JP2016196103A - Apparatus, method and program for creating image quality adjustment information, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To adjust an image quality of a printed matter based on physical features of an object to be drawn included in image data.SOLUTION: An apparatus for creating image quality adjustment information for adjusting an image quality of a printed matter while used together with image data when the image data composed of a color value for each pixel is printed includes: acquisition means for acquiring physical information showing physical features of an object to be drawn included in the image data; and conversion means for converting the physical information into the image quality adjustment information for adjusting glossy feeling of the printed matter.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for printing in consideration of physical characteristics of a drawing target included in image data.

  In recent years, digital cameras and portable devices with camera functions have been spread to general users. As a result, it is now possible to easily obtain instantaneous color information in space as bitmap image data in which each pixel has an RGB value as a pixel value. In addition, it has become common for the user to adjust the image quality (for example, saturation and sharpness) of an image when printing on a recording medium such as paper using parameters. For example, the user uses an application or the like to make the face color of the subject more vivid by adjusting the saturation of the face area of the person, or to make the main subject more noticeable by adjusting the sharpness of the background It became possible to do it easily.

  On the other hand, techniques for measuring physical characteristics other than the color of space have been developed. For example, there is a technique for measuring the distance from an imaging device to a subject based on a plurality of image data acquired by imaging from a plurality of points while changing the observation angle. There is also a technique for projecting a specific lattice pattern onto a subject and detecting the uneven shape of the subject surface from the distortion of the lattice pattern.

  A technique has been proposed in which physical information representing physical characteristics is acquired using the above-described method, and image quality adjustment based on the acquired physical information is performed to perform more natural expression. For example, the subject surface roughness and specular gloss, which are physical features, are estimated from the feature amount of the image data, and the image quality (tone curve, contrast, sharpness, degree of blur, etc.) is adjusted based on the estimated physical features. A method is known (Patent Document 1).

  Further, a method is known in which a distance from an imaging device to a subject is measured as a physical feature, and image quality (contrast, saturation, brightness, blurring amount, etc.) is adjusted based on the measured distance (Patent Document 2). 3).

JP 2013-106314 A JP 2009-71407 A JP 2011-239267 A

  In the method described in the above-mentioned patent document, the image quality such as glossiness of the printed material cannot be adjusted based on the physical characteristics of the drawing target included in the image data.

  The present invention is an apparatus for creating image quality adjustment information that is used together with the image data and adjusts the image quality of a printed material when printing image data composed of color values for each pixel, and the drawing data included in the image data It is characterized by comprising acquisition means for acquiring physical information representing the physical characteristics of the object, and conversion means for converting the physical information into the image quality adjustment information for adjusting the glossiness of the printed matter.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to adjust the image quality of a printed material based on the physical characteristics of a drawing target included in image data.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic hardware configuration of an image forming system according to Embodiment 1. FIG. Explanatory drawing of a function structure of the information processing apparatus which concerns on Example 1. FIG. The flowchart which shows the flow of the process which concerns on Example 1,2. Explanatory drawing of an example of the method of acquiring distance information Explanatory drawing of an example of the method of acquiring distance information The figure which shows the example of distance information The figure which shows the example of the look-up table used in Example 1. FIG. The figure which shows the reflection direction of the illumination light applied to printed matter The figure which shows the example of the mask pattern used according to glossiness image clarity adjustment value The figure which shows the example of the ink droplet arrangement | positioning pattern used according to glossiness image clarity adjustment value The figure which shows an example of the measurement environment when measuring the surface roughness of the object using the light section method The figure which shows an example of the measuring method of illumination distribution characteristic Diagram showing an example of a method for measuring internal scattering characteristics The figure which shows an example of UI for designating object information Figure showing examples of object information The figure which shows the example of surface roughness information (amplitude) The figure which shows the example of surface roughness information (period) The figure which shows the example of the look-up table used in Example 2. FIG. The figure which shows the relationship between the measurement result of PSF and transparency Flowchart showing the flow of processing according to the third embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the look-up table used in Example 3.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the configuration described below is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited to the illustrated configuration. Moreover, in the following description, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same element.

Example 1 (Glossiness Control)
<Hardware configuration>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic hardware configuration of an image forming system according to the present embodiment. The image forming system according to the present embodiment includes an information processing apparatus 101, a display 102, an input device 103, a printer 104, a hard disk drive (hereinafter referred to as HDD) 105, and a general-purpose drive 106.

  The information processing apparatus 101 includes a CPU 1011, a ROM 1012, and a RAM 1013. The information processing apparatus 101 includes a video card (hereinafter referred to as VC) 1014, a general-purpose interface (hereinafter referred to as general-purpose I / F) 1015, a serial ATA I / F (hereinafter referred to as SATA I / F) 1016, and a network interface card ( NIC) 1017 hereinafter. These elements constituting the information processing apparatus 101 are connected to each other via a system bus 1018 and can exchange information via the system bus 1018.

  The CPU 1011 is a central processing unit that controls the operation of the entire image forming system. The CPU 1011 uses the RAM 1013 as a work memory, executes an operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS) and various programs stored in the ROM 1012, the HDD 105, various recording media, and the like, and controls each component via the system bus 1018. The program executed by the CPU 1011 includes a program for executing processing according to a later-described embodiment.

  The VC 1014 is a video interface and is connected to the display 102. The CPU 1011 displays a user interface (hereinafter referred to as UI) on the display 102 by executing a program stored in the ROM 1012, the HDD 105, or the like. The user performs input using the input device 103 via the displayed UI, and the CPU 1011 accepts input from the user (hereinafter referred to as user input) including instructions from the user.

  The general-purpose I / F 1015 is a serial bus interface such as a USB. An information processing apparatus 101, an input device 103 such as a mouse or a keyboard, and a printer 104 are connected via a general-purpose I / F 1015 and a serial bus 108. The printer 104 is not particularly limited by the printing method, and an ink jet printer or an electrophotographic printer may be used.

  The SATA I / F 1016 is connected to a general-purpose drive 106 that reads and writes the HDD 105 and various recording media. The CPU 1011 reads and writes various recording media mounted on the HDD 105 and the general-purpose drive 106.

  The NIC 1017 is a network interface and is connected to a network 107 such as a LAN.

<Functional configuration>
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment. The information processing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment includes a physical information acquisition unit 201, a physical information format determination unit 202, an enhancement degree acquisition unit 203, a lookup table (hereinafter referred to as LUT) holding unit 204, and physical information. And a conversion unit 205.

  The physical information acquisition unit 201 acquires physical information and sends the acquired physical information to the physical information format determination unit 202. The physical information is information representing physical characteristics related to a drawing target included in image data having a color value for each pixel. Specifically, the physical information includes distance information, surface roughness information, solid shape information, illumination distribution characteristic information, internal scattering characteristic information, object information, and the like. Details of these information will be described later.

  The emphasis degree acquisition unit 203 acquires the emphasis degree by a user input input by using the input device 103 via the UI displayed on the display 102, and the acquired emphasis degree is transmitted to the physical information conversion unit 205. send. The degree of emphasis is a parameter indicating how much the user-designated texture such as glossiness, graininess, and transparency is adjusted.

  The physical information format determination unit 202 receives physical information from the physical information acquisition unit 201 and determines whether or not the data format of the received physical information is a predetermined data format. If the physical information format determination unit 202 determines that the data format of the received physical information is a predetermined data format, the physical information format determination unit 202 sends the physical information to the physical information conversion unit 205. On the other hand, when the physical information format determination unit 202 determines that the data format of the received physical information is not a predetermined data format, the physical information conversion unit converts the physical information into a predetermined data format and then converts the physical information into a predetermined data format. To 205.

  The physical information conversion unit 205 converts the physical information received from the physical information format determination unit 202 into image quality adjustment information. Specifically, the physical information conversion unit 205 refers to the LUT held in the LUT holding unit 204 based on the physical information and the degree of enhancement, and acquires the image quality adjustment value for each area, thereby adjusting the image quality adjustment information. Create Then, the physical information conversion unit 205 sends the created image quality adjustment information to the printer 104. The image quality adjustment information is print data composed of image quality adjustment values for each area, and is used by the printer 104 to adjust the texture of the print image when an image is formed on a recording medium such as paper. Information. Specifically, the texture adjusted in the present invention is glossiness, graininess, transparency, and the like, and the image quality adjustment value is an adjustment parameter such as glossiness, graininess, transparency.

  The printer actually executes printing based on the received color information (image data) and image quality adjustment information, and forms an image on a recording medium.

  In the above description, the case where the information processing apparatus 101 and the printer 104 are separate apparatuses has been described. However, the information processing apparatus 101 may be a component that can be mounted on the printer 104.

<Processing flow>
Hereinafter, a case will be described in which distance information is acquired as physical information and glossy image clarity is adjusted on printing paper.

  Glossy mapping is a feature value that expresses the sharpness of the reflected lighting image. When the glossiness is high, the lighting image is clear. Conversely, when the glossiness is low, the lighting image is It is unclear. Since the definition and measurement method of gloss image clarity are introduced in JISH 8686, detailed description is omitted.

  Next, the relationship between distance and gloss image clarity will be described. As a human visual characteristic, it is known that an object can be perceived only unclearly as the observation distance becomes longer. That is, when the observation distance is long, there is a tendency that the illumination image that appears is more blurred than when the observation distance is short.

  In consideration of the above-described tendency, in this embodiment, image quality adjustment information in which each region has a glossy image adjustment value as an image quality adjustment value is created based on distance information that is one of physical information. Specifically, when the distance value is small (when the observation distance is short), the distance is converted into an adjustment value that increases gloss image clarity. When the distance value is large (when the observation distance is long), the distance is converted into an adjustment value for reducing gloss image clarity. As a result, it is possible to form an image closer to the impression seen by the observer.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of processing executed by the information processing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the flow of processing according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

In step S <b> 301, the physical information acquisition unit 201 acquires distance information as physical information, and sends the acquired distance information to the physical information format determination unit 202. Next, the process proceeds to step S302. The distance information here is information indicating the distance from the observer (imaging device) to the subject. The distance information is acquired using a known stereo matching method. The stereo matching method is a method of calculating a parallax based on a plurality of image data acquired by imaging from a plurality of points while changing an observation angle, and obtaining a distance based on the principle of triangulation using the calculated parallax. . FIG. 4 shows an example of an imaging environment for acquiring a plurality of image data used in the stereo matching method. As shown in FIG. 4, the object is imaged from a plurality of points by changing the observation angle using two cameras. FIG. 5 shows an image acquired by imaging under the environment of FIG. The parallax Z is calculated using the two images shown in FIG. Specifically, the shift amount of the same object position between images is calculated as the parallax Z. The positional shift amount can be obtained from, for example, the shift between images at the corresponding pixel position and the resolution of the captured image. In the coordinate system in which the horizontal direction in the captured image is x, and the resolution of the captured image is d, the pixel position x _{1 at} the left end of the region including the upper left of the target 5A in the captured image captured by Camera1 is assumed. Further, the pixel position x2 at the left end of the region including the upper left of the object 5A in the captured image captured by the Camera ₂ is used. At this time, the shift amount Z _object is obtained by the following equation (1).

Next, the distance is calculated from the deviation amount Z _{object based} on the known triangulation principle. The method for obtaining the distance information is not limited to the above example, and a time-of-flight method for obtaining the distance based on the time when the laser light is reflected from the object may be used.

  The distance information acquired in the present embodiment is data composed of distances for each region. FIG. 6A shows an example of distance information acquired in this embodiment. The distance information shown in FIG. 6A corresponds to the space shown in FIG. 4, and the distance to each area can take a value of 8 bits. The distance of the nearest area is 0, and the distance of the farthest area is 255. It is said. From FIG. 6A, the distance of the region corresponding to the floor surface closest to the imaging device is 0, and the distance of the region corresponding to the wall surface farthest from the imaging device is 255. I understand.

  The distance information is not limited to the above example, and may be data represented by two or more values. For example, as shown in FIG. 6B, the distance information may be binary data such that the distance to each region is either 0 or 1. In addition to the information indicating the distance to each area as shown in FIG. 6A, the distance information may hold the number of areas, area size information, and the like as supplementary information.

  Returning to the description of the flow in FIG. In step S302, the physical information format determination unit 202 determines whether the data format of the distance information acquired in step S301 is a predetermined data format, for example, 8-bit data. If the physical information format determination unit 202 determines that the distance information acquired in step S301 is in a predetermined data format, the physical information format determination unit 202 sends the distance information to the physical information conversion unit 205, and the process proceeds to step S304. On the other hand, if the physical information format determination unit 202 determines that the distance information acquired in step S301 is not in a predetermined data format, the process proceeds to step S303.

  In step S303, the physical information format determination unit 202 converts the distance information acquired in step S301 into a predetermined data format. For example, if the distance information acquired in step S301 is not 8-bit data, the distance information is converted into 8-bit data by performing linear range conversion using a known range expansion or compression process. Then, the physical information format determination unit 202 sends the converted distance information to the physical information conversion unit 205, and then the process proceeds to step S304.

  Note that the above conversion process is an example, and when the acquired distance information is not 8-bit data, an icon or message warning that the data format of the distance information is different from the predetermined one is displayed on the display 102. Thus, the user may be prompted to convert the data format. Moreover, although the example which performs linear range conversion was shown, when the acquired distance information has a range wider than 8 bits, UI (not shown) is displayed on the display 102, and other data having a predetermined data format is displayed. You may perform the process which selects distance information.

  In step S <b> 304, the emphasis degree acquisition unit 203 acquires the emphasis degree designated by the user, and sends it to the physical information conversion unit 205. In this example, as the degree of enhancement, a parameter indicating whether to enhance or suppress the gloss image clarity, which is used when converting the distance to the gloss image clarity adjustment value in the subsequent step S305, is acquired. Specifically, the user designates whether to emphasize or suppress, and 1 is acquired as the emphasis degree in this step and 1 is transmitted to the physical information conversion unit 205 when emphasizing and 0 is suppressed. It is done. Note that the degree of emphasis is not limited to two levels of emphasis and suppression, and may be set to five levels according to the degree of emphasis or suppression, for example.

  Note that the above-described processing for acquiring the degree of emphasis is performed for the purpose of the user specifying whether to emphasize or suppress the adjustment based on the image quality adjustment value. If constant emphasis or suppression is always performed, the process of acquiring the emphasis degree in step S304 may not be executed.

  In step S305, the physical information conversion unit 205 stores in advance in the LUT holding unit 204 based on the distance to each area constituting the distance information sent in step S302 or step S303 and the emphasis degree sent in step S304. Reference the retained LUT. Thus, the physical information conversion unit 205 converts the distance of each area constituting the distance information into a glossy image adjustment value, thereby obtaining image quality adjustment information in which each area has a glossy image adjustment value as an image quality adjustment value. The created image quality adjustment information is sent to the printer 104. FIG. 7A shows an example of the LUT referred to by the physical information conversion unit 205. As shown in FIG. 7A, the LUT defines the relationship between the distance, the degree of enhancement, and the gloss image clarity adjustment value. The LUT shown in FIG. 7A retains the relationship of 8 points obtained by equally dividing the inputted distances 0 to 255, but a distance (for example, 16) that is not held by the LUT is inputted. Alternatively, the gloss image clarity adjustment value may be obtained using a known linear interpolation method. In this embodiment, the gloss image clarity adjustment value is set in the range of 0-100. As shown in FIG. 7A, the gloss image clarity adjustment value decreases as the distance increases. Further, the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the glossy image adjustment value when the enhancement level is 1 is larger than the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the glossy image quality adjustment value when the enhancement level is 0. In other words, when the degree of emphasis is 1, the degree of emphasis is stronger than when the degree of emphasis is 0. Note that the numerical values held by the LUT shown in FIG. 7A are merely examples, and the LUT only needs to define the relationship among the distance, the degree of enhancement, and the gloss image clarity adjustment value.

  By performing the processing described above, it is possible to convert distance information representing physical characteristics into image quality adjustment information composed of glossy image clarity adjustment values for each region. This image quality adjustment information is sent to the printer 104 together with corresponding color information (image data). When the printer 104 performs printing based on the color information and the image quality adjustment information, it is possible to form an image in which the difference in distance is expressed using the magnitude of glossy image clarity.

<Glossy image control performed by the printer (addition of irregularities)>
An image forming process executed by the printer 104 based on the image quality adjustment information sent from the information processing apparatus 101 will be described. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the reflection direction of the illumination light applied to the printed material. FIG. 8A shows a case where the surface of the printed material is not uneven, and FIG. 8B is an uneven surface on the surface of the printed material. When there is. As shown in FIG. 8A, when the printed surface has no irregularities and high smoothness, the reflection direction of the illumination image reflected on the printed material is uniform. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8B, when the printed surface has irregularities and the smoothness is low, the reflection direction of the illumination image reflected on the printed material becomes non-uniform. It is known that gloss image clarity decreases when the reflection direction of the illumination image becomes non-uniform. In other words, in order to control the gloss image clarity based on the image quality adjustment information, it is only necessary to control the surface unevenness of the printed matter.

  For example, as a method of controlling surface irregularities in an ink jet printer, there is a method of controlling a time difference and a landing position where ink droplets ejected on a recording medium land on the recording medium. In this method, the smaller the landing time difference, the smaller the surface unevenness, and the smaller the landing position, the smaller the surface unevenness.

  As a method for controlling the landing time difference, a method of changing the number of printing scans is conceivable. For example, when the gloss image adjustment value is large, the surface unevenness of the printed matter is reduced by reducing the number of times of recording scan, and conversely, when the gloss image clarity adjustment value is small, the number of times of recording scan is increased. Control to increase the surface roughness. Control of the number of printing scans is realized by changing a mask pattern that divides binary data for ink droplet ejection on / off for each printing scan. FIG. 9 shows an example of a mask pattern used in this embodiment. For example, when the glossiness image adjustment value is large, a mask pattern (left mask pattern) that forms an image with four recording scans is used, and when the glossiness image adjustment value is small, an image is formed with 12 recording scans. The mask pattern (the mask pattern on the right side) to be used is used.

  As a method of controlling the landing position, a method of changing an ink droplet arrangement pattern when converting a value quantized by a known halftone process into binary data of ink droplet ejection on / off can be considered. . FIG. 10 shows the difference in the ink droplet pattern according to the gloss image clarity adjustment value when four ink droplets are arranged in a certain region. When the gloss image clarity adjustment value is small, the pattern shown in FIG. 10A is used in which the ink droplets repeat density, and when the gloss image clarity adjustment value is large, the ink droplets become uniform as shown in FIG. 10B. Use a pattern.

  Note that the method of controlling surface irregularities with an ink jet printer is not limited to the above example. For example, the surface unevenness may be controlled by controlling the ink droplet amount. In the case of an inkjet printer capable of ejecting UV curable ink, the surface unevenness may be controlled by the timing and time of irradiation with UV light.

  Further, as a method for controlling surface irregularities in an electrophotographic printer, a method for controlling the number of times of fixing can be considered. For example, if the glossy image adjustment value is large, increasing the number of fixings reduces the surface unevenness of the printed matter. Conversely, if the glossy imageability adjustment value is low, reducing the number of fixings reduces the surface unevenness of the printed matter. Control to increase.

  Further, the process of overcoating the laminate film on the printed matter by the laminating apparatus may be executed after the printing process by the printer 104. The laminating apparatus performs an overcoat process according to the input gloss image adjustment value, and, for example, presses a laminate film having surface irregularities on a region where the gloss image adjustment value is small.

  By performing the printing control by the printer as described above, it is possible to obtain a printed matter in which the distance information is added.

  In the above description, an example in which image quality adjustment information in which each region has a gloss image adjustment value as an image quality adjustment value is created based on distance information in which each region has a distance. It is not limited to the sex adjustment value. As the image quality adjustment value, not only the gloss image clarity adjustment value but also the specular glossiness indicating the brightness of the illumination image and the gloss saturation adjustment value indicating the color of the illumination image may be controlled together. In general, the longer the observation distance is, the more difficult it is to perceive the brightness and color of the illumination image. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 7B, using the LUT that defines the relationship between the adjustment values corresponding to the combination of the distance information and the enhancement degree, in step S305, the distance, the gloss image clarity, and the mirror surface are determined. You may convert into one or more adjustment values in glossiness and glossiness saturation. It is known that the specular glossiness and the glossy saturation depend on the refractive index of a color material such as ink deposited on the outermost surface of the printed matter. Therefore, by changing the color material deposited on the outermost surface, it is possible to obtain a printed matter based on the adjustment values of the specular glossiness and the gloss saturation. For example, by measuring a print sample in which the color material deposited on the outermost surface is changed in advance, the relationship between the specular gloss, gloss saturation, and color material type is defined in the LUT, and the LUT is held by the printer 104. Keep it. Then, the LUT is searched for a value that is closest to the expression according to the adjustment value of the specular glossiness and glossy saturation input to the printer 104, and the color material corresponding to the searched value is the outermost surface. The recording order of the color materials is controlled so as to be deposited on the surface.

  In the above description, the glossy image adjustment value changes linearly according to the distance (see FIG. 7A). However, the glossy imagery adjustment value does not always change linearly according to the distance. You don't have to do that. That is, it is only necessary that the distance can be converted into an adjustment value for forming an image expressing a difference in physical characteristics, and the conversion may be executed according to nonlinear characteristics. In general, it is known that a change in glossy image clarity in a region with a long distance is less perceptible than a change in glossy image clarity in a region with a short distance. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 7 (c), the distance and glossy image properties such that the change in glossy image appears greatly in a region where the distance is short, and conversely, the change in glossy image property does not appear in a region where the distance is long. Conversion using the relationship with the adjustment value may be performed.

<Other physical information>
In the above description, an example has been described in which distance information is acquired as physical information, and the acquired distance information is converted into image quality adjustment information. However, in this embodiment, information other than distance information, that is, surface roughness information, solid shape information, illumination distribution characteristic information, internal scattering characteristic information, object information, and the like may be acquired as physical information. Hereinafter, the acquisition method of these information is demonstrated.

<Measurement method of surface roughness and three-dimensional shape>
The surface roughness information according to the present embodiment is information indicating the degree of roughness on the surface of the object, and the height depending on the unevenness from the reference surface when assuming that there is no unevenness in an object having unevenness on the surface. This is information consisting of the average value of the difference (amplitude) and the average value of the uneven period. The surface roughness is measured using a known light cutting method. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a measurement environment when measuring the surface roughness of an object using a light cutting method. As shown in FIG. 11, slit light from a light source is applied to objects 11A and 11B having surface roughness. Since the position of the light on the object can be obtained based on the principle of triangulation if the positions of the light source and the sensor (camera) are known, the slit light extends over the entire object in the direction of the arrow X in the figure. The surface roughness can be measured by acquiring slit light reflected on the surface of the object. The method for measuring the surface roughness is not limited to the above example, and the white light for obtaining the surface roughness from the interference state between the reflected light from the reference surface whose distance from the sensor is known and the reflected light from the object surface. Interferometry may be used. A detailed data format of the surface roughness information will be described later.

  The three-dimensional shape information according to the present embodiment is information indicating the three-dimensional shape of an object, and is information including a normal vector on the object surface. The three-dimensional shape can be measured by using a method similar to the method for measuring the surface roughness described above.

<Measurement method of illumination distribution characteristics>
The illumination distribution characteristic information according to the present embodiment is information representing illumination light at the time of imaging incident on a certain point of interest. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a measurement environment when measuring illumination distribution characteristics. The illumination distribution can be obtained by arranging a camera equipped with a fisheye lens at a position where an object to be imaged is arranged and imaging with the lens facing upward. In this embodiment, the camera is moved, and the illumination distribution is acquired at a plurality of positions. The imaging position in the measurement of the illumination distribution characteristic is an example, and the illumination distribution measured at the center of the imaging environment may be used as a representative value (common illumination distribution in the imaging environment). Alternatively, when measurement at the position of the object that is the imaging target is difficult, an illumination distribution acquired at the same position as the imaging apparatus that acquires color information may be used.

<Measurement method of internal scattering characteristics>
The internal scattering characteristic information according to the present embodiment is information indicating the range and amount of illumination light that has entered a certain point of interest and diffuses to the surroundings. The range and amount of light diffused to the surroundings are expressed using, for example, a known point spread function (hereinafter referred to as PSF). PSF is determined based on optical characteristics such as absorption coefficient and scattering coefficient of a substance, and physical characteristics such as thickness and the number of fine particles contained.

  FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a known PSF measurement method. As shown in FIG. 13, the light emitted from the light source 1301 is scattered and reflected inside the measurement object 1303, and the diffused light is received by the sensors 1302 a to 1302 h. In addition, the measuring method of an internal scattering characteristic is not limited to said example. For example, a single sensor is used instead of a plurality of sensors provided to extend in one direction as shown in FIG. 13, and the amount of light diffused for each distance is measured by moving the single sensor. Also good. In addition, a plurality of sensors may be arranged so as to extend in a plurality of directions as well as in one direction as shown in FIG.

<Object information specification method>
The object information according to the present embodiment is tag information used for determining what an object in an image is. The user specifies object information via a UI as illustrated in FIG. Specifically, the user assigns tag information to each region in the image by selecting an object on the right side of the UI for each divided region. The tag information acquisition method is not limited to the above example, and tag information may be acquired by using a known pattern matching method based on the feature amount of image data. When the specification of the object information by the user is completed, the object information including the tag information for each area as shown in FIG.

  As described above, physical information measured or designated using the above method is input to the information processing apparatus 101. However, the method of acquiring physical information is not limited to the above example. For example, the distance information may be acquired not by measurement but by user input via a UI. In addition, for example, object information is not acquired by user designation, but object information is acquired by holding a relationship between a physical property value and an object, and adding tag information based on the physical property value obtained by measurement. You may do it.

[Example 2 (graininess control)]
In the first embodiment, the case has been described in detail where distance information is acquired as physical information and the acquired distance information is converted into image quality adjustment information including glossy image clarity adjustment values. In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which surface roughness information is acquired as physical information, and the acquired surface roughness information is converted into image quality adjustment information including granularity adjustment values. However, in the following description, the description common to the first embodiment is simplified or omitted.

  The granularity is a physical property value that can be used as a measure of granularity visually recognized by humans. The greater the granularity, the stronger the graininess (roughness). As a general definition representing granularity, for example, there is RMS granularity.

  Next, the relationship between the height difference of the surface irregularities and the granularity, and the relationship between the period of the surface irregularities and the granularity will be described. As described above with reference to FIG. 8, when the height difference of the unevenness on the surface of the printed material is large, the reflection direction of the illumination image reflected on the printed material becomes non-uniform. For example, the reflected light from the region that is the concave portion is less than the reflected light from the region that is the convex portion, so that when the observer observes from a certain direction, a grainy feeling (roughness) is felt. It has been known. That is, the granularity increases as the unevenness of the unevenness on the printed surface increases, and the granularity decreases as the unevenness of the unevenness on the printed surface decreases.

  In addition, it is known that humans are more likely to perceive graininess when the period is long (the spatial frequency is low) than when the period of unevenness on the printed surface is short (the spatial frequency is high). That is, the granularity increases when the period of unevenness on the printed surface is long, and the granularity decreases when the period of unevenness on the printed surface is short.

  In consideration of the above-described tendency, in this embodiment, image quality adjustment information in which each region has a granularity adjustment value as an image quality adjustment value is created based on surface roughness information which is one of physical features. Specifically, when the height difference of the surface unevenness is large or the period of the surface unevenness is long, the unevenness characteristic value is converted into an adjustment value that increases the granularity. When the height difference of the surface unevenness is small or when the period of the surface unevenness is short, the unevenness characteristic value is converted into an adjustment value for reducing the granularity. As a result, it is possible to form an image closer to the impression seen by the observer.

<Data format of surface roughness information>
The surface roughness information in the present embodiment is data composed of the height difference of the surface unevenness and the period of the surface unevenness for each region. In the present embodiment, the height difference of the surface unevenness with respect to each region is expressed by an 8-bit value, the region having the largest surface unevenness height is expressed by 0, and the region having the smallest surface unevenness height is expressed by 255. Similarly, the surface unevenness period for each region is represented by an 8-bit value, the region having the longest surface unevenness period is represented by 0, and the region having the shortest surface unevenness period is represented by 255. FIG. 16A shows the height difference information in the space shown in FIG. 11, and FIG. 17 shows the period information. In the example shown in FIG. 11, the object 11B has a large level difference in surface unevenness compared to the object 11A and the background, and the object 11B has a shorter period of surface unevenness than the object 11A and the background. . Therefore, referring to FIG. 16A, it can be seen that the value for the region corresponding to the object 11B is 0, which is smaller than the value 50 for the region corresponding to the object 11A. Also, referring to FIG. 17, it can be seen that the value for the region corresponding to the object 11B is larger than that for the region corresponding to the object 11A.

  The surface roughness information is not limited to the above example, and may be data in which the height difference and the period for each region are expressed by two or more values. For example, as shown in FIG. 16B, the height difference information may be binary data in which the height difference for each region is either 0 or 1. Also, the surface roughness information may hold information such as the number of areas and area size information as supplementary information in addition to the information indicating the height difference of the surface irregularities for each area as shown in FIG. .

<Processing flow>
Hereinafter, the flow of processing according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  In step S <b> 301, the physical information acquisition unit 201 acquires surface roughness information as physical information, and sends the acquired surface roughness information to the physical information format determination unit 202.

  In step S302, the physical information format determination unit 202 determines whether or not the data format of the surface roughness information acquired in step S301 is a predetermined data format.

  In step S303, the physical information format determination unit 202 converts the surface roughness information acquired in step S301 into a predetermined data format.

  In step S <b> 304, the emphasis degree acquisition unit 203 acquires the emphasis degree designated by the user, and sends it to the physical information conversion unit 205.

  In step S <b> 305, the physical information conversion unit 205 refers to the LUT held in advance in the LUT holding unit 204 based on the amplitude and period of the surface unevenness for each region constituting the surface roughness information and the enhancement degree. Thereby, the physical information conversion unit 205 obtains the granularity adjustment value from the amplitude and period of the surface irregularities of each area constituting the surface roughness information, so that each area has the granularity adjustment value as the image quality adjustment value. Create image quality adjustment information. The created image quality adjustment information is sent to the printer 104. FIG. 18A shows an example of an LUT that the physical information conversion unit 205 refers to. As shown in FIG. 18A, the LUT defines the relationship between the amplitude of the surface unevenness, the period of the surface unevenness, the degree of enhancement, and the granularity adjustment value. The LUT shown in FIG. 18A holds a relationship at 8 points obtained by equally dividing the amplitude 0 to 255 for each period, but an amplitude (for example, 16) that is not held by the LUT is input. Alternatively, the granularity adjustment value may be obtained by using a known linear interpolation method. In this embodiment, the granularity adjustment value is set in the range of 0-100. As shown in FIG. 18A, the granularity adjustment value decreases as the amplitude value of the surface unevenness increases (as the height difference of the surface unevenness decreases). Further, as the surface irregularity value increases (as the surface irregularity period decreases), the granularity adjustment value decreases. Further, the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the granularity adjustment value in one cycle when the enhancement degree is 1 is the maximum value and the minimum value of the granularity adjustment value in the one cycle when the enhancement degree is 0. Greater than the difference. Note that the numerical values held by the LUT shown in FIG. 18A are merely examples, and the LUT defines the relationship between the amplitude of the surface unevenness, the period of the surface unevenness, the enhancement degree, and the granularity adjustment value. Just do it.

  By performing the processing described above, it is possible to convert surface roughness information representing physical characteristics into image quality adjustment information composed of granularity adjustment values for each region. This image quality adjustment information is sent to the printer 104 together with the corresponding color information, and the printer 104 performs printing based on the color information and the image quality adjustment information, thereby expressing the difference in surface roughness using the degree of granularity. An image can be formed.

  In the above description, the granularity adjustment value is obtained from the amplitude and period of the surface irregularities. However, as shown in FIG. 18B, the LUT holding unit 204 holds the first LUT that defines the relationship among the amplitude of the surface unevenness, the enhancement degree, and the density fluctuation amount. The LUT holding unit 204 holds a second LUT that defines the relationship among the period of surface irregularities, the degree of emphasis, and the density fluctuation period. By using the first LUT and the second LUT, the amplitude of the surface irregularities may be converted into a density fluctuation amount, and the period of the surface irregularities may be converted into a density fluctuation period.

<Control of granularity executed by printer>
An image forming process executed by the printer 104 based on the image quality adjustment information including the granularity adjustment value sent from the information processing apparatus 101 will be described. In general, it is known that the higher the granularity, the larger the density fluctuation in the image formed on the recording medium, and the non-uniform density. That is, in order to control the granularity based on the image quality adjustment information configured by the granularity adjustment value, the printer may be controlled so that the density fluctuation amount in the recorded image changes according to the granularity adjustment value.

  For example, in the case of a printer capable of supplying two types of color materials having different densities and substantially the same hue, such as gray and black, the ratio of the light and dark ink to the gradation value is changed according to the granularity adjustment value. Thus, the density fluctuation amount can be controlled. In general, it is known that when the amount of light ink used is smaller than that of dark ink, the amount of density fluctuation increases. Therefore, two color separation LUTs are held on the printer side, and when the granularity adjustment value is large, a color separation LUT in which the amount of light ink used is reduced, and conversely when the granularity adjustment value is small, the light ink is used. Printing is performed using a color separation LUT in which the amount of use is increased. In this way, by using two (or more) color separation LUTs according to the granularity adjustment value, various granularity adjustment values can be handled.

  The method for controlling the density fluctuation amount is not limited to the above example. For example, it is known that the density fluctuation amount increases by making the ink film thickness distribution non-uniform. Therefore, the density fluctuation amount may be controlled by controlling the number of recording scans and the ink droplet arrangement pattern described in the first embodiment and making the ink film thickness distribution non-uniform.

  Alternatively, the process of overcoating the laminated film on the printed material by the laminating apparatus may be executed after the printing process by the printer 104. The laminating apparatus performs overcoat processing according to the input granularity adjustment value, for example, a laminate film having unevenness may be pressure-bonded in a region where the granularity adjustment value is large, or the granularity adjustment value is small. A smooth laminate film may be pressure-bonded to the region.

  By performing the printing control as described above, it is possible to obtain a printed matter in which the surface roughness information is added.

  In the above description, the example in which the density fluctuation amount is controlled by the printer based on the granularity adjustment value has been described. However, a printer other than the density fluctuation amount may be controlled by the printer. For example, it is known that when the density fluctuation period is shortened, the granularity is low, and when the density fluctuation period is long, the granularity is high. Therefore, the graininess may be reproduced by controlling the density fluctuation period instead of the density fluctuation amount.

  For example, in an inkjet printer, it is known that when the dot size is large, the cycle of density fluctuation becomes longer than when the dot size is small. Therefore, if the granularity adjustment value is large, the image is recorded with a large dot size, thereby increasing the period of density fluctuation. Conversely, if the granularity adjustment value is small, the density fluctuation is recorded by recording an image with small dots. Shorten the cycle.

  The method for controlling the density fluctuation cycle is not limited to the above example. For example, a method of controlling the cycle of density fluctuation by controlling a threshold matrix used for halftone processing by the dither method may be used. That is, a plurality of threshold matrixes having different frequency characteristics (a blue noise mask with a lot of high frequency components, a green noise mask with a lot of intermediate frequency components, etc.) are held on the printer side, and a dither matrix is set according to the input granularity adjustment value. You may make it perform control to change.

[Example 3 (transparency control)]
In the first embodiment, a case has been described in which distance information is acquired as physical information, and the acquired distance information is converted into image quality adjustment information including glossy image clarity adjustment values. In the second embodiment, the case where surface roughness information is acquired as physical information and the acquired surface roughness information is converted into image quality adjustment information including granularity adjustment values has been described. In this embodiment, a case will be described in which object information is acquired as physical information, and the acquired object information is converted into image quality adjustment information including transparency.

  Transparency is a physical property value that can be used as a measure of transparency visually recognized by humans. The greater the transparency, the stronger the transparency.

  In this embodiment, the transparency represents a range in which light irradiated to a certain region diffuses to the surroundings. In this embodiment, an LUT that defines the relationship between an object and transparency is created by measuring the PSF for each object in advance. The LUT holding unit 204 holds the created LUT in advance. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the relationship between the PSF measurement result and transparency. In the present embodiment, a distance (half width) at which the amount of reflected light is half of the maximum value is defined as a range in which light diffuses, and this half width is defined as transparency.

  The definition of transparency is not limited to the above example. For example, instead of the half-value width, a distance where the amount of reflected light is 1/10 may be defined as a light diffusion range, and the distance may be defined as transparency. In this embodiment, the PSF is actually measured. However, the PSF is predicted based on the optical characteristics such as the absorption coefficient and the scattering coefficient of the object, and the physical characteristics such as the thickness and the number of fine particles included in the object. Transparency may be obtained based on

<Data format of object information>
The object information in the present embodiment is information composed of tag information for each area given by the user. An example of object information used in this embodiment is shown in FIG. As described above, the object information shown in FIG. 15A is information specified by the user via the UI shown in FIG. 14, and is assigned to each of the divided 48 (= 8 × 6) areas. A set of tag information.

  The object information is not limited to the above example. For example, as shown in FIG. 15B, the object information may be in a data format in which an ID is recorded for each area while maintaining the relationship between the object and the ID separately. In addition to the tag information indicating the object for each area shown in FIG. 15A, the object information may hold the number of areas, area size information, and the like as supplementary information.

<Processing flow>
FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of processing executed by the information processing apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the flow of processing according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  In step S2001, the physical information acquisition unit 201 acquires object information as physical information. The object information acquired in this step is sent to the physical information conversion unit 205.

  In step S2002, the enhancement degree acquisition unit 203 acquires the enhancement degree and sends it to the physical information conversion unit 205.

  In step S2003, the physical information conversion unit 205 is held in the LUT holding unit 204 based on the tag information for each area constituting the object information sent in step S2001 and the emphasis degree sent in step S2002. Refer to the LUT. Thus, the physical information conversion unit 205 creates image quality adjustment information in which each area has transparency as an image quality adjustment value by obtaining the transparency from the tag information for each area constituting the object information, and the created image quality adjustment Information is sent to the printer 104. FIG. 21 shows an example of the LUT that the physical information conversion unit 205 refers to. As shown in FIG. 21, the LUT defines a relationship among an object, a degree of emphasis, and transparency. In this embodiment, the transparency is set in the range of 0-100. Also, the difference in transparency that occurs between different objects is set so that the degree of emphasis is 1 is greater than the degree of emphasis is 0. Note that the values held by the LUT shown in FIG. 21 are merely examples, and the LUT only needs to define the relationship between the object, the degree of enhancement, and the transparency.

  By performing the processing described above, object information representing physical characteristics can be converted into image quality adjustment information including transparency for each region. This image quality adjustment information is sent to the printer 104 together with the corresponding color information. When the printer 104 performs printing based on the color information and the image quality adjustment information, it is possible to form an image in which differences between objects are expressed using the magnitude of transparency.

<Transparency control performed by the printer>
An image forming process executed by the printer 104 based on the image quality adjustment information including the transparency sent from the information processing apparatus 101 will be described. As described above, PSF is determined from optical characteristics such as absorption coefficient and scattering coefficient of a substance, and physical characteristics such as thickness and the number of contained fine particles. Therefore, it can be said that the transparency determined from the PSF is also determined from the optical characteristics and physical characteristics. Therefore, in order to control according to the transparency, it is necessary to control the physical characteristics such as the optical characteristics of the substance forming the image on the recording medium, the thickness of the color material layer forming the image, and the number of fine particles contained in the color material layer. good.

  As a method of controlling the optical characteristics (absorption coefficient, scattering coefficient) of a substance that forms an image on a recording medium in a printer, a method of changing the type of color material to be recorded can be considered. In general, it is known that dye ink has a smaller scattering coefficient and higher transparency than pigment ink. Therefore, a color chart of a chart formed of a patch formed using dye ink is measured, and a color separation LUT having a small scattering coefficient for printing using the dye ink is created in advance and held on the printer side. In addition, a color chart of patches formed using pigment ink is measured, and a color separation LUT having a large scattering coefficient for printing using pigment ink is created in advance and held on the printer side. These color separation LUTs are used properly according to the input transparency. Specifically, when the transparency is large, the input image data is converted by a color separation LUT having a small scattering coefficient, and an image is recorded with dye ink. On the contrary, when the transparency is small, the input image data is converted by the color separation LUT having a large scattering coefficient, and the image is recorded with the pigment ink.

  Note that the method of controlling the optical characteristics of a substance that forms an image on a recording medium in a printer is not limited to the above example using dye ink and pigment ink. For example, light and dark inks having different densities and substantially the same hue may be used. Specifically, a color separation LUT in which the amount of light ink having a small scattering coefficient is increased and a color separation LUT in which the amount of light ink is decreased are created in advance and held on the printer side. These color separation LUTs may be used properly according to the input transparency.

  Next, an example of controlling the thickness of the color material layer that forms an image in accordance with the input transparency will be shown as a method for controlling the physical characteristics. As a method of controlling the thickness of the color material layer that forms an image in the printer, there is a method of changing the recording amount of clear ink (transparent ink) to be overcoated on the printed matter in accordance with the input transparency.

  In the above example, the clear ink is overcoated, but the recording order of the clear ink is not limited to the above example (it is not always necessary to apply the clear ink last). It is sufficient if the thickness of the color material layer can be controlled, and the clear ink may be preliminarily applied to the recording medium or may be mixed and printed while other ink is being discharged. If clear ink is applied to the recording medium in advance, ink having a hue close to that of the recording medium may be used.

  Further, the process of overcoating the laminate film on the printed matter by the laminating apparatus may be executed after the printing process by the printer 104. The laminating apparatus performs an overcoat process according to the input transparency, and, for example, presses a transparent laminate film onto a region having a high transparency.

  Alternatively, two types of color materials having different densities and substantially the same hue are used, and when the color material layer is thickened, a lot of light ink is used, and when the color material layer is thin, a lot of dark ink is used. Also good.

[Other Examples]
In the above description, as an example of converting physical information into image quality adjustment information, distance information is converted into image quality adjustment information including glossy image clarity adjustment values, surface roughness information is converted into image quality adjustment information including granularity adjustment values, The case where information is converted into image quality adjustment information composed of transparency has been described. However, the combination of physical information and image quality adjustment information is not limited to the above example.

<Other examples of gloss control>
For example, when the internal scattering characteristics are strong (the amount of scattered light due to internal scattering is large), the incident light easily diffuses to the surroundings, so that the gloss image clarity is reduced. Therefore, in consideration of this tendency, the physical property value of the internally scattered light may be converted into the glossy image property adjustment value.

  In addition, a region where the normal vector representing the solid shape information is uniform has a higher specular gloss than a region where the normal vector is non-uniform. Therefore, in consideration of this tendency, the normal vector uniformity may be converted into a specular gloss adjustment value.

  Furthermore, it is desirable to control the gloss saturation on the printed matter according to the color of the illumination light included in the illumination distribution. Therefore, conversion may be performed so that the color of the illumination light included in the illumination distribution approaches the gloss saturation.

<Other examples of distance information>
In the above description, the example of obtaining the gloss image clarity adjustment value from the distance has been described in detail, but any one of the specular gloss adjustment value, the gloss saturation adjustment value, the granularity adjustment value, and the transparency from the distance. You may ask for more than one.

  For example, the perceived graininess becomes weaker as the distance increases. In consideration of this tendency, the distance may be converted into a granularity adjustment value.

  Also, the greater the distance, the weaker the perceived transparency. In consideration of this tendency, the distance may be converted into transparency.

<Other Examples Regarding Object Information>
In the above description, an example in which the transparency is obtained from the tag information for all areas in the conversion of the object information has been shown. However, in the following cases, it is not always necessary to obtain transparency for all areas. For example, a mode is possible in which the transparency is adjusted only for the object that is the main subject. Specifically, in step S2002, rather than acquiring the degree of emphasis, data for determining which object in the image is the main subject is acquired (this data is obtained by user input via the UI). Acquired). FIG. 15C is a diagram illustrating an example of determination data when a person is a main subject in the case illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15A. In the determination data shown in FIG. 15C, the area of the main subject is represented by 1 and the area that is not the main subject is represented by 0. In the subsequent step S2003, based on the determination data, a process is performed for obtaining the transparency only for the main subject area and not obtaining the transparency of the other areas. By such processing, it is possible to emphasize the transparency of the main subject by emphasizing the transparency of the region to be the main subject compared to the transparency of the other regions.

  The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or apparatus read and execute the program This process can be realized. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Information processing apparatus 104 ... Printer 201 ... Physical information acquisition part 202 ... Physical information format determination part 203 ... Enhancement degree acquisition part 204 ... LUT holding part 205 ... Physical information converter

Claims (17)

An apparatus for creating image quality adjustment information that is used together with the image data to adjust the image quality of a printed material when printing image data composed of color values for each pixel,
Acquisition means for acquiring physical information representing physical characteristics of a drawing target included in the image data;
An apparatus comprising: conversion means for converting the physical information into the image quality adjustment information for adjusting the glossiness of the printed matter.   The physical information is any one of distance information, surface roughness information, solid shape information, illumination distribution characteristic information, internal scattering characteristic information, and object information. The apparatus according to 1. An apparatus for creating image quality adjustment information that is used together with the image data to adjust the image quality of a printed material when printing image data composed of color values for each pixel,
Acquisition means for acquiring physical information representing physical characteristics of a drawing target included in the image data;
An apparatus comprising: conversion means for converting the physical information into the image quality adjustment information for adjusting the graininess of the printed matter.   The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the physical information is distance information or surface roughness information. An apparatus for creating image quality adjustment information that is used together with the image data to adjust the image quality of a printed material when printing image data composed of color values for each pixel,
Acquisition means for acquiring physical information representing physical characteristics of a drawing target included in the image data;
An apparatus comprising: conversion means for converting the physical information into the image quality adjustment information for adjusting the transparency of the printed matter.   The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the physical information is distance information or object information.   The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the image quality adjustment information is data including image quality adjustment values for each divided area.   The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an enhancement degree acquisition unit configured to acquire an enhancement degree indicating how much the texture is to be adjusted. LUT holding means for holding a lookup table (hereinafter referred to as LUT) that defines the relationship between the physical information and the image quality adjustment information;
9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conversion unit refers to the LUT. An image forming apparatus for forming an image based on image quality adjustment information created by the apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 and the image data,
An image forming apparatus that controls surface irregularities of a printed material according to the image quality adjustment information. An image forming apparatus for forming an image based on image quality adjustment information created by the apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 and the image data,
An image forming apparatus, wherein the color material deposited on the outermost surface of the printed material is changed according to the image quality adjustment information. An image forming apparatus for forming an image based on the image quality adjustment information and the image data created by the apparatus according to claim 3,
An image forming apparatus that controls a density fluctuation amount in a recorded image in accordance with the image quality adjustment information. An image forming apparatus for forming an image based on the image quality adjustment information and the image data created by the apparatus according to claim 3,
An image forming apparatus, wherein a density fluctuation period in a recorded image is controlled in accordance with the image quality adjustment information. An image forming apparatus that forms an image based on image quality adjustment information and the image data created by the apparatus according to claim 5,
An image forming apparatus characterized in that two or more color separation LUTs are selectively used according to the image quality adjustment information. An image forming apparatus that forms an image based on image quality adjustment information and the image data created by the apparatus according to claim 5,
An image forming apparatus that controls a thickness of a color material layer in accordance with the image quality adjustment information. A method of creating image quality adjustment information that is used together with the image data to adjust the image quality of a printed material when printing image data composed of color values for each pixel,
Obtaining physical information representing physical characteristics of a drawing target included in the image data;
Converting the physical information into the image quality adjustment information for adjusting the glossiness of the printed matter.   A program for causing a computer to execute the method according to claim 16.