in Patent Document 1 applies to a component that is created later. It may not be able to respond appropriately.

  Therefore, in the present invention, the image input / output device is connected to the server via the network, and parameters indicating the input / output characteristics of the image input / output device are acquired from the server according to the components of the image input / output device. The purpose is to perform processing suitable for the component.

  The system according to the present invention is a system in which at least an image input / output device and a server are connected via a network, and affects the input / output characteristics of the image input / output device set in the image input / output device. Transmitting means for transmitting component information to the server; receiving means for receiving parameters relating to input / output characteristics of an image input / output device from the server based on the information of the component transmitted by the transmitting means; and And setting means for setting parameters relating to the input / output characteristics received by the receiving means.

  According to the present invention, even when the components of the image input / output device are changed, it is possible to perform image processing suitable for the combination of the changed components.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing system in Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a logical configuration of an image processing system in Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processing of Example 1; It is a figure which shows the example of ink information. It is a flowchart which shows the process of a parameter acquisition part. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a correspondence between ink lot combinations and color conversion parameters according to the first exemplary embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a color correction LUT. It is a figure which shows the example of a color separation LUT. It is a flowchart which shows the image output process using a color conversion parameter. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing system in Embodiment 2. FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing system according to a third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing system according to a fourth embodiment. 14 is a flowchart illustrating processing of Example 4; FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing system according to a fifth embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating processing of Example 5. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a correspondence between a combination of ink lots and paper and color conversion parameters in Example 5.

  Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the components described in this embodiment are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention thereto.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing system in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the image processing system includes a printer 110 that is an image forming apparatus, a terminal device 120, and a server 130. The printer 110 is connected to the terminal device 120 via the USB 140. The terminal device 120 controls the printer 110 via a printer driver that operates on the terminal device 120. The printer 110 and the terminal device 120 are connected to a server 130 that provides a cloud service via the Internet 150. The printer 110 transmits color material information (for example, ink information) of all color materials (for example, ink) set in the printer 110 to the server 130. The server 130 transmits a parameter corresponding to the ink information to the terminal device 120. The terminal device 120 sets the received parameter in the printer driver for the printer 110. In the example of FIG. 1, the printer 110 is connected to the terminal device 120 via the USB 140, but may be connected via a network such as a LAN (not shown). Further, the cloud service server 130 may be configured by a plurality of distributed server devices.

  In this embodiment, an example in which ink is used as a color material will be described. An example in which ink information is used as color material information will be described. An example in which the ink lot number is used as the ink information will be described. The lot number is an identifier that specifies a manufacturing unit (for example, a manufacturing location, a manufacturing time, etc.).

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the logical configuration of the image processing system in this embodiment.

  The printer 110 includes a color material information acquisition unit 111, a first transmission unit 112, and an image output unit 113. The terminal device 120 includes a second reception unit 121, a parameter setting unit 122, and a color conversion unit 123. The server 130 includes a first reception unit 131, a parameter acquisition unit 132, a second transmission unit 133, and a parameter holding unit 134.

  Next, each configuration of the printer 110 will be described. The color material information acquisition unit 111 acquires information (ink information) of the color material set in the printer 110. The first transmission unit 112 transmits the ink information acquired by the color material information acquisition unit 111 to the server 130. The first transmission unit 112 also transmits the address (for example, IP address) of the terminal device 120 connected to the printer 110 to the server 130 in association with the ink information. The image output unit 113 prints out an image based on the image data transmitted from the terminal device 120.

  Next, each configuration of the server 130 will be described. The first receiving unit 131 receives ink information and the like transmitted from the printer 110. The parameter acquisition unit 132 acquires the color conversion parameters of the printer 110 from the parameter holding unit 134 based on the ink information received by the first reception unit 131. The second transmission unit 133 transmits the color conversion parameter acquired by the parameter acquisition unit 132 to an address (that is, the terminal device 120) associated with the ink information received by the first reception unit 131. The parameter holding unit 134 holds the correspondence between ink combinations and color conversion parameters.

  Next, each configuration of the terminal device 120 will be described. The second receiving unit 121 receives the color conversion parameter transmitted from the server 130. The parameter setting unit 122 sets the color conversion parameter received by the second receiving unit 121 in the printer driver for the printer 110. The color conversion unit 123 converts the electronic image 200 using the color conversion parameters set by the parameter setting unit 122. The color-converted electronic image 200 is output by the image output unit 113 of the printer 110.

<Operation of image processing system>
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processing executed in the image processing system in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, steps S <b> 301 and S <b> 302 are processes executed by the printer 110. Steps S303 to S305 are processes executed by the server 130, and steps S306 to S307 are processes executed by the terminal device 120. Each process shown in FIG. 3 is realized by the CPU of each device reading and executing a program stored in, for example, an HDD or a ROM of each device to the RAM of each device. The same applies to the processing of other flowcharts in this specification.

  In step S <b> 301, the color material information acquisition unit 111 of the printer 110 acquires ink information of ink mounted on the printer 110. The ink information can be acquired by the color material information acquisition unit 111 accessing a storage medium provided in an ink cartridge (not shown), for example. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of ink information. As shown in FIG. 4, the ink information includes the color, model number, lot number, date of manufacture, and the like of the ink. As described above, in this embodiment, lot numbers are used as ink information, and therefore, in step S301, lot numbers of all inks set in the printer 110 are acquired. The processing in step S301 may be executed by the color material information acquisition unit 111 every time ink is exchanged. Alternatively, when the ink is replaced, the printer 110 notifies the terminal device 120 that the ink has been replaced, and in response to this notification, the process of step S301 is performed according to an instruction sent from the terminal device 120. The color material information acquisition unit 111 may execute this. Alternatively, step S301 may be executed in accordance with an instruction sent from the terminal device 120 at an arbitrary timing, or step S301 may be executed at an arbitrary timing without an instruction from the terminal device 120.

  In step S302, the first transmission unit 112 of the printer 110 transmits the lot numbers of all inks set in the printer 110 acquired in step S301 to the server 130 as ink information. If the ink color can be specified only by the lot number, only the lot number may be transmitted. If the ink color cannot be specified by the lot number alone, ink information including the ink color and the lot number is transmitted to the server. The first transmission unit 112 also transmits the address of the connected terminal device 120 in association with the lot number. The printer 110 may store the address of the connected terminal device in advance and transmit the address of the terminal device based on the stored information. Or when step S301 is performed according to the instruction | indication from a terminal device, you may transmit the address of the terminal device which is the instruction | indication source.

  In step S <b> 303, the first reception unit 131 of the server 130 receives ink information including the lot number of ink transmitted from the first transmission unit 112 of the printer 110. In step S304, the parameter acquisition unit 132 of the printer 110 acquires the color conversion parameter corresponding to the ink combination from the parameter holding unit 134 based on the lot number acquired in step S303. Specific processing in step S304 will be described later.

  In step S305, the second transmission unit 133 of the server 130 transmits the color conversion parameter acquired in step S304 to the terminal device 120 indicated by the address associated with the ink information received by the first reception unit 131.

  In step S <b> 306, the second reception unit 121 of the terminal device 120 receives the color conversion parameter transmitted from the second transmission unit 133 of the server 130. In step S307, the parameter setting unit 122 sets the color conversion parameter received in step S306 in the color conversion unit 123 that functions as the printer driver of the printer 110, and ends the process.

  As a result, when the electronic image 200 is transmitted from the terminal device 120 to the printer 110 to perform print processing, the image data subjected to color conversion processing corresponding to the color material of the printer 110 is transmitted from the terminal device 120 to the printer 110. Is done.

<Operation of Parameter Acquisition Unit 132 (Step S304)>
In step S <b> 304, the parameter acquisition unit 132 of the server 130 acquires the corresponding color conversion parameter from the parameter holding unit 134 based on the lot number of the ink set in the printer 110 received by the first reception unit 131. Hereinafter, the process of step S304 will be specifically described.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the color conversion parameter acquisition process performed by the parameter acquisition unit 132 of the server 130 in step S304.

  In step S <b> 501, the parameter acquisition unit 132 acquires the lot number of the ink set in the printer 110 from the first reception unit 131. In step S502, the parameter acquisition unit 132 determines whether the lot numbers of all inks set in the printer 110 have been acquired. If the lot numbers of all inks have not been acquired, the process returns to step SS501. If the lot numbers of all inks have been acquired, the process proceeds to step S503.

  In step S <b> 503, the parameter acquisition unit 132 refers to a table stored in the parameter storage unit 134 that associates ink combinations with color conversion parameters. In this embodiment, the printer 110 is a printer that prints with four colors of ink of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K), and each ink lot has three types. Assuming that there is, the subsequent processing will be described.

  When the ink lot changes, the color printed with the ink may change by about 2 in ΔE (color difference in the CIELAB color system). Further, since a general printer often has ink cartridges for each color, there are cases where different lots of ink are used for each color when the ink of each color is replaced. That is, in order to obtain a desired color reproduction in the printer, an optimized color conversion parameter is required for each combination of inks of different lots. Therefore, a correspondence table between each ink lot combination and the color conversion parameter is stored in the parameter holding unit 134 of the server 130. When a new lot of ink is generated, the parameter holding unit 134 updates the held correspondence table with a correspondence table including color conversion parameters optimized for the new lot.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a correspondence table held by the parameter holding unit 134. As shown in FIG. 6, in the correspondence table, all combinations of ink lots are associated with color conversion parameters corresponding to the combinations. Here, the color conversion parameters in this embodiment include a color correction LUT (Look Up Table) group and a color separation LUT group. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the color correction LUT. As shown in FIG. 7, the color correction LUT is an LUT in which an input signal (RGB value of an input image) is associated with a device RGB of the printer. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a color separation LUT. As shown in FIG. 8, the color separation LUT is an LUT in which the device RGB of the printer is associated with the CMYK ink values. By using these two LUTs, the color reproduction of the printer 110 can be controlled. Since both LUTs generally need to be prepared for each sheet to be output, it is assumed that the LUT group for each sheet is described in the correspondence table. That is, for example, when all the CMYK lots in the correspondence table are identified by 1, the color correction LUT group 1 and the color separation LUT group 1 are associated in FIG. Here, it is assumed that the color correction LUT group 1 and the color separation LUT group 1 each include an LUT for each sheet.

  In step S503, the parameter acquisition unit 132 refers to the correspondence table in which the combination of ink lots and these two types of LUT groups are associated with each other from the parameter holding unit 134.

  In step S504, the parameter acquisition unit 132 acquires the color correction LUT group and the color separation LUT group associated with the combination of ink lots set in the printer 110 from the parameter holding unit 134, and ends the processing. To do. As described above, the color correction LUT group and the color separation LUT group acquired in step S504 include the LUT for each sheet.

<Print Output Processing by Printer 110>
Hereinafter, a process of outputting an electronic image by the printer 110 using the color conversion parameters set by the image processing system in the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing executed in the terminal device 120 and the printer 110. Steps S901 to S905 are executed by the terminal device 120. Step S906 is executed by the printer 110.

  In step S <b> 901, the terminal device 120 acquires the electronic image 200. The electronic image 200 may be acquired from an HDD (not shown) connected to the terminal device 120 or an external input device. In step S <b> 902, the terminal device 120 acquires paper information indicating the type of paper output by the printer 110. The paper information can be acquired from the paper information selected by the user via the user interface of the driver. In step S <b> 903, the color conversion unit 123 of the terminal device 120 selects an LUT corresponding to the output sheet from the color conversion parameter group that is set by the parameter setting unit 122 and is optimal for the combination of ink lots for the printer 110. That is, the color conversion unit 123 selects an LUT corresponding to the output sheet from the color correction LUT group and the color separation LUT group.

  In step S904, the color conversion unit 123 converts the input image acquired in step S901 into the ink value of the printer 110 using the color correction LUT and color separation LUT selected in step S903. In other words, the color conversion unit 123 converts the RGB value of the electronic image 200 into the device RGB value of the printer 110 using the selected color correction LUT. In addition, the color conversion unit 123 converts the device RGB values into ink values using the selected color separation LUT. In step S905, the color conversion unit 123 transmits the image data converted into the ink value to the printer 110. In step S906, the image output unit 113 of the printer 110 prints out the electronic image 200 based on the image data converted into the ink value, and ends the process.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the lot number of the ink set in the printer is transmitted to the server, and the color conversion parameter corresponding to the lot is downloaded from the server to the printer driver of the terminal device. This makes it possible to perform color conversion optimal for a combination of ink lots and obtain a desired print output.

  It is expected that the information amount of color conversion parameters as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 will increase due to an increase in the type of ink and a change in lot. However, according to the present embodiment, the centralized management by the server makes it possible to perform optimum color conversion without pressing the storage capacity of each printer or terminal device. In addition, by centrally managing the server, color conversion parameters can be updated quickly by creating new ink types and lots.

  In the first embodiment, the configuration has been described in which the printer transmits ink information to the server, and the server transmits parameters corresponding to the ink information to the terminal device.

  In the second embodiment, an example in which parameters from a server are received by a printer and the parameters are transmitted from the printer to a terminal device will be described.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing system according to the second embodiment. In the system configuration shown in FIG. 10, the first transmission unit 1012 of the printer, the second transmission unit 1033 of the server, and the second reception unit 1021 of the terminal device are different from the first embodiment. Since other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  The first transmission unit 1012 of the printer transmits the color material information acquired by the color material information acquisition unit 1011 (referred to as ink information as in the first embodiment) to the server 1030. At this time, the address of the printer 1010 is designated as the destination of the corresponding parameter and transmitted. The second transmission unit 1033 of the server 1030 transmits the parameter acquired by the parameter acquisition unit 1032 to the printer 1010.

  The first transmission unit 1012 of the printer transmits the parameter transmitted from the second transmission unit 1033 of the server 1030 to the terminal device 1020 connected to the printer. The second reception unit 1021 of the terminal device 1020 acquires parameters transmitted from the server 1030 via the printer 1010.

  As described above, the terminal device can also be configured to acquire parameters from the server via a printer.

  In the first embodiment, the configuration in which the printer transmits ink information to the server and the server transmits parameters corresponding to the ink information to the terminal device has been described.

  In the third embodiment, the terminal device acquires color material information from the printer. An example in which color material information is transmitted from the terminal device to the server and parameters corresponding to the color material information are transmitted from the server to the terminal device will be described.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing system according to the third embodiment. In the system configuration shown in FIG. 11, the first transmission unit 1112 of the printer, the first reception unit 1131 of the server, and the transmission / reception unit 1121 of the terminal device are different from the first embodiment. Since other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  The first transmission unit 1112 of the printer transmits the color material information acquired by the color material information acquisition unit 1111 (referred to as ink information as in the first embodiment) to the terminal device 1120. For example, the printer 1110 transmits ink information to the terminal device 1120 in response to an ink information acquisition request from the printer driver of the terminal device 1120. The transmission / reception unit 1121 of the terminal device 1120 transmits the received ink information to the server 1130. The first receiving unit 1131 of the server receives ink information from the terminal device 1120. Thereafter, the server performs the same processing as in the first embodiment, and transmits parameters to the terminal device 1120. The operation of the terminal device 1120 that has received the parameter is the same as in the first embodiment.

  As described above, the terminal device may be configured to acquire the corresponding parameter from the server by acquiring the ink information from the printer and transmitting the ink information to the server.

  In the first embodiment, the configuration in which an image is output by a printer using the printer driver of the terminal device has been described as an example. In the present embodiment, a description will be given of a so-called direct print process in which print output is performed by a single printer without using a terminal device.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a logical configuration of the image processing system in the present embodiment. The difference from the first embodiment is that the configuration included in the terminal device of the first embodiment is the internal configuration of the printer 1210. That is, in this embodiment, the second receiving unit 1214, the parameter setting unit 1215, and the color conversion unit 1216 are the internal configuration of the printer 1210. Other configurations are the same as those described in the first embodiment.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart of processing executed in the image processing system in this embodiment. Steps S1301, S1302, S1306, and S1307 are executed by the printer 1210. Steps S1303 to S1305 are executed by the server 1230. As shown in FIG. 13, unlike the first embodiment, steps S1306 to S1307 are processes executed by the printer 1210.

  Details of specific processing are the same as those in the first embodiment. In step S1301 and step S1302, the lot number of the ink set in the printer 110 is transmitted to the server 1230. Next, the server 1230 obtains a color conversion parameter corresponding to the combination of ink lots in the processes of steps S1303 and S1304.

  In the present embodiment, in step S1305, the second transmission unit 1233 of the server 1230 transmits the color conversion parameter to the printer 1210. In step S1306, the second receiving unit 1214 of the printer 1210 receives the color conversion parameter. In step S1307, the color conversion unit 1216 of the printer 1210 sets the color conversion parameter in the internal processing engine, and the process ends.

  Note that in the case of direct print processing using the printer 1210, an image is input from an external storage medium via a card reader or a USB connector of the printer 1210. The input image is color-converted inside the printer 1210 using the set color conversion parameters, and printed out to obtain the same effect as in the first embodiment.

  With the configuration described above, it is possible to perform color conversion optimal for a combination of ink lots using only a printer connected to the Internet without using a terminal device.

  In the first to fourth embodiments, the example in which the color correction LUT group and the color separation LUT group corresponding to the ink lot are received and applied has been described. In this embodiment, an example in which a color correction LUT and a color separation LUT are received based on a combination of an ink lot and paper will be described.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a logical configuration of the image processing system in the present embodiment. The difference from the fourth embodiment is that a paper acquisition unit 1417 is added. Other configurations are the same as those in the fourth embodiment.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart of processing executed in the image processing system in this embodiment.

  In step S <b> 1501, the color material information acquisition unit 1411 of the printer 1410 acquires ink information of ink installed in the printer 1410. In step S1502, the paper acquisition unit 1417 of the printer acquires output paper information (paper information) input by the user via a user interface (not shown). In step S1503, the first transmission unit 1412 transmits the lot number and paper information of all inks set in the printer 1410 acquired in step S1501 to the server 1430.

  In step S <b> 1504, the first reception unit 1431 of the server 1430 receives the ink lot number and the paper information transmitted from the first transmission unit 1412 of the printer 1410. In step S1505, the parameter acquisition unit 1432 of the server 1430 acquires a color conversion parameter corresponding to the ink combination based on the lot number and paper information acquired in step S1504. FIG. 16 shows a correspondence table held in the parameter holding unit 1434 in this embodiment. In the correspondence table of this embodiment, one color correction LUT and one color separation LUT are associated with each other according to the combination of ink lots and paper. In step S1505, a color correction LUT and a color separation LUT corresponding to the ink and output paper of the printer 1410 are acquired from the correspondence table.

  In step S <b> 1506, the second transmission unit 133 transmits the color correction LUT and color separation LUT acquired in step S <b> 1504 to the printer 110. That is, in the description of the first embodiment, the example in which the color correction LUT group and the color separation LUT group including the LUT for each sheet are transmitted has been described. However, in the present embodiment, since the sheet information is obtained, the sheet is supported. The LUT to be transmitted may be transmitted.

  In step S1507, the second reception unit 1414 of the printer 1410 receives the color correction LUT and the color separation LUT transmitted from the second transmission unit 1433 of the server 1430. In step S1508, the parameter setting unit 1415 of the printer 1410 sets the received color correction LUT and color separation LUT in the printer 1410, and ends the process.

  With the configuration described above, only the optimum color conversion parameters for ink and paper can be acquired and applied, so that a print output to which optimum color conversion is applied can be obtained with a smaller storage capacity. .

  The fifth embodiment has been described by taking the case of so-called direct printing as described in the fourth embodiment as an example. However, as described in the first to third embodiments, the fifth embodiment is applied to a configuration in which the terminal device acquires parameters. May be.

<Other examples>
In each of the above embodiments, the configuration in which the server has the parameter holding unit has been described as an example. However, in the case of a system in which processing is performed in conjunction with a plurality of servers, such as a distributed processing system, a configuration in which the parameter acquisition unit and the parameter holding unit are included in separate servers is adopted. May be.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the image input / output device and its constituent elements have been described using a printer and ink as examples. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied to a printer and a toner, or a printer and a print head. Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to any device that can input and output images. For example, it can be applied to a digital camera or the like. In this case, examples of replaceable components that affect the input / output characteristics (color reproduction) of the digital camera include a lens and a flash light source.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, it has been described that optimum color conversion is applied to a combination of ink lots. However, for example, the present invention can also be applied when the type of ink changes.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the example in which the correspondence relationship between the combination of ink lots and the color conversion parameter is stored in advance on the server, and the color conversion parameter is acquired based on the correspondence relationship. However, for example, the color conversion parameter may be obtained by calculation on the server. For example, only the spectral characteristics of ink for each lot are stored on the server, the color reproduction characteristics for each ink combination are predicted using an existing color prediction model, etc., and color conversion suitable for the color reproduction characteristics is performed. A parameter may be created.

  In the above embodiment, the color correction LUT and the color separation LUT have been described as examples of the color conversion parameters. However, the color conversion parameters are not limited to the LUT. For example, parameters such as a color conversion matrix may be used. Furthermore, the color conversion parameters may not be used. For example, when elements other than colors such as noise and sharpness change depending on the components of the image input / output device, the present invention is applied to parameters for designing them. be able to.

  The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, or the like) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed. Further, the program may be executed by one computer or may be distributed and executed by a plurality of computers.

Claims (11)

A system in which at least an image input / output device and a server are connected via a network,
Transmitting means configured to transmit to the server information on components set in the image input / output device and affecting input / output characteristics of the image input / output device;
Receiving means for receiving, from the server, parameters relating to input / output characteristics of the image input / output device, based on the component information transmitted by the transmitting means;
And a setting means for setting parameters relating to the input / output characteristics received by the receiving means. It further has holding means for holding information that associates the information about the component that affects the input / output characteristics of the image input / output device with the parameters related to the input / output characteristics of the image input / output device,
The system according to claim 1, wherein the receiving unit receives the parameter held by the holding unit from the server. A system in which at least an image input / output device and a server are connected via a network,
The server
Receiving means for receiving information on components set in the image input / output device and affecting input / output characteristics of the image input / output device;
From the holding means that holds the information that associates the information on the input / output characteristics of the image input / output device with the parameters related to the input / output characteristics of the image input / output device, the information on the component received by the receiving means Acquisition means for acquiring parameters related to the input / output characteristics of the image input / output device based on;
And a transmission means for transmitting the parameter acquired by the acquisition means.   The system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the parameter related to the input / output characteristics of the image input / output device is a color conversion parameter.   The system according to claim 1, wherein the image input / output device is an image forming apparatus, and the component is a color material.   6. The system according to claim 5, wherein the component information is a lot number of a color material.   The system according to claim 1, wherein the component is a sheet output by an image forming apparatus.   The image input / output device is an image forming apparatus, the component is a color material and a sheet output by the image forming apparatus, and the component information includes a color material lot number and a sheet output by the image forming apparatus. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: There is a method that is executed in a system in which at least an image input / output device and a server are connected via a network,
A transmission step for transmitting to the server information on components set in the image input / output device and affecting input / output characteristics of the image input / output device;
A receiving step of receiving, from the server, parameters relating to input / output characteristics of the image input / output device based on the information of the component transmitted by the transmitting step;
A setting step of setting a parameter related to the input / output characteristic received in the receiving step. A method executed by a system in which at least an image input / output device and a server are connected via a network,
In the server,
A receiving step for receiving information on components set in the image input / output device and affecting input / output characteristics of the image input / output device;
From the holding means that holds the information that associates the information about the input / output characteristics of the image input / output device with the parameters related to the input / output characteristics of the image input / output device, the information about the component received in the reception step An acquisition step for acquiring parameters relating to input / output characteristics of the image input / output device based on;
A transmission step of transmitting the parameter acquired in the acquisition step.   The program for making a computer perform the method of Claim 9 or 10.

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