JP4356975B2 - Image processing apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and method therefor, for example, image processing for simulating on a monitor the output of a color printer at a remote location via a network such as the Internet.

  As described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-222009, the color management system (CMS) is composed of CMM (Color Management Module) and device profile, profile corresponding to the source device before conversion, and destination after conversion Color conversion processing is performed using a profile corresponding to the device. The former profile is called a source profile, and the latter profile is called a destination profile.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing color conversion processing for converting a monitor color space (monitor RGB) or a print color color space (print color CMYK) into a printer color space (printer CMYK).

  In this case, the source device is a monitor, a proof printer, or a standard print color, and the profile of the monitor or print color becomes the source profile 103. The destination device is a printer, and the profile of the printer is the destination profile 104.

  However, the processing of FIG. 1 may deteriorate the color matching accuracy if the viewing conditions are not limited. Therefore, in order to perform color matching in consideration of viewing conditions, it is important to introduce a color appearance model (CAM) into the CMS. As a type of CAM, there is CIE CAM97s established in May 1997 by CIE (International Lighting Commission), and Fig. 2 is a diagram showing processing using it.

Printer CMYK data, which depends on the printer characteristics, is first converted into XYZ data (depending on the white point of VC1 illumination) based on the illumination white point of the viewing condition (VC1) to observe it. By using CAM forward conversion with input of observation condition parameters, etc., the color perception space JCH (color perception space relative to the reference white of observation illumination) or QMH (absolute magnitude whose size changes depending on the illumination level of observation illumination) Color perception space). XYZ data (depending on the white point of the VC2 illumination) based on the white point of the illumination of the observation condition (VC2) by the inverse transformation of the CAM (CAM ^-1 ) with the monitor observation condition (VC2) parameter etc. as input ) And finally converted to monitor RGB data (depending on the characteristics of the monitor).

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the observation condition parameters of the CAM. These are the input parameters of the CAM. The luminance factor (Luminance Factor) on the source side (VC1) includes the relative tristimulus values Xw, Yw, Zw (Reference illumination white) of the white point of the observation illumination, the luminance of the adaptation field (the absolute value of the adaptation field) There is La (Reference Luminance) in which a value of 20% of the luminance is set), and Rb of the background under illumination (Relative luminance of background).

  The luminance factor on the destination side (VC2) includes the relative tristimulus values Xrw, Yrw, Zrw (Reference monitor white) of the monitor white point, and the monitor brightness under illumination (the absolute brightness of the adaptation field of view). There is Lar (Reference Luminance) in which% value is set) and Relative luminance of background (Ybr) in the background of the monitor display.

  Further, the tristimulus value of the color patch corresponds to XYZ (VC1) shown in FIG. Other parameters specific to CIE CAM97s include the ambient influence constant c (Impact of surround), color induction coefficient Nc (Chromatic induction factor), lightness contrast coefficient FLL (Lightness contrast factor), and adaptation coefficient F ( Degree of adaptation becomes a parameter that can be set by the source (VC1) and the destination (VC2), and the value changes depending on the ambient light as shown in the lower part of FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a structure example of a device profile in accordance with the ICC profile format specification.

  The profile is divided into a header part 105 and a data storage part 106 for management. The header unit 105 stores device information indicating which device (for example, a monitor) the profile corresponds to, CMM information indicating which CMM the profile is used in, and the like. The data storage unit 106 stores profile description information for identifying the profile and data necessary for color matching.

  The profile description information includes information on the manufacturer name and the product name such as “CanonIX-4015”. Also, as data necessary for color matching, data for conversion from monitor RGB to PCS (Profile Connection Space) 102 CIEXYZ or CIELab for monitor profile, and print color CMYK to PCS 102 for print color profile Data for the printer and the printer profile store data from the PCS 102 to the printer CMYK.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the contents of a viewing condition tag (Viewing Condition Tag) included in the ICC profile.

“Abosolute XYZ value for illuminant” corresponds to the absolute tristimulus values X _L , Y _L , Z _L or X _M , Y _M , Z _M of the white point of observation illumination or monitor, and from now on, Xw, Yw, Zw and La Xrw, Yrw, Zrw and Lar can be obtained. “Abosolute XYZ value for surround” does not exist. “Illuminant type” corresponds to white for observation illumination and white for monitor.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a private tag (Private Tag) included in the ICC profile in which contents related to other observation conditions are stored.

  “Relative luminance of background” is Yb and Ybr shown in FIG. 3, “Impact of surround” is c shown in FIG. 3, “Chromatic induction factor” is Nc shown in FIG. 3, and “Lightness contrast factor” is FIG. "Degree of adaptation" corresponds to F shown in FIG.

  A system using CMS as described above has a drawback that it is difficult to simulate color matching output of a remote printer. In addition, if the viewing conditions of the remote printer and the viewing conditions for previewing are different, there is a disadvantage that the accuracy of the simulation deteriorates.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-222009

  The present invention solves the above-described problems individually or collectively, and an object thereof is to simulate the color matching output of a printer at another site in consideration of viewing conditions.

  The present invention has the following configuration as one means for achieving the above object.

The image processing according to the present invention is an image processing method for controlling an image processing apparatus and performing a printing simulation via a network, wherein the color printer on the network is used as a target printer for the printing simulation, and the preview display is performed. select a color monitor on the network, the viewing conditions of the printout of the target printer, and sets the viewing condition of the color monitor, setting the required profile in the color matching process of Oite the preview display to the target printer For this purpose, a source profile corresponding to the type of image data to be subjected to the color matching process, a destination profile of the target printer, and a destination profile of the color monitor are selected, and the target The information about the print output viewing condition and the information about the color monitor viewing condition are embedded in the profile set in the printer, and the image data to be subjected to color matching processing is transmitted to the target printer, and color matching according to the selected profile is performed. The processed image data is received from the target printer, and the image data is output to the color monitor for displaying the preview based on the received image data.

  According to the present invention, the color matching output of a printer at another site can be simulated in consideration of viewing conditions.

  Hereinafter, an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[Constitution]
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the network system according to the embodiment.

  The network system of the embodiment includes a remote site A and a site B connected by a large-scale network (WAN) 200 such as the Internet.

  The site A includes a client 201, a server 203 having a connection interface function with the WAN 200, and a profile database (DB) 204 in which profiles such as devices connected to the server 203 are stored. The client 201 has a CPU and VRAM necessary for monitor display and image processing, and a communication function necessary for network communication.

  On the other hand, the site B includes a network printer (connected to the network by the printer controller 214) 211, and a server 213 having an interface function with the WAN 200. The printer controller 214 is connected to a profile DB 212 that stores profiles of devices on the site B.

[User interface]
FIG. 8A is a diagram showing an example of a user interface (UI) of the client PC 201 for selecting an observation condition (brightness of observation illumination and white) when observing the output of the network printer 211 at the site B, and FIG. FIG. 8B is a diagram showing an example of parameter values set by the UI operation shown in 8A.

  In this setting, the network printer 211 is provided with a sensor (not shown) that detects lighting information of the place where the network printer 211 is installed, and the detection result of the sensor is sent by the client PC 201 according to the user instruction of the client PC 201. The configuration is obtained by receiving remotely. Of course, when installing the network printer 211, the service person initializes observation illumination information in a storage unit such as a hard disk in the network printer 211, and the client PC 201 is in accordance with the UI instruction of the client PC 201 by the user. May be configured to remotely receive the observation illumination information from the network printer 211 via a network.

  9A is a diagram showing an example of the UI of the client PC 201 for selecting the observation conditions (monitor brightness and white) when observing the display on the monitor of the client 201 of the site A, and FIG. 9B is a diagram in FIG. 9A. It is a figure which shows an example of the parameter value set by operation of UI shown.

  The parameter value to be set can be selected from one of three in response to the brightness and white of the observation illumination and the brightness and white of the monitor. In other words, when the user selects the brightness and white of the observation illumination and the brightness and white of the monitor from the sensitive expressions such as “dark”, “normal”, and “bright” using the UI, the parameters indicating the observation conditions associated therewith Value is set.

The brightness of the observation illumination is expressed by the absolute white tristimulus values X _L , Y _L , Z _L of the illumination, and Y _L is the absolute brightness of the illumination, which is 90.0 cd / m ² , 157.0 cd / m ² and 318.0 cd / m ² . The white of the observation lighting is in three stages: F2 (color temperature: 4150K) that looks a little yellow, D50 (color temperature: 5000K) that looks normal white, and D65 (color temperature: 6500K) that looks a little blue.

The brightness of the monitor is represented by the monitor's white absolute tristimulus values X _M , Y _M , Z _M , where Y _M is the monitor's absolute brightness, which is 70.0 cd / m ² , 90.0 cd / m ² and 110.0 cd / m ² . There are three levels of white on the monitor: D50 (color temperature: 5000K) that looks normal white, D65 (color temperature: 6500K) that looks a little blue, and D93 (color temperature: 9300K) that looks blue.

Equations (1) and (2) below are parameters for processing by the CIE CAM97s shown in FIG. 3 based on the parameters selected using the UI shown in FIGS. 8A and 9A. , La, Xrw, Yrw, Zrw, Lar are obtained. X _L , Y _L , Z _L and X _M , Y _M , Z _M are absolute values of white, and Xw, Yw, Zw and Xrw, Yrw, Zrw are relative values of white. As well as La and Lar, such a formula holds from the definition of 20% of the absolute brightness of white.
Xw = 100 ・ xw / yw
Yw = 100
Zw = (1-xw-yw) ・ 100 / yw
La = 0.2 ・ Yw
Where xw = X _L / (X _L + Y _L + Z _L )
yw = Y _L / (X _L + Y _L + Z _L )… (1)
Xrw = 100 ・ xrw / yrw
Yrw = 100
Zrw = (1-xrw-yrw) ・ 100 / yrw
Lar = 0.2 ・ Yrw
Where xrw = X _M / (X _M + Y _M + Z _M )
yrw = Y _M / (X _M + Y _M + Z _M )… (2)

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which three printer profiles corresponding to white of the observation illumination shown in FIG. 8B and three profiles corresponding to white of the monitor shown in FIG. 9B are stored in the profile DB 204 or 212, respectively. is there. Here, three types of profiles corresponding to white of observation illumination for observing the printer output are prepared as printer profiles, and three types of profiles corresponding to white of A monitor are prepared as monitor profiles.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a user interface for performing preview setting when previewing the color matching output of the printer 211 on the monitor of the client 201. The software running on the client 201 monitors the monitor of the client 201. Is displayed.

  The “target printer” is a printer to be previewed for color matching output. In the example of FIG. 11, the printer 211 (B printer) is selected. The “output monitor” is a monitor that performs a preview. In the example of FIG. 11, A monitor is selected.

  In profile setting, a profile and a printer profile corresponding to the color characteristics of image data input to the B printer can be set or selected. In the example of FIG. 11, the print profile of “Japan Color” is selected (set) when the input image is CMYK, and the profile of “sRGB Monitor” is selected when the input image is RGB. Further, the profile of the B printer that is the target printer is selected (set) as the printer profile.

  In the file settings, TIFF, JPEG, JFIF and the like that are often used as image file formats can be selected. In the example of FIG. 11, TIFF is selected.

  Although not shown in the figure, in profile setting, resolution, mapping algorithm (for example, emphasis on color, faithful reproduction, and emphasis on color), the type of recording medium, the type of ink, the regional characteristics of the person who watches the image, etc. Setting in consideration is also possible, and when such information is set, a profile corresponding to the set information is selected. The UIs in FIGS. 8 and 9 are displayed following the user interface setting in FIG. 11 and are sequentially set by the user of the client PC 201.

[processing]
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing details of color matching processing when previewing the output of the B printer on the A monitor based on the conditions set by the UI shown in FIG.

  Based on the profile set by the UI shown in Fig. 11, a monitor profile (A monitor profile in this example) for RGB data, a print color profile (Japan Color profile in this example) for CMYK data, and a printer The RGB data or CMYK data is converted into CMYK data having the color characteristics of the B printer according to the profile (B printer profile in this example). The converted CMYK data is converted into RGB data having the color characteristics of the A monitor by a printer profile (B printer profile in this example) and a monitor profile (A monitor profile in this example). At that time, CAM processing 105 is performed in consideration of observation conditions.

  FIG. 13 shows the processing when the color matching output result of the printer 211 at the site B is previewed on the monitor of the client 201 at the site A via the network 200 based on the conditions set by the UI shown in FIG. In the flowchart shown, it is a process executed by software running on the client 201.

  When the user sets each item of the user interface shown in FIG. 11 and presses the [OK] button, the target printer and the output monitor are set according to the setting of the user interface (S100-S101). Next, a profile required for preview is set according to the user interface setting (S102), and the file format of the bitmap image data after color matching is instructed to the printer controller 214 according to the user interface setting (S103). The preview process is executed (S104).

  As a result, when the setting shown in FIG. 11 is performed, the image output from the client 201 is color-matched by the printer 211 at the site B, and the color matching result is preview-displayed on the monitor of the client 201. That is, the color matching output result of the printer 211 at the site B can be previewed on the monitor of the client 201 via the network 200.

Profile Setting FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing details of the profile setting process (S102).

  According to the user interface settings shown in Fig. 11, a color characteristic profile that is applied when the input image is CMYK data is set (S200), and a color characteristic profile that is applied when the input image is RGB data is set. The profile for the target printer is set (S202), and the profile for the output monitor is set (S203).

  A profile necessary for the preview process is set by this series of settings.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing details of profile setting in steps S200 to S203.

  First, the profile DB 212 of the site B is accessed, the profile information (list) stored in the profile DB 212 is acquired (S300), and it is checked whether or not the desired profile is listed in the acquired profile information. (S301). If the desired profile is listed, the selection is instructed to the printer controller 214 (S302), the observation condition tag corresponding to the observation condition is set in the profile for the target printer and the output monitor (S307), and processing is performed. Exit.

  If the desired profile is not listed, the profile DB 204 of the site A is accessed and the profile information (list) stored in the profile DB 204 is acquired (S303). Then, it is checked whether or not the desired profile is listed in the acquired profile information (S304). If the desired profile is listed, the profile is downloaded from the profile DB 204 to the profile DB 212, and the printer controller 214 is instructed to select the downloaded profile (S305). The profile for the target printer and output monitor An observation condition tag corresponding to the observation condition is set in (S307), and the process is terminated.

  If the desired profile is not listed in the profile information of the profile DB 204, an error message is returned (S306) and the process is terminated.

  Through this series of processing, a profile DB on the network is accessed and necessary profiles are set.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing details of processing (S307) for setting an observation condition tag corresponding to the observation condition in the profile for the target printer.

  First, the UI for setting the observation condition shown in FIG. 8A is displayed on the monitor (S400), and based on the observation condition selected by the user, an observation condition tag and a private tag are created (S401). A printer profile corresponding to the observation illumination white held by the controller 214 is acquired (S402), the created tag is embedded in the acquired printer profile (S403), and the printer profile including the tag is returned to the printer controller 214 (S404). ), The process ends. The created tag may be sent to the printer controller 214 and instructed to be incorporated into the printer profile.

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing details of selection of an observation condition (S400) by the observation condition setting UI (FIG. 8A) and processing for creating an observation condition tag and a private tag (S401) according to the selection.

First, when “brightness of observation illumination” in the observation condition setting shown in FIG. 8A is selected (S600), the absolute value of the white tristimulus value of illumination corresponding to the selected “brightness of observation illumination” is selected. The values of certain X _L , Y _L , and Z _L are selected from the table shown in FIG. 8B and held (S601). Subsequently, when “observation illumination white” in the observation condition setting shown in FIG. 8A is selected (S602), information corresponding to the selected “observation illumination white” is selected from the table shown in FIG. Set to Lw (S603).

Next, create a Type descriptor part containing the predefined contents of the observation condition tag shown in FIG. 5 (S604), create a Reserved part (S605), and hold X _L , Y _L , Create an Absolute XYZ value for illuminant part containing the value of Z _L (S606), create an Absolute XYZ value for surround part (this tag is not used and a null value will be entered) (S607), and set the value of the variable Lw The inserted Illuminant type part is created (S607).

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing details of the process (S307) of setting an observation condition tag corresponding to the observation condition in the output monitor profile.

  First, the observation condition setting UI shown in FIG. 9A is displayed on the monitor (S500), and based on the observation condition selected by the user, an observation condition tag and a private tag are created (S501). Acquire the monitor profile corresponding to the white of the monitor held by the controller 214 (S502), incorporate the created tag into the acquired monitor profile (S503), and return the monitor profile incorporating the tag to the printer controller 214 (S404) The process is terminated.

  FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing details of selection of an observation condition (S500) by the observation condition setting UI (FIG. 20), and processing of creating an observation condition tag and a private tag according to the selection (S501).

First, when “monitor brightness” in the observation condition setting shown in FIG. 9A is selected (S700), X is the absolute value of the white tristimulus value of the illumination corresponding to the selected “monitor brightness”. The values of _M , Y _M and Z _M are selected from the table shown in FIG. 9B and held (S701). Subsequently, when “monitor white” in the observation condition setting shown in FIG. 9A is selected (S702), information corresponding to the selected “monitor white” is selected from the table shown in FIG. Set (S703).

Next, create a Type descriptor part containing the predefined contents of the observation condition tag shown in FIG. 5 (S704), create a Reserved part (S705), and hold X _M , Y _M , Create an Absolute XYZ value for illuminant part containing the value of Z _M (S706), create an Absolute XYZ value for surround part (this tag will not be used and will contain a NULL value) (S707), and set the value of the variable Mw The inserted Illuminant type part is created (S707).

Details of Preview Process FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing details of the preview process (S104) shown in FIG.

  First, the client 201 converts the image data into PDL (Page Description Language) data supported by the printer 211 by the printer driver of the client 201 (S800), and transmits the PDL data to the server 203 (S801).

  The server 203 transfers the received PDL data to the server 213 (S802), and the server 213 downloads the received PDL data to the printer controller 214 (S803).

  The printer controller 214 analyzes the received PDL data, extracts color data (CMYK or RGB) from the PDL data (S804), performs color matching processing shown in FIG. 12 on the extracted color data (S805), and performs color matching The processed PDL data is expanded into bitmap data (S806), the expanded bitmap data is converted into the file format set in step S103 (S807), and the data file is transmitted to the server 213 (S808).

  The server 213 transfers the received data file to the server 203 (S809), and the server 203 transmits the received data file to the client 201 (S810).

  The client 201 converts the received data file into RGB data that can be displayed by the output monitor selected in the preview setting UI shown in FIG. 11 (S811), and sends the RGB data to the output monitor to display a preview image. (S812).

  In this way, when the image data is sent from the client 201 of the site A to the printer 211 of the site B and output by color matching, the print output result can be previewed on the monitor of the site A (for example, the monitor of the client 201). it can.

[Modification]
In the above embodiment, the search for the profile of the printer 211 (B printer) is first started from the profile DB 212 connected to the printer 211 of the site B. If there is no corresponding profile, the profile DB 204 of the site A is searched. Search for. However, considering that there is a higher probability that the profile of B printer is at site B where printer 211 exists than site A, the profile DB (not shown) at site B is set before profile DB 204 at site A. It is desirable to search.

  Further, the color preferred in the area where the site B exists and the area where the site A exists may be different. For example, site B is in a high latitude area, and people in the area where site B is located prefer cold colors, while site A is located in a low latitude area and people in areas where site A exists prefer warm colors. Is the case. In this case, if the user who belongs to site A previews the color matching result of printer 211 and wants to print out the printout distributed in the region where site B exists with printer 211, the region where site B exists It is considered that a preferable print result can be obtained by using a profile that depends on the characteristics. Therefore, in such a case, considering that there is a high possibility that a profile depending on regional characteristics is managed for each site, the profile DB 204 of site B is searched in preference to the profile DB 204 of site A. It is preferable to do.

[Other Examples]
Note that the present invention can be applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, and a printer), and a device (for example, a copying machine and a facsimile device) including a single device. You may apply to.

  Also, an object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium (or recording medium) in which a program code of software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is recorded to a system or apparatus, and a computer (or CPU or CPU) of the system or apparatus. Needless to say, this can also be achieved by the MPU) reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment ¥ are realized, but also an operating system (OS) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code However, it is needless to say that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included.

  Furthermore, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion card inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function is determined based on the instruction of the program code. Needless to say, the CPU of the expansion card or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

  When the present invention is applied to the storage medium, the storage medium stores program codes corresponding to the flowcharts described above.

A diagram showing a color conversion process for converting a monitor color space (monitor RGB) or a print color color space (print color CMYK) to a printer color space (printer CMYK). The figure explaining CIE CAM97s, The figure explaining the observation condition parameter of CAM, A diagram showing an example of the structure of a device profile in accordance with the ICC profile format specification, The figure which shows the contents of the viewing condition tag (Viewing Condition Tag) included in the ICC profile, Figure showing the private tag (Private Tag) included in the ICC profile, with the contents related to other observation conditions The figure which shows the structural example of the network system of an Example. The figure which shows an example of the user interface (UI) which selects the observation conditions (brightness and white of observation illumination) at the time of observing the output of the network printer of site B, The figure which shows an example of the parameter value set by operation of UI shown to FIG. 8A, The figure which shows an example of UI which selects the observation condition (monitor brightness and white) when observing the display on the monitor of the client of site A, The figure which shows an example of the parameter value set by operation of UI shown to FIG. 9A, FIG. 8B is a diagram showing a state where three printer profiles corresponding to white of observation illumination shown in FIG. 8B and three profiles corresponding to white of the monitor shown in FIG. The figure which shows an example of the user interface for performing a preview setting at the time of previewing the color matching output of a printer in a client monitor, The figure which shows the detail of the color matching process at the time of previewing the output of B printer on A monitor based on the conditions set by UI shown in FIG. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing processing when the color matching output result of the printer at site B is previewed on the monitor of the client at site A via the network based on the conditions set by the UI shown in FIG. A flowchart showing details of the profile setting process (S102), Flowchart showing details of profile settings, A flowchart showing details of the processing (S307) for setting an observation condition tag corresponding to the observation condition in the profile for the target printer, A flowchart showing details of selection of an observation condition (S400) by the observation condition setting UI (FIG. 8A), and processing for creating an observation condition tag and a private tag (S401) according to the selection; A flowchart showing details of the processing (S307) for setting an observation condition tag corresponding to the observation condition in the profile for output monitoring, A flowchart showing details of selection of an observation condition (S500) by the observation condition setting UI (FIG. 20), and processing for creating an observation condition tag and a private tag according to the selection (S501); 14 is a flowchart showing details of preview processing (S104) shown in FIG.

Claims (9)

An image processing apparatus that performs a printing simulation via a network,
A color printer on the network as a target printer for printing simulation, and a device selection means for selecting a color monitor on the network for preview display;
A setting means for setting the observation condition of the print output of the target printer, and the observation condition of the color monitor;
To set the required profile for Oite the preview display color matching process of the target printer, the color source profile corresponding to the type of image data subjected to matching processing, the destination profile of the target printer, and the Profile selection means for selecting a color monitor destination profile;
Embedding means for embedding information on the print output viewing condition and information on the color monitor viewing condition in the profile set in the target printer;
Communication means for transmitting the image data subjected to the color matching process to the target printer and receiving the image data subjected to the color matching process according to the selected profile from the target printer;
An image processing apparatus comprising: output means for outputting the image data to the color monitor in order to display the preview based on the received image data.   2. The image according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus and the color monitor are present at the same site, the target printer is present at another site, and both sites are connected via the network. Processing equipment.   3. The image processing according to claim 1, wherein the profile is searched in the order of a profile database connected to the target printer and a profile database existing at the same site as the image processing apparatus. apparatus.   The profile is searched in the order of a profile database connected to the target printer, a profile database existing in the same site as the target printer, and a profile database existing in the same site as the image processing apparatus. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. Furthermore, it has a format setting means for setting the data format of the received color matching processed image data,
2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit instructs the target printer to set the data format.   The target printer expands the image data subjected to the color matching processing into bitmap data, converts the expanded bitmap data into image data of the designated data format, and transmits the image data to the image processing apparatus. 6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein An image processing method for controlling an image processing apparatus and performing a printing simulation via a network,
Select a color printer on the network as a target printer for printing simulation, and a color monitor on the network for preview display,
Set the print output observation conditions of the target printer, and the color monitor observation conditions,
To set the required profile for Oite the preview display color matching process of the target printer, the color source profile corresponding to the type of image data subjected to matching processing, the destination profile of the target printer, and the Select the color monitor destination profile,
Embed information related to the print output viewing condition and the color monitor viewing condition in the profile set in the target printer,
Transmitting the image data to be subjected to the color matching process to the target printer;
Receiving image data subjected to color matching processing according to the selected profile from the target printer;
An image processing method comprising: outputting the image data to the color monitor for displaying the preview based on the received image data.   8. A program for causing a computer to execute the image processing according to claim 7. A color printer on the network as a target printer for printing simulation, and a device selection means for selecting a color monitor on the network for preview display;
A setting means for setting the observation condition of the print output of the target printer, and the observation condition of the color monitor;
To set the required profile for Oite the preview display color matching process of the target printer, the color source profile corresponding to the type of image data subjected to matching processing, the destination profile of the target printer, and the Profile selection means for selecting a color monitor destination profile;
The image data to be subjected to the color matching process, the information regarding the print output viewing condition and the information regarding the color monitor viewing condition are transmitted to the target printer, and the selected color image including the color appearance model process based on the viewing condition is selected. Communication means for receiving, from the target printer, image data subjected to color matching processing according to a profile;
An image processing apparatus comprising: output means for outputting the image data to the color monitor in order to display the preview based on the received image data.

Images