JP4840206B2 - Print data creation apparatus and print data creation program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a print data creation apparatus and a print data creation program for creating print data used for printing in a printing apparatus, and more specifically, print data suitable for printing a background color of a print image on a printing apparatus. Regarding what to create.

  Conventionally, in an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording by ejecting ink onto a recording medium, ink is guided from an ink supply source to a plurality of ejection channels of an inkjet head, and actuators such as a heating element and a piezoelectric element are selectively driven. Ink is ejected from the ejection nozzle provided at the tip of the ejection channel. When forming a color image, each pixel constituting the image is decomposed into, for example, three primary colors of cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y), and the density is adjusted for each color and ejected. Colored pixels are formed by mixing the inks. In general, black pixels or pixels including black as a color component are reproduced by ejecting black (K) ink. In recent years, a recording apparatus that performs printing using white (W) ink in order to perform highly reproducible printing on a recording medium other than white is also known.

  Conventionally, various techniques are known in which the handling of the background color during image printing is devised. For example, when the print control key is pressed, an image from which the background color extracted from the received image is deleted is displayed, and when the print execution command is received, the image from which the background color has been deleted is printed. Thus, an image processing apparatus is known that can reduce ink consumption without printing an unnecessary background color (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In addition, a binary raster image is dynamically created as mask data based on the shape data of the print data, and the logical product of each color component of the raster image data for overlay and the mask data is calculated at the time of printing. The logical sum of the product-processed data and the raster image of each color component of the print data is calculated. As a result, an overlay print processing method is known in which characters / graphics with the same color as the background can be accurately overlaid (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Also, the background color is specified by a command from the operation panel or the host PC, print data is sent from the host PC, the frame memory for one page is secured in the controller, and the frame memory is filled with the specified background color. The print data developed on the painted frame memory is overwritten and drawn. As a result, there is known a color printer that can perform printing by arbitrarily coloring the paper without preparing colored paper (see, for example, Patent Document 3).
JP-A-6-237374 JP 2000-163238 A JP 2000-272174 A

  By the way, when the recording medium is a color other than white (for example, yellow), the user considers printing an image on the yellow background, and an image representing a background portion of the image in yellow Suppose you have created data. In this case, as the handling of the background color at the time of image printing, the portion represented by yellow in the image is printed with “transparent color (that is, not printed)”, “print with white”, and “print with yellow”. Possible patterns. Further, when the recording medium is blue, it is assumed that the user has created image data in which the background portion of the image is represented in yellow. In this case, as the handling of the background color at the time of image printing, the portion represented by yellow in the image is “printed in transparent color (that is, not printed)”, “printed in white”, “printed in yellow”, “blue” 4 patterns of “print with” are conceivable.

  In other words, the background color at the time of image printing includes “printing the color of the image data as it is”, “printing with the transparent color (that is, not printing)”, “changing the color of the image data with another specific color. Three patterns of “print” can be considered. However, conventionally, the user cannot arbitrarily designate the handling of the background color when printing an image. Therefore, for example, when the user wants to print the portion represented by the background color “yellow” in the image with the specific color “blue”, the user replaces the background color portion of “yellow” with the specific color “blue”. It was necessary to edit data and create print data based on the edited image data.

  In addition, according to the inventions described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, it is possible to arbitrarily specify a color or a place to be handled as a transparent color in the image data. According to the invention described in Patent Document 3, The white part can be replaced with another color. However, with these technologies, the user cannot arbitrarily specify the handling of the background color at the time of image printing from the above-mentioned plurality of patterns, and can specify a plurality of background colors and handle differently for each background color. Could not set.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and allows the user to arbitrarily specify the background color and its handling during image printing, and the background color can be set on the recording medium in a manner desired by the user. It is an object of the present invention to provide a print data creation apparatus and a print data creation program that can create print data that can be printed.

In order to achieve the above object, a print data creation device according to a first aspect of the present invention is a print data creation device for creating print data used for printing in a printing device based on image data. Among the color information of a plurality of input pixels, a background color designating unit for arbitrarily designating one or a plurality of background colors of a print image, and one or a plurality of background colors designated by the background color designating unit are printed As used colors used, the used color specifying means for arbitrarily specifying any one of a plurality of patterns including at least a transparent color and a specific color, and the colors of a plurality of input pixels constituting the image data Among the information, a color replacement unit that replaces the color information of one or a plurality of background colors designated by the background color designation unit with the color information of the usage color designated by the use color designation unit. When, and a print data creating means color information to create the print data based on image data that has been replaced by the color replacement unit, the color replacement unit, if the white is designated as the color used, said background While the color information of the color is replaced with the white color information, when the white color is not designated as the background color, the white color information is not replaced .
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print data creation device that creates print data used for printing in a printing device based on image data. The print data creation device includes a plurality of input pixels constituting the image data. Among color information, a background color designating unit for arbitrarily designating one or a plurality of background colors of a print image, and a use for printing one or a plurality of background colors designated by the background color designating unit Among the color information of the plurality of input pixels constituting the image data, the used color designating means for arbitrarily designating any one of a plurality of patterns including at least a transparent color and a specific color as the color, Color replacement means for replacing color information of one or a plurality of background colors designated by the background color designation means with color information of the used colors designated by the use color designation means, and the color substitution means Print data creation means for creating print data based on the image data in which the color information is replaced. When the white color is designated as the use color, the color replacement means converts the color information of the background color to white. On the other hand, when white is not designated as the background color, the white color information is replaced with color information that is not printed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first or second aspect of the invention, the color replacement unit may include the background color when a transparent color is designated as the use color. The color information is replaced with color information that is not printed.

Further, if the print data creation apparatus of the invention according to claim 4, in addition to the configuration of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the color replacement unit, the specific color as the color used is specified, The color information of the background color is replaced with the color information of the specific color.

Further, the print data creation apparatus of the invention according to claim 5, in addition to the configuration of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein use color designating means, a plurality of patterns further including a pixel color as the color used The color replacement means does not replace the color information of the background color when a pixel color is specified as the use color.

A print data creation program according to a sixth aspect of the invention is a print data creation program for creating print data used for printing on a printing apparatus based on image data, wherein the computer stores the image data. Among the color information of a plurality of input pixels constituting the background, a background color designating unit for arbitrarily designating one or a plurality of background colors of the print image, and printing one or a plurality of background colors designated by the background color designating unit Use color designating means for arbitrarily designating any one of a plurality of patterns including at least a transparent color and a specific color as the use colors used to perform the color information of a plurality of input pixels constituting the image data Of the color information of one or a plurality of background colors designated by the background color designation means is replaced with the color information of the use colors designated by the use color designation means, respectively. When the color replacement unit, the color information is a print data creating means for creating print data based on image data that has been replaced by the color replacement unit, the color replacement unit, the white is designated as the color used, While the color information of the background color is replaced with white color information, when white is not designated as the background color, the white color information is not replaced .
A print data creation program according to a seventh aspect of the invention is a print data creation program for creating print data used for printing in a printing apparatus based on image data. Among the color information of a plurality of input pixels constituting the background, a background color designating unit for arbitrarily designating one or a plurality of background colors of the print image, and printing one or a plurality of background colors designated by the background color designating unit Use color designating means for arbitrarily designating any one of a plurality of patterns including at least a transparent color and a specific color as the use colors used to perform the color information of a plurality of input pixels constituting the image data Of the color information of one or a plurality of background colors designated by the background color designation means is replaced with the color information of the use colors designated by the use color designation means, respectively. Color replacement means, function as print data creation means for creating print data based on the image data whose color information has been replaced by the color replacement means, and the color replacement means, when white is designated as the use color, While the color information of the background color is replaced with white color information, when white is not designated as the background color, the white color information is replaced with color information that is not printed.

In the print data creation device according to the first aspect of the present invention, one or a plurality of background colors of the print image are arbitrarily designated from among the color information of the plurality of input pixels constituting the image data, and the background color is printed. When any one of a plurality of patterns including at least a transparent color and a specific color is arbitrarily designated as the use color used in the above, the color information of the background color is replaced with the color information of the use color. Therefore, the user can arbitrarily specify the background color and its handling (use color) at the time of image printing, and create print data that can print the background color in a manner desired by the user on the recording medium. it can.
Further, when white is designated as the use color, the color information of the background color is replaced with white color information. Therefore, if the user specifies “white” as the use color, the background color of the print image is printed in white, so a high-quality image with excellent reproducibility can be obtained even if the background of the recording medium is other than “white”. Can be printed.
On the other hand, when white is not designated as the background color, the white color information is not replaced. Therefore, if the user does not specify “white” as the background color of the print image, white pixels are printed in white, so even if the background of the recording medium is other than “white”, high reproducibility and high image quality Images can be printed.
In the print data creation device according to the second aspect of the present invention, one or a plurality of background colors of the print image are arbitrarily designated from among the color information of the plurality of input pixels constituting the image data, and the background color is printed. When any one of a plurality of patterns including at least a transparent color and a specific color is arbitrarily designated as the used color used for the color, the color information of the background color is replaced with the color information of the used color. Therefore, the user can arbitrarily specify the background color and its handling (use color) at the time of image printing, and create print data that can print the background color in a manner desired by the user on the recording medium. it can.
Further, when white is designated as the use color, the color information of the background color is replaced with white color information. Therefore, if the user specifies “white” as the use color, the background color of the print image is printed in white, so a high-quality image with excellent reproducibility can be obtained even if the background of the recording medium is other than “white”. Can be printed.
On the other hand, when white is not designated as the background color, the white color information is replaced with color information that is not printed. Therefore, if the user does not specify “white” as the background color of the print image, white pixels are not printed. Therefore, when the background of the recording medium is “white”, the amount of white ink used can be adjusted appropriately. Image printing can be performed at high speed and at low cost.

In addition, in the print data creation device of the invention according to claim 3 , in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1 or 2 , when a transparent color is designated as the use color, the color information of the background color is printed. Replace with no color information. Therefore, when the user designates “transparent color” as the use color, pixels corresponding to the background color can be prevented from being printed.

In addition, in the print data creation device of the invention according to claim 4 , in addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, when a specific color is designated as the use color, the color information of the background color is Replace with color information for a specific color. Therefore, when the user designates “specific color” as the use color, pixels corresponding to the background color can be printed in the specific color.

In addition, in the print data creation device of the invention according to claim 5 , in addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, when the pixel color is designated as the use color, the color information of the background color is Do not replace. Therefore, when the user designates “pixel color” as the use color, the pixel corresponding to the background color can be printed in that color.

In the print data creation program of the invention according to claim 6 , one or more background colors of the print image are arbitrarily designated from among the color information of the plurality of input pixels constituting the image data, and the background color is printed. When any one of a plurality of patterns including at least a transparent color and a specific color is arbitrarily designated as the used color used for the color, the color information of the background color is replaced with the color information of the used color. Therefore, the user can arbitrarily specify the background color and its handling (use color) at the time of image printing, and create print data that can print the background color in a manner desired by the user on the recording medium. it can.
Further, when white is designated as the use color, the color information of the background color is replaced with white color information. Therefore, if the user specifies “white” as the use color, the background color of the print image is printed in white, so a high-quality image with excellent reproducibility can be obtained even if the background of the recording medium is other than “white”. Can be printed.
On the other hand, when white is not designated as the background color, the white color information is not replaced. Therefore, if the user does not specify “white” as the background color of the print image, white pixels are printed in white, so even if the background of the recording medium is other than “white”, high reproducibility and high image quality Images can be printed.
In the print data creation program according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, one or a plurality of background colors of a print image are arbitrarily designated from among color information of a plurality of input pixels constituting image data, and the background color is printed. When any one of a plurality of patterns including at least a transparent color and a specific color is arbitrarily designated as the used color used for the color, the color information of the background color is replaced with the color information of the used color. Therefore, the user can arbitrarily specify the background color and its handling (use color) at the time of image printing, and create print data that can print the background color in a manner desired by the user on the recording medium. it can.
Further, when white is designated as the use color, the color information of the background color is replaced with white color information. Therefore, if the user specifies “white” as the use color, the background color of the print image is printed in white, so a high-quality image with excellent reproducibility can be obtained even if the background of the recording medium is other than “white”. Can be printed.
On the other hand, when white is not designated as the background color, the white color information is replaced with color information that is not printed. Therefore, if the user does not specify “white” as the background color of the print image, white pixels are not printed. Therefore, when the background of the recording medium is “white”, the amount of white ink used can be adjusted appropriately. Image printing can be performed at high speed and at low cost.

  Embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As a print data creation apparatus according to the present invention, a known personal computer that is connected to a known fabric printing inkjet printer 1 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) and creates print data for printing by the inkjet printer 1 A description will be given by taking 200 (see FIG. 3) as an example.

  First, the inkjet printer 1 will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the inkjet printer 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the inkjet printer 1 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing 2 having a longitudinal direction in the left-right direction, and two rails 3 extending in the front-rear direction are arranged in a row at the approximate center of the bottom surface. Yes. At the upper part of the two rails 3, a platen platen support (not shown) that can move in the front-rear direction of the housing 2 is supported along each rail 3, and a platen that can be replaced with the upper part of the platen support 5 is fixed.

  The platen 5 is a substantially rectangular plate having a longitudinal direction in the front-rear direction of the housing 2 in plan view, and a recording medium made of a cloth such as a T-shirt is placed on the upper surface of the platen 5 horizontally. Is. Further, the tray 4 fixed to the support column at a substantially intermediate position between the platen 5 and the platen support base receives the sleeve of the T-shirt when the user places the T-shirt on the platen 5. In order to protect it from falling on the bottom surface of the housing 2. Further, power for moving the platen support table in the front-rear direction of the housing 2 along the rails 3 is supplied to the rear end portion of the platen drive mechanism 6 provided with the rails 3 for moving the platen support table. A platen drive motor 7 is provided.

  A guide rail 9 for guiding the movement of the carriage 20 on which the inkjet head 21 is mounted between the both side surfaces of the casing 2 at a position approximately in the center of the casing 2 in the front-rear direction and above the platen 5. Is built. A carriage belt 26 installed between a carriage motor 24 provided near the left end of the guide rail 9 and a pulley 25 provided near the right end is provided at a position below the guide rail 9 in the housing 2. It is arranged over the left and right. The carriage belt 26 is fixed to the back surface of the carriage 20, and the carriage 20 is reciprocated in the left-right direction of the housing 2 along the guide rail 9 by driving the carriage motor 24.

  In the inkjet printer 1 of the present embodiment, white ink is used for image printing in addition to cyan ink, magenta ink, yellow ink, and black ink. Therefore, the left side surface of the ink jet printer 1 is provided with five ink cartridge storage portions 30 for detachably storing ink cartridges storing the respective inks. Black ink, cyan ink, magenta ink, yellow ink, and white ink are accommodated.

  Ink supply tubes 10 a to 10 e are connected to the ink cartridge storage portions 30, and are connected to the ink jet heads 21 of the respective colors via guide members 40 and tube support members 60. The ink supply tubes 10 a to 10 e are flexible tubes that are bent or twisted in response to the movement of the carriage 20 or the like. The guide member 40 supports the five ink supply tubes 10 a to 10 e behind the carriage 20. The tube support member 60 supports the ink supply tubes 10 a to 10 e at the upper end of the carriage 20.

  Five ink jet heads 21 are mounted on the carriage 20. Each inkjet head 21 includes, for example, 128 ejection channels (not shown) for ejecting each ink, and each ejection channel is provided with a piezoelectric actuator (not shown) that is individually driven. Yes. Control is performed so that ink droplets are ejected downward from fine ejection nozzles (not shown) provided in the bottom surface of the inkjet head 21 corresponding to the ejection channels. Therefore, the ink accommodated in each ink cartridge accommodating part 30 is supplied to the inkjet head 21 by the ink supply tubes 10a to 10e, and is ejected from the ejection nozzle.

  At the position where the carriage 20 has moved to the right end of the guide rail 9, a purge unit 22 having a suction cap 23 that can be brought into close contact with and detached from the nozzle surface of each inkjet head 21 is provided. The purge unit 22 is provided with a suction pump (not shown). When each suction cap 23 is in close contact with the inkjet head 21, ink can be sucked through the suction cap 23. Yes. Further, when printing is not performed, the suction cap 23 covers the nozzle surface of the ink jet head 21 to prevent ink drying.

  An operation panel 28 for operating the ink jet printer 1 is provided at a position on the right front side of the housing 2. The operation panel 28 includes a display 175, a print button 182, a stop button 183, a platen feed button 188, and the like. When the platen feed button 188 is pressed, the platen 5 moves to a position where the platen 5 can set or remove a cloth such as a T-shirt as a recording medium. When the print button 182 is pressed, printing of print data received from the personal computer 200 is started. When the cancel button 183 is pressed during printing, printing is stopped.

  Next, the electrical configuration of the inkjet printer 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the inkjet printer 1. As shown in FIG. 2, a CPU 110 that controls the ink jet printer 1 is provided. The CPU 110 stores a control program for controlling the operation of the ink jet printer 1 executed by the CPU 110 via a bus 190. A ROM 120 and a RAM 130 for temporarily storing data are connected.

  The CPU 110 includes, via a bus 190, a head driving unit 140 for driving a piezoelectric actuator (not shown) provided in each ejection channel of the inkjet head 21 that performs ink ejection, and a carriage 20 on which the inkjet head 21 is mounted. A carriage motor 24 for driving the platen, and a platen drive motor 7 for driving a platen roller (not shown) for adjusting the timing and speed of feeding the platen 5 that holds the T-shirt that is the fabric to be printed during printing, respectively. A motor drive unit 150 for controlling and driving is connected to an external device including the personal computer 200 via a USB interface (not shown) and a USB interface 160 for enabling communication.

  The operation panel 28 (FIG. 1) is provided with a display 175, a power lamp 172, a data lamp 173, and an error lamp 174, and a display control unit 170 for performing these display processes is connected to the CPU 110 via a bus 190. Has been. The operation panel 28 is provided with a menu button 184, a left arrow button 185, a right arrow button 186, and a confirm button 187 in addition to a print button 182, a stop button 183, and a platen feed button 188 (see FIG. 1). An input detection unit 180 that detects these inputs is connected to the CPU 110 via the bus 190.

  The display 175 displays information such as the data name and size of the print data that is being received from the personal computer 200, is waiting for printing after reception, is printing, or has been printed. The In addition, a menu screen (not shown) for performing various settings is displayed, and when an error occurs, the contents of the error are displayed. When the menu button 184 is pressed, a menu screen is displayed on the display 175, and the left arrow button 185 and the right arrow button 186 move the cursor displayed on the display 175 left and right respectively. When the confirm button 187 is pressed, the cursor is confirmed to the selected item.

  The ROM 120 of the inkjet printer 1 has a program storage area that stores a control program for controlling the operation of the inkjet printer 1 and a print execution program for executing a printing process, settings necessary for executing the program, and initial settings. A program-related information storage area for storing information such as values and data is provided.

  In the RAM 130 of the inkjet printer 1, a received print data storage area for storing print data received from the personal computer 200, a printing data storage area for storing print data that is being printed by pressing the print button 182, and A setting information storage area for storing various setting information is provided.

  Next, the personal computer 200 will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the personal computer 200. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the RAM 230 of the personal computer 200. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a hard disk drive (hereinafter referred to as HDD) 250 of the personal computer 200. The personal computer 200 is connected to the inkjet printer 1 by a communication cable based on a standard such as USB. In the personal computer 200, print data is created based on image data created by the user using various applications, and this print data is transmitted to the inkjet printer 1. The details will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the personal computer 200 is provided with a CPU 210 that controls the personal computer 200. The CPU 210 is inserted with a ROM 220 storing a program such as a BIOS executed by the CPU 210, a RAM 230 temporarily storing data, and a CD-ROM 241 as a data storage medium via the bus 290 to read the data. A CD-ROM drive 240 to be performed and an HDD 250 which is a data storage device are connected.

  The CPU 210 includes a USB interface 260 for performing communication with external devices including the inkjet printer 1 via the bus 290 and a display control unit for performing screen display processing of the monitor 271 for displaying an operation screen to the user. A keyboard 281 and a mouse 282 for inputting an operation by the user are connected, and an input detection unit 280 for detecting these inputs is connected. The personal computer 200 is also provided with a floppy (registered trademark) disk drive (not shown), an input / output unit for sound, various interfaces, and the like.

  The CD-ROM 241 stores a printer driver in which the print data creation program according to the present invention is incorporated, settings and data used when the program is executed, and is provided from the CD-ROM 241 to the HDD 250 at the time of introduction. Stored in the program storage area 251 (see FIG. 5) and the program related information storage area 252 (see FIG. 5). The printer driver (print data creation program) of the personal computer 200 and its usage data acquisition method are not limited to those using the CD-ROM 241, but may be other recording media such as a flexible disk or MO, The computer 200 may be connected to a network and acquired from another terminal on the network.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the RAM 230 stores input image data storage area 231 that temporarily stores input image data 310 (see FIG. 6) from which print data is generated, and conversion converted from the input image data 310. Conversion CMYKW data storage area 232 for storing CMYKW data 320 (see FIG. 6), print data storage area 233 for storing print data 330 (see FIG. 6) created from conversion CMYKW data 320, and other programs being executed Other runtime information storage areas 234 and the like for storing temporary data are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the HDD 250 has a program storage area 251 for storing various programs executed by the personal computer 200 such as a printer driver (print data creation program), settings necessary for program execution, and initial settings. A color conversion table 410 (see FIG. 6) for converting the color information of the program-related information storage area 252 storing information such as values and data into color ink levels (CMYK values). A table storage area 253; a white conversion table storage area 254 for storing a white conversion table 420 (see FIG. 6) for converting color information of the input image data 310 into a white ink level (W value); An image data storage area 255 for storing image data is provided. In the color conversion table storage area 253 and the white conversion table storage area 254, a plurality of color conversion tables 410 and white conversion tables 420 are provided corresponding to the colors and materials of the recording medium printed by the inkjet printer 1, respectively. Is remembered.

  Under such a configuration, in the inkjet printer 1 of the present embodiment, after receiving print data from the personal computer 200, the user sets a T-shirt on the platen 5 and presses the print button 182. Then, the platen 5 is moved to the rear of the housing 2 along the rail 3 by the drive of the platen drive motor 7 so that the movement path of the carriage 20 becomes the recording start position. Then, while the carriage 20 moves from the right direction to the left direction of the housing 2, ink is ejected from the inkjet head 21 in accordance with a recording instruction, and one line recording is performed. Then, the platen 5 for one line is moved from the rear to the front of the housing 2, and then the carriage 20 is ejected from the inkjet head 21 in accordance with the recording instruction while moving from the left to the right of the housing 2. One line is recorded. Further, the platen 5 for one line is moved from the rear to the front of the housing 2. By repeating these operations, printing on the T-shirt is performed. When the printing is finished, the platen 5 is sent to a position where the T-shirt can be removed, so that the operator removes the T-shirt that has finished printing.

  Here, color expression in the personal computer 200 and the inkjet printer 1 will be described. When colors are displayed on the monitor 271 or the like of the personal computer 200, the colors are expressed in a format called sRGB format for each pixel forming the image. sRGB is an international standard for color space established by IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission). Many PC peripherals such as digital cameras, printers, monitors, etc. perform input and output by performing color adjustment according to this sRGB. Minimize time difference in color.

  In addition, when printing is performed by ejecting ink with the inkjet printer 1 or the like, colors are expressed in a format called a CMYK value format. This is a color expression method using four colors obtained by adding K (black) to the three primary colors of C (cyan), M (magenta), and Y (yellow), and the C value, M value, Y value, The color is expressed by four kinds of K values. In order to print the print data created in this format, the ink jet printer 1 uses four colors of ink of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, the cyan ink ejection amount is C value, and the m value is magenta ink. The yellow ink ejection amount is determined by the Y value, and the black ink ejection amount is determined by the K value.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, even if the background color of a recording medium such as a T-shirt is other than white (for example, black or blue), a high-quality image with excellent reproducibility based on image data is formed on the surface. White ink is used for printing. It is assumed that the amount of white ink ejected is determined by the W value. In other words, the print data is represented by five types of values, C value, M value, Y value, K value, and W value, and the inkjet printer 1 uses ink of five colors, cyan, magenta, yellow, black, and white. The printed image is executed.

  As described above, in order to print the image data displayed on the monitor 271 of the personal computer 200 with the inkjet printer 1, it is necessary to convert the image data in the sRGB format into the print data in the CMYKW format. In this embodiment, when print data creation processing (FIG. 9) is executed by the personal computer 200, print data in CMYKW format is created based on image data in sRGB format.

  Here, each data generated in the print data creation process of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a data transition diagram of the print data creation process. FIG. 7 is a data configuration diagram of the color conversion table 410. FIG. 8 is a data configuration diagram of the white conversion table 420. In the present embodiment, the recording medium is a T-shirt whose base color is “blue”.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the basis data for creating the print data 330 is the input image data 310 stored in the input image data storage area 231 of the RAM 230. The input image data 310 is the one instructed to be printed by the user among a plurality of image data created by the user using an image editing application and stored in the image data storage area 255 of the HDD 250. In the present embodiment, the input image data 310 is image data of 256 gradations in the sRGB format.

  Of the plurality of pixels (input pixels) constituting the input image data 310, the sRGB values of the pixels that do not have color information designated as the background color by the user (that is, input pixels other than the background color) are stored in the HDD 250. Based on the color conversion table 410 stored in the color conversion table storage area 253, it is converted into CMYK values, and color ink level data in CMYK format is created. As shown in FIG. 7, the color conversion table 410 is a table for converting 256 gradation input data in the sRGB format into 256 gradation output data in the CMYK format, and CMYK values corresponding to the respective sRGB values. Are defined respectively. Input pixels other than the background color constituting the input image data 310 are converted into corresponding CMYK values based on the color conversion table 410. Note that the color conversion table 410 (FIG. 7) may be arbitrarily created as a profile that defines the correspondence between sRGB values and CMYK values by a known method.

  Further, the sRGB values of the input pixels other than the background color constituting the input image data 310 are converted into W values based on the white conversion table 420 stored in the white conversion table storage area 254 of the HDD 250, respectively. White ink level data is generated. As shown in FIG. 8, the white conversion table 420 is a table for converting 256 gradation input data in the sRGB format into 256 gradation output data in the W format, and the W value corresponding to each sRGB value. Are defined respectively. Input pixels other than the background color constituting the input image data 310 are converted into corresponding W values based on the white conversion table 420. The white conversion table 420 (FIG. 8) may be arbitrarily created as a profile that defines the correspondence between sRGB values and W values by a known method.

  On the other hand, among the input pixels constituting the input image data 310, the sRGB value of the pixel having the color information designated as the background color by the user (that is, the background color input pixel) is used for handling the background color designated by the user. A corresponding process is performed and converted into CMYKW values. “Background color handling” designates a used color used for printing an input pixel of the background color. In this embodiment, the user selects “specific color”, “transparent color”, “white printing”. "Can be designated as the background color handling.

  When “specific color” is designated as the handling of the background color, the following data processing is performed in order to print the input pixel of the background color with the specific color arbitrarily designated by the user. That is, a color replacement process is performed in which the sRGB values of the background color input pixels constituting the input image data 310 are replaced with the sRGB values of a specific color arbitrarily designated by the user. Then, the sRGB values after color replacement are converted into CMYKW values by the color conversion table 410 and the white conversion table 420, as described above.

  When “transparent color” is designated as the background color handling, the input data of the background color is not printed, so the following data processing is performed. That is, a transparency process is executed to convert the sRGB values of the background color input pixels constituting the input image data 310 into CMYKW values (0, 0, 0, 0, 0) that are not printed.

  When “white printing” is designated as the handling of the background color, the following data processing is performed to print the input pixel of the background color in white. That is, a white replacement process is performed in which the sRGB values of the background color input pixels constituting the input image data 310 are converted into CMYKW values (0, 0, 0, 0, 255) for performing only white printing.

  In this embodiment, when “specific color” is specified as the background color handling and the sRGB value of the specific color specified by the user is (255, 255, 255), the color conversion table 410 and Instead of color conversion using the white conversion table 420, color conversion by white replacement processing is executed in the same manner as when “white printing” is designated.

  In this way, input pixels other than the background color constituting the input image data 310 are converted into CMYKW values by the color conversion table 410 and the white conversion table 420, respectively. On the other hand, the input pixel of the background color constituting the input image data 310 can be selected from a CMYKW value based on a specific color, a CMYKW value not performing printing, and a CMYKW value performing only white printing depending on the handling arbitrarily designated by the user. Each is converted into a crab. As a result, the converted CMYKW data 320 in the CMYKW format with 256 gradations in which all the input pixels constituting the input image data 310 are converted into CMYKW values is stored in the converted CMYKW data storage area 232 of the RAM 230. Further, pseudo gradation processing is performed on the converted CMYKW data 320 to generate two-gradation print data 330 in the CMYKW format, which is stored in the print data storage area 233 of the RAM 230. Finally, the print data 330 is transmitted to the inkjet printer 1 and used for image printing on a T-shirt or the like that is a recording medium.

  Hereinafter, a print data creation process performed by the personal computer 200 for realizing the above data conversion will be described. FIG. 9 is a main flowchart of the print data creation process. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing details of the background color designation process (S1). FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a specific example of the background color designation screen 500. In the present embodiment, the printer driver is activated when the user instructs execution of printing of image data. Then, based on a print data creation program included in the printer driver, the CPU 210 executes print data creation processing (FIG. 9).

  As shown in FIG. 9, in the print data creation process of the present embodiment, when the user instructs execution of printing of image data, the background color setting process for the user to arbitrarily set the background color of the image and its handling is executed. (S1).

  As shown in FIG. 10, in the background color designation process (S1), a background color designation screen 500, which is a dialog for the user to arbitrarily set the background color of the image and its handling, is first displayed on the monitor 271 (see FIG. 10). S51).

  As illustrated in FIG. 11, the background color designation screen 500 includes a background color designation instruction unit 501 for designating a background color, a background color designation unit 502 for designating an arbitrary background color, and a background color designation. A background color handling designation unit 503 for arbitrarily selecting handling of the background color designated in the unit 502, a “print start” button 504 for starting creation of the print data 330, and a plurality of background colors are designated. The “specify other background colors” button 505 is provided. From the background color designation screen 500 displayed in S51, the user can designate one or more arbitrary background colors and their handling using the keyboard 281 and the mouse 282.

  In this embodiment, the user can input an arbitrary background color by inputting 256-level sRGB values to the background color specifying unit 502. In the background color handling designation unit 503, the user can select any one of the three patterns of “transparent color”, “white printing”, and “specific color” as the handling of the background color. Note that the background color handling “transparent color” indicates that the background color is not printed, and the background color handling “white printing” indicates that the background color is printed with white ink. The handling “specific color” indicates that the background color is printed with a color arbitrarily specified by the user (specific color). In the background color handling designation unit 503, when the user performs “specific color” as the handling of the background color, the user inputs the sRGB value of 256 gradations as the specific color used for printing the background color. Can be specified. Specifically, in the case of the background color designation screen 500 shown in FIG. 11, this indicates that the user has designated the sRGB value (255, 255, 0) as the background color and designated “transparent color” as the handling. Yes.

  Returning to FIG. 10, when the user presses the “specify other background colors” button 505 from the background color designation screen 500 (S 53: YES), the background color input to the background color designation unit 502 and the background color are input. The handling of the background color input to the handling designation unit 503 is stored in the background color setting storage area (not shown) of the RAM 230 together with the sRGB values (S55). Then, screen initialization for clearing the input content of the background color designation screen 500 is performed (S57), and the process returns to S53. Thereby, the user can arbitrarily set other background colors and their handling from the initialized background color designation screen 500. That is, in the present embodiment, the user can arbitrarily set a plurality of background colors and their handling of the image.

  Further, when the user presses the “print start” button 504 from the background color designation screen 500 (S53: NO, S59: YES), the background color input to the background color designation unit 502 and the background are similar to S55. The background color handling input to the color handling designation unit 503 is stored in the background color setting storage area (not shown) of the RAM 230 (S61), and the process returns to the print data creation process (FIG. 9). If neither the “print start” button 504 nor the “specify other background color” button 505 is pressed (S53: NO, S59: NO), the process returns to S53 and waits for user input.

  Returning to FIG. 9, the image data to be printed is set as the input image data 310 (S3). In S <b> 3, among the image data stored in the image data storage area 255, the one instructed to be printed by the user is read as input image data 310 into the input image data storage area 231.

  Further, the color conversion table 410 and the white conversion table 420 used for data conversion of the input image data 310 are set (S5). In S5, the optimum color conversion table 410 is read from the color conversion table storage area 253 according to the color or material of the recording medium designated by the user, and the optimum white color is read from the white conversion table storage area 254. The conversion table 420 is read. The color conversion table 410 and the white conversion table 420 set in S5 may be arbitrarily designated by the user using the keyboard 281 or the mouse 282. Then, the sRGB value of the first pixel constituting the input image data 310 set in S3 is read (S7).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the input pixel read in S7 corresponds to the background color set in the background color setting process (S1) (S9). In S9, the color information of one or a plurality of background colors (256 gradation sRGB values) stored in the background color setting storage area (not shown) of the RAM 230, and the color information (256th floor) of the input pixel read in S7. If the key sRGB value matches (or approximates within a predetermined range), the input pixel is determined to be the background color. If the input pixel read in S7 does not correspond to the background color (S9: NO), the sRGB values read in S7 are converted into corresponding CMYK values based on the color conversion table 410 set in S5. (S11). Further, based on the white conversion table 420 set in S5, the sRGB values read in S7 are converted into corresponding W values (S13).

  For example, when the sRGB values (64, 192, 255) are read in S7, in the case of the color conversion table 410 shown in FIG. 7, CMYK values (190, 21, 0, 0) are acquired in S11. In the case of the white conversion table 420 shown in FIG. 8, the W value (251) is acquired in S13. The CMYKW values (190, 21, 0, 0, 251) acquired in S11 and S13 are stored in the corresponding pixel number column of the converted CMYKW data storage area 232.

  On the other hand, when the input pixel read in S7 corresponds to the background color (S9: YES), it is determined whether or not the handling of the background color set in the background color setting process (S1) is “specific color”. It is determined (S15). In S15, it is determined whether or not the handling of the background color stored in the background color setting storage area (not shown) of the RAM 230 is “specific color”. When the background color is handled as “specific color” (S15: YES), a color replacement process is performed to replace the sRGB value of the input pixel read in S7 with the sRGB value of the specific color specified by the user. It is executed (S17). Then, the sRGB values of the input pixels replaced with the specific color in S17 are converted into CMYKW values based on the color conversion table 410 and the white conversion table 420 as described above (S11 to S13).

  For example, in the background color designation screen 500, the user designates the sRGB value (255, 255, 0) as the background color, designates “specific color” as the handling, and sets the sRGB value (0, 0, 255) as the particular color. When the sRGB value (255, 255, 0) is read in S7, the input pixel is replaced with the sRGB value (0, 0, 255) in S17. In S11 and S13, CMYK values and W values corresponding to the sRGB values (0, 0, 255) are acquired and stored in the corresponding pixel number column of the converted CMYKW data storage area 232.

  When the handling of the background color is not “specific color” (S15: NO), it is determined whether or not the handling of the background color set in the background color setting process (S1) is “transparent color” ( S19). In S19, it is determined whether or not the handling of the background color stored in the background color setting storage area (not shown) of the RAM 230 is “transparent color”. If the background color is handled as “transparent color” (S19: YES), a transparency process for converting the sRGB value of the input pixel read in S7 into a CMYKW value that is not printed is executed. (S21).

  For example, in the background color designation screen 500 shown in FIG. 11, since the user designates the sRGB value (255, 255, 0) as the background color and designates “transparent color” as the handling, the sRGB value ( 255, 255, 0) is read, the input pixel is converted into a CMYKW value (0, 0, 0, 0, 0) in S21 and stored in the corresponding pixel number column of the converted CMYKW data storage area 232.

  When the background color handling is not "transparent color" (S19: NO), the background color handling set in the background color setting process (S1) (the background color stored in the background color setting storage area of the RAM 230) Is “white printing”. Therefore, a white replacement process for converting the sRGB value of the input pixel read in S7 into a CMYKW value for performing white printing is executed (S23).

  For example, when the user specifies the sRGB value (255, 255, 0) as the background color and specifies “white printing” as the handling on the background color designation screen 500, the sRGB value (255, 255, 0) is designated in S7. Is read, the input pixel is converted into a CMYKW value (0, 0, 0, 0, 255) in S23 and stored in the corresponding pixel number column of the converted CMYKW data storage area 232.

  As described above, when the user designates “specific color” as the background color handling and designates the sRGB value (255, 255, 255) as the specific color, when the sRGB value is read in S7, Instead of the color replacement process of S17, the white replacement process of S23 is executed. Then, the CMYKW values (0, 0, 0, 0, 255) after color conversion are stored in the corresponding pixel number column of the converted CMYKW data storage area 232.

  Then, it is determined whether or not conversion has been performed on all the pixels constituting the input image data 310 set in S3 (S25). If conversion has not been performed for all pixels (S25: NO), the process returns to S7. Then, the sRGB value of the next input pixel is read, and the sRGB value of the pixel is converted into a CMYKW value in the same manner as above (S9 to S23). In this manner, S7 to S25 are repeatedly executed until data conversion is performed for all the pixels constituting the input image data 310. Thus, the converted CMYKW data storage area 232 stores the converted CMYKW data 320 of 256 gradations in the CMYKW format converted based on the input image data 310 of 256 gradations in the sRGB format.

  On the other hand, when conversion has been performed for all pixels (S25: YES), the converted CMYKW data 320 stored in the converted CMYKW data storage area 232 is converted into two-tone print data in the CMYKW format by the pseudo gradation processing. 330 is converted (S27). The pseudo gradation process is a process for binarizing the 256 gradation converted CMYKW data 320 into a print gradation, and here, the pseudo gradation process is performed by an error diffusion method. Note that the print data 330 created in S27 is stored in the print data storage area 233. Then, the print data 330 stored in the print data storage area 233 is transmitted to the inkjet printer 1 (S29), and this process ends.

  When the inkjet printer 1 receives the print data 330 transmitted from the personal computer 200, the print data 330 is stored in a received print data storage area (not shown) of the RAM 130. When the user presses the print button 182, the print data 330 is read into a printing data storage area (not shown), and image printing is performed on a T-shirt or the like that is a recording medium based on the print data 330. The

  Here, in this embodiment, the five inkjet heads 21 are arranged in cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), K (black), and W (white) in order from the left. When printing an image, unidirectional printing is performed in the order of W (white), K (black), yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) from left to right on a T-shirt or the like. That is, printing with white ink (W) is performed on a T-shirt or the like prior to the other color inks (CMYK). Therefore, in order to obtain excellent color reproducibility even on a fabric whose background color is other than white, the background may be covered with white ink.

  As described above, in the print data creation process (FIG. 9) according to the present embodiment, when the user designates the background color (for example, “blue”) of the print image and its handling on the background color designation screen 500 (FIG. 11), Input pixels other than “blue” are converted into corresponding CMYKW values by normal color conversion processing (color conversion using the color conversion table 410 and the white conversion table 420). On the other hand, “blue” input pixels are converted into corresponding CMYKW values based on the handling of the background color. Therefore, when the inkjet printer 1 performs image printing based on the print data 330, the background color “blue” is printed on the recording medium in a manner desired by the user. Here, “handling of the background color” designates a use color used for printing the input pixel of the background color, and the print data 330 so that the printing mode of the background color differs depending on each pattern. Is created.

  Specifically, when the user designates “specific color” as the background color handling, the input pixel of the background color is converted into a CMYKW value corresponding to the color designated by the user (for example, “yellow”) by color replacement processing. . Therefore, when the inkjet printer 1 performs image printing based on the print data 330, the “blue” portion of the print image is printed in “yellow”. Further, when the user designates “transparent color” as the handling of the background color, the input pixel of the background color is converted into a CMYKW value corresponding to the transparent color by the transparency processing. For this reason, when the inkjet printer 1 performs image printing based on the print data 330, nothing in the “blue” portion of the print image is printed. When the user designates “white printing” as the handling of the background color, the input pixel of the background color is converted into a CMYKW value corresponding to white by white replacement processing. Therefore, when the inkjet printer 1 performs image printing based on the print data 330, the “blue” portion of the print image is printed in “white”.

  By the way, the ink jet printer 1 of the present embodiment is a printing apparatus having a feature capable of performing white printing with light and shade based on the white ink level (W value). In addition, there is a case where the print image based on the image data includes “white” pixels and the background of the recording medium is other than “white”. Therefore, using the characteristics of white printing of the inkjet printer 1, the “white” pixels included in the print image may be processed as follows.

  That is, when the user does not specify “white” as the background color of the print image, the sRGB value of the white input pixel is converted into the corresponding CMYKW value by a normal color conversion process, as with the input pixels other than the background color. To do. Then, when the inkjet printer 1 performs image printing based on the print data 330, the “white” portion of the print image is printed in white. Thus, since the white portion of the print image is displayed with white ink, a high-quality image with excellent reproducibility can be printed even if the background of the recording medium is other than “white”.

  In addition, when the user does not designate “white” as the background color of the print image, the sRGB value of the white input pixel is converted to the transparent color by the transparency process, as in the case where the background color is handled as “transparent color”. To CMYKW values corresponding to. Then, when the inkjet printer 1 performs image printing based on the print data 330, nothing in the “white” portion of the print image is printed. As a result, since the white portion of the printed image is not printed, the amount of white ink used can be adjusted appropriately when the background of the recording medium is “white”, and the image can be printed at a higher speed and at a lower cost. It can be performed.

  When the user designates “specific color (white)” as the background color handling, the sRGB value of the input pixel of the background color is converted into a CMYKW value corresponding to white by white conversion processing. Then, when the inkjet printer 1 performs image printing based on the print data 330, the background color portion of the print image is printed in white. Thereby, since the background color portion of the print image is displayed with white ink, a high-quality image with excellent reproducibility can be printed even if the background of the recording medium is other than “white”.

  As described above, according to the personal computer 200 according to the present embodiment, one or a plurality of background colors of the print image are arbitrarily designated from the sRGB values of the plurality of input pixels constituting the input image data 310, and the background color is selected. When any one of “transparent color”, “specific color”, and “white printing” is arbitrarily designated as the use color used for printing, the sRGB value of the background color is changed to the CMYKW value of the use color. The print data 330 is created by replacing each of them. Therefore, the user can arbitrarily specify the background color and its handling (use color) at the time of image printing, and create print data 330 that can print the background color in a manner desired by the user on the recording medium. Can do.

  In addition, when “transparent color” is designated as the background color handling, the sRGB value of the background color is replaced with a CMYKW value that is not printed, so that input pixels corresponding to the background color are not printed. Can do. In addition, when “specific color” is designated as the background color handling, the sRGB value of the background color is replaced with the CMYKW value of the specific color, so that the pixel corresponding to the background color is printed with “specific color”. Can be. Further, when “white” is designated as the background color handling, the sRGB value of the background color is replaced with the CMYKW value of the specific color, so that the pixel corresponding to the background color is printed with “white”. can do.

  By the way, in the above embodiment, the personal computer 200 corresponds to the “print data creating apparatus” of the present invention. The ink jet printer 1 corresponds to the “printing apparatus” of the present invention. A printer driver having a print data creation program corresponds to the “print data creation program” of the present invention. In the background color setting process (FIG. 10), the keyboard 281 and the mouse 282 for the user to arbitrarily specify the background color and its handling from the background color designation screen 500 (FIG. 11) are the “background color designation means” of the present invention. And “use color designation means”. In the print data creation process (FIG. 9), the CPU 210 that executes S7 to S25 corresponds to the “color replacement means” of the present invention, and the CPU 210 that executes S27 corresponds to the “print data creation means” of the present invention.

  Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, in the above embodiment, a blue T-shirt is exemplified as the “recording medium”, but the present invention can also be applied to other recording media such as recording paper and labels, and the background color is limited to blue. It can be applied to any color such as red or black as well as white. In addition, although the inkjet printer 1 is exemplified as the “printing apparatus”, the present invention can also be applied to a printing apparatus of another recording method, for example, a laser printer that prints using toner.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the background color arbitrarily designated by the user is handled for the background color of the input image data 310 (input pixel for which the user has designated the background color) is exemplified. However, according to the present invention, the user can set arbitrary handling for colors other than the background color of the image data 310. In this case, in the background color setting process (S1; FIG. 10), the user may specify an arbitrary color and its handling.

  In the above-described embodiment, the color conversion table 410 and the white conversion table 420 convert sRGB format image data into CMYKW format print data. However, such a data format can be arbitrarily changed. For example, the image data may be data in another color space such as CMYK format or HSV format. The print data may be data in another color space such as RGB format or HSV format according to the recording method of each printer. The color conversion table 410 and the white conversion table 420 only need to define the correspondence between the data formats so as to enable conversion of image data and print data.

  In the above embodiment, the user designates the background color or specific color as the sRGB value from the background color designation screen 500 (FIG. 11), but it may be designated by another color space such as CMYK format or HSV format. Good. The timing for designating the background color and its handling from the background color designation screen 500 is not limited to when the print data creation process (FIG. 9) is executed, and can be performed at any timing. For example, the user may designate the background color and its handling from the background color designation screen 500 in advance before starting the printing of the image data.

  In the above embodiment, the user selects an arbitrary one from the three patterns “specific color”, “transparent color”, and “white printing” as the background color handling (use color) from the background color designation screen 500. However, various background color handling patterns can be applied. For example, the user may be able to designate “pixel color” for printing the color of the input pixel as it is as handling of the background color from the background color designation screen 500. In this case, when the user designates “pixel color” as the handling of the background color, the sRGB value of the input pixel of the background color is converted into a corresponding CMYKW value by a normal color conversion process. Therefore, when the inkjet printer 1 performs image printing based on the print data 330, the background color portion of the print image is printed with the color of the input pixel. As a result, the input pixel of the background color can be printed in the same color as the input pixel other than the background color.

  The print data creation device and print data creation program of the present invention can be used in a computer that creates print data used to execute image printing in a printing device.

1 is a perspective view illustrating an overall configuration of an inkjet printer 1. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an inkjet printer 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a personal computer 200. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a RAM 230 of the personal computer 200. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an HDD 250 of a personal computer 200. FIG. FIG. 6 is a data transition diagram of a print data creation process. 4 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration of a color conversion table 410. FIG. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the white conversion table. 6 is a main flowchart of print data creation processing. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of a background color designation | designated process (S1). 5 is a diagram showing a specific example of a background color designation screen 500. FIG.

1 Inkjet printer 200 Personal computer 210 CPU
220 ROM
230 RAM
250 HDD
271 Monitor 281 Keyboard 282 Mouse 310 Input image data 320 Conversion CMYKW data 330 Print data 410 Color conversion table 420 White conversion table 500 Background color designation screen

Claims (7)

In a print data creation device that creates print data used for printing on a printing device based on image data,
Among color information of a plurality of input pixels constituting the image data, a background color designating unit for arbitrarily designating one or a plurality of background colors of a print image;
Use for arbitrarily designating any one of a plurality of patterns including at least a transparent color and a specific color as a use color used for printing one or a plurality of background colors designated by the background color designation means Color designation means;
Among the color information of a plurality of input pixels constituting the image data, the color information of one or a plurality of background colors designated by the background color designation unit is used as the color of the use color designated by the use color designation unit. Color replacement means for replacing each information,
Print data creation means for creating print data based on the image data in which the color information is replaced by the color replacement means ,
The color replacement unit replaces the color information of the background color with white color information when white is specified as the use color, while the white color information is determined when white is not specified as the background color. Is a print data creation device characterized by not replacing. In a print data creation device that creates print data used for printing on a printing device based on image data,
Among color information of a plurality of input pixels constituting the image data, a background color designating unit for arbitrarily designating one or a plurality of background colors of a print image;
Use for arbitrarily designating any one of a plurality of patterns including at least a transparent color and a specific color as a use color used for printing one or a plurality of background colors designated by the background color designation means Color designation means;
Among the color information of a plurality of input pixels constituting the image data, the color information of one or a plurality of background colors designated by the background color designation unit is used as the color of the use color designated by the use color designation unit. Color replacement means for replacing each information,
Print data creation means for creating print data based on the image data in which the color information is replaced by the color replacement means,
The color replacement unit replaces the color information of the background color with white color information when white is specified as the use color, while the white color information is replaced when white is not specified as the background color. A print data creation device, characterized in that it is replaced with color information that is not printed. 3. The print data according to claim 1, wherein the color replacement unit replaces color information of the background color with color information that is not printed when a transparent color is designated as the use color. 4. Creation device. The color replacement unit, if a specific color as the color used is specified, according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein replacing the color information of the background color on the specific color color information Print data creation device. The use color designating means is for arbitrarily designating each one from a plurality of patterns further including a pixel color as the use color,
The color replacement unit, if the pixel color is specified as the used color print data generating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that no replacement for the color information of the background color. A print data creation program for creating print data used for printing on a printing apparatus based on image data, the computer comprising:
Among color information of a plurality of input pixels constituting the image data, a background color designation means for arbitrarily designating one or a plurality of background colors of a print image,
Use for arbitrarily designating any one of a plurality of patterns including at least a transparent color and a specific color as a use color used for printing one or a plurality of background colors designated by the background color designation means Color designation means,
Among the color information of a plurality of input pixels constituting the image data, the color information of one or a plurality of background colors designated by the background color designation unit is used as the color of the use color designated by the use color designation unit. Color replacement means for replacing each information,
Function as print data creation means for creating print data based on the image data in which the color information is replaced by the color replacement means ;
The color replacement unit replaces the color information of the background color with white color information when white is specified as the use color, while the white color information is determined when white is not specified as the background color. Is a print data creation program characterized by not replacing. A print data creation program for creating print data used for printing on a printing apparatus based on image data, the computer comprising:
Among color information of a plurality of input pixels constituting the image data, a background color designation means for arbitrarily designating one or a plurality of background colors of a print image,
Use for arbitrarily designating any one of a plurality of patterns including at least a transparent color and a specific color as a use color used for printing one or a plurality of background colors designated by the background color designation means Color designation means,
Among the color information of a plurality of input pixels constituting the image data, the color information of one or a plurality of background colors designated by the background color designation unit is used as the color of the use color designated by the use color designation unit. Color replacement means for replacing each information,
Function as print data creation means for creating print data based on the image data in which the color information is replaced by the color replacement means;
The color replacement unit replaces the color information of the background color with white color information when white is specified as the use color, while the white color information is replaced when white is not specified as the background color. A print data creation program characterized by replacing color information that is not printed.