JP5521779B2 - Printing apparatus and printing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for performing printing using a plurality of colors of ink including white.

  Printing apparatuses that perform printing using white (white) ink in addition to color inks such as cyan, magenta, and yellow are known. Several methods for enabling color image printing that is not affected by the ground color of a printing medium in a printing apparatus that performs printing using a plurality of colors of ink including white ink are known. As an example, there is one that forms white dots using white ink in a portion where no color dots are formed (for example, Patent Document 1). As another example, there is a method in which the amount of white ink discharged is changed according to the transparency of a print medium when the base processing of the print medium using white ink is performed (for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2005-88520 A JP 2005-262553 A

  In such background processing of a print medium using white ink, the white color of the background portion is determined by the color of the white ink. However, there has been a demand for a desired color by matching the white color of the base portion with, for example, a color image printed on a print medium.

  The present invention makes it possible to form a white image of a desired color together with a color image for a plurality of partial areas on a print area when printing is performed using a plurality of colors of ink including white. With the goal.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms or application examples.

The print control apparatus of the present invention is a print control apparatus that forms a color image and an image including white in an overlapping manner, and includes the white by changing the amount of other ink mixed with white ink according to the color image. Form an image.
According to this configuration, an image including white to be superimposed on the color image is formed by mixing with other ink, and the amount of other ink to be mixed is changed according to the color image, so that a desired white image can be formed. it can.
The printing control apparatus of the present invention is a printing control apparatus for controlling a printing apparatus that performs printing using a plurality of colors of ink including white, and includes a plurality of partial areas from a printing area where printing is performed by the printing apparatus. For the toned white defined by a combination of density values and color values in a predetermined color system for the plurality of partial areas, a set of the density values and the color values is set. A set of at least one toned white designating unit, a first image forming unit for forming a color image on the print area, and the toned white image with the density value and the color specification value And a second image forming unit formed on the partial area to which is designated.
According to this configuration, when performing printing using a plurality of colors of ink including white, a plurality of partial areas are designated from the print area, and the toned white density value and the plurality of partial areas are specified. Since at least one set of color values can be specified, a toned white image (white image) of a desired color is formed together with the color image for a plurality of partial areas on the print area. Can do.

Further, a characteristic hue that characterizes the color image is determined based on image data that is data of a color image formed on the print region, and the density value and the table are determined based on the characteristic hue of the color image. An analysis unit for setting at least one of the color value is provided.
According to this configuration, the characteristic hue that characterizes the color image is determined based on the image data that is the data of the color image formed on the print region, and the hue of the toned white image is determined based on the characteristic hue. It is determined. For this reason, for example, by combining the hues of the toned white image and the color image, printing using various color expressions becomes possible.

The analysis unit further sets at least one of the density value and the color value so that the toned white is a complementary color of the characteristic hue of the color image.
According to this configuration, at least one of the density value and the color value of the toned white is set so that the toned white image is complementary to the characteristic hue of the color image. A toned white image having a hue that is complementary to the hue is formed. For this reason, for example, by combining the hues of the toned white image and the color image, it is possible to perform printing with an improved contrast ratio of the color image.

The analysis unit further determines a characteristic hue of the color image based on a pixel value obtained by sampling the image data.
According to this configuration, the characteristic hue of the color image is determined based on the pixel value obtained by sampling the image data that is the color image data. For this reason, the characteristic hue of the color image can be determined by a general-purpose method.

The analysis unit further determines a characteristic hue of the color image by at least one of determination of a shooting scene of the image data and extraction of a predetermined object included in the image data.
According to this configuration, the characteristic hue of the color image is determined by at least one of the determination of the shooting scene of the image data and the extraction of the predetermined object included in the image data. For this reason, the characteristic hue of the color image can be easily determined.

The print control unit may further perform image formation by the first image forming unit and image formation by the second image forming unit in parallel during at least a part of the printing period. The first image forming unit and the second image forming unit are controlled.
According to this configuration, the image formation by the first image forming unit and the image formation by the second image forming unit are performed in parallel during at least a part of the printing period. In addition, it is possible to efficiently execute a printing process for forming a white image of a desired color together with a color image.

The analysis unit further acquires a characteristic hue of the print medium, and sets at least one of the density value and the color value based on the characteristic hue of the print medium.
According to this configuration, when printing is performed using a plurality of colors of ink including white, a characteristic hue that characterizes the print medium is acquired, and the density value of the toned white is displayed based on the characteristic hue of the print medium. At least one of the color value is set. Therefore, a toned white image (white image) based on the color of the print medium can be formed on the print area.

The present invention can be realized in various modes. For example, a printing control apparatus and method, a printing apparatus and method, a printing system including the printing apparatus and the printing control apparatus, and these methods, apparatuses, and systems. The present invention can be realized in the form of a computer program for realizing the above functions, a recording medium on which the computer program is recorded, and the like.
The printing apparatus of the present invention is a printing apparatus that forms a color image and an image including white by using a plurality of colors including white ink, and the plurality of colors of ink according to the color image. Among them, a printing apparatus that forms an image including the white color by changing the amount of ink other than the white ink mixed with the white ink may be used.

1 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a configuration of a printing system in a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of PC200 roughly. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a printer. 2 is a block diagram functionally showing the configuration of a PC 200. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram functionally showing the configuration of a printer. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow in the printing system according to the present exemplary embodiment. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of print image PI color image data and Cdata area white image data WINdata. It is explanatory drawing which shows the printing order of a color image and a white image. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the toning white designation | designated process by application program AP. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of an area | region designation | designated window. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the area toning white designation | designated process by application program AP. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a toning white designation | designated window. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the automatic toning white designation | designated process by application program AP. It is explanatory drawing which shows the area | region designation | designated window AS1 after an automatic toning white designation | designated process was performed. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing by a CPU 210 that executes a printer driver 300. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the color conversion process ink color separation process halftone process for a toned white image. It is explanatory drawing which shows partially an example of the look-up table LUTw for toned white images. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the color conversion process ink color separation process halftone process for color images. It is explanatory drawing which shows partially an example of the look-up table for color images LUTc. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of command creation processing. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the command produced by command creation processing. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the content of the ink code table | surface ICT. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing by the printer. It is explanatory drawing which shows the detailed structure of a raster buffer and a head buffer. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a print head 144 of the printer 100. FIG. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the effect in the printing system 10 of a present Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the concept of the white color to which white is adjusted. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the color reproduction area (gamut) of a color image and a white image. It is explanatory drawing which shows schematically the structure of PC200 in 2nd Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the printing image PI color image data Cdata area | region white image data WINdata in 2nd Example. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the toning white designation | designated process by application program AP in 2nd Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the toning white designation | designated window in 2nd Example. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the area toning white designation | designated process by application program AP in 3rd Example. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the toning white designation | designated window in 3rd Example.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order based on examples.

A. First embodiment:
A-1. Printing system configuration:
A-2. Toning white designation processing:
A-3. Area toning white designation processing:
A-4. Automatic toning white designation processing:
B. Second embodiment:
C. Third embodiment:
D. Variations:

A. First embodiment:
A-1. Printing system configuration:
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the configuration of a printing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The printing system 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a printer 100 and a personal computer (PC) 200. The printer 100 is an ink jet color printer that prints an image by ejecting ink to form ink dots on a printing medium (for example, printing paper or transparent film). The PC 200 functions as a print control apparatus that supplies printing data to the printer 100 and controls the printing operation by the printer 100. The printer 100 and the PC 200 are connected to be able to communicate information by wire or wireless. Specifically, in this embodiment, the printer 100 and the PC 200 are connected to each other by a USB cable. FIG. 1 shows an actual printed matter (hereinafter also referred to as “real print RP”) created by printing with a gravure printing machine, for example.

  The printer 100 of this embodiment includes cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), black (K), light cyan (Lc), light magenta (Lm), and white (W). The printer performs printing using a total of seven colors of ink. The printing system 10 according to the present embodiment realizes a printing process in which a color image and a white image are formed in parallel on a transparent film as a printing medium. A transparent film on which a color image and a white image are formed is used as, for example, a product packaging film.

  In the present specification, “white” is not limited to white in the strict sense that is the surface color of an object reflecting 100% of all wavelengths of visible light, but is commonly used as a so-called “white”. It shall include a color called white. In this specification, mixing white ink with other color inks to adjust the white color is called “white toning”, and the white (adjusted white) generated by white toning is referred to as “toning” Call it white. In the present specification, a white image is referred to as a “white image”, and an image composed of toned white in the white image is particularly referred to as a “toned white image”.

  In the present specification, the “print region” refers to a region in which the printer 100 forms an image to be printed (hereinafter also referred to as “print image PI”) on a print medium (for example, a transparent film). Means. The print area may be a partial area on the print medium or may be the entire area on the print medium.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the configuration of the PC 200. The PC 200 includes a CPU 210, a ROM 220, a RAM 230, a USB interface (USB I / F) 240, a network interface (N / W I / F) 250, a display interface (display I / F) 260, and a serial interface ( Serial I / F) 270, hard disk drive (HDD) 280, and CD drive 290 are included. Each component of the PC 200 is connected to each other via a bus.

  A monitor MON as a display device is connected to the display interface 260 of the PC 200. The serial interface 270 is connected to a keyboard KB and a mouse MOU as input devices. Note that the configuration of the PC 200 illustrated in FIG. 2 is merely an example, and some of the components of the PC 200 may be omitted or further components may be added to the PC 200.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the configuration of the printer 100. The printer 100 includes a CPU 110, a ROM 120, a RAM 130, a head controller 140, a print head 144, a carriage controller (CR controller) 150, a carriage motor (CR motor) 152, and a print medium feed controller (PF controller) 160. A print medium feed motor (PF motor) 162, a USB interface (USB I / F) 170, a network interface (N / W I / F) 180, and a monitor 190 as a display unit. Each component of the printer 100 is connected to each other via a bus.

  The CPU 110 of the printer 100 functions as a control unit that controls the operation of the entire printer 100 by executing a computer program stored in the ROM 120. The print head 144 of the printer 100 is mounted on a carriage (not shown). The carriage controller 150 controls the carriage motor 152 to reciprocate the carriage in a predetermined direction. Thereby, the main scanning in which the print head 144 reciprocates along a predetermined direction (main scanning direction) of the print medium is realized. The print medium feed controller 160 and the print medium feed motor 162 function as a print medium feed mechanism. That is, the print medium feed controller 160 controls the print medium feed motor 162 to perform sub-scanning for transporting the print medium in a direction (sub-scanning direction) orthogonal to the main scanning direction. The print head 144 has a nozzle group (FIG. 25) that ejects ink, and the head controller 140 controls ink ejection from the nozzle group by the print head 144 in conjunction with main scanning and sub scanning. Thereby, formation of an image (printing of an image) on the print medium is realized.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram functionally showing the configuration of the PC 200. The ROM 220 (FIG. 2) of the PC 200 stores an application program AP and a printer driver 300 as computer programs executed by the CPU 210. The application program AP is a program for generating, editing, and the like of a print image PI (image to be printed) for a print area on a print medium. The CPU 210 executes generation and editing of the print image PI by executing the application program AP.

  The application program AP includes a white image processing unit 400. The white image processing unit 400 further includes an area designation module 410 as a toned white designation unit, a toned white designation module 420 as a toned white designation unit, and an analysis module 430 as an analysis unit. . The CPU 210 that executes the application program AP outputs the color image data Cdata, the area-specific white image data WINdata, and the print order designation information SS to the printer driver 300 in accordance with a print execution instruction from the user. The function of each module, the contents of each information, and the contents of each data will be described later.

  The printer driver 300 (FIG. 4) as the print control unit generates print data (print command) based on the data output from the application program AP, and controls the printer 100 (FIG. 1) based on the print data. This is a program for performing print processing. The CPU 210 (FIG. 2) executes printing control by the printer 100 by executing the printer driver 300.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the printer driver 300 includes a color image ink color separation processing module 310, a color image halftone processing module 320, a toned white image color conversion module 340, and a toned white image. An ink color separation processing module 350, a toned white image halftone processing module 360, and a command creation module 370 are included. The HDD 280 (FIG. 2) of the PC 200 includes a color image lookup table (LUT) LUTc, a color image halftone (HT) resource HTc, a toned white image lookup table (LUT) LUTw, A toned white image halftone (HT) resource HTw and an ink code table ICT are stored, and the printer driver 300 and each module execute processing with reference to these pieces of information. The function of each module and the contents of each information will be described later.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram functionally showing the configuration of the printer 100. A command processing module 112 is stored in the ROM 120 (FIG. 3) of the printer 100 as a computer program executed by the CPU 110. As will be described later, the CPU 110 executes a command processing module 112 to realize processing of a print command received from the PC 200. In addition, the RAM 130 (FIG. 3) of the printer 100 has a raster buffer 132. The raster buffer 132 includes two areas of a color image raster buffer 132c and a white image raster buffer 132w. The head controller 140 (FIG. 3) of the printer 100 has a head buffer 142. The head buffer 142 includes an upstream head buffer 142u and a downstream head buffer 142l. The functions and detailed configurations of these programs and buffers will be described later.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the printing system 10 of this embodiment. In the printing system 10 of the present embodiment, the color image Ic and the white image Iw are formed in parallel on the transparent film as the print medium PM, and the printed matter on which the color image Ic and the white image Iw are formed is formed. It is a process to create.

  In step S110, the toned white designation process is performed by the CPU 210 (FIG. 2) that executes the application program AP (FIG. 4). By this toning white designation process, the area-specific white image data WINdata and the printing order designation information SS are generated. The details of the toned white designation process will be described later. Next, in step S120, the CPU 210 receives a print execution instruction from the user via the application program AP. In response to receiving the print execution instruction, the CPU 210 outputs the color image data Cdata, the area-specific white image data WINdata, and the print order designation information SS to the printer driver 300 (FIG. 4).

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the print image PI, color image data Cdata, and area-specific white image data WINdata. FIG. 7A shows an example of the print image PI. The print image PI includes a photographic image as a color image Ic and a white area. The white region is a region corresponding to the white image (a region where a white image is to be formed at the time of printing), and is set as a region slightly larger than a region where the color image Ic is arranged. Therefore, when the print image PI is printed, the color image is formed so as to overlap the white image. This is to prevent the opposite side of the printed matter from being seen through the transparent film as the printing medium at the position of the color image Ic.

  The white area is formed by a plurality (at least one) of partial areas arbitrarily designated from the print area. The white area in this embodiment is formed of three partial areas (first partial area AW1, second partial area AW2, and third partial area AW3). The first partial area AW1 that is the first partial area is an area corresponding to the face portion of the person of the color image Ic in the white area. The second partial area AW2 that is the second partial area is an area corresponding to an empty portion of the color image Ic in the white area. The third partial area AW3, which is the third partial area, is an area corresponding to a portion of the white area other than the human face portion and the sky portion of the color image Ic.

  FIG. 7B conceptually shows the color image data Cdata. In the present embodiment, the color image data Cdata specifies the color of each pixel of the print image PI with an 8-bit C value, M value, Y value, and K value when attention is paid only to the color image Ic of the print image PI. It is data to be. In the color image data Cdata, the value of the pixel corresponding to the color image Ic of the print image PI is a value that specifies the color of the color image Ic, and the value of the remaining pixels does not form a color image (for example, C, M, Y, K = 0).

  FIG. 7C conceptually shows the first region white image data WI1data. In the present embodiment, the first area white image data WI1data is data that specifies the color of each pixel in the partial area AW1 with an 8-bit W value when the color image Ic is excluded from the print image PI. However, the value that the W value can take is either 0 or 255. Specifically, the first area white image data WI1data is a value (for example, W = 255) indicating that the pixel value corresponding to the partial area AW1 of the print image PI forms a white image, and the remaining pixel data The data is a value (for example, W = 0) indicating that a white image is not formed.

  FIG. 7D conceptually shows the second region white image data WI2data. In the present embodiment, the second area white image data WI2data is data that specifies the color of each pixel in the partial area AW2 with an 8-bit W value when the color image Ic is excluded from the print image PI. The value that the W value can take is either 0 or 255, as described above. Specifically, the second area white image data WI2data is a value (for example, W = 255) indicating that the pixel value corresponding to the partial area AW2 of the print image PI forms a white image, and the remaining pixel data The data is a value (for example, W = 0) indicating that a white image is not formed.

  FIG. 7E conceptually shows the third region white image data WI3data. In the present embodiment, the third area white image data WI3data is data that specifies the color of each pixel in the partial area AW3 with an 8-bit W value when the color image Ic is excluded from the print image PI. The value that the W value can take is either 0 or 255, as described above. Specifically, the third region white image data WI3data is a value (for example, W = 255) indicating that the pixel value corresponding to the partial region AW3 of the print image PI forms a white image, and the remaining pixel data The data is a value (for example, W = 0) indicating that a white image is not formed.

  Note that the first area white image data WI1data, the second area white image data WI2data, and the third area white image data WI3data may be data represented by a 2-bit value for each pixel. In the following description, the plurality of white image data (first area white image data WI1data, second area white image data WI2data, third area white image data WI3data) are collectively referred to as “area-specific white image data WINdata. "

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the printing order of a color image and a white image. FIG. 8A shows a printing order in which a white image Iw is formed on a transparent film as the print medium PM, and a color image Ic is formed on the white image Iw. In this specification, this printing order is referred to as “white-color printing” or “WC printing”. In the WC printing shown in FIG. 8A, the observer observes the printed matter from above the figure (arrow in the figure).

  FIG. 8B shows a printing order in which the color image Ic is formed on the transparent film as the print medium PM, and the white image Iw is formed on the color image Ic. In this specification, this printing order is referred to as “color-white printing” or “C-W printing”. In the C-W printing shown in FIG. 8B, the observer observes the printed matter from the lower side of the figure (arrow in the figure). The user selects whether to perform W-C printing or C-W printing according to the usage of the printed material (described later).

A-2. Toning white designation processing:
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of toning white designation processing by the application program AP. The toned white designation process in the present embodiment designates a white area (a plurality of partial areas arbitrarily determined from the print area) and the color of the white image (toned white image) formed in the white area. This is the process to specify. In step S310, the area designation module 410 (FIG. 4) included in the white image processing unit 400 of the application program AP displays an area designation window for white area designation on the monitor MON (FIG. 2) of the PC 200.

  FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the area designation window. As shown in FIG. 10, the area designation window AS1 includes a print area display area Asa, a toolbar At1, a select button Ab1, an automatic button Auto2, a print order designation field Ase1, and an OK button Ab4. And three area display windows Asw.

  A print area (in other words, an area where the print image PI is formed) is displayed in the print area display area Asa. The print area display area Asa includes a color image display area Asa1 and a white image display area Asa2. An arbitrary color image is displayed in the color image display area Asa1. In the white image display area Asa2, a designated toned white sample image is displayed. The toolbar At1 is a menu including a plurality of types of selection buttons. The user can select an arbitrary partial area on the sample image display area Asa by using a plurality of types of selection buttons on the toolbar At1. An arbitrary partial area on the sample image display area Asa selected by the user is also referred to as a “user selection area”. The select button Ab1 is a button for storing information on the user selection area. The printing order designation field Ase1 is a designation unit for designating the printing order described with reference to FIG. The automatic (Auto) button Ab2 is a button for performing automatic toning white designation processing described later.

  The area display window Asw includes an area image display area Aa1, an edit button Ab3, and a specified value display area Ast1. In the area image display area Aa1, an image indicating the user selection area is displayed. The edit button Ab3 is a button for performing a region toning white designation process described later on the partial region displayed in the region image display area Aa1. In the designated value display area Ast1, the designated value of the toned white designated by the automatic toned white designation process or the area toned white designation process is displayed.

  In step S312 of FIG. 9, the area designation module 410 monitors the presence / absence of an operation by the user via the keyboard KB or mouse MOU (FIG. 2) operation when the area designation window AS1 is displayed. If it is determined that there is an operation (step S312: Yes), and it is determined that the operation is a press of the OK button Ab4 (step S314: Yes), the region designation module 410 sets the Lab value and T value of each region. Save (step S330). Specifically, the area designation module 410 includes information on the user selection area displayed in the area image display area Aa1 of the area display window Asw, and the toned white designated value (in the designated value display area Ast1). Lab values and T values) are stored in association with each other. Thereafter, the area designation module 410 ends the process.

  If it is determined in step S316 that the operation is pressing of the edit button Ab3 (step S316: Yes), the area designating module 410 performs area toning white designation processing described later (step S318). On the other hand, when it is determined that the operation is an automatic (Auto) button Ab2 press (step S320: Yes), the area designation module 410 performs an automatic toning white designation process described later (step S322).

  If it is determined in step S324 that the select (Select) button Ab1 has been pressed (step S324: Yes), in step S326, the area specifying module 410 acquires information on the user-selected area and also displays information on the partial area. Remember. In step S328, the area designation module 410 newly displays an image indicating the user selection area in the area image display area Aa1 of the area display window Asw. At this time, the value in the designated value display area Ast1 may be in a display state corresponding to the default toned white. For example, the default state is a display state corresponding to the Lab value and the T value preset as the white ink color of the printer 100.

A-3. Area toning white designation processing:
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of area toning white designation processing by the application program AP. The area toned white designation process in this embodiment is a part of the toned white designation process, and is a process for designating the toned white for the user selection area as described with reference to FIGS. In step S340, the toned white designation module 420 (FIG. 4) included in the white image processing unit 400 of the application program AP displays a toned white designation window for toning white designation on the monitor MON of the PC 200 (FIG. 2). Is displayed.

  FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the toned white designation window. FIG. 12A shows an example of the toned white designation window EW1. As shown in FIG. 12A, the toned white designation window EW1 includes a designated area display area Esa1, two slider bars Esl1 and Esl2, an ab plane display area Ep1, a value input box Ebo, and an OK button Eb2. Including.

  An image indicating the user selection area is displayed in the designated area display area Esa1. A partial area indicated by hatching in the designated area display area Esa1 is an area indicating a user selection area. In addition, the hatched area in the designated area display area Esa1 is an unselected area in the print area.

A value input box Ebo is a colorimetric value (L ^* value (hereinafter also simply referred to as “L value”), a ^* value (hereinafter also simply referred to as “a value”) in the L ^* a ^* b ^* color system, This is a part for designating toning white by inputting a set of b ^* value (hereinafter also simply referred to as “b value”) and T value. The L value is a value indicating the brightness of the toned white, and correlates with the amount of black (K) ink when the toned white image is printed. The a value and the b value are values representing the chromaticity along the red-green axis and the yellow-blue axis of the toned white, and correlate with the amount of color ink when the toned white image is printed. The T value is a value indicating the density and correlates with the ink amount per unit area when the toned white image is printed. That is, the T value correlates with the transparency of the background color. The two slider bars Esl1 and Esl2 and the ab plane display area Ep1 are parts for designating toned white by inputting a Lab value and a T value.

  FIG. 12B shows another example of the toned white designation window EW1. In the example of FIG. 12B, the toned white designation window EW1 further includes a color image display area Esa2. The color image display area Esa2 is provided in one area obtained by dividing the designated area display area Esa1 into left and right parts. In the color image display area Esa2, a part of the color image is displayed in a layered manner so as to overlap with the image indicating the user selection area displayed in the designated area display area Esa1. The color image layer is set to a predetermined transparency. This predetermined transparency is preferably determined in consideration of the transmittance when printing is actually performed. Note that the transparency of the layer may be changed.

  In step S342 in FIG. 11, the toned white designation module 420 monitors whether the user performs an operation via the keyboard KB or the mouse MOU (FIG. 2) when the toned white designation window EW1 is displayed. When the operation is not pressing the OK button Eb2 (Step S344: No), the toned white designation module 420 acquires a value corresponding to the operation (Step S346), and displays the acquired value in the value input box Ebo or the like ( Step S348), the display of the designated area display area Esa1 is updated (Step S350).

  On the other hand, when the operation is the press of the OK button Eb2 (step S344: Yes), the toned white designation module 420 displays the designated value of the area display window Asw corresponding to the user selection area of the area designation window AS1 (FIG. 10). The designated value (Lab value and T value) of the toned white is displayed for the area Ast1, and the process is terminated.

  Specifically, for example, in a state where the area designation window AS1 shown in FIG. 10 is displayed, the user selects an arbitrary type of selection button on the toolbar At1 using the mouse MOU (FIG. 2). Thereafter, the user uses the mouse MOU to select an arbitrary partial area on the sample image display area Asa as a user selection area, and presses a select button Ab1. When the select button Ab1 is pressed, the user selection area is displayed in the area image display area Aa1 of the area display window Asw. A plurality of user selection areas can be designated. When a plurality of user selection areas are designated, a different area display window Asw is displayed for each user selection area. FIG. 10 shows an example when three user selection areas are designated. The user selects a desired one of the toned whites from the image indicating the user selection area, and presses the edit button Ab3 in the area display window Asw.

  By pressing the edit button Ab3 of the area designation window AS1 (FIG. 10), the toned white designation window EW1 shown in FIG. 12 is displayed. In the toned white designation window EW1, when the user selects the value input box Ebo and inputs a value via the keyboard KB (FIG. 2), the input value is displayed in the value input box Ebo and the designated area display area. The color of the white image area (area indicated by hatching in FIG. 12) corresponding to the user selection area of Esa1 is changed to the color (toned white) specified by the input value. When the user changes the a value or b value in the value input box Ebo, the color of the color (toned white) of the white image area in the designated area display area Esa1 is changed. Further, when the user changes the L value of the value input box Ebo, the brightness of the color of the white image area of the designated area display area Esa1 is changed. When the user changes the T value of the value input box Ebo, since the transparency of the background color is changed, the brightness of the color of the white image area in the black background area of the designated area display area Esa1 is changed. Note that a black background area is provided on a part of the back surface of the designated area display area Esa1 in order to facilitate the confirmation of the brightness of the color of the white image area when the T value of the value input box Ebo is changed. Also good.

  Further, for example, when the user operates the mouse MOU (FIG. 2) to change the position of the slider bar Esl1, the L value corresponding to the position is acquired, and the color of the designated area display area Esa1 is specified by the acquired value. Changed to color. Similarly, when the user operates the mouse MOU to change the position of the slider bar Esl2, the T value corresponding to the position is acquired, and the color of the designated area display area Esa1 is changed. Further, when the user operates the mouse MOU to change the position of the designated point (indicated by-in the figure) of the ab plane display area Ep1, the a value and b value corresponding to the position of. The color of Esa1 is changed.

  The value input box Ebo, the slider bars Esl1, Esl2, and the ab plane display area Ep1 are linked. That is, when the value is changed in the value input box Ebo, the positions of the slider bars Esl1 and Esl2 and the position of • in the ab plane display area Ep1 are changed. Similarly, when the position of the slider bars Esl1 and Esl2 or the position of... In the ab plane display area Ep1 is changed, the changed designated value is displayed in the value input box Ebo.

A-4. Automatic toning white designation processing:
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of automatic toning white designation processing by the application program AP. The automatic toning white designation processing in the present embodiment is a part of the toning white designation processing, and an arbitrary color displayed by the analysis module 430 of the white image processing unit 400 in the print area display area Asa (FIG. 10). This is a process of selecting a partial region and specifying a toned white by analyzing an image.

  In step S360, the analysis module 430 determines whether or not Exif (EXchangeable Image File Format) information is included in the color image data Cdata for the color image displayed in the print area display area Asa (FIG. 10). . This Exif information is information related to the image quality when the color image data Cdata is generated (captured), and includes information including, for example, shutter speed, exposure mode, ISO sensitivity, aperture value, shooting scene, shooting color space, and the like. It is.

  When Exif information is not included (step S360: No), in step S362, the analysis module 430 analyzes the color image data Cdata, and calculates the average of the pixel values of the color image data Cdata. The average of the pixel values can be calculated, for example, by sampling the color image data Cdata in units of pixels (or every predetermined pixel) and then obtaining the average. Then, the analysis module 430 determines the characteristic hue of the color image data Cdata from the average of the calculated pixel values. Next, in step S364, the analysis module 430 causes the Lab value and the T value to form a toned white image having a hue that is a complementary color of the characteristic hue for all areas on the print area display area Asa. Is set, and the process ends.

  On the other hand, when the color image data Cdata includes Exif information (step S360: Yes), in step S366, the analysis module 430 refers to the Exif information of the color image data Cdata. In step S368, the analysis module 430 determines whether or not the color image data Cdata is captured in the close-up mode from the Exif information. When the color image data Cdata is captured in the close-up mode (step S368: Yes), the analysis module 430 estimates that the color image data Cdata is an image in which large flowers are captured. For this reason, the analysis module 430 determines that the characteristic hue that characterizes the color image data Cdata is red, and blue is the complementary color of the characteristic hue (red) for all areas on the print area display area Asa. The Lab value and the T value for forming a greenish toned white image are set, and the process is terminated (step S370).

  When the color image data Cdata is not captured in the close-up mode (step S368: No), in step S372, the analysis module 430 performs face detection processing (processing for detecting an image region including at least a part of a face image as a face region). )I do. This face detection process can be performed using a known face detection method. Known face detection methods include, for example, pattern matching methods, skin color region extraction methods, learning using sample face images (for example, learning using neural networks, learning using boosting, and support vector machines). There is a method using learning data set by learning.

  In step S374, the analysis module 430 determines whether a face area is detected from the color image data Cdata. When the face area is detected (step S374: Yes), in step S376, the analysis module 430 stores information for specifying the face area, and the characteristic hue of the face area in the color image data Cdata is skin color ( Yellow-orange). Then, the analysis module 430 forms a Lab value for forming a bluish toned white image that is a complementary color of the characteristic hue (yellowish red) for the partial area corresponding to the face area on the print area display area Asa. And set the T value. When the face area is not detected (step S374: No), the analysis module 430 proceeds to step S378.

  In step S378, the analysis module 430 determines the shooting scene of the image data from the Exif information of the color image data Cdata. When it is determined that the shooting scene of the color image data Cdata is the sea or the sky (step S380: Yes), the analysis module 430 determines that the characteristic hue of the region in the color image data Cdata is blue. In step S382, the analysis module 430 generates a toned white image having a yellow-orange color that is a complementary color of the characteristic hue (blue) to a partial area corresponding to an area other than the face area on the print area display area Asa. The Lab value and T value for forming are set, and the process is terminated.

  On the other hand, when the shooting scene of the color image data Cdata is not the sea or the sky (step S380: No), when it is determined that the shooting scene is a mountain (step S384: Yes), the analysis module 430 displays the region of the color image data Cdata The characteristic hue is determined to be blue-green. In step S386, the analysis module 430 outputs a reddish toned white image that is a complementary color of the characteristic hue (blue green) to the partial area corresponding to the area other than the face area on the print area display area Asa. The Lab value and T value for forming are set, and the process is terminated.

  When it is determined that the shooting scene of the color image data Cdata is not the sea or the sky (step S380: No) and is not a mountain (step S384: No), the analysis module 430 determines the characteristic of the area in the color image data Cdata. Does not determine hue. In step S388, the analysis module 430 sets the Lab value and the T value for forming an achromatic white image for the partial area corresponding to the area other than the face area on the print area display area Asa. End the process. If the shooting scene cannot be determined, the characteristic hue is determined from the average of the pixel values of the color image data Cdata by performing the same processing as described in steps S360 to S364, and the toned white The Lab value and T value for forming an image may be set.

  FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing the area designation window AS1 after the automatic toning white designation process is performed. As shown in the figure, the face area detected in the upper part of the area display window Asw as a result of face detection (FIG. 13: steps S372 to S376) for the color image displayed in the print area display area Asa is shown. An image is displayed. In the designated value display area Ast1, a Lab value and a T value for forming a toned white image having a bluish color that is a complementary color of a characteristic hue (yellowish red) are displayed. Further, as a result of scene discrimination (FIG. 13: steps S378 to S388) for the color image displayed in the print area display area Asa, an image showing a partial area other than the face area is displayed in the middle of the area display window Asw. It is displayed. In the designated value display area Ast1, the Lab value and the T value for forming a reddish toned white image that is a complementary color of the characteristic hue (blue green) are displayed. Note that nothing is displayed in the lower part of the area display window Asw. Further, the Lab value and the T value displayed in the designated value display area Ast1 can be changed according to the user's preference by pressing an edit button Ab3.

  As described above, when the user presses the OK button Ab4 in the area designation window AS1 (FIG. 10), the toned white designation process ends. The Lab value and the T value saved by pressing the OK button Ab4 are combined with information for specifying the partial area, respectively, and the area-specific white image data WINdata (multiple white image data / for example, the first area white image) Data WI1data, second area white image data WI2data...) Are generated. In this specification, the area-specific white image data WINdata associated with the Lab value and the T value is also referred to as toned white image data.

  In step S130 of FIG. 6, processing by the CPU 210 that executes the printer driver 300 (FIG. 4) is executed. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing by the CPU 210 that executes the printer driver 300. In step S210, the CPU 210 receives the color image data Cdata, the area-specific white image data WINdata, and the printing order designation information SS output from the application program AP (FIG. 4). Next, in step S230, the printer driver 300 executes color conversion processing for a toned white image, ink color separation processing, and halftone processing. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the flow of color conversion processing, ink color separation processing, and halftone processing for a toned white image. In step S410, the toned white image color conversion module 340 (FIG. 4) color-converts the Lab value stored in step S330 of the toned white designation process (FIG. 9) to a CMYK value. The color conversion is executed with reference to the toned white image lookup table LUTw (FIG. 4).

  FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram partially showing an example of the toned white image lookup table LUTw. FIG. 17A shows a toned white image lookup table LUTw1 that is referred to when color conversion from Lab values to CMYK values is performed. As shown in FIG. 17A, in the toned white image look-up table LUTw1, a correspondence relationship between a preset Lab value and a CMYK value is defined. In the toned white image look-up table LUTw1, the CMYK gradation values are defined as values in the range of 0 to 100. The toned white image color conversion module 340 refers to the toned white image look-up table LUTw1 and converts the Lab value to the CMYK value.

  In step S420 of FIG. 16, the toned white image ink color separation processing module 350 (FIG. 4) is stored in step S330 of the CMYK value determined in step S410 and the toned white designation process (FIG. 9). Ink color separation processing for converting a combination with the T value into a gradation value for each ink color is performed. As described above, the printer 100 according to this embodiment includes cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), black (K), light cyan (Lc), and light magenta (Lm). Printing is performed using white (W) and a total of seven colors of ink. Therefore, in the ink color separation process, the combination of the CMYK value and the T value is converted into the gradation values of the seven ink colors. The ink color separation process is also executed with reference to the toned white image lookup table LUTw (FIG. 4).

  FIG. 17B shows a toned white image look-up table LUTw2 that is referred to when a combination of CMYK values and T values is converted into gradation values for each ink color. As shown in FIG. 17B, the toned white image look-up table LUTw2 defines the correspondence between preset combinations of CMYK values and T values and the gradation values of ink colors. Yes. In the toned white image lookup table LUTw2, the gradation value of the ink color is defined as a value in the range of 0 to 255. The toned white image ink color separation processing module 350 refers to the toned white image look-up table LUTw2 and converts the combination of the CMYK value and the T value into a gradation value for each ink color.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 17B, in this embodiment, white tone (mixing white ink with another color ink to adjust the white color), of the six colors of ink other than white, yellow Four colors of ink (Y), black (K), light cyan (Lc), and light magenta (Lm) are used, and two colors of ink of cyan (C) and magenta (M) are used. Not. That is, for the white tone, dark ink is not used among the two types of inks of light color ink and dark color ink for the same hue.

  In step S430 of FIG. 16, the toned white image ink color separation processing module 350 (FIG. 4) extracts data of one pixel in the toned white image data. In step S440, the toned white image ink color separation processing module 350 forms the toned white image with the extracted pixel value being a value (zero) indicating that the toned white image is not formed. It is determined which value is the indicated value (255). When it is determined that the pixel value is 255 (step S440: No), the toned white image ink color separation processing module 350 stores the gradation value for each ink color determined in step S420. (Step S450). On the other hand, when it is determined that the value of the pixel is 0 (zero) (step S440: Yes), the process of step S450 is skipped.

  The processing from step S430 to S450 in FIG. 16 is repeatedly executed until the processing for all the pixels of the toned white image data is completed (step S460). When the processing for all the pixels has been completed (step S460: Yes), the toned white image halftone processing module 360 (FIG. 4) extracts the gradation value for each ink color (step S470), Binarization processing (halftone processing) is performed with reference to the dither pattern for each ink color (step S480). The binarization process is executed with reference to a preset toned white image halftone resource HTw (FIG. 4). The toned white image halftone resource HTw may be set with emphasis on dot filling in the toned white image. The binarization process is repeatedly executed until the process for all ink colors is completed (step S490). Further, the processing from step S470 to S490 is repeatedly executed until the processing for all the pixels is completed (step S492).

  By the color conversion process, the ink color separation process, and the halftone process for the toned white image shown in FIG. 16, ON / OFF of the dot of each ink color of each pixel when forming the toned white image is defined. Toned white image dot data is generated.

  In step S240 of the process by the printer driver 300 shown in FIG. 15, the printer driver 300 executes a color image color conversion process, an ink color separation process, and a halftone process. FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the flow of color conversion processing for color image, ink color separation processing, and halftone processing. In step S510, the color image ink color separation processing module 310 (FIG. 4) takes out data of one pixel in the color image data. In step S520, the color image ink color separation processing module 310 performs ink color separation processing for converting the extracted data of one pixel (CMYK value) into gradation values for each ink color. As described above, the printer 100 according to this embodiment includes cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), black (K), light cyan (Lc), and light magenta (Lm). Printing is performed using white (W) and a total of seven colors of ink. Therefore, in the ink color separation process, the CMYK values are converted into the gradation values of the seven ink colors. The ink color separation process is executed with reference to the color image lookup table LUTc (FIG. 4).

  FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram partially showing an example of the color image lookup table LUTc. As shown in FIG. 19, the color image look-up table LUTc defines the correspondence between preset CMYK values and gradation values of ink colors. In the color image look-up table LUTc, the CMYK gradation values are defined as values in the range of 0 to 100, and the ink color gradation values are defined as values in the range of 0 to 255. Has been. The color image ink color separation processing module 310 refers to the color image look-up table LUTc and converts the CMYK values into gradation values for each ink color. As shown in FIG. 19, in this embodiment, six colors of ink other than white are used for forming a color image, and no white ink is used.

  The processes in steps S510 and S520 in FIG. 18 are repeatedly executed until the processes for all the pixels of the color image data are completed (step S530). When the processing for all the pixels is completed (step S530: Yes), the color image halftone processing module 320 (FIG. 4) extracts the gradation value for each ink color (step S540), and the ink color Binarization processing (halftone processing) is performed with reference to the dither pattern every time (step S550). The binarization process is executed with reference to a color image halftone resource HTc (FIG. 4) set in advance. The color image halftone resource HTc may be set with emphasis on suppression of graininess. The binarization process is repeatedly executed until the process for all ink colors is completed (step S560). Further, the processing from step S540 to S560 is repeatedly executed until the processing for all the pixels is completed (step S570).

  Color image dots that define ON / OFF of each ink color dot of each pixel when forming a color image by color conversion processing, ink color separation processing, and halftone processing shown in FIG. Data is generated.

  In step S250 of processing by the printer driver 300 shown in FIG. 15, the command creation module 370 (FIG. 4) of the printer driver 300 performs command creation processing. The command creation process outputs the dot data for the toned white image and the color image generated by the halftone process for the toned white image and the color image (steps S230 and S240 in FIG. 15) and the application program AP. This is a process of generating a printing command for controlling the printing process by the printer 100 based on the printing order designation information SS (FIG. 4).

  FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the flow of command creation processing. In step S610, the command creation module 370 (FIG. 4) creates a print order designation command based on the print order designation information SS output from the application program AP. FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a command created by command creation processing. FIG. 21A shows an example of the print order designation command. As shown in FIG. 21A, the print order designation command includes an identifier indicating the head of the command, an identifier indicating that the command is a print order designation command, a command length (2 bytes), and a print order designation. It is out. In the print order designation, for example, the value “0” represents C-W printing (the print order in which the color image Ic is first formed and the white image Iw is formed on the color image Ic), and the value “1” is set. WC printing (print order in which the white image Iw is formed first and the color image Ic is formed on the white image Iw) is shown. The command creation module 370 identifies the print order with reference to the print order designation information SS, and creates a print order designation command that designates the identified print order.

  In step S620 (FIG. 20), the command creation module 370 (FIG. 4) receives the color image dot data received from the color image halftone processing module 320 and the toning received from the toned white image halftone processing module 360. A vertical position designation command is created based on the white image dot data. The vertical position designation command is a command for designating the start position of the image along the vertical direction (Y direction). The vertical position designation command is created as a command common to all inks.

  Next, the command creation module 370 (FIG. 4) creates a raster command corresponding to the color image through the processing from step S630 to S670 shown in FIG. In step S630, the command creation module 370 creates a horizontal position designation command for the selected one ink color based on the color image dot data. The horizontal position designation command is a command for designating the start position of an image along the horizontal direction (X direction) for one ink color when forming a color image. The command creation module 370 refers to color image dot data for one ink color, sets an appropriate image start position, and creates a horizontal position designation command.

  In step S640 (FIG. 20), the command creation module 370 (FIG. 4) extracts one raster worth of dot data for one selected ink color from the color image dot data. In step S650, the command creation module 370 searches the ink code with reference to the ink code table ICT. FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the contents of the ink code table ICT. As shown in FIG. 22, in this embodiment, a unique ink abbreviation and ink code are assigned to each ink color. Furthermore, in this embodiment, two different ink abbreviations and ink codes for color image and white image are assigned to one ink color. That is, the ink abbreviation and the ink code uniquely correspond to the combination of each of the plurality of ink colors and each of the color image and the white image. For example, for cyan, ink abbreviation “C” and ink code “01H” are assigned for color images, and ink abbreviation “WC” and ink code “81H” are assigned for white images. Similarly, for white, the ink abbreviation “IW” and the ink code “40H” are assigned for color images, and the ink abbreviation “W” and the ink code “C0H” are assigned for white images. In this step (S650), the command creation module 370 searches for an ink code for a color image in the ink code table ICT.

  In step S660 (FIG. 20), the command creation module 370 (FIG. 4) creates a raster command based on the extracted dot data for one raster and the retrieved ink code. FIG. 21B shows an example of a raster command. As shown in FIG. 21B, the raster command includes an identifier indicating the head of the command, an identifier indicating that it is a raster command, an ink code, an identifier indicating the presence or absence of data compression, and the number of bits per pixel. X direction length (2 bytes), Y direction length (2 bytes), and raster data (dot data).

  The process from step S630 to S660 of the command creation process (FIG. 20) is repeatedly executed until all the ink colors used for forming the color image are completed. That is, when there is an ink color that is not yet a target of processing (step S670: No), one ink color that is not a target of processing is selected, and steps S630 to S660 are selected for the selected ink color. Processing is executed. When the processing for all inks is completed (step S670: Yes), the creation of raster commands corresponding to each of the ink colors used to form a color image is completed for one raster.

  Next, the command creation module 370 (FIG. 4) supports toned white images in a plurality of partial areas (AW1 to AWn) arbitrarily determined from the print area through the processing from step S680 to S730 shown in FIG. Create a raster command. In step S680, the command creation module 370 creates a horizontal position designation command for the selected one ink color based on the toned white image dot data. The horizontal position designation command is a command for designating the start position of the image along the horizontal direction (X direction) for one ink color when forming the toned white image. The command creation module 370 refers to the toned white image dot data for one ink color, sets an appropriate image start position, and creates a horizontal position designation command.

  In step S690 (FIG. 20), the command creation module 370 (FIG. 4) extracts dot data for one raster for one selected ink color from the toned white image dot data. In step S700, the command creation module 370 searches for an ink code with reference to the ink code table ICT. The command creation module 370 searches for an ink code for a white image in the ink code table ICT (FIG. 22).

  In step S710 (FIG. 20), the command creation module 370 (FIG. 4) creates a raster command (FIG. 21B) based on the extracted dot data for one raster and the retrieved ink code. The processing from step S680 to step S710 of the command creation processing is repeatedly executed until all the ink colors used for forming the toned white image are completed. That is, when there is an ink color that has not yet been processed (step S720: No), one ink color that has not been processed is selected, and steps S680 to S710 are performed for the selected ink color. Processing is executed. When the processing for all inks is completed (step S720: Yes), a toned white image is formed for one raster of one partial area in a plurality of partial areas (AW1 to AWn) arbitrarily determined from the print area. The creation of raster commands corresponding to each ink color used is completed.

  The process from step S680 to S720 of the command creation process is repeatedly executed until the generation of raster commands for a plurality of partial areas (AW1 to AWn) arbitrarily determined from the print area is completed. That is, when there is a partial area that has not yet been processed (step S730: No), one partial area that has not been processed is selected and the toned white image dot data for that partial area is selected. Based on, the processing from step S680 to S720 is executed.

  The processing from step S620 to step S730 of the command creation processing (FIG. 20) is repeatedly executed until all rasters of the print image PI are completed. That is, when there is a raster that has not yet been processed (step S740: No), a raster that has not been processed (the raster that is one lower than the previous raster to be processed) is selected and selected. The process from step S620 to S730 is executed for the raster. When the process for all rasters is completed (step S740: Yes), the creation of commands corresponding to the ink colors used for forming the color image and the white image is completed for all rasters.

  In step S260 of the process by the printer driver 300 shown in FIG. 15, the printer driver 300 transmits the printing order designation command, the vertical position designation command, the horizontal position designation command, and the raster command created in step S250 to the printer 100. . Thus, the processing by the printer driver 300 is completed.

  In step S130 of the printing process shown in FIG. 6, the process by the printer 100 is executed. FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of processing by the printer 100. In step S810, the CPU 110 (FIG. 3) executing the command processing module 112 (FIG. 5) of the printer 100 receives a command transmitted from the printer driver 300 of the PC 200. CPU 110 determines the type of command received (step S820), and executes processing according to the type of command. If the received command is a printing order designation command, the CPU 110 stores information indicating the printing order designated by the printing order designation command in the RAM 130 (step S830), and the received command is a horizontal position designation command. In this case, the horizontal print start position X is updated (step S840).

  When the received command is a raster command, the CPU 110 (FIG. 3) that executes the command processing module 112 (FIG. 5) converts the raster data (dot data) included in the raster command into a raster buffer for each ink code. 132 (FIG. 5) (step S850). FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing detailed configurations of the raster buffer and the head buffer. The upper part of FIG. 24 shows a raster buffer 132c for a color image, and the middle part shows a raster buffer 132w for a white image. As shown in FIG. 24, the raster buffer 132 is assigned a region for each ink code (FIG. 22). That is, the color image raster buffer 132c is configured as a set of regions corresponding to the color image ink codes, and the white image raster buffer 132w also corresponds to the white image ink code. It is configured as a set of areas to perform. The size in the X direction of each area of the raster buffer 132 corresponds to the image size, and the size in the Y direction is one half or more of the height of the print head 144. The raster buffer 132 has a raster buffer pointer in the Y direction that indicates how far raster data has been received.

  24 shows the head buffer 142 (FIG. 5). As shown in FIG. 24, the head buffer 142 is assigned regions for each of seven ink colors. In other words, the head buffer 142 includes an area for cyan (for C and WC), an area for magenta (for M and WM), an area for yellow (for Y and WY), and an area for black (for K and WK). ), A light cyan (Lc, WLc) area, a light magenta (Lm, WLm) area, and a white (IW, W) area. The size in the X direction of each area of the head buffer 142 corresponds to the scanning distance of the carriage, and the size in the Y direction corresponds to the number of nozzles constituting the nozzle row 146 of the print head 144. Each region of the head buffer 142 for each ink color is divided into an upstream portion 142u and a downstream portion 142l.

  FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the print head 144 of the printer 100. As shown in FIGS. 25A and 25B, the print head 144 is provided with nozzle rows 146 corresponding to each of the seven ink colors. The nozzle row 146 is formed so as to extend along the Y direction (print medium feeding direction). Further, as shown in FIG. 25C, each nozzle row 146 is constituted by 32 nozzle groups arranged along the print medium feeding direction. Among the nozzle groups constituting the nozzle row 146, the nozzle group (from the first nozzle (nozzle 1) to the 16th nozzle (nozzle 16)) located in the upstream half along the print medium feeding direction is the upstream nozzle group. The nozzle group (from the 17th nozzle (nozzle 17) to the 32nd nozzle (nozzle 32)) located in the downstream half along the print medium feeding direction is called a downstream nozzle group.

  As shown in FIG. 25A, during WC printing, a white image is formed using the upstream nozzle group of each nozzle row 146 of the print head 144, and a color image is generated using the downstream nozzle group. Is formed. Further, as shown in FIG. 25B, during C-W printing, a color image is formed using the upstream nozzle group of each nozzle row 146 of the print head 144, and the downstream nozzle group is used. A white image is formed. When performing WC printing, the upstream nozzle group of each nozzle row 146 of the print head 144 corresponds to the second image forming unit in the present invention, and the downstream nozzle group is the first image forming unit in the present invention. It corresponds to. On the contrary, in the C-W printing, the upstream nozzle group of each nozzle row 146 of the print head 144 corresponds to the first image forming unit in the present invention, and the downstream nozzle group in the second image forming in the present invention. It corresponds to the part.

  As shown in FIG. 24, the upstream head buffer 142u is a head buffer 142 corresponding to an upstream portion (upstream nozzle group) along the print medium feeding direction of the print head 144, and the downstream head buffer 142l is The head buffer 142 corresponds to a downstream portion (downstream nozzle group) along the print medium feeding direction of the print head 144.

  In step S850 of FIG. 23, the CPU 110 (FIG. 3) refers to the ink code included in the received raster command, and stores the raster data at the position specified by the raster buffer pointer of the raster buffer 132 corresponding to the ink code. To do. Therefore, the CPU 110 can distribute raster data to an appropriate raster buffer 132 without being aware of whether the raster command is for a color image or a white image.

  When the received command is a vertical position designation command, the CPU 110 (FIG. 3) that executes the command processing module 112 (FIG. 5) updates the print start position Y in the vertical direction (step S860). Next, the CPU 110 determines whether or not the raster buffer 132 corresponding to half the height of the print head 144 (FIG. 5) is full (that is, raster data is stored) (step S870). ). If it is determined that it is not yet full (step S870: No), the CPU 110 updates the raster buffer pointer of the raster buffer 132 (step S880).

  When the processing described above is repeated and raster data is stored in the raster buffer 132 corresponding to half of the height of the print head 144, the raster buffer corresponding to half of the height of the print head 144 is stored. It is determined that 132 is full (step S870: Yes). At this time, the CPU 110 (FIG. 3) determines whether the printing order is C-W printing or WC printing based on the information indicating the printing order stored in the RAM 130 (step S880). If it is determined that the printing order is C-W printing (step S880: Yes), the CPU 110 transfers raster data from the color image raster buffer 132c to the upstream head buffer 142u (FIG. 5), and Raster data is transferred from the white image raster buffer 132w to the downstream head buffer 142l (FIG. 5) (step S890). In FIG. 24, when the printing order is C-W printing, raster data is transferred from the color image raster buffer 132c to the upstream head buffer 142u, and from the white image raster buffer 132w to the downstream head buffer 142l. It shows how raster data is transferred. Thus, C-W printing in which a color image is formed using the upstream nozzle group of each nozzle row 146 of the print head 144 and a white image is formed using the downstream nozzle group (FIG. 25B). Will be ready.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the printing order is WC printing (step S880: No), the CPU 110 transfers raster data from the color image raster buffer 132c to the downstream head buffer 142l (FIG. 5). At the same time, the raster data is transferred from the white image raster buffer 132w to the upstream head buffer 142u (step S900). Thus, white image formation is performed using the upstream nozzle group of each nozzle row 146 of the print head 144, and color image formation is performed using the downstream nozzle group (FIG. 25A). Will be ready.

  Next, the CPU 110 (FIG. 3) controls the print medium feed controller 160 and the print medium feed motor 162 to transport (sub-scan) the print medium PM to the head position Y (step S910) and the CR controller 150. Then, the CR motor 152 is controlled to move the print head 144 to the print start position X (step S920), and further, the main scan is performed to perform printing for the height of the print head 144 (step S930). At this time, in WC printing (FIG. 25A), the formation of a white image by the upstream nozzle group (FIG. 25C) of the nozzle row 146 of the print head 144 and the formation of a color image by the downstream nozzle group are performed. Run in parallel. In C-W printing (FIG. 25B), the color image formation by the upstream nozzle group of the nozzle row 146 of the print head 144 and the white image formation by the downstream nozzle group are executed in parallel.

  Next, the CPU 110 (FIG. 3) clears the raster buffer pointer of the raster buffer 132 (step S940), determines whether or not the printing process for the entire print image PI has been completed (step S950), and the printing process is performed. The processes from step S810 to S940 are repeatedly executed until it is determined that the process has been completed. If it is determined that the printing process has been completed, the printing process (FIG. 6) ends.

  FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the effect of the printing system 10 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 26A shows an example of a color image formed on the print medium PM. FIG. 26B shows an example of a white image formed on the print medium PM. FIG. 26C shows another example of a color image formed on the print medium PM. FIG. 26D shows another example of a white image formed on the print medium PM. In the printing system 10 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 26B and 26D, a plurality of partial areas (AW1 to AW3 in the case of FIG. 26B), as shown in FIG. In this case, it is divided into AW1 to AW4), and at least one set of toned white density values (T values) and color specification values (Lab values) can be designated for the plurality of partial areas. Specifically, for example, for the partial areas AW1, AW2, and AW3 in FIG. 26B, a set of density values and color values of the same toned white (a set of T value and Lab value) is designated. Alternatively, for the partial areas AW1, AW2, and AW3, a set of different toned white density values and color values (a set of T value and Lab value) can be designated. For this reason, a toned white image (white image) of a desired color can be formed together with the color image for a plurality of partial areas on the print area.

  In the printing process in the printing system 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment, a characteristic hue that characterizes a color image is determined based on color image data (color image data Cdata) formed on the print region, and the characteristic hue is set to the characteristic hue. Based on this, the hue of the toned white image (in other words, the T value and Lab value of the toned white) is determined. For this reason, it is possible to perform printing using various color expressions by combining the hues of the toned white image and the color image. For example, if the toned white image is set to be a complementary color of the characteristic hue of the color image as in the above embodiment, the combination of the toned white image and the hue of the color image results in a combination of the color image. Printing with improved contrast ratio is possible. Specifically, for example, in the case of FIGS. 26A and 26B, a toned white image having a yellow-orange color that is a complementary color of blue is formed in the partial area AW2 corresponding to the empty portion in the color image. By setting the Lab value and the T value for this purpose, it is possible to print with emphasis on blue in the sky in the color image. Similarly, a skin color (yellow-orange) complementary color is formed in the partial area AW1 corresponding to the face portion of the person in the color image, and a blue-green complementary color is formed in the partial area AW3 corresponding to the mountain portion. By setting the Lab value and the T value, it is possible to print with a color image emphasized.

  Further, the characteristic hue of the color image can be determined based on, for example, pixel values obtained by sampling the color image data Cdata. In this way, for example, even when additional information (eg, Exif information) is not attached to the color image data Cdata, the characteristic hue of the color image can be determined. That is, the characteristic hue of the color image can be determined by a general method.

  Further, the characteristic hue of the color image can be determined by at least one of, for example, determination of a shooting scene of image data and extraction of a predetermined object included in the image data. In this way, the characteristic hue of the color image can be easily determined by referring to the additional information (for example, Exif information) added in advance to the color image data Cdata. Specifically, for example, in the case of FIGS. 26C and 26D, the toned white image having a yellow-orange color that is a complementary color of blue is applied to the partial area AW1 corresponding to “shooting scene = sea” in the color image. By setting the Lab value and the T value for forming the image, it is possible to print with a color image emphasized. Further, if the characteristic hue of the color image is determined by extracting a predetermined object included in the image data (for example, extracting a face area), a portion corresponding to a human face portion of the color image Region detection (specifically, detection of the partial region AW1 in FIG. 26B) can be automatically performed.

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram showing the concept of white toning for adjusting white. FIG. 27A shows an example of the position P1 of the white ink color of the printer 100 on the a ^* -b ^* plane. FIG. 27B further shows the target white position P2 and the printer. An example of a color position P3 in which a predetermined amount of yellow ink is mixed with 100 white inks is shown. As shown in FIG. 27B, for example, by mixing yellow ink with white ink of the printer 100, the color of the white image can be brought close to the target white color. Further, for example, by mixing a predetermined amount of light magenta ink, the color of the white image can be made closer to the target white color. In this way, when forming a white image, the white image and at least one color ink other than white can be used to make the color of the white image a desired color.

FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a color reproduction area (gamut) of a color image and a white image. FIG. 28A shows the gamut Gc of the color image viewed from the −b ^* direction and the gamut Gw of the toned white image, and FIG. 28B shows the color image viewed from the + a ^* direction. Gamut Gc and gamut Gw of the toned white image are shown. As described above, in this embodiment, one of the upstream nozzle group and the downstream nozzle group (first image forming unit) of the nozzle row 146 of the print head 144 is used for forming a color image. Further, for the formation of a color image, among the seven colors of ink, six colors of ink (first ink group) excluding white are used, and no white ink is used. On the other hand, the other (second image forming unit) of the upstream nozzle group and the downstream nozzle group of the nozzle row 146 of the print head 144 is used for forming the white image. In addition, among the white images, five color inks (second ink group) of white, yellow, black, light cyan, and light magenta are used to form the toned white image. Cyan and magenta inks are not used. Since the color gamut of the first ink group and the color gamut of the second ink group are different from each other, the gamut Gc (first color gamut) of the color image and the gamut Gw (first gamut of the toned white image) 2) is different from each other. In the printing process by the printing system 10 according to the present embodiment, two images (color image and toned white image) having different color gamuts can be formed on the print medium PM, and a plurality of images having different color gamuts can be formed. Can be easily created. Further, in the printing process performed by the printing system 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment, the formation of the color image and the formation of the toned white image are performed in parallel during at least a part of the printing period. It is possible to efficiently and easily create various printed materials including the images.

  In the printing process by the printing system 10 according to the present embodiment, in either the WC printing or the C-W printing, one of the upstream nozzle group and the downstream nozzle group is set in the same main scanning (same pass). The formation of the used white image and the formation of the color image using the other can be performed in parallel. Therefore, instead of first forming the whole of the white image and the color image on the print medium and then forming the other whole on the print medium, the color image and the white image are formed on the print medium in one printing process. And the color of the toned white image can be a desired color.

  In the printing process performed by the printing system 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment, the printer 100 receives the printing order designation command (FIG. 21A) for designating the printing order from the PC 200, and the printing order for forming the color image first is designated. In this case, the upstream nozzle group is set as the nozzle group used for forming the color image, the downstream nozzle group is set as the nozzle group used for forming the white image, and the printing order for forming the white image first is designated. In this case, the upstream nozzle group is set as a nozzle group used for forming a white image, and the downstream nozzle group is set as a nozzle group used for forming a color image. Therefore, in the printing process by the printing system 10 according to the present embodiment, the color of the toned white image can be set to a desired color regardless of the CW printing or the WC printing. (FIG. 8).

  Further, in the printing system 10 of the present embodiment, the ink code included in the raster command (FIG. 21B) as a printing command includes seven colors of ink, each of a color image and a white image, It is set to uniquely correspond to the combination of. Therefore, the CPU 110 of the printer 100 is conscious of whether the raster command is for a color image or a white image, and uses a nozzle group (upstream nozzle group) used for forming a color image based on a raster command including an ink code corresponding to the color image. Alternatively, the nozzle group (downstream nozzle group or upstream nozzle group) used for forming the white image can be controlled based on the raster command including the ink code corresponding to the white image.

  In the printing system 10 of the present embodiment, the raster buffer 132 of the printer 100 includes a color image area 132c and a white image area 132w (FIG. 5). Therefore, the CPU 110 of the printer 100 stores the raster data included in the raster command including the ink code corresponding to the color image in the raster buffer 132 in the color image area 132c, and the raster command including the ink code corresponding to the white image. By storing the raster data included in the white image area 132w, the nozzle group used for forming the color image and the nozzle group used for forming the white image can be controlled.

  Further, in the printing process by the printing system 10 of this embodiment, for the formation of the toned white image, among the six colors of ink other than white, yellow (Y), black (K), light cyan (Lc), Light magenta (Lm) and four colors of ink are used, and cyan (C) and magenta (M) are not used. That is, for the formation of the toned white image, dark ink is not used among the two types of inks of light color ink and dark color ink for the same hue. Therefore, in the printing process according to the present exemplary embodiment, it is possible to suppress deterioration in image quality (increase in graininess) in the toned white image while setting the color of the toned white image to a desired color. In the printing process of this embodiment, since the black (K) ink is used to form the toned white image, the brightness of the toned white image can be adjusted, and the selectable range of the color of the toned white image is possible. Can be extended.

  In the printing process by the printing system 10 according to the present embodiment, a plurality of arbitrary partial areas on the print area can be selected in the area designation window AS1. Further, the toned white (the color of the toned white image) can be designated for each arbitrary partial area (user selected area) selected by the user. Since the toned white is designated using the toned white designation window EW1, the color of the toned white image when printing a color image and a white image using a plurality of colors including white is accurately set. And can be specified easily. In addition, the user uses the automatic toning white designation process (the process performed by pressing the automatic (Auto) button Ab2 of the area designation window AS1), thereby toning white (toning) based on the analysis result of the color image data Cdata. The recommended value of the color of the white image can be easily obtained.

B. Second embodiment:
In the first embodiment, at least one or more sets of toned white density values (T values) and color specification values (Lab values) are specified for a plurality of partial areas arbitrarily determined from the print area. It was supposed to be. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, the characteristic hue of the print medium is acquired after considering the whole as one partial area without dividing the print area, and the toned white density based on the characteristic hue is obtained. A value (T value) and a color specification value (Lab value) are designated. In the following description, only those parts having configurations and operations different from those of the first embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 29 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the configuration of the PC 200 in the second embodiment. The only difference from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is that the USB interface 240 of the PC 200 is connected with a colorimeter CM corresponding to the USB interface, and the other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment. is there.

  FIG. 30 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a print image PI, color image data Cdata, and area-specific white image data WINdata in the second embodiment. The difference from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 7 is that the white area (the area corresponding to the white image, in other words, the area where the white image should be formed during printing) has a size corresponding to the print area. Only the first partial region AW1 is formed, and the other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, since the white area is formed only from the first partial area AW1 having a size corresponding to the print area, the area-specific white image data WINdata and the first area white image data WI1data have the same meaning. Become. For convenience of explanation, the white area has a size corresponding to the print area, but the first partial area AW1 and the print area constituting the white area may have different sizes.

  FIG. 31 is a flowchart showing the flow of toning white designation processing by the application program AP in the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, the toned white designation process described with reference to FIG. 9 is not performed, and the area toned white designation process described with reference to FIG. 11 is executed as a “toned white designation process”. This is because in the second embodiment, the partial area in the white area is not designated. In the toned white designation process of the second embodiment, the difference from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 11 is that steps S345 and S347 are added and that step S353 is performed instead of step S352. It is.

  FIG. 32 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the toned white designation window in the second embodiment. The difference from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 12A further includes a color image display area Esa2, a medium color display area Esa3, a printing order designation field Ase1, and a measurement button Eb1. It is a point.

  The color image display area Esa2 is an area that is slightly smaller than the designated area display area Esa1, and is provided so as to be surrounded on all sides by the designated area display area Esa1. On the other hand, the medium color display area Esa3 is a slightly larger area than the designated area display area Esa1, and is provided so as to surround the designated area display area Esa1. In the designated area display area Esa1, a first partial area AW1 (white area) having a size corresponding to the print area is displayed. A color image is displayed in the color image display area Esa2. In the medium color display area Esa3, a background imitating the print medium, specifically, a background having the color of the print medium acquired by the color measurement process described later is displayed. The white area of the designated area display area Esa1 and the color image of the color image display area Esa2 are displayed in layers. The layer of the white area and the color image is set to a predetermined transparency. This predetermined transparency is preferably determined in consideration of the transmittance when printing is actually performed. Note that the transparency of the layer may be changed. The print order designation field Ase1 is a designation unit for performing designation of the print order (FIG. 8) similar to FIG. 10 of the first embodiment. The measurement button Eb1 is a button for performing color measurement processing to be described later.

  In step S345 of FIG. 31, the toned white designation module 420 determines whether or not the measurement button Eb1 has been pressed. When the measurement button Eb1 is pressed (step S345: Yes), the analysis module 430 performs color measurement processing in step S347. Specifically, first, the analysis module 430 reads the color measurement result of the colorimeter CM (FIG. 29). The analysis module 430 causes the toned white designation module 420 to display the color obtained from the read color measurement result in the medium color display area Esa3 as the color of the print medium PM. Thereafter, the analysis module 430 determines a color obtained from the read color measurement result as a characteristic hue of the print medium PM, and forms a toned white image having a hue that is a complementary color of the characteristic hue of the print medium PM. Lab value and T value are set. The toning white designation module 420 uses the Lab value and the T value as the values in the value input box Ebo, the positions of the slider bars Esl1 and Esl2, the position of. And the process proceeds to step S342. In step S352, the toned white designation module 420 stores the Lab value and the T value of the first partial area AW1 (white area).

  Thus, also in the second embodiment, a toned white image (white image) of a desired color can be formed together with the color image. Furthermore, in the second embodiment, when printing is performed using a plurality of colors of ink including white, a characteristic hue that characterizes the print medium is acquired, and the hue of the toned white image is acquired based on the characteristic hue of the print medium. (In other words, the toned white T value and Lab value) are determined. Therefore, a toned white image (white image) based on the color of the print medium can be formed on the print area.

C. Third embodiment:
The third example is an example in which the toned white can be set based on the characteristic hue that characterizes the print medium in the area toned white designation process of the first example. Below, only the part which has a different structure and operation | movement from 1st Example is demonstrated.

  FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing the flow of area toning white designation processing by the application program AP in the third embodiment. The only difference from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 11 is that steps S345 and S347 are added.

  FIG. 34 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a toned white designation window in the third embodiment. FIG. 34A shows an example of the toned white designation window EW1. FIG. 34B shows another example of the toned white designation window EW1. The difference from the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B is that a medium color display area Esa3 and a measurement button Eb1 are further included.

The medium color display area Esa3 is an area slightly larger than the designated area display area Esa1, and is provided so as to surround the designated area display area Esa1. In the medium color display area Esa3, a background imitating the print medium, specifically, a background having the color of the print medium acquired by the color measurement process described later is displayed. The white area of the designated area display area Esa1 is displayed as a layer, and this layer is set to a predetermined transparency. The predetermined transparency is preferably determined in consideration of the transmittance when printing is actually performed. Note that the transparency of the layer may be changed. The measurement button Eb1 is a button for performing color measurement processing to be described later.

  The processes in steps S345 and S347 in FIG. 33 are the same as the colorimetric processes (steps S345 and S347 in FIG. 31) described in the second embodiment.

  As described above, also in the third embodiment, a plurality of partial areas are designated from the print area, and a toned white image (white image) of a desired color is formed together with the color image in the plurality of partial areas. can do. Further, in the third embodiment, referring to the characteristic hue of the color image data (color image data Cdata) formed on the print area and the characteristic hue of the print medium, or based on any one or Considering both characteristic hues, the hue of the toned white image (in other words, the T value and Lab value of the toned white) can be determined. For this reason, user convenience can be improved.

D. Variations:
The present invention is not limited to the above-described examples and embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist thereof. For example, the following modifications are possible.

D1. Modification 1:
In the above embodiment, the analysis module 430 sets the Lab value and the T value for forming the toned white image so as to be a complementary color of the characteristic hue of the color image data Cdata. However, the analysis module 430 may set the Lab value and the T value for forming the toned white image based on the characteristic hue of the color image data Cdata, and may use a color other than the complementary color. For example, a configuration in which the user can set the hue of the toned white image with respect to the characteristic hue can be adopted.

  In the above embodiment, all the areas on the print area are white areas (areas corresponding to white images, in other words, areas where a white image should be formed during printing). The area may be a partial area on the print area.

  Moreover, in the said Example, it illustrated about the relationship between a white area | region and the area | region where a color image should be formed. However, the white area is a set of partial areas that can be arbitrarily specified from the print area. Therefore, for example, a partial area that overlaps only a part of the color image can be designated as a white area. It is also possible to designate a partial area that does not overlap the color image as a white area. Furthermore, the size of the white area is also arbitrary, and may be a white area smaller than the area occupied by the color image, for example.

  Further, in the above embodiment, for all the partial areas, white color is mixed with white ink to adjust the white color (white toning). However, a partial area that is not white toned may be provided. . Further, in the toned white designation window EW1, a T value and a Lab value indicating “non-toned color” may be displayed as default values.

  In the second embodiment, the color of the print medium PM is acquired using the colorimeter CM. However, a configuration in which the colorimeter CM is not used may be used. For example, a configuration in which the user can select and specify a color can be adopted.

  In the second embodiment, it has been described that the automatic toning white designation process (FIG. 13) is not performed. However, automatic toning white designation processing may be performed in the second embodiment. Specifically, for example, the analysis module 430 analyzes the color image data by providing the automatic (Auto) button in the toned white designation window EW1 described with reference to FIG. 32 and then pressing the automatic (Auto) button. The analysis module 430 determines a characteristic hue of the color image data from the analysis result, and sets a T value and a Lab value that are complementary to the characteristic hue. For the analysis of the color image data, as described in the first embodiment, methods such as sampling of color image data and scene discrimination can be used.

  In the second embodiment, the example in which the entire print area is regarded as one partial area without being divided has been described. However, also in the second embodiment, a configuration may be adopted in which a plurality of partial areas are designated from the print area. Specifically, for example, after a plurality of partial areas are designated from the print area, the color of the print medium PM is acquired for each partial area using the colorimeter CM (or by designation by the user). be able to. In this way, for example, even when the print medium PM is a medium that does not have a uniform color, the hue of an appropriate toned white image based on the hue of the print medium (in other words, the toned white T value and Lab value) can be determined.

D2. Modification 2:
The configuration of the printing system 10 in each of the above embodiments is merely an example, and the configuration of the printing system 10 can be variously modified. For example, in each of the above embodiments, the printer 100 is a printer that performs printing using seven colors of ink of cyan, magenta, yellow, black, light cyan, light magenta, and white. Any printer that performs printing using a plurality of colors of ink may be used. For example, the printer 100 may be a printer that performs printing using inks of five colors of cyan, magenta, yellow, black, and white.

  In each of the above embodiments, six color inks except white are used for forming a color image, and no white ink is used. However, the ink color used for forming a color image is the use of the printer 100. It can be arbitrarily set according to possible ink colors. For example, white ink may be used to form a color image.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, five color inks of white, yellow, black, light cyan, and light magenta are used to form a toned white image, and two colors of cyan and magenta are not used. However, the ink color used for forming the toned white image only needs to include at least one color other than white and white, and can be arbitrarily set according to the ink color that can be used by the printer 100. For example, only four colors of white, yellow, light cyan, and light magenta may be used to form a toned white image, or white, yellow, black, light cyan, light magenta, cyan, and magenta. Color ink may be used.

  In each of the above embodiments, the printer 100 is a printer that performs printing while reciprocating (main scanning) the carriage on which the print head 144 is mounted. However, the present invention does not involve a reciprocating movement of the carriage. It can also be applied to print processing by a printer.

  In the above embodiment, the white image processing unit 400 is described as being included in the application program AP. However, the structure of the said Example is an example to the last, Arbitrary aspects are employable. For example, the white image processing unit 400 may be included in the printer driver 300.

In each of the above embodiments, the printer driver 300 is included in the PC 200, and the printer 100 receives a command from the printer driver 300 of the PC 200 and executes printing (FIG. 4). The printer driver 300 including the processing unit 400 may have the same function. Alternatively, the printer 100 may further have the same function as the application program AP.

  In each of the above embodiments, the printer 100 executes the process of converting the raster data (dot data) into the data transfer method to the print head 144 (FIG. 5). It may be done. In this case, the printer 100 may not have the raster buffer 132.

  Further, the contents of the toned white image look-up table LUTw (FIG. 17) and the color image look-up table LUTc (FIG. 19) in each of the above-described embodiments are merely examples. It is experimentally set in advance according to the composition. Further, these contents can be variously modified according to the contents of data (used color space) output from the application program AP and the used ink color of the printer 100. Similarly, the contents of color conversion processing and ink color separation processing using these tables can be variously modified.

  In each of the above embodiments, the halftone processing with reference to the dither pattern is performed by the color image halftone processing module 320 or the toned white image halftone processing module 360 (FIG. 4). Halftone processing by another method such as a method may be performed. If the printer 100 can form dots of a plurality of sizes for each ink color, the dot ON / OFF and the dot size are not binarized for determining dot ON / OFF by halftone processing. Multi-value conversion may be performed.

  Further, the configuration of the printing order designation command and the raster command (FIG. 21) and the contents of the ink code table ICT (FIG. 22) in each of the above-described embodiments are merely examples, and various modifications can be made. In each of the above embodiments, the ink code uniquely corresponds to the combination of each of the plurality of ink colors and each of the color image and the white image, but the ink code is not necessarily set in this way. There is no need to be done. However, if the ink code is set in this way, the CPU 110 of the printer 100 processes the command according to the ink code included in the raster command without being conscious of whether the raster command is for a color image or a white image. Can do.

  In each of the above embodiments, a part of the configuration realized by hardware may be replaced by software, and conversely, a part of the configuration realized by software may be replaced by hardware. Also good.

  In addition, when part or all of the functions of the present invention are realized by software, the software (computer program) can be provided in a form stored in a computer-readable recording medium. In the present invention, the “computer-readable recording medium” is not limited to a portable recording medium such as a flexible disk or a CD-ROM, but an internal storage device in a computer such as various RAMs and ROMs, a hard disk, etc. It also includes an external storage device fixed to the computer.

D3. Modification 3:
In each of the above-described embodiments, the color image and the white image are formed in parallel on the transparent film as the print medium PM, and the printing process for creating the printed matter in which the color image and the white image are formed has been described. The print medium PM used for the printing process is not limited to a transparent film, and any medium such as a translucent film, paper, or cloth can be selected. When a transparent film is used as the print medium PM, the color image Ic can be formed as it is even in C-W printing (FIG. 8B).

  Further, the printer 100 in each of the above embodiments can execute a printing process for forming only a color image (including a color image formed using white ink). In this case, the nozzle array of the print head 144 Printing is performed using the entire nozzle row 146 without dividing 146 (FIG. 25) into upstream and downstream. That is, the printer 100 divides the nozzle row 146 into a nozzle group for forming a color image and a nozzle group for forming a white image when performing a printing process for forming a color image and a white image. Thus, it is only necessary that printing can be performed.

D4. Modification 4:
The display contents of the area designation window AS1 (FIG. 10) and the toned white designation window EW1 (FIGS. 12, 32, and 34) in the above embodiments are merely examples, and these display contents can be changed variously. . For example, in the toned white designation UI window W1 of each of the above embodiments, the toned white is designated by the color value in the L ^* a ^* b ^* color system (color space). The toned white may be designated by a system (for example, RGB or L ^* u ^* v ^* ). In the toned white designation window EW1, the density of the toned white is designated by the T value, but the designation of the T value may be omitted.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Printing system 16 ... Nozzle 17 ... Nozzle 32 ... Nozzle 100 ... Printer 110 ... CPU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 112 ... Command processing module 132 ... Raster buffer 132c ... Color image raster buffer 132w ... White image raster buffer 140 ... Head controller 142 ... Head buffer 142l ... Downstream head buffer 142u ... Upstream head buffer 144 ... Print head 146 ... Nozzle Row 150 ... Carriage controller 152 ... Carriage motor 160 ... Controller 162 ... Motor 190 ... Monitor 210 ... CPU
260 ... Display interface 270 ... Serial interface 300 ... Printer driver 310 ... Color image ink color separation processing module 320 ... Color image halftone processing module 340 ... Toned white image color conversion module 350 ... Toned white image ink Color separation processing module 360 ... halftone processing module for toned white image 370 ... command creation module 400 ... white image processing unit 410 ... area designation module 420 ... toned white designation module 430 ... analysis module

Claims (5)

A printing apparatus that forms a color image and an image including white using a plurality of colors of ink including white ink ,
In response to said color image, among the plurality of color inks, by changing the amount of ink other than the white ink mixed with the white color ink, the printing apparatus for forming an image including the white. The printing apparatus according to claim 1,
The image including white includes a printing device including a partial area obtained by dividing one image into a plurality of parts. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
A printing apparatus that forms an image including the white color by changing an amount of ink other than the white ink mixed with the white ink among the plurality of colors of ink according to a characteristic hue that characterizes the color image. The printing apparatus according to claim 3,
A printing apparatus that forms an image including the white color by changing an amount of ink other than the white ink mixed with the white ink among the inks of the plurality of colors so as to be complementary to the characteristic hue. A printing method in which a color image and an image including white are overlaid using a plurality of colors of ink including white ink ,
Depending on the color image, among the plurality of color inks, by changing the amount of ink other than the white ink mixed with the white color ink, a printing method for forming an image including the white.

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