JP6966365B2 - Inkjet method color prediction method and inkjet printing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an inkjet method for color prediction and an inkjet printing method.

Conventionally, an inkjet printer that prints by the inkjet method has been widely used. Further, as the ink for an inkjet printer, an ink that develops color by a color development process, such as a sublimation transfer ink, may be used. In this case, after the ink is ejected to a transfer medium such as transfer paper, a color development process for developing the color of the ink is performed at the time of transfer or after transfer. Further, conventionally, with respect to a printing apparatus using a sublimation transfer material, a configuration for performing color correction is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-2002-262116.

When an ink that requires color development is used, the color obtained after color development may not be the desired color. In such a case, for example, as in the method described in Patent Document 1, it is conceivable to actually read the color after the color development process with a scanner or the like and perform correction. However, when printing is performed by the inkjet method, it may be desirable to predict the color after color development before performing the color development process. More specifically, for example, in the case of printing by the inkjet method using ink that develops color by color development processing, usually, after ejecting ink (ink droplets) from the inkjet head to a medium (transfer medium or the like), in another step. , Ink color. In this case, considering reducing the man-hours required for predicting the color, it may be desirable to predict the color after color development without actually developing the color of the ink. Therefore, conventionally, it has been desired to predict the color by a more appropriate method in the case of printing by the inkjet method using the ink that develops the color by the color development process. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a color prediction method and an inkjet printing method of an inkjet method that can solve the above problems.

The inventor of the present application has conducted diligent research on a method of predicting color when printing is performed by an inkjet method using an ink that develops color by a color development process. Then, first, it was considered to predict the color after the color development process based on the color expressed by the ink before the color development on the medium. More specifically, the ink developed by the color-developing treatment is usually not completely colorless even before the color-developing treatment, and exhibits a certain degree of color. In this case, a certain amount of color is expressed in the image on the medium even before the color development process is performed after drawing the image by ejecting the ink to the medium. Therefore, in this case, if the relationship between the color before the color development process and the color after the color development process is acquired in advance, the color after the color development process is based on the color expressed by the ink before the color development on the medium. It seems that color prediction can be done.

However, when the inventor of the present application actually conducted various experiments and confirmed it, it was found that it is difficult to properly predict the color after the color development process by such a method. More specifically, for example, the range of colors that can be expressed by the ink before color development (Gamat) is usually narrower than the range of colors that can be expressed by the ink after the color development process. In this case, even if the color expressed by the ink before color development looks close to the color, the color difference may be large after the color development process. Further, as a result, when the color after the color development process is predicted based on the color expressed by the ink before the color development, there is a large difference between the color of the prediction result and the color actually expressed after the color development process. Is likely to occur. Further, such a difference becomes large especially in the case of an achromatic color or a color close to an achromatic color.

On the other hand, the inventor of the present application has conducted further diligent research, and as input information for making a prediction, in addition to the color before the color development process, what color is the color of the ink at each position on the medium? I thought about using information that indicates whether it is expressed in combination. Further, as such information, it is considered to use the color information indicating the color specified for each position of the image in the image data indicating the color image. In addition, by actually conducting experiments, it was confirmed that color prediction can be performed more appropriately by such a method.

Further, through further diligent research, we have found the features necessary to obtain such an effect, and have reached the present invention. In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is a color prediction method of the inkjet method for predicting colors to be printed by the inkjet method, and is a step of ejecting ink to a medium to be ejected, which is a medium on which ink is ejected. By using ink that develops color by color development processing and ejecting inks of a plurality of colors different from each other to the ejected medium with an inkjet head based on image data indicating a color image, an image corresponding to the image data can be obtained. An ink ejection step drawn on the ejected medium and a step of measuring the color of the ink before the color development process is performed, and a color measuring step of measuring the color of the image drawn on the ejected medium in the ink ejection step. And a color prediction stage for predicting the color after color development processing is performed on the ink, and in the color prediction stage, color information indicating a color designated for each position of the image in the image data is provided. It is characterized in that the color is predicted after the color development process is performed, based on the color measurement result before the color development process measured in the color measurement step.

With such a configuration, for example, in the case of printing by the inkjet method using ink that develops color by color development processing, it is possible to appropriately predict the color after color development processing before actually performing color development processing. .. Further, in this case, by further using the color information specified in the image data in addition to the color measurement result before the color development process measured in the color measurement stage, highly accurate prediction can be performed more appropriately. .. Therefore, with such a configuration, for example, when printing is performed by an inkjet method using an ink that develops a color by the color development process, the color after the color development process can be appropriately predicted.

Further, it is conceivable to use, for example, sublimation transfer ink as the ink that develops color by the color development process in the ink ejection stage. In this case, as the ejection medium, for example, a transfer medium which is a medium used when transferring an image to another medium is used. Then, the sublimation transfer ink is ejected to the transfer medium by the inkjet head to draw an image on the transfer medium. Further, in this case, the color development process is, for example, a process performed at the time of transfer from a transfer medium to another medium or after transfer. With this configuration, for example, when a sublimation transfer ink is used, it is possible to appropriately predict the color after the color development process. Further, in this case, it is not necessary to actually perform transfer or color development processing at the time of color prediction. In this case, for example, it is conceivable to separately perform the actual printing operation after predicting the color. Further, for example, when color prediction is performed in the actual printing operation, for example, after color prediction, transfer or color development processing may be actually performed. Further, as the ink that develops color by the color development process, an ink other than the sublimation transfer ink may be used. In this case, for example, it is conceivable to use an ink containing a dye (for example, a reactive dye) that requires a color development treatment as a coloring material. Further, in this configuration, the color information is information indicating, for example, the amount of ink to be ejected to each position of the ejected medium based on the image data for the ink of each color among the plurality of colors. With such a configuration, for example, it is possible to more appropriately predict the color after the color development process.

Further, in this case, as the inks of a plurality of colors, for example, it is conceivable to use inks of C (cyan) color, M (magenta) color, Y (yellow) color, and K (black) color. The ink of each color of CMYK is, for example, an ink that becomes each color of CMYK after the color development process is performed. Further, in this case, as the color information, for example, information indicating colors in the color space of the CMYK color system can be preferably used. With this configuration, for example, by using inks of each color of CMYK, high-definition printing such as full color can be appropriately performed. Further, in this case, by using the color information as described above, it is possible to more appropriately predict the color after the color development process.

Further, in the color prediction stage, for example, it is conceivable to predict the color after the color development process by using the color development prediction data created in advance. Further, as the color development prediction data, for example, data in which at least the colors before and after the color development process are associated in advance can be preferably used. Further, more specifically, as the color development prediction data, for example, data in which the Lab value corresponding to the color before the color development process and the color information are associated with the Lab value corresponding to the color after the color development process are associated with each other. It is conceivable to use it. Further, more specifically, in this case, it is conceivable to use the ICC profile data as the color development prediction data. The ICC profile data is, for example, data created according to the specifications of the ICC profile. Further, in this case, as the color information, for example, information in which a value corresponding to each color of CMYK is set is used. Then, as the color development prediction data, for example, as the Lab value corresponding to the color before the color development process and the color information, three values indicating the Lab value and four values consisting of the values corresponding to each color of CMYK are combined. Use data that contains at least 7 values. With such a configuration, for example, it is possible to more appropriately predict the color after the color development process. Further, in this case, the color development prediction data can be considered as, for example, an ICC profile for color prediction.

Further, when color printing is performed by the inkjet method, ink of a plurality of colors is usually ejected to the same position (ejection position) of the medium according to the color to be expressed. In this case, the colors after the color development process may differ to some extent depending on, for example, the order in which the dots of the inks of a plurality of colors overlap at the same position. Therefore, in the color prediction stage, for example, the color may be predicted after the color development process is performed in consideration of the order in which the dots of the inks of a plurality of colors overlap at the same position on the ejected medium. With such a configuration, for example, it is possible to more appropriately predict the color after the color development process. Further, depending on the required print quality and the like, it is conceivable that the order in which inks of different colors overlap at the same position is limited to a fixed order so that there is no difference depending on the position of the medium. In this case, in the ink ejection stage, the ink jet head ejects the inks of a plurality of colors to the ejected medium so that the dots of the inks of the plurality of colors overlap at the same position on the ejected medium in a fixed order. Even with this configuration, it is possible to more appropriately predict the color after the color development process.

Further, as a configuration of the present invention, for example, a printing method (inkjet printing method) for printing using the color prediction method (color prediction method of the inkjet method) described above can be considered. In this case, for example, the print data preparation stage, the print data correction stage, and the print execution stage are performed to perform printing by the inkjet method. In this case, the print data preparation stage is, for example, a stage of preparing print data indicating an image to be printed. Further, the print data correction stage is, for example, a stage in which print data is corrected based on the result of color prediction obtained by performing color prediction using the color prediction method described above. Further, the print execution stage is, for example, a stage in which ink is ejected to a printing medium, which is a medium in which ink is ejected during printing. Further, in this case, in the print execution stage, for example, a ejection operation of ejecting a plurality of colors of ink to the printing medium based on the print data corrected in the print data correction stage and a color development process for developing the ink are performed. conduct. With such a configuration, for example, it is possible to appropriately predict the color after the color development process and appropriately eject the ink to the printing medium.

Further, in this case, as the print data, for example, data different from the image data used at the time of color prediction after the color development process may be used. More specifically, when color prediction is performed using the color prediction method described above, it is conceivable to use, for example, data showing a preset pattern as the image data. In this case, for example, data showing a predetermined test pattern (color chart or the like) is used as the image data. Further, in this case, in the print data preparation stage, data indicating a desired image to be printed (data for actual printing) is prepared as print data, so that an image different from the image data for color prediction can be obtained. Prepare the print data to be shown. With this configuration, for example, a desired image can be appropriately printed based on the color prediction result. Further, as the print data, for example, it is conceivable to use data showing the same image as the image data for color prediction. In this case, for example, the color after the color development process is predicted by using the image data showing the image for actual printing. Even in this configuration, for example, a desired image can be appropriately printed based on the color prediction result.

Further, in this configuration, at the print data preparation stage, it is conceivable to prepare, for example, halftone dot data generated by halftone processing as print data. In this case, in the print data correction stage, the print data is corrected by, for example, changing a part of the dots constituting the halftone dot data used as the print data. Further, in this case, for example, based on the result of color prediction, the print data of the image printed in the print execution stage is corrected so that the color after the color development process is closer to the desired color. With this configuration, for example, print data can be appropriately corrected. Further, in this configuration, it is conceivable to use, for example, an inkjet head capable of ejecting ink droplets having a plurality of types of capacities as the inkjet head at the printing execution stage. In this case, in the print data correction stage, for example, by changing a part of the dots constituting the halftone dot data, the capacity of the ink droplets ejected to a part of the ejection positions in the printing medium is changed in the print execution stage. The print data is corrected as described above. With this configuration, for example, when using an inkjet head capable of ejecting ink droplets having a plurality of types of capacities, it is possible to appropriately correct print data.

Further, as an operation performed according to the color prediction result after the color development process, it is conceivable to perform an operation other than the correction of the print data. Further, in this case, for example, it is conceivable to adjust the conditions of the color development process based on the color prediction result after the color development process. More specifically, in this case, in the inkjet printing method, it is conceivable to perform the operation of the color development condition setting step and the print execution step. In this case, the color development condition setting stage is, for example, a stage in which the color development processing conditions are set based on the result of color prediction obtained by predicting the color using the color prediction method described above. Further, in this case, in the printing execution stage, for example, a ejection operation of ejecting inks of a plurality of colors to a printing medium and a color development process of developing ink using the color development processing conditions set in the color development condition setting stage are performed. .. Even in this configuration, for example, a desired image can be appropriately printed based on the color prediction result.

According to the present invention, for example, when printing is performed by an inkjet method using an ink that develops a color by the color development process, the color after the color development process can be appropriately predicted.

It is a figure explaining the printing apparatus 10 which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 1A shows an example of the configuration of a main part of the printing apparatus 10. FIG. 1B shows an example of the printing operation performed in this example. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation which predicts a color. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the printing operation performed in this example. It is a flowchart which shows the modification of the printing operation.

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a printing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A shows an example of the configuration of a main part of the printing apparatus 10. The printing apparatus 10 may have the same or similar characteristics as a known inkjet printer, except for the points described below. For example, the printing apparatus 10 may further have the same or similar configuration as each part of a known inkjet printer, in addition to the configuration of the main parts described below.

In this example, the printing device 10 is an inkjet printer that prints by an inkjet method, and prints by ejecting ink (ink droplets) to a transfer medium 50 used as a medium (media) on which ink is ejected. Do at least part of. The transfer medium 50 is, for example, a medium used when an image is transferred to another medium. As the transfer medium 50, a known transfer paper or the like can be preferably used. The printing operation is, for example, an operation of creating a print product. Further, in this example, as will be described in detail later, after performing an operation of drawing an image on the transfer medium 50 using the printing apparatus 10, the image on the transfer medium, which is an example of another medium, is printed. By performing the transfer, the final print product is created. Further, as a configuration for performing such an operation, in this example, the printing apparatus 10 includes a head unit 12, a platen 14, a scanning drive unit 16, and a control unit 20.

The head portion 12 is configured to eject ink toward the transfer medium 50. In this example, the head portion 12 has a carriage 100, a plurality of inkjet heads 102c to k, and a colorimeter 104. The carriage 100 is a holding member that holds other configurations of the head portion 12. The plurality of inkjet heads 102c to k are ejection heads that eject inks of different colors by an inkjet method. More specifically, the inkjet head 102c ejects C (cyan) color ink. The inkjet head 102m ejects M (magenta) color ink. The inkjet head 102y ejects Y (yellow) color ink. The inkjet head 102k ejects K (black) color ink. In this case, the inks of each color of CMYK are examples of inks of a plurality of colors different from each other.

Further, in this example, sublimation transfer ink is used as the ink of each color of CMYK. The sublimation transfer ink is a sublimation ink used when printing is performed by a transfer method. Further, the sublimation ink is, for example, an ink that develops a predetermined color by sublimating the components of the ink by heating. The sublimation ink can be considered, for example, an ink that dyes a medium by sublimating the components of the ink. Further, in this example, the sublimation transfer inks of each color used in the inkjet heads 102c to k are examples of inks that are colored by the color development process. Further, in this case, the ink color is the color of the ink obtained after the color development process is performed. Therefore, the ink of each color of CMYK can be considered as, for example, an ink that becomes each color of CMYK after the color development process is performed. Further, in this example, known sublimation transfer inks can be preferably used as the inks of each color of CMYK.

The colorimeter 104 is a measuring instrument that measures the color of an image drawn on the transfer medium 50, and is used when predicting a color, which will be described in more detail later. As the colorimeter 104, a known colorimeter can be preferably used. Further, in this example, the colorimeter 104 is held by the carriage 100 together with the inkjet heads 102c to k. With this configuration, for example, the color of the image drawn on the transfer medium 50 can be appropriately measured without removing the transfer medium 50 from the printing apparatus 10. Further, in this case, for example, the color may be measured in parallel with the operation of ejecting ink by the inkjet heads 102c to k. Further, in the modified example of the configuration of the printing apparatus 10, the colorimeter 104 may be arranged outside the head portion 12 without being held by the carriage 100.

The scanning drive unit 16 is a drive unit that causes the head unit 12 to perform a scanning operation that moves relative to the transfer medium 50. In this case, having the head portion 12 perform the scanning operation means, for example, causing the inkjet heads 102c to k in the head portion 12 to perform the scanning operation. Further, in this example, the scanning drive unit 16 causes the head unit 12 to perform a main scanning operation and a sub-scanning operation as scanning operations. In this case, the main scanning operation is, for example, an operation of ejecting ink (ink droplets) while moving in a preset main scanning direction in the printing apparatus 10. In this example, the scanning drive unit 16 performs a main scanning operation on the head unit 12 by ejecting ink to the inkjet heads 102c to k while moving the head unit 12 in the main scanning direction indicated by the arrow in the figure. Let me. Further, in this case, the scanning drive unit 16 ejects ink to each of the inkjet heads 102c to k at a timing set according to, for example, an image drawn on the transfer medium 50. Further, the sub-scanning operation is, for example, an operation of moving in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction. The scanning drive unit 16 moves the head unit 12 relative to the transfer medium 50 by, for example, transporting the transfer medium 50 in a transport direction parallel to the sub-scanning direction, and the sub-scanning operation is performed on the head unit 12. To do. Further, the scanning drive unit 16 sequentially changes the position of the transfer medium 50 facing the head unit 12 by causing the head unit 12 to perform a sub-scanning operation between the main scanning operations. With this configuration, for example, ink can be appropriately ejected to each position of the transfer medium 50 according to the image to be drawn on the transfer medium 50. Further, this makes it possible to appropriately draw a desired image on, for example, the transfer medium 50. In this case, drawing an image on the transfer medium 50 means drawing the image before the transfer on the transfer medium 50 with the ink before the color development process.

Further, the control unit 20 is, for example, a CPU of the printing device 10, and controls the operation of each unit of the printing device 10. According to this example, for example, a sublimation transfer ink can be used to appropriately draw an image before transfer on the transfer medium 50. Further, in this case, for example, as described below with reference to FIG. 1B, the image 60 drawn on the transfer medium 50 is transferred to the transfer medium 52, and the ink is color-developed during or after the transfer. By doing this, the print product can be obtained appropriately. Further, in this example, as will be described in detail later, a process for bringing the color after the color development process closer to a desired color is performed by using the result of the color prediction performed by using the colorimeter 104. .. The correction of such data will be described in more detail later.

FIG. 1B is a diagram showing an example of a printing operation performed in this example, and is an example of an operation of drawing an image 60 on a transfer medium 50 using a printing device 10 and an operation of transfer and color development processing performed thereafter. Is shown. As described above, in this example, the color prediction result is used to perform a process for bringing the color after the color development process closer to a desired color. However, for convenience of illustration and explanation, in FIG. 1B, such a process is omitted, and an example of each operation is shown in a simplified manner. The process for bringing the color after the color development process closer to a desired color will be described in more detail later. In addition, except for the points described above and below, each operation may be performed in the same manner as or in the same manner as a known operation.

In this example, when the printing operation is performed, as described above, the image 60 is drawn on the transfer medium 50 by ejecting ink from the inkjet heads 102c to k in the printing apparatus 10 to the transfer medium 50. .. In this case, the image 60 on the transfer medium 50 is an image drawn with ink before the color development process is performed. Further, in this example, the image 60 on the transfer medium 50 is an image that is subsequently transferred to the transfer medium 52, which is a medium different from the transfer medium 50.

Further, after the image 60 is drawn on the transfer medium 50 by the printing apparatus 10, the transfer medium 52 that is the transfer destination of the image 60 is further used, and the transfer medium 52 is placed on the surface of the transfer medium 50 on which the image 60 is drawn. The image 60 is transferred by superimposing the images. In this case, for example, the image 60 is transferred from the transfer medium 50 to the transfer medium 52 by applying pressure while heating. Further, in this example, for example, by heating at the time of transfer, color development processing is performed at the same time as transfer, and the ink constituting the image 60 is developed. In this case, in the color development process, for example, the ink is developed by applying pressure or heating according to preset conditions of the color development process. Further, in the modified example of the printing operation, for example, after the transfer is performed, a color development process may be separately performed. Further, after the transfer and the color development treatment are performed, the transfer medium 50 is peeled off from the transfer medium 52, so that the transfer medium 52 to which the ink after the color development treatment is attached is left as a print product. With such a configuration, the operation of printing using the sublimation transfer ink can be appropriately performed.

Next, the color prediction performed in this example will be described in more detail. As described above, in this example, the color measuring device 104 in the printing apparatus 10 is used to predict the color. In this case, the color prediction is to predict the color of the sublimation type transfer ink used in the printing apparatus 10 after the color development process. Further, in this example, the operation of predicting the color is an example of the operation of the color prediction method of the inkjet method for predicting the color printed by the inkjet method.

Further, more specifically, when an ink that develops color by color development processing is used, such as the sublimation transfer ink used in this example, the color finally expressed in the print product is confirmed until the color development processing is performed. It is not possible. However, depending on the intended use of printing and the like, it may be required to predict the color after the color development process before actually performing the color development process. Further, for example, when color development processing is performed outside the printing device 10, when color measurement is performed using the configuration provided in the printing device 10 as in the colorimeter 104 used in this example, the color before the color development processing is performed. In some cases it is preferable to measure.

Further, when a sublimation transfer type ink or the like is used, the ink is usually not completely colorless even in the state before the color development process, and although it lacks vividness as compared with, for example, after the color development process, a certain amount of color is obtained. It is presented. In this case, in the image drawn on the transfer medium 50, a certain amount of color is expressed even before the color development process is performed. In this case, the color of the image before the color development process can be considered, for example, a color in which the gamut is expressed in a smaller gamut than after the color development process.

Therefore, in this example, the color of the image drawn on the transfer medium 50 is measured using the colorimeter 104, and the color is predicted based on the measurement result. Further, in this case, as input information for making a prediction, what color is the color at each position on the transfer medium 50 in addition to the color before the color development process indicated by the measurement result of the colorimeter 104? Information indicating whether it is expressed by a combination of inks is used. Further, as such information, for example, color information indicating a color designated for each position of an image in image data indicating a color image is used. Further, more specifically, in this example, the color is predicted by performing the operation as shown in the flowchart in FIG. 2, for example.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of predicting a color. In this example, when predicting the color, as described above, the color of the image drawn on the transfer medium 50 is measured by using the colorimeter 104, and the color is predicted based on the measurement result. I do. Therefore, when performing color prediction, first, image data showing an image used for color prediction is prepared (S102). Further, in this example, as the image data, for example, data showing a dedicated image used for color prediction is prepared. Further, in this case, as the image data, data indicating a color image is used. As such image data, for example, data showing a predetermined test pattern (color chart or the like) can be preferably used. Further, in this case, for example, it is conceivable to separately perform an operation for predicting the color before performing the actual printing operation for obtaining the print product. Further, in the modified example of the operation of predicting the color, it is conceivable to use the image data showing the image used at the time of actual printing instead of using the dedicated image used for the color prediction. Further, in this case, for example, an operation for predicting color may be performed as a part of the operation for performing the actual printing operation.

Further, after preparing the image data, the ink is ejected according to the image data to draw an image indicated by the image data on the transfer medium 50 (S104). In this case, the operation of step S104 is an example of the operation of the ink ejection stage. More specifically, in the operation of step S104, for example, the ink of each color of each color of CMYK is ejected to the transfer medium 50 by the inkjet heads 102c to k based on the image data, so that the image corresponding to the image data is obtained. Is drawn on the transfer medium 50.

As described above, in this example, the color after the color development process is predicted before the color development process is actually performed. In this case, when predicting the color, the transfer from the transfer medium 50 to the transfer medium 52 can also be omitted. Therefore, the transfer medium 50 used for color prediction is not a medium for actually performing transfer, but can be considered, for example, a medium corresponding to the transfer medium 50 used for actual printing. In this case, the medium corresponding to the transfer medium 50 used in the actual printing has, for example, the same characteristics as the transfer medium 50 used in the actual printing, at least within the range in which the purpose of predicting the color can be achieved. It is a medium that can be regarded. Further, in this example, the transfer medium 50 used for color prediction is an example of the ejected medium.

Further, after drawing an image on the transfer medium 50, the color of the ink before the color development process is measured is measured using the colorimeter 104 (S106). In this case, the operation of step S106 is an example of the operation of the color measurement stage. Further, regarding the operation of measuring the color by the colorimeter 104, for example, the operation of measuring the color of the image drawn on the transfer medium 50 in step S104 can be considered. Further, in this example, in step S104, for example, color measurement is performed at a plurality of positions in an image. More specifically, when an image is drawn on the transfer medium 50 using image data showing a predetermined test pattern, for example, by measuring the color at the position corresponding to each color set in the test pattern, the color is measured. Measure the color corresponding to the test pattern. Further, in this case, for example, the color shown in the Lab color system is acquired as the color of the measurement result. To acquire the color indicated by the Lab color system is, for example, to acquire the L value, the a value, and the value corresponding to the b value indicating the color in the Lab color system.

Further, after the color measurement, the color after the color development treatment is performed on the ink adhering to the transfer medium 50 is predicted based on the measurement result (S108). In this case, the operation of step S108 is an example of the operation of the color prediction stage. The color after the color development treatment is applied to the ink adhering to the transfer medium 50 is, for example, the color after the color development treatment is performed at the time of transfer from the transfer medium 50 to the transfer medium 52 or after the transfer. That is. Further, in this case, the color after the color development process may be a color obtained if the color development process is performed regardless of whether or not the color development process is actually performed. Further, in this example, the color prediction performed in step S108 is performed, for example, on the host PC, which is a computer that controls the printing device 10. Further, in the modified example of the operation of predicting the color, the printing device 10 may perform the color prediction performed in step S108. In this case, for example, the control unit 20 in the printing apparatus 10 performs a process for prediction.

Further, in this example, in this color prediction, in addition to the color measurement result before the color development process measured in step S106, the color information indicating the color specified for each position of the image in the image data is further based. , Predict the color after the color development process. Further, as the color information, for example, for the ink of each color among the plurality of colors used in the printing apparatus 10, information indicating the amount of ink to be ejected to each position of the transfer medium 50 based on the image data is used. More specifically, for example, in this example, the color information indicates the ejection amount of each color of CMYK ink to each position of the transfer medium 50. In this case, each position of the transfer medium 50 is, for example, an ink ejection position set according to the printing resolution. Further, this discharge position may be a design position. Further, the color information can be considered as, for example, information indicating the amount of ink of each color to be ejected corresponding to each position of the image. The information indicating the amount of ink of each color is, for example, information indicating the ejection amount of ink of each color of a plurality of colors. Further, to indicate the amount of ink of each color to be ejected corresponding to each position is to indicate, for example, whether or not to eject the ink of each color to each position.

Further, in the printing apparatus 10, as the inkjet heads 102c to k, it is conceivable to use an inkjet head capable of ejecting ink droplets having a plurality of types of capacities. In this case, as the ejection amount of the ink of each color to each position, for example, it is conceivable to further indicate the capacity of the ink droplet when ejecting the ink to each position. Further, the color information can be considered as, for example, information indicating how the ink of each color is ejected to each position of the medium or the image. Further, when using inks of each color of CMYK as in this example, it is conceivable to use, for example, information indicating colors in the color space of the CMYK color system as color information. With this configuration, for example, it is possible to appropriately indicate the color specified for each position of the image in the image data.

Further, in this example, in the color prediction performed in step S108, the color prediction after the color development process is performed using the color development prediction data created in advance. Further, as the color development prediction data, for example, data in which at least the colors before and after the color development process are associated in advance is used. Further, it is conceivable to prepare the color development prediction data using, for example, a plurality of samples (a large number of samples) in advance. In this case, for example, color prediction data can be obtained by actually performing color development processing on a number of samples according to the required accuracy, measuring colors before and after color development, and associating with color information. create.

Further, more specifically, it is conceivable to use ICC profile data as the color development prediction data. The ICC profile data is, for example, data created according to the specifications of the ICC profile. The ICC profile is, for example, a series of data that characterizes an input / output device and a color space related to color according to a standard published by the International Color Consortium (ICC) regarding color management. Further, in this case, the color development prediction data can be considered as, for example, an ICC profile for color prediction.

Further, as such color development prediction data, for example, it is possible to use data in which the Lab value and color information corresponding to the color before the color development process are associated with the Lab value corresponding to the color after the color development process. Conceivable. Further, as the color information, for example, it is conceivable to use information in which a value corresponding to each color of CMYK is set. In this case, as the Lab value and color information corresponding to the color before the color development process, for example, three values indicating the Lab value corresponding to the color before the color development process and four values including the value corresponding to each color of CMYK. It is conceivable to use seven values including and. In this case, the three values indicating the Lab value are the L value, the a value, and the b value constituting the Lab value. Further, in this case, the color development prediction data can be considered as, for example, data including at least seven values indicating the Lab value corresponding to the color before the color development process and the color information. Further, as the Lab value corresponding to the color after the color development process, it is conceivable to use three values indicating the Lab value. In this case, for the color development prediction data, for example, seven values indicating the Lab value and color information corresponding to the color before the color development process and three values indicating the Lab value corresponding to the color after the color development process are obtained. It can be considered as the associated ICC profile data or the like.

According to this example, for example, in the case of printing by the inkjet method using the ink developed by the color development process by further using the color information as described above in addition to the measured color measurement result before the color development process. , It becomes possible to predict the color after the color development process with high accuracy and more appropriately. More specifically, for example, as described above, when a sublimation transfer type ink or the like is used, the ink usually exhibits a certain degree of color even in a state before the color development process. Therefore, simply thinking, it seems that it is possible to predict the color after color development without using the color information as in this example. However, the inventor of the present application has found through experiments and the like that even if the color expressed by the ink before color development looks close to the color, the color difference may be large after the color development process. Then, in this case, if the color after the color development process is predicted based only on the color expressed by the ink before the color development without using the color information, the color between the color and the color actually expressed after the color development process is large. Differences are likely to occur. Further, such a difference becomes large especially in the case of an achromatic color or a color close to an achromatic color. On the other hand, according to this example, by further using the color information, it becomes possible to more appropriately predict the color after the color development process with high accuracy. Further, this makes it possible to more appropriately predict the color after the color development process, for example, before actually performing the color development process.

Subsequently, the printing operation performed in this example will be described in more detail. As described above, in this example, in the printing operation, the result of color prediction is used to perform a process for bringing the color after the color development process closer to a desired color. Further, more specifically, as such a process, for example, by the operation as shown in FIG. 3, the data indicating the image to be printed is corrected.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the printing operation performed in this example, and is a printing method (inkjet method) in which printing is performed using the color prediction method (color prediction method of the inkjet method) for predicting colors described above. An example of the operation in the printing method) is shown. Further, the printing operation described below can be considered as, for example, a printing operation described in more detail including matters omitted in the description given with reference to FIG. 1 (b). Further, in this example, the printing operation described below is, for example, an operation performed after performing the color prediction operation described with reference to FIG. 2.

In this case, in the printing operation, first, print data (data for actual printing) indicating an image to be printed on the transfer medium 50 at the time of actual printing is prepared (S202). In this case, the operation of step S202 is an example of the operation of the print data preparation stage. Further, in this example, as the print data, for example, data different from the image data used at the time of color prediction is used. In this case, the data different from the image data is, for example, data showing an image different from the image data used at the time of color prediction. More specifically, in the case of this example, as described above, as the image data used at the time of color prediction, data showing a predetermined test pattern or the like is used. On the other hand, as the print data, data showing an image to be expressed (a desired image to be printed) in the print product is used.

Further, in this example, halftone dot data generated by halftone processing is prepared as print data. In this case, the halftone dot data generated by the halftone processing is, for example, bitmap data indicating a position where ink is ejected by the inkjet head. In this case, for example, it is conceivable to use binary bitmap data as the bitmap data. In this case, halftone dot data is prepared as print data for each color used for printing (for example, each color of CMYK). Further, such halftone dot data may be generated by, for example, the same or the same processing as the known halftone processing performed at the time of printing with an inkjet printer. In this case, the known halftone process is, for example, a process performed in the RIP process. Further, in this case, at the time of halftone processing, conversion is performed to match the resolution indicated by the print data with the resolution at the time of printing (printing resolution), if necessary. Therefore, the print data can be considered as, for example, data indicating the state of each pixel of the image at the resolution at the time of printing. Further, in step S202, the print data may be prepared by performing RIP processing on, for example, a computer (for example, a host PC) outside the printing apparatus 10. In this case, for example, by supplying the generated print data to the printing apparatus 10, the preparation of the print data is completed.

Further, as described above, in the modified example of the printing operation, for example, the image data used at the time of color prediction is not the data indicating the test pattern or the like, but the same image as the print data for actual printing. It is also conceivable to use the data indicating. In this case, in step S202, print data showing the same image as the image data used at the time of color prediction is prepared. Further, in this case, the image data used at the time of color prediction may be used as it is as the print data for production.

Further, in this example, the print data is corrected based on the result of the color prediction described with reference to FIG. 2 (S204). In this case, the operation of step S204 is an example of the operation of the print data correction stage. Further, in this example, in step 204, the print data is corrected by changing a part of the dots constituting the halftone dot data used as the print data. In this case, changing a part of the dots that make up the halftone dot data means, for example, deleting some dots existing in the halftone dot data before correction or having dots in the halftone dot data before correction. It is to add a dot at a position that does not exist. When such dots are deleted, for example, in the print data before correction, it is possible to change the ink ejection position (ejection position) so that the ink is not ejected. Further, when such dots are added, for example, it is possible to change the print data before correction so that the ink is ejected at a position where the ink is not ejected. Therefore, with this configuration, for example, the amount of ink ejected to each position of the transfer medium 50 can be changed based on the color prediction result. Further, in this case, by changing the amount of ink of each color ejected to each position, the color after the color development process can be changed to a different color than that before the correction. Therefore, with such a configuration, for example, the color after the color development process can be variously changed based on the color prediction result. More specifically, in this example, for example, based on the result of color prediction, for the image printed in step S206 described below, the color after the color development process is closer to the desired color. Correct the print data.

The correction of the print data may be performed by, for example, the control unit 20 of the printing device 10. Further, the correction of the print data may be performed by a computer outside the printing device 10 by using, for example, a host PC or the like. In this case, the print data may be prepared in the host PC or the like in step S202, and the print data may be corrected in step S204 without supplying the print data to the printing device 10 at that time. In this case, for example, it is conceivable to directly supply the corrected print data to the printing apparatus 10.

Further, after the print data is corrected, the ink is ejected to the transfer medium 50 for production, transferred to the transfer medium 52, and color-developed to complete the print product (S206). .. In this case, the operation of step S206 is an example of the operation of the print execution stage. Further, in this case, the production transfer medium 50 is an example of a printing medium which is a medium used at the time of executing production printing.

More specifically, in the operation of step S206 in this example, first, based on the print data corrected in step S204, the ink jet heads 102c to k eject inks of a plurality of colors to perform the correction. The image indicated by the print data is drawn on the transfer medium 50 (S212). In this case, the operation of step S212 is an example of the discharge operation. Further, ejecting inks of a plurality of colors by the inkjet heads 102c to k based on the corrected print data corresponds to, for example, the dots constituting the halftone dot data corresponding to each color for each color used for printing. Ink of each color is ejected to the ejection position by each of the inkjet heads 102c to k.

Then, after drawing the image on the transfer medium 50, the image is transferred from the transfer medium 50 to the transfer medium 52 in the same manner as or in the same manner as the operation described with reference to FIG. 1 (b), for example. conduct. Further, at the time of transfer, by heating or pressurizing under the conditions of the color-developing process set in advance, the color-developing process for the ink is executed to develop the color of the ink (S214). Further, depending on the characteristics of the ink or the like used, for example, the color development process may be performed after the transfer, for example, instead of performing the color development process at the same time as the transfer.

With such a configuration, printing by an inkjet method using an ink that develops color by a color development process such as a sublimation transfer ink can be appropriately performed. Further, in this case, by correcting the print data based on the prediction result of the color after the color development process, the color after the color development process can be appropriately brought close to the desired color. Therefore, according to this example, for example, it is possible to appropriately predict the color after the color development process, perform necessary corrections on the print data, and appropriately eject the ink to the transfer medium 50. .. Further, this makes it possible to appropriately print a desired image, for example, based on the color prediction result.

Here, as described above, in this example, the print data is corrected by correcting the halftone dot data generated by the halftone processing. On the other hand, from the point of view of simply correcting the data, it seems that the data before the halftone processing may be corrected. Further, in fact, even when the data before the halftone processing is corrected, it is considered that the color after the color development processing can be adjusted. However, when the data before the halftone processing is used, each pixel of the image indicated by the data usually does not directly correspond to the position where the inkjet heads 102c to k eject the ink. Therefore, when such data is corrected, it is usually not possible to easily predict how the position where the ink of each color is ejected will change after the correction. In this case, it may be difficult to sufficiently predict the state in which the ink is ejected based on the corrected data. Further, as a result, it may be difficult to appropriately predict how the color after the color development process will change due to the correction of the data.

On the other hand, the halftone dot data generated by the halftone processing can be considered as the data directly corresponding to the position where the ink of each color is ejected. Then, in this case, it becomes possible to more reliably predict how the position where the ink of each color is ejected changes after the correction. Further, as a result, it is possible to more appropriately predict how the color after the color development process will change due to the correction of the data. Further, when the halftone dot data is corrected, the correction can be performed only by deleting or adding some dots, so that the processing amount required for the correction can be reduced. Therefore, according to this example, for example, the print data can be corrected more appropriately.

Further, as described above, as the inkjet heads 102c to k, for example, it is conceivable to use an inkjet head capable of ejecting ink droplets having a plurality of types of capacities. In this case, it is conceivable to prepare halftone dot data for each ink droplet capacity as halftone dot data for each color in the print data. In this case, as the halftone dot data for each capacity, for example, it is conceivable to use binary bitmap data indicating the position where the ink of the corresponding capacity is ejected. Then, at the time of correction of the print data performed in step S204, for example, by changing a part of the dots constituting the halftone dot data corresponding to at least a part of the capacity (ink droplet capacity), the transfer medium 50 is performed in step S212. The print data is corrected so as to change the capacity of the ink droplets ejected to a part of the ejection positions in. With this configuration, for example, when the inkjet heads c to k capable of ejecting ink droplets having a plurality of types of capacities are used, the print data can be appropriately corrected.

Further, as described above, in this example, after the color is predicted by the operation described with reference to FIG. 2, the actual printing is performed by the operation described with reference to FIG. .. Then, in this case, the printing of the present application may be performed a plurality of times after the color prediction is performed once. More specifically, for example, based on the prediction result of performing color prediction once using one transfer medium 50, a plurality of production prints are performed using a plurality of transfer media 50 and a plurality of transfer media 52. May be done. With this configuration, for example, a plurality of print products can be efficiently created.

Further, in the above, as an example of the operation performed according to the color prediction result after the color development process, an example of the operation when the print data is corrected has been mainly described. Further, in the modified example of the printing operation, it is conceivable to perform an operation other than the correction of the print data as an operation performed according to the color prediction result after the color development process. Further, in this case, for example, it is conceivable to adjust the conditions of the color development process based on the color prediction result. More specifically, when a sublimation transfer ink or the like is used, the color after color development usually changes depending on the conditions of the color development process. Therefore, it is possible to adjust the color after the color development process by adjusting the color development condition according to the color prediction result without necessarily correcting the print data.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a modified example of the printing operation, and shows an example of the operation when the color development condition is adjusted according to the color prediction result. Except for the points described below, the printing operation in this modification is the same as or similar to the printing operation described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. More specifically, also in this modification, the color after the color development process is predicted in the same manner as or in the same manner as in the case described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

Further, also in the operation of the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, print data is prepared in the same manner as or in the same manner as the operation of step S202 in the operation described with reference to FIG. 3 (S202). Further, in this modification, the conditions for the color development process are set as an operation to be performed according to the color prediction result after the color development process (S220). In this case, the operation of step S220 is an example of the operation of the color development condition setting stage. More specifically, in step S220, the conditions for the color development process are set based on the result of the color prediction predicted by the color prediction operation described with reference to FIG. In this case, setting the conditions for the color development process means, for example, setting the heating temperature, the heating time, etc. at the time of the color development process. Further, when the color development process is performed while applying pressure, for example, when the color development process is performed at the same time as the transfer, the pressure of pressurization or the like may be further set as the condition of the color development process. Further, in this case, for example, it is conceivable to set the condition of the color development process based on the condition change data in which the method of changing the condition is predetermined. As the condition change data, for example, it is conceivable to use data based on the result measured in advance by developing the color of the ink under various color development processing conditions.

Further, in this modification, the operation is the same as or similar to that of step S206 described with reference to FIG. 3, except that the print data is not corrected and the color development processing conditions set in step S220 are used. Ink is ejected to the transfer medium 50, and then the image is transferred from the transfer medium 50 to the transfer medium 52 and color development processing is performed (S206). Further, in this case, the color development process is performed using the color development process conditions set in step S220. With this configuration, for example, the color after the color development process can be appropriately brought closer to a desired color based on the color prediction result. Further, this makes it possible to appropriately print a desired image, for example, based on the color prediction result.

The operation of this modification can be considered, for example, an operation of appropriately adjusting the color after the color development process in the post-process performed after ejecting the ink to the transfer medium 50. Further, in a further modification of the printing operation, for example, both correction of print data and setting of conditions for color development processing may be performed based on the result of color prediction. In this case, it is conceivable that, in addition to the operation of step S204, the operation of step S220 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 is further performed between the operation of step S202 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 and the operation of step S206. .. Even in this configuration, for example, the color after the color development process can be appropriately brought closer to a desired color based on the color prediction result.

Subsequently, a supplementary explanation will be given for each configuration described above. For convenience of explanation, in the following, each configuration described above is simply referred to as this example.

As described above, in this example, in addition to the color before the color development process indicated by the measurement result of the colorimeter 104, the color specified for each position of the image in the image data is used. By further using the indicated color information, the color after the color development process is predicted. However, when attempting to perform color prediction with higher accuracy, it is preferable to perform color prediction in consideration of the method of color expression by the inkjet method. More specifically, when color printing is performed by the inkjet method, a plurality of colors of ink are usually applied to the same position (ejection position) of a medium such as the transfer medium 50 as necessary according to the color to be expressed. Discharge. In this case, ejecting ink of a plurality of colors as needed according to the color to be expressed means, for example, ejecting inks of a plurality of colors to be mixed according to the color to be expressed. Further, the same position of the medium is, for example, the same position in the design. Further, the ink ejection position on the medium is, for example, an ejection position set according to the printing resolution.

In this case, it is conceivable that a certain difference may occur in the colors after the color development process, for example, depending on the order in which the dots of the inks of a plurality of colors overlap at the same position. Therefore, in order to predict the color after the color development process with higher accuracy, for example, the color after the color development process is performed in consideration of the order in which the dots of the inks of a plurality of colors overlap at the same position on the transfer medium 50. It is preferable to make a prediction. Further, in this case, it is conceivable to use information further indicating the order in which the inks of a plurality of colors are overlapped at each position of the image as the color information. Further, at the time of color prediction, color prediction is performed based on the color information and further based on the order in which inks of a plurality of colors overlap at the same position. With this configuration, for example, color prediction after color development processing can be performed more accurately and more appropriately.

Further, depending on the required print quality and the like, for example, the order in which inks of different colors overlap at the same position during color prediction and actual printing is constant so that there is no difference depending on the position on the transfer medium 50. It is also conceivable to use only the order. In this case, in the operation of ejecting inks of each color from the inkjet heads 102c to k to the transfer medium 50, the inks are applied so that the dots of the inks of a plurality of colors overlap at the same position on the transfer medium 50 in a fixed order. It is conceivable to discharge. Even in this configuration, for example, color prediction after color development processing can be performed more accurately and more appropriately.

Further, more specifically, in this case, for example, it is conceivable that the direction of movement of the inkjet heads 102c to k during the main scanning operation is set to only one preset direction. With this configuration, for example, the order in which the dots of the inks of a plurality of colors overlap can be appropriately aligned. As another method, for example, regarding the arrangement of the inkjet heads 102c to k, the inkjet heads 102c to k are arranged so that the positions in the sub-scanning directions do not overlap with each other, instead of aligning the positions in the sub-scanning directions. It is also possible to install it. In this case, each of the inkjet heads 102c to k ejects ink to each position of the transfer medium 50 in different main scanning operations. Therefore, in this case as well, the order in which the dots of the inks of the plurality of colors overlap can be appropriately aligned.

Further, as described above, in this example, the sublimation transfer ink is used as the ink that develops color by the color development process. However, when considering the color prediction and the printing operation described above in a more general manner, an ink other than the sublimation transfer ink may be used as the ink that develops the color by the color development process. More specifically, as such an ink, for example, it is conceivable to use an ink containing a dye (for example, a reactive dye) that requires a color development treatment as a coloring material. Even in such a case, by using the color information in the same manner as described above, the color after the color development process can be predicted more appropriately. Further, in this case as well, for example, by correcting the print data and adjusting the color development conditions according to the color prediction result, it is possible to appropriately bring the color after the color development process closer to the desired color at the time of actual printing. can. When an ink other than the sublimation transfer type ink is used, for example, the printing apparatus 10 may directly eject the ink onto the medium that is the product of printing, and the printing operation may be performed without performing the transfer. ..

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be suitably used, for example, in a color prediction method of an inkjet method or an inkjet printing method.

10 ... printing device, 12 ... head unit, 14 ... platen, 16 ... scanning drive unit, 20 ... control unit, 50 ... transfer medium, 52 ... transfer medium, 60 ... image, 100 ... carriage, 102 ... inkjet head, 104 ... colorimeter

Claims (13)

It is a color prediction method of the inkjet method that predicts the color printed by the inkjet method.
At the stage of ejecting ink to the ejected medium, which is the medium on which the ink is ejected, the ink developed by the color development process is used, and the inks of a plurality of different colors are used by the inkjet head based on the image data showing the color image. An ink ejection step in which an image corresponding to the image data is drawn on the ejected medium by ejecting the ink to the ejected medium.
A color measurement step of measuring the color of the ink before the color development process is performed, and a color measurement step of measuring the color of the image drawn on the ejected medium in the ink ejection step.
It is equipped with a color prediction stage that predicts the color after color development processing is performed on the ink.
The color development process is based on the color information indicating the color specified for each position of the image in the image data in the color prediction step and the color measurement result before the color development process measured in the color measurement step. A color prediction method of the inkjet method, which comprises performing color prediction after performing the above. In the ink ejection step, a sublimation transfer ink is used as the ink that develops color by the color development process, and a transfer medium that is a medium used when transferring an image to another medium is used as the ejected medium.
The color prediction method of the inkjet method according to claim 1, wherein the color development process is a process performed at the time of transfer from the transfer medium to the other medium or after transfer. The color information is the information indicating the amount of ink to be ejected to each position of the ejected medium based on the image data for the ink of each color among the plurality of colors, according to claim 1 or 2. The color prediction method of the inkjet method described in 1. As the plurality of colors of ink, C color, M color, Y color, and K color inks are used.
The color prediction method of the inkjet method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the color information is information indicating colors in the color space of the CMYK color system. In the color prediction stage, the color after the color development process is predicted by using the color development prediction data in which at least the colors before and after the color development process are associated in advance.
Claim 1 is characterized in that, as the color development prediction data, data in which a Lab value corresponding to a color before a color development process and the color information are associated with a Lab value corresponding to a color after the color development process are used. The color prediction method of the inkjet method according to any one of 4 to 4. The color development prediction data is ICC profile data, and is
The color information is information in which values corresponding to each color of CMYK are set.
Data including at least seven values including a Lab value corresponding to the color before the color development process and, as the color information, three values indicating the Lab value and four values consisting of values corresponding to each color of CMYK. The color prediction method of the inkjet method according to claim 5, wherein the color prediction method is used. Claim 1 is characterized in that, in the color prediction step, the color is predicted after the color development process is performed in consideration of the order in which the dots of the ink of the plurality of colors overlap at the same position of the ejected medium. The color prediction method of the inkjet method according to any one of 6 to 6. In the ink ejection step, the ink jet head ejects the plurality of colors of ink to the ejected medium so that the dots of the plurality of colors overlap at the same position on the ejected medium in a fixed order. The color prediction method of the inkjet method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the color prediction method is characterized by the above. It is an inkjet printing method that prints by the inkjet method.
The print data preparation stage, which prepares print data indicating the image to be printed,
A print data correction step of correcting the print data based on the result of color prediction obtained by performing color prediction using the color prediction method of the inkjet method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.
It is equipped with a printing execution stage in which ink is ejected to the printing medium, which is a medium in which ink is ejected during printing.
In the printing execution stage,
A ejection operation for ejecting a plurality of colors of ink to the printing medium based on the print data corrected in the print data correction step, and
An inkjet printing method characterized by performing a color development process for developing ink. In the print data preparation stage, halftone dot data generated by halftone processing is prepared as the print data.
The inkjet printing method according to claim 9, wherein in the print data correction step, the print data is corrected by changing a part of dots constituting the halftone dot data used as the print data. In the printing execution stage, as the inkjet head, an inkjet head capable of ejecting ink droplets having a plurality of types of capacities is used.
By changing a part of the dots constituting the halftone dot data in the print data correction step, the capacity of ink droplets ejected to a part of the ejection positions in the printing medium is changed in the print execution step. The inkjet printing method according to claim 10, further comprising correcting the print data. It is an inkjet printing method that prints by the inkjet method.
A color development condition setting step of setting conditions for color development processing based on the result of color prediction obtained by performing color prediction using the color prediction method of the inkjet method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.
It is equipped with a printing execution stage in which ink is ejected to the printing medium, which is a medium in which ink is ejected during printing.
In the printing execution stage,
The ejection operation of ejecting inks of a plurality of colors to the printing medium and
An inkjet printing method characterized by performing a color-developing process for developing an ink using the color-developing processing conditions set in the color-developing condition setting stage. When color prediction is performed using the color prediction method of the inkjet method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, data showing a preset pattern is used as the image data.
The inkjet printing method according to any one of claims 9 to 11 , wherein in the print data preparation stage, data showing an image different from the image data is prepared as the print data.

Images