JP7563243B2 - Image processing device, image processing method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image processing device, an image processing method, and a program.

When reproducing a spot color using process color materials and color materials other than the process color materials, technology has been developed to determine the combination of color materials required to reproduce the spot color.

However, with the above technology, when reproducing multiple spot colors, it is difficult to determine the priority order of those spot colors. Also, with the above technology, when a certain spot color is faithfully reproduced, it is difficult to present to the user a guideline indicating which color material should be replaced to faithfully reproduce the spot color.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to provide an image processing device, an image processing method, and a program that can perform an operation equivalent to determining the priority order of color material sets used to reproduce spot colors, and that can easily check the color materials that should be replaced when reproducing a certain spot color, thereby reducing the effort required by the user to consider replacing color materials.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the present invention includes a spot color information management unit that acquires color material set information indicating at least one color material set that reproduces a spot color for each spot color reproduced using at least one process color colorant and a colorant different from the process color colorant; a color material set determination unit that classifies the color material sets into a first color material set that is a color material set that can reproduce the spot color without replacing the color material on the image forming device and a second color material set that is a color material set that can reproduce the spot color by replacing the color material on the image forming device based on color material installation information that indicates the installation state of the color material on the image forming device; and a display control unit that displays the color material sets on a display unit using a display method that makes it possible to distinguish between the first color material set and the second color material set, and accepts selection of the first color material set to be used to reproduce the spot color from the first color material set.

The present invention has the effect of being able to execute an operation equivalent to determining the priority order of color material sets used to reproduce spot colors, and being able to easily check the color materials to be replaced when reproducing a certain spot color, thereby reducing the effort required by the user to consider replacing color materials.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a configuration of an image processing system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a DFE included in the image processing system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the DFE and the image forming apparatus included in the information processing system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by a spot color information management unit included in the DFE according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a color material set determination process performed by the color material set determination unit included in the DFE according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of a process executed by a display control unit included in the DFE according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of an editing screen generated in the DFE according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an edit screen generated in the DFE according to the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing an example of an overall flow of a selection process for a selected color material set in the DFE according to the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the overall flow of a selection process for a selected color material set in a DFE according to this modified example. FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a DFE and an image forming apparatus included in an information processing system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by a color material amount determining unit included in the DFE according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an edit screen generated in the DFE according to the second embodiment. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of an editing screen generated in a DFE according to the third embodiment. FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a DFE and an image forming apparatus included in an information processing system according to the fourth embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of an edit screen generated by the DFE according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a process executed by a spot color history information management unit included in the DFE according to the fourth embodiment.

Embodiments of an image processing device, an image processing method, and a program are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings.

(First embodiment)
1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an image processing system according to a first embodiment. The image processing system according to the present embodiment includes a client PC (Personal Computer) 101, a DFE (Digital Front End) 102, an image forming apparatus 103, and a management server 104.

The client PC 101 is equipped with a display unit such as an LCD display, input devices such as a mouse and a keyboard, and creates a print job that the user wants to print, and transmits the created print job to the DFE 102 and the management server 104.

DFE 102 receives a print job from client PC 101 or management server 104, creates drawing data using a RIP (Raster Image Processor) engine based on the received print job, and transmits the created drawing data to image forming device 103. DFE 102 also displays an operation screen of DFE 102 (e.g., an editing screen described later) on a display unit of DFE 102 or an operation panel of image forming device 103.

The image forming device 103 forms an image on a recording medium such as paper based on the drawing data received from the DFE 102.

The management server 104 manages (stores) print jobs received from the client PC 101. Then, the management server 104 transmits the print jobs to the DFE 102 in response to a request from the DFE 102.

Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a DFE in an image processing system according to the first embodiment. Next, an example of the hardware configuration of a DFE 102 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the DFE 102 according to this embodiment has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 202, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 203, a HDD (Hard Disk Drive)/SSD (Solid State Drive) 204, and an I/F 205.

The CPU 201 uses the RAM 203 as a working area and executes the programs stored in the ROM 202.

HDD/SSD204 is a storage unit that stores various information such as preset setting values. HDD/SSD204 also stores information used when CPU201 executes a program.

I/F 205 is an interface that enables communication between DFE 102 and client PC 101, image forming device 103, management server 104, etc.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a DFE and an image forming device included in an information processing system according to a first embodiment. Next, an example of the functional configuration of a DFE 102 and an image forming device 103 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

In this embodiment, the image forming device 103 has a color material information management unit 300 as shown in FIG. 3. The color material information management unit 300 transmits color material mounting information to the DFE 102 when the image forming device 103 is turned on or when the color material in the image forming device 103 is replaced. Here, the color material mounting information is information that indicates the mounting state of the color material in the image forming device 103.

In this embodiment, the DFE 102 (an example of an image processing device) has a color material information acquisition unit 301, a storage unit 302, a spot color information management unit 303, a color material set determination unit 304, and a display control unit 305, as shown in FIG. 3. The various functional units of the DFE 102 (e.g., the color material information acquisition unit 301, the storage unit 302, the spot color information management unit 303, the color material set determination unit 304, and the display control unit 305) may be implemented in an information processing device or system on the Web, and provided to a user PC or an image forming device 103 as a cloud service via a network such as the Internet.

The color material information acquisition unit 301 acquires color material mounting information from the image forming device 103 (color material information management unit 300) and stores the acquired color material mounting information in the memory unit 302.

When the spot color information management unit 303 receives an instruction to display an editing screen used to edit a spot color, it acquires dictionary information, color material attachment information, and the like for the spot color to be edited from the storage unit 302. Here, a spot color is a color that is reproduced using at least one process color material and a color material different from the process color material. The dictionary information also includes a determined flag and color material set information, and the like. The determined flag is information indicating whether or not classification of color material sets, which are combinations of color materials capable of reproducing a spot color (or its approximate color), has been performed. The color material set information is information indicating at least one color material set that reproduces each spot color. Here, the color material set that reproduces a spot color may include a color material set that reproduces an approximate color of the spot color.

Then, the spot color information management unit 303 passes the color material attachment information, dictionary information, etc. to the color material set determination unit 304 or the display control unit 305 depending on whether a classification of the color material set, which is a combination of color materials capable of reproducing the spot color, has been performed and whether there has been a change in the color material attachment information.

The color material set determination unit 304 acquires color material attachment information, dictionary information, etc. from the spot color information management unit 303. In addition, the color material set determination unit 304 classifies the color material set indicated by the color material set information included in the dictionary information into color material set group A (an example of a first color material set) or color material set group B (an example of a second color material set) based on the color material attachment information.

Here, color material set group A is a color material set that can reproduce spot colors without replacing color materials in the image forming device 103. Color material set group B is a color material set that can reproduce spot colors by replacing color materials in the image forming device 103. Note that color material sets that can reproduce spot colors without replacing color materials in the image forming device 103 (i.e., color material sets in color material set group A) may include color material sets in which color materials already installed in the image forming device 103 have been replaced with the same color materials. For example, color material sets that can reproduce spot colors without replacing color materials in the image forming device 103 include color material sets in which, when an M (magenta) color material already installed in the image forming device 103 runs out, the M color material is replaced with the same new M color material.

Then, the color material set determination unit 304 classifies the color material set indicated by the color material set information into color material set group A or color material set group B, updates the determined flag included in the dictionary information, and stores the updated dictionary information in the storage unit 302. Furthermore, the color material set determination unit 304 passes the updated dictionary information to the display control unit 306.

The display control unit 306 displays various information such as an editing screen on a display unit such as an organic EL display or a liquid crystal display. Specifically, the display control unit 306 displays the color material sets indicated by the color material set information on the display unit in a display method (display mode) that enables color material set group A and color material set group B to be distinguished. The display control unit 306 also accepts the selection (change) of a color material set to be used to reproduce a spot color from color material set group A.

This allows the user to select the color material set used to reproduce each spot color for each spot color, and thus allows the user to perform the same operation as determining the priority order of the color material set used to reproduce the spot color. In addition, the user's intention can be easily reflected in the color material set used to reproduce the spot color, depending on the configuration of the color materials installed in the image forming device 103 and the type of print job. For example, when multiple spot colors are used in one image or multiple spot colors are used in multiple print jobs, the user's intention can be easily reflected, such as wanting to increase the reproducibility of only a specific spot color and reproducing the others without using special color materials for cost reasons. In addition, when a certain spot color is to be reproduced, the color materials to be replaced can be easily confirmed, and the user's effort required for consideration when replacing color materials can be reduced.

Figure 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by the spot color information management unit of the DFE according to the first embodiment. Next, an example of the flow of processing executed by the spot color information management unit 303 will be described with reference to Figure 4.

The spot color information management unit 303 receives an instruction to display an editing screen used to edit spot colors (step S1101). Next, the spot color information management unit 303 obtains color material application information and dictionary information for the spot color to be edited from the memory unit 302 (step S1102).

As described above, the color material mounting information is information that indicates the mounting state of color materials in the image forming apparatus 103. In this embodiment, the color material mounting information has an array for the number of color materials that can be mounted in the image forming apparatus 103, as shown in Table 1 below. The array of each color material includes the type of color material, a color material ID that allows the color material to be identified, and the mounting order. The mounting order is set to a number indicating the order in which the color materials are mounted (i.e., the order in which the color materials are superimposed when forming an image), or "0" is set for the array of a color material that is not mounted in the image forming apparatus 103.

The dictionary information is determined in advance by a color sample manufacturer, a printing machine manufacturer, a user, etc., and is stored in the storage unit 302. In this embodiment, the dictionary information includes a dictionary name, a color name, L*a*b values, a selected color material set, a determined flag, color material mounting information at the time of determination, a color material set change flag, a color material set ID, color material set information, and a determination result, as shown in Table 2 below.

Dictionary name is the name of the spot color dictionary. Color name is the name of the spot color. L*a*b values are the target L*a*b values of the spot color.

The selected color material set is information (color material set ID, described later) that indicates the color material set selected by the user from among color material sets capable of reproducing a spot color. The selected color material set is updated in response to the selection of a color material set by the user. In this embodiment, the color material set ID: "1" is set for the selected color material set of dictionary information that has never been edited by the user in the past, and when the user subsequently selects an arbitrary color material set, the selected color material set is updated to the color material set ID of the selected color material set.

The color material set ID is information that makes it possible to identify the color material set capable of reproducing each spot color. In this embodiment, the color material set ID indicates the number of color material sets capable of reproducing each spot color, and the priority order of the color material sets. Here, the priority order is an order that is set in advance. For example, the priority order is higher for color material sets that are likely to be installed in the image forming device 103 and that only contain process color color materials that can reduce the use of special color materials, or color material sets recommended by manufacturers, etc.

The determined flag is information indicating whether or not the spot color has been previously classified into color material set group A or color material set group B of the color material set information included in the dictionary information. In the present embodiment, the determined flag is set to "1" if the spot color has been previously classified into color material set group A or color material set group B of the color material set information included in the dictionary information, and is set to "0" if such classification has not been previously performed. If the determined flag is "1", the spot color information management unit 303 passes the color material attachment information, dictionary information, etc. to the display control unit 305. On the other hand, if the determined flag is "0", the spot color information management unit 303 passes the color material attachment information, dictionary information, etc. to the color material set determination unit 304.

The color material attachment information at the time of determination is the color material attachment information when the determined flag was last set (see Table 1).

The color material set change flag is a flag that indicates the previously selected color material set. In this embodiment, the color material set change flag is set to "0" if the user has not edited the spot color. On the other hand, the color material set change flag is set to the previously selected color material set (e.g., "2") if the determined flag is "1" and the color material attachment information does not match the color material attachment information at the time of determination. Thereafter, when an instruction is given to confirm the setting of the selected color material set, the color material set change flag is set to "0".

The color material set information is information that indicates, for each spot color, at least one color material set that reproduces the spot color. In this embodiment, the color material set information includes a color material set ID, a color material set, and a device value of a color material set that can reproduce the spot color, as shown in Table 3 below. The color material set includes the type of color material included in the color material set, a color material ID, and an installation order. The type of color material is the type of color material used to reproduce the spot color. The installation order (for example, 1 to 5) is the order in which the color materials are installed, that is, the order in which the color materials are superimposed when forming an image of the spot color. The installation order of a color material that is not used to reproduce the spot color is "0".

The reason why the color material set indicates the installation order is as follows. First, the order in which special color materials are layered, whether it is top printing or bottom printing, differs depending on the type and effect of the color material. Also, when calculating by converting the device value using a color profile, etc., the order must match the installation order of the color materials when the color profile was created.

The color material set and device value are to be determined in advance by the printing machine manufacturer and set in the dictionary information. Alternatively, DFE 102 determines in advance the coverage range of each of the hue, lightness, and saturation for each color material. DFE 102 may then pick up a color material set to which the target L*a*b value belongs, obtain device values by converting the target L*a*b value using a color profile or the like created with the picked up color material set, and set the picked up color material set and the obtained device values in the dictionary information.

In addition, for spot colors defined by the user by inputting device values or L*a*b values, DFE 102 references the data of spot colors defined by other color sample manufacturers that are close to those device values or L*a*b values, and sets the color material combination and device value in the dictionary information.

The judgment result is information indicating the classification result of the color material set by the color material set judgment unit 304 into color material set group A or color material set group B.

Returning to FIG. 4, when the color material application information and dictionary information are acquired, the spot color information management unit 303 judges whether the determined flag included in the acquired dictionary information is set (i.e., whether the determined flag is "1") (step S1103). If the determined flag is not set (i.e., if the determined flag is "0") (step S1103: No), the color material set judgment unit 304 executes a color material set judgment process to classify the color material set indicated by the color material set information included in the dictionary information into color material set group A or color material set group B (step S12).

On the other hand, if the judged flag is set (i.e., if the judged flag is "1") (step S1103: Yes), the spot color information management unit 303 judges whether the acquired color material mounting information (i.e., the current color material mounting information) matches the color material mounting information at the time of judgment (step S1104). If the current color material mounting information does not match the color material mounting information at the time of judgment (step S1104: No), the spot color information management unit 303 updates the color material set change flag included in the acquired dictionary information (i.e., sets the selected color material set to the color material set change flag) (step S1106), and then proceeds to step S12.

On the other hand, if the current color material mounting information matches the color material mounting information at the time of determination (step S1104: Yes), the spot color information management unit 303 sets the color material mounting information and dictionary information to the next step (step S1301 shown in Figure 6) (step S1105).

Figure 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a color material set determination process by the color material set determination unit of the DFE according to the first embodiment. Next, an example of the flow of a color material set determination process by the color material set determination unit 304 will be described with reference to Figure 5.

The color material set determination unit 304 first obtains color material attachment information and dictionary information from the spot color information management unit 303 (step S1201). Next, the color material set determination unit 304 classifies the color material set indicated by the color material set information included in the dictionary information into color material set group A or color material set group B based on the color material attachment information, and adds the result to the dictionary information as the determination result (step S1202).

In this embodiment, the color material set determination unit 304 classifies the color material set indicated by the color material set information into color material set group A or color material set group B based on the difference between the mounting order included in the color material mounting information (see Table 1) and the color material set indicated by the color material set information included in the dictionary information (i.e., the mounting order indicated by the color material set), as shown in Table 4 below.

Specifically, as shown in Table 4, the color material set determination unit 304 classifies color material sets indicated by the color material set information, in which the difference between each color material ID of a preset color material ID (e.g., 1 to 4) is equal and the difference between each color material ID other than the preset color material ID is 0 or more, into color material set group A. On the other hand, as shown in Table 4, the color material set determination unit 304 classifies color material sets indicated by the color material set information, in which any of the differences between each color material ID is less than 0, into color material set group B.

Returning to FIG. 5, after classifying the color material set indicated by the color material set information into color material set group A or color material set group B, the color material set determination unit 304 sets a determined flag included in the dictionary information (step S1203). Furthermore, the color material set determination unit 304 updates the color material attachment information at the time of determination included in the dictionary information with the color material attachment information (step S1204).

Next, the color material set determination unit 304 determines whether the selected color material set included in the dictionary information is included in the color material set group A (step S1205). If the selected color material set included in the dictionary information is included in the color material set group A (step S1205: Yes), the color material set determination unit 304 updates the selected color material set with the color material set ID of the color material set with the smallest color material set ID (i.e., the color material set with the highest priority) among the color material sets included in the color material set group A (step S1206). Furthermore, the color material set determination unit 304 updates the device value of the color material set information included in the dictionary information to the device value corresponding to the selected color material set (step S1207). After that, the color material set determination unit 304 saves the dictionary information in the storage unit 302 (step S1208) and sets the dictionary information to the next step (step S1301 shown in FIG. 6) (step S1209).

On the other hand, if the selected color material set included in the dictionary information is not included in color material set group A (step S1205: No), the color material set determination unit 304 stores the dictionary information in the storage unit 302 (step S1208) and passes the dictionary information to the display control unit 306 (step S1209).

Figure 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by the display control unit of the DFE according to the first embodiment. Next, an example of the flow of processing executed by the display control unit 306 will be described with reference to Figure 6.

The display control unit 306 obtains dictionary information (dictionary information set in the previous step (step S1105 shown in FIG. 4 and step S1209 shown in FIG. 5)) of the spot color to be edited (in other words, the spot color for which the color material set to be used for reproduction is set) from the spot color information management unit 303 or the color material set determination unit 304 (step S1301). Next, the display control unit 306 generates an editing screen to be used for editing the spot color based on the dictionary information.

Figures 7 and 8 are diagrams showing an example of an editing screen generated in a DFE according to the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the display control unit 306 generates an editing screen 700 including spot color information 701, applied color material set 702, color material set selection information 703, device value change information 704, and an OK button 705 based on dictionary information.

The spot color information 701 includes the dictionary name (e.g., "Spot Color Dictionary: R Color Book Coated"), color name (e.g., "Spot Color Name: Vivid Red"), and L*a*b values (e.g., "Lab Values: (74.2, 65.0, 35.9)") contained in the dictionary information.

The installed color material set 702 is information indicating the color material set indicated by the color material installed information at the time of judgment, which is included in the dictionary information. The color material set selection information 703 includes the color material set indicated by the color material set information, and a radio button for setting the color material set as the selected color material set to be used for reproducing the spot color. The device value change information 704 includes an input window for changing the device value of the selected color material set. The OK button 705 is a button for indicating the decision to select the selected color material set.

Returning to FIG. 6, the display control unit 306 makes the color material set group A selectable and the color material set group B unselectable on the editing screen among the color material sets indicated by the color material set information included in the dictionary information (step S1302). That is, the display control unit 306 displays the editing screen in such a way that the color material sets of the color material set group A can be selected and the color material sets of the color material set group B cannot be selected. In this embodiment, the display control unit 306 makes the color material sets included in the color material set group B unselectable by, for example, graying out the radio buttons of the color material sets included in the color material set group B among the radio buttons included in the color material set selection information 703 shown in FIG. 7.

The display control unit 306 also displays a selection mark on the radio button of the selected color material set among the color material sets indicated by the color material set information included in the dictionary information, thereby selecting the selected color material set (step S1303). Furthermore, the display control unit 306 displays the device value in the input window included in the device value change information 704 (step S1304).

Next, the display control unit 306 determines whether the color material set change flag included in the dictionary information is set, i.e., whether the color material set change flag is "1" or greater (step S1305). If the color material set change flag is set (step S1305: Yes), the display control unit 306 displays information (for example, a star as shown in FIG. 8) that enables identification of the color material set of the color material set ID indicated by the color material set change flag, among the color material sets indicated by the color material set information included in the dictionary information (step S1306). Then, the display control unit 306 displays the editing screen generated by steps S1302 to S1306 on the display unit (step S1307).

On the other hand, if the color material set change flag included in the dictionary information is not set (step S1305: No), the display control unit 306 displays the editing screen generated by steps S1302 to S1304 on the display unit (step S1307).

Next, the display control unit 306 determines whether the OK button 705 for instructing the determination of the selected color material set has been pressed (step S1308). If it is determined that the OK button 705 has not been pressed (step S1308: No), the display control unit 306 determines whether the selected color material set has been changed (step S1309). Then, if it is determined that the selected color material set has been changed (step S1309: Yes), the display control unit 306 changes the device value of the color material set information included in the dictionary information (step S1310) and then returns to step S1307.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the selected color material set has not been changed (step S1309: No), the display control unit 306 returns to step S1308 and again determines whether the OK button 705 has been pressed. If it is determined that the OK button 705 has been pressed (step S1308: Yes), the display control unit 306 ends the display of the editing screen on the display unit (step S1311), updates the dictionary information, and then stores the updated dictionary information in the storage unit 302 (step S1312).

Figure 9 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the overall flow of the process of selecting a selected color material set in the DFE according to the first embodiment. Next, an example of the overall flow of the process of selecting a selected color material set in the DFE 102 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Figure 9.

When a user (such as a commercial printing company) receives a print order and prints, the user may use spot colors to print a specific object (e.g., a company logo) or a specific location or color in the print data. In this case, the user prints the spot color by using a color material already installed in the image forming device 103, or by replacing and installing a color material that is not installed in the image forming device 103. Here, there may be multiple ways to reproduce the spot color, depending on the combination of color materials and the setting of device values. Therefore, the user decides how to reproduce the spot color, taking into consideration the color reproduction degree, cost, whether the necessary color materials are available, the remaining amount of color materials, and other conditions, and edits and sets the combination of color materials and device values. For example, the user performs settings using an editing screen on the operation screen of the DFE 102 before starting printing using spot colors, or to check and set in advance whether printing is possible.

Specifically, first, the display control unit 305 of the DFE 102 refers to the dictionary information stored in the memory unit 302, reads out the color name, L*a*b value, etc., and displays a spot color screen or a preview screen including the read-out color name and the device value of the color material set (CMYK) converted from the read-out L*a*b value, etc., on the display unit of the DFE 102. Next, the user selects the spot color to be edited using the spot color management screen or the preview screen displayed on the display unit of the DFE 102, and inputs an instruction to display an editing screen for editing the spot color (step S1).

The spot color information management unit 303 executes the process shown in FIG. 4 (step S11). That is, the spot color information management unit 303 accepts input of an instruction to display the editing screen, acquires dictionary information from the storage unit 302, and sets the dictionary information in the display control unit 306 if a color material set determination process has been performed in the past, and sets the dictionary information in the color material set determination unit 304 if a color material set determination process has not been performed in the past.

Next, when the dictionary information is set by the spot color information management unit 303, the color material set determination unit 304 executes the color material set determination process shown in FIG. 5 (step S12). That is, based on the dictionary information and the color material mounting information, the color material set determination unit 304 classifies the color material sets capable of reproducing the spot color into color material set group A or color material set group B, updates the dictionary information based on the classification result, and sets it in the display control unit 306.

Next, the display control unit 306 executes the process shown in FIG. 6 (steps S1301 to S1307). That is, the display control unit 306 acquires information on color material set group A and color material set group B capable of reproducing the spot color from the dictionary information, and displays an editing screen on the display unit that displays color material set group A in a state in which selection is acceptable and color material set group B in a state in which selection is not acceptable.

When the editing screen is displayed on the display unit of the DFE 102, the user determines whether the color material set desired to be used to reproduce the spot color is not selectable (step S2). If the color material set desired to be used to reproduce the spot color is not selectable (step S2: Yes), the user closes the editing screen and replaces the color materials in the image forming device 103 (step S3). On the other hand, if the color material set desired to be used to reproduce the spot color is selectable (step S2: No), the user determines whether to change the color material set used to reproduce the spot color (step S4).

If the color material set used to reproduce the spot color is not to be changed (step S4: No), the user closes the editing screen and ends the selection of the selected color material set (step S8). On the other hand, if the color material set used to reproduce the spot color is to be changed (step S4: Yes), the user selects one color material set from the color material set group A displayed on the editing screen (step S5).

When one color material set is selected from color material set group A on the editing screen, the display control unit 306 executes the process shown in FIG. 6 (steps S1308 to S1310). That is, the display control unit 306 accepts the selection of the selected color material set, and updates and displays the device values displayed on the editing screen.

The user then checks the device values displayed on the editing screen (step S6) and determines whether or not to end color material set selection (step S7). If the user does not want to end color material set selection (step S7: No), the user returns to step S5 and reselects the color material set. On the other hand, if the user wants to end color material set selection (step S7: Yes), the user closes the editing screen and ends color material set selection (step S8).

When the editing screen is closed, the display control unit 306 executes the processes shown in steps S1311 to S1312 in FIG. 6. That is, the display control unit 306 updates the selected color material set and device value included in the dictionary information.

In this way, according to the DFE 102 of the first embodiment, the color material set to be used to reproduce each spot color can be selected for each spot color, so that an operation equivalent to determining the priority order of the color material sets to be used to reproduce the spot color can be performed. Furthermore, the user's intention can be easily reflected in the color material set to be used to reproduce the spot color, depending on the configuration of the color materials installed in the image forming device 103 and the type of print job, etc. Furthermore, when a certain spot color is to be reproduced, the color materials to be replaced can be easily confirmed, and the effort required by the user to consider replacing the color materials can be reduced.

(Modification)
This modified example is an example in which, when color materials are replaced in an image forming apparatus, a display is updated to enable identification as to whether the color material set is a color material set in color material set group A or a color material set in color material set group B. In the following description, differences from the above-described embodiment will be described.

Figure 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the overall flow of the process of selecting a selected color material set in the DFE according to this modified example. Using Figure 10, we will explain an example of the overall flow of the process of selecting a selected color material set in the DFE 102 according to this modified example.

In this modified example, if the color material set desired to be used to reproduce the spot color cannot be selected (step S2: Yes), and the user replaces the color materials in the image forming device 103 without closing the editing screen (step S9), the process proceeds to step S12, and the color material set determination unit 304 of the DFE 102 executes the color material set determination process shown in FIG. 5 again. That is, the color material set determination unit 304 reclassifies the color material sets capable of reproducing the spot color into color material set group A or color material set group B based on the dictionary information and the color material mounting information after the user replaces the color materials, updates the dictionary information based on the classification result, and sets it in the display control unit 306.

Then, the display control unit 306 executes the process shown in FIG. 6 again (steps S1301 to S1307). That is, the display control unit 306 acquires information on color material set group A and color material set group B capable of reproducing the spot color from the dictionary information, and updates the editing screen displayed on the display unit based on the acquired information on color material set group A and color material set group B. In other words, when the color materials for the image forming device 103 are replaced, the display control unit 306 updates the display on the editing screen to enable identification of whether the color material set reproducing the spot color is the color material set of color material set group A or the color material set of color material set group B.

Here, an example of the flow of printing processing in the image forming apparatus 103 using the selected color material set selected using the editing screen will be described. First, the user executes a job using the spot color information (settings to reproduce a specific spot color by a combination of color materials and device values) edited and set on the editing screen of the DFE 102. The user draws a desired object (such as a company logo) using a spot color (such as ViVid Red) using drawing software on the PC, and when printing is executed, a print instruction is sent from the PC to the DFE 102 indicating that ViVid Red is to be used for the target object. The DFE 102 calls up the selected color material set and device values that the user previously edited and set for ViVid Red, and issues a print instruction to the image forming apparatus 103.

Second Embodiment
In this embodiment, information that enables identification of a color material set in which the remaining amount of color materials used to reproduce a spot color is less than a preset amount of color materials is displayed on the display unit. In the following description, the same configuration as the above-mentioned embodiment will not be described.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a DFE and an image forming device included in an information processing system according to the second embodiment. First, an example of the functional configuration of a DFE 102 and an image forming device 103 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 11.

In this embodiment, the image forming device 103 has a color material information management unit 310 as shown in FIG. 11. The color material information management unit 310 acquires color material mounting information and color material amount information. Here, the color material amount information is information indicating the remaining amount of color material that is currently mounted on the image forming device 103 or has been mounted at least once. In this embodiment, the color material amount information indicates the remaining amount of color material when it was used most recently, even for color materials that are not currently mounted on the image forming device 103. In addition, the color material information management unit 310 transmits the acquired color material mounting information and color material amount information to the DFE 102. In this embodiment, the color material information management unit 310 transmits the color material amount information to the DFE 102 when the power of the image forming device 103 is turned on or off, when color materials are replaced in the image forming device 103, when printing in the image forming device 103 is completed, etc.

For example, the color material amount information is information that corresponds the color material ID of a color material that can be installed in the image forming device 103 with the color material amount that represents the remaining amount of the color material as a percentage between 0 and 100%, as shown in Table 5 below.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the DFE 102 has a color material information acquisition unit 311, a memory unit 302, a spot color information management unit 303, a color material set determination unit 304, a color material amount determination unit 312, and a display control unit 313.

The color material information acquisition unit 311 acquires color material attachment information and color material amount information from the image forming device 103 (color material information management unit 310), and stores the acquired color material attachment information and color material amount information in the memory unit 302.

The color material amount determination unit 312 determines whether the remaining amount of the color material used to reproduce the spot color is equal to or greater than a preset value (an example of a predetermined color material amount) based on the color material mounting information and the color material amount information. In this embodiment, the color material amount determination unit 312 acquires dictionary information, color material mounting information, and color material amount information from the spot color information management unit 303 or the color material set determination unit 304. Next, the color material amount determination unit 312 determines whether the remaining amount of the color material indicated by the color material amount information is equal to or greater than a preset value. Here, the preset value is the remaining amount of the color material assumed to be required from the color adjustment of the spot color until the end of printing (image formation). Then, as shown in Table 6 below, the color material amount determination unit 312 sets a color material amount determination flag: 1 for color materials whose remaining amount of color material is less than the preset value among the types of color materials included in each color material set indicated by the color material set information included in the dictionary information, and sets a color material amount determination flag: 0 for color materials whose remaining amount of color material is equal to or greater than the preset value. Thereafter, the color material amount determining unit 312 sends the dictionary information, the color material amount information, and the color material mounting information to the display control unit 313 .

The display control unit 313 displays on the display unit information that can identify color material sets whose remaining amounts of color materials used to reproduce spot colors are less than a specified value. In this embodiment, the display control unit 313 displays on the display unit remaining amount information of color materials whose remaining amounts are less than a specified value among the color materials included in the color material sets capable of reproducing spot colors, based on the dictionary information, color material amount information, and color material mounting information.

Figure 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by the color material amount determination unit of the DFE according to the second embodiment. Next, an example of the flow of processing executed by the color material amount determination unit 312 will be described with reference to Figure 12.

The color material amount determination unit 312 acquires dictionary information, color material attachment information, and color material amount information from the previous step (spot color information management unit 303 or color material set determination unit 304) (step S1401). Next, the color material amount determination unit 312 determines whether or not there is any color material whose remaining amount of color material is less than a specified value based on the color material amount information (step S1402). Here, the specified value may be a value that is set in advance in the DFE 102 for all types of color materials or for each color material, or may be any value received from the user via a display unit or the like. In addition, the specified value may be the amount of color material required when a certain number of sheets are printed using the adhesion amount (ink amount) of each color material that is set based on the image area ratio in the input image and the number of printed sheets.

The color material amount determination unit 312 compares the remaining amount of each color material indicated by the color material amount information shown in Table 5 above with the specified value, and if the remaining amount of all color materials is equal to or greater than the specified value (step S1402: No), the unit proceeds to step S1403. On the other hand, if the remaining amount of at least one color material is less than the specified value (step S1402: Yes), the unit proceeds to step S1404.

If the remaining amounts of all color materials are equal to or greater than the specified value (step S1402: No), the color material amount determination unit 312 sets the color material amount determination flag for each color material of the color material set indicated by the color material set information included in the dictionary information to 0 (step S1403). If the remaining amounts of all color materials are equal to or greater than the specified value, the display control unit 313 does not need to display remaining amount information on the display unit that draws attention to the remaining amounts of color materials.

On the other hand, if the remaining amount of at least one color material is less than the specified value (step S1402: Yes), the color material amount determination unit 312 sets the color material amount determination flags of the color materials of all color material pairs indicated by the color material pair information, whose remaining amount of the color material of the color material pair is less than the specified value and whose device value is greater than 0, to 1, and sets the color material amount determination flags of the other color materials to 0 (step S1405). For example, if the specified value is 15%, the color material amount determination unit 312 sets the color material amount determination flags of NeonPink of color material pair ID: 2 and Yellow of color material pair ID: 3 to 1, as shown in Table 6 above.

Then, the color material amount determination unit 312 passes the dictionary information, color material attachment information, and color material amount information, including the color material set information for which the color material amount determination flag is set, to the display control unit 313 (step S1406).

13 is a diagram showing an example of an editing screen generated in a DFE according to the second embodiment. In this embodiment, the display control unit 313 acquires dictionary information, color material mounting information, and color material amount information from the color material amount determination unit 312. Next, as shown in FIG. 13, the display control unit 313 includes the remaining amount (color material amount) X3 of each color material currently mounted on the image forming device 103 in the editing screen 700 based on the color material mounting information and the color material amount information. In addition, the display control unit 313 displays the name of the color material included in the color material set indicated by the color material set information included in the dictionary information and the remaining amount (color material amount) of the color material, which includes the remaining amount information X4, next to the selection information 703. In that case, the display control unit 313 can also include a step of displaying the remaining amount information X4 on the editing screen 700 after step S1304 shown in FIG. 6.

In this way, according to the DFE 102 of the second embodiment, the remaining amount of color materials contained in a color material set capable of reproducing a spot color can be easily confirmed, so that the user can select a color material set that can avoid the risk of having to replace color materials.

Third Embodiment
In the present embodiment, the reproducibility of spot colors by color material sets is displayed on a display unit in a display method that allows the difference between the color material sets to be identified. In the following description, the same configuration as in the above embodiment will not be described.

In this embodiment, the display control unit 313 includes, in the editing screen, information that allows identification of differences between color material sets in the degree of reproducibility (reproducibility) of spot colors by each color material set indicated by the color material set information included in the dictionary information. In this embodiment, the dictionary information includes, as shown in Table 7 below, a dictionary name, a color name, L*a*b values, a selected color material set, a judged flag, color material mounting information at the time of judgement, a color material set change flag, a color material set ID, color material set information, a judgement result, and reproducibility. Here, reproducibility is the degree of reproducibility of spot colors by each color material set, as described above, and may be expressed, for example, in five stages.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of an editing screen generated in a DFE according to the third embodiment. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, the display control unit 313 displays reproducibility information X5, which indicates the reproducibility of the spot color of each color material set on a five-level scale based on the color material application information and reproducibility included in the dictionary information, next to the selection information 703. The display control unit 313 can also reflect the reproducibility result received from the user after outputting the image on the reproducibility included in the dictionary information. For example, the display control unit 313 receives a selection of the reproducibility of each color material set on an editing screen displayed on the display unit, and saves the received reproducibility as the reproducibility included in the dictionary information.

In this way, with the DFE 102 according to the third embodiment, it is possible to easily check the degree of reproduction of a spot color by a color material set, which makes it easier to select a color material set to be used to reproduce the spot color.

(Fourth embodiment)
In this embodiment, a color material combination and history information of a job in which a spot color is reproduced by the color material combination are displayed on the display unit. In the following description, the same configuration as the above embodiment will not be described.

Fig. 15 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a DFE and an image forming device that an information processing system according to a fourth embodiment has. First, an example of the functional configuration of a DFE 102 and an image forming device 103 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 15.

In this embodiment, the image forming device 103 has an image forming unit 320. The image forming unit 320 receives image data from the DFE 102 (an image processing unit 322 described later) and prints the image data.

In addition, in this embodiment, the DFE 102 has a data acquisition unit 321, an image processing unit 322, a spot color history information management unit 323, and a memory unit 302.

The data acquisition unit 321 receives a print instruction from a user, and acquires input manuscript data (image data) and print setting information from the storage unit 302 based on the job ID for which the print instruction was received. The data acquisition unit 321 then sets the acquired input manuscript data and print setting information in the spot color history information management unit 323.

Here, the job ID is an ID that allows a job stored in the memory unit 302 to be identified. The print setting information is information that is set by the user in the input manuscript data, such as the number of pages of the input manuscript data, the number of copies to be printed, the paper, the color profile, the screen, etc. The memory unit 302 stores the input manuscript data and the print setting information in association with the job ID.

The image processing unit 322 performs various image processing such as color conversion processing, total amount control processing, density correction processing, and halftone processing on the input document data. The image processing unit 322 then transmits the input document data that has undergone image processing to the image forming unit 320.

The spot color history information management unit 323 acquires input manuscript data and print setting information from the data acquisition unit 321. Then, if the print setting information is set to perform color conversion of a spot color and a spot color is present in the input manuscript data, the spot color history information management unit 323 acquires the history information of the spot color to be color converted and the dictionary information from the storage unit 302.

The spot color history information management unit 323 also acquires the date and time based on time information kept by a clock unit inside the DFE 102. The spot color history information management unit 323 also acquires the name of the input manuscript data (input manuscript data name), the name of the spot color to be color converted (spot color name), and the name of the spot color used simultaneously (simultaneous use color) based on the print setting information as history information. Furthermore, the spot color history information management unit 323 acquires the selected color material set, device values, etc. from the dictionary information as history information. The spot color history information management unit 323 then stores the acquired history information in the memory unit 302.

Here, the history information is the history information of a job in which a spot color was converted. In this embodiment, the history information includes the date and time when the color of the color name included in the dictionary information was used in printing, the name of the printed input manuscript data, the selected color material set, the device value, the simultaneously used colors, etc., as shown in Table 8 below. Here, the simultaneously used colors are the multiple colors when multiple spot colors are included in the input manuscript data and the multiple colors are converted into spot colors and printed. The simultaneously used colors are information that helps a user understand what colors should be checked at the same time when re-outputting input manuscript data that was previously output or when adjusting the colors of a company logo or the like in which multiple spot colors are used.

16 is a diagram showing an example of an editing screen generated by the DFE according to the fourth embodiment. In this embodiment, the display control unit 313 displays the history information acquired by the spot color history information management unit 323 on the display unit together with the color material set indicated by the color material set information. Specifically, the display control unit 313 generates an editing screen 700 including the history information X6 as shown in FIG. 16. For example, the display control unit 313 can include a step of acquiring history information from the storage unit 302 and displaying the acquired history information X6 on the editing screen 700 after step S1304 shown in FIG. 6. In addition, the display control unit 313 can also generate an editing screen 700 including a plurality of pieces of history information X6 as shown in FIG. 16. Furthermore, the display control unit 313 may set the display portion of the history information X6 as an input window, and allow the history information X6 to be arbitrarily edited in the input window.

Figure 17 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by the spot color history information management unit of the DFE according to the fourth embodiment. Next, an example of the flow of processing executed by the spot color history information management unit 323 will be described with reference to Figure 17.

The spot color history information management unit 323 first acquires print setting information from the data acquisition unit 321 (step S1501). Next, the spot color history information management unit 323 determines whether or not the print setting information has been set to perform color conversion of the spot color (step S1502). If the print setting information has not been set to perform color conversion of the spot color (step S1502: No), the processing in the spot color history information management unit 323 ends.

If the print setting information is set to perform color conversion of spot colors (step S1502: Yes), the spot color history information management unit 323 determines whether or not spot colors exist in the input document data (image) (step S1503). If spot colors do not exist in the input document data (step S1503: No), the processing in the spot color history information management unit 323 ends.

If a spot color is present in the input document data (step S1503: Yes), the spot color history information management unit 323 acquires the spot color name from the input document data (step S1504). The spot color history information management unit 323 also acquires dictionary information for the acquired spot color name from the storage unit 302 (step S1505). The spot color history information management unit 323 also acquires the input document (print image) data name from the print setting information (step S1506). Furthermore, the spot color history information management unit 323 acquires time information from a clock unit inside the DFE 102 (step S1507).

Next, the spot color history information management unit 323 adds the input document data name, time information, spot color name, selected color material set, device value, etc. to the history information (step S1508). Then, the spot color history information management unit 323 stores the history information in the storage unit 302 (step S1509).

In this way, according to the DFE 102 of the fourth embodiment, it is possible to select the color material set to be used to reproduce the spot color while viewing the job history information of the color conversion of the spot color, so that the user's intention can be more easily reflected in the color material set to be used to reproduce the spot color.

The programs executed by DFE 102 in this embodiment and this modified example are provided in advance in ROM 202 or the like. The programs executed by DFE 102 in this embodiment and this modified example may be provided by being recorded in an installable or executable format on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, flexible disk (FD), CD-R, or DVD (Digital Versatile Disk).

Furthermore, the programs executed by DFE 102 of this embodiment and this modified example may be configured to be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by being downloaded via the network. Also, the programs executed by DFE 102 of this embodiment and this modified example may be configured to be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

The program executed by the DFE 102 in this embodiment and this modified example has a modular configuration including the above-mentioned sections (colorant information acquisition section 301, spot color information management section 303, colorant set determination section 304, and display control section 305), and in terms of actual hardware, the CPU 201 (an example of a processor) reads the program from the ROM 202 and executes it, thereby loading the above-mentioned sections onto the main storage device, and the colorant information acquisition section 301, spot color information management section 303, colorant set determination section 304, and display control section 305 are generated on the main storage device.

In the above embodiment and this modified example, the image processing device of the present invention is described as being applied to a multifunction device having at least two of the following functions: copy function, printer function, scanner function, and facsimile function. However, the image processing device can be applied to any image forming device, such as a copier, printer, scanner device, or facsimile device.

101 Client PC
102 DFE
103 Image forming apparatus 104 Management server 201 CPU
202 ROM
203 RAM
204 HDD/SSD
205 I/F
300, 310 Colorant information management section 301, 311 Colorant information acquisition section 302 Storage section 303 Spot color information management section 304 Colorant set determination section 305, 313 Display control section 312 Colorant amount determination section 320 Image forming section 321 Data acquisition section 322 Image processing section 323 Spot color history information management section

JP 2012-004749 A

Claims (9)

a spot color information management unit that acquires, for each spot color that is reproduced using at least one of a process color material and a color material different from the process color material, color material set information that indicates at least one color material set that reproduces the spot color;
a color material set determination unit that classifies the color material sets into a first color material set that is a color material set capable of reproducing the spot color without replacing color materials in the image forming device, and a second color material set that is a color material set that is a color material set capable of reproducing the spot color by replacing color materials in the image forming device, based on color material installation information that indicates a state in which color materials are installed in the image forming device;
a display control unit that displays the color material set on a display unit in a display method that allows the first color material set and the second color material set to be distinguished from each other, and accepts selection of the first color material set to be used for reproducing the spot color from among the first color material sets;
An image processing device comprising: The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit performs display so that the first color material set can be selected and the second color material set cannot be selected. The image processing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the display control unit updates a display that allows identification of whether the color material set is the first color material set or the second color material set when the color material is replaced in the image forming device. a storage unit that stores colorant amount information indicating a remaining amount of a colorant that is currently installed in the image forming apparatus or that has been installed at least once;
a color material amount determination unit that determines whether or not a remaining amount of a color material used to reproduce the spot color is equal to or greater than a predetermined color material amount based on the color material amount information and the color material set information,
4 . The image processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the display control unit displays, on the display unit, information that enables identification of the color material set in which the remaining amount of color material used to reproduce the spot color is less than the predetermined color material amount. The image processing device according to claim 4, wherein the display control unit displays the remaining amount of color material installed in the image forming device on the display unit based on the color material amount information. The image processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the display control unit displays the degree of reproducibility of the spot color by the color material set on the display unit in a display method that allows the difference between the color material sets to be identified. A history information acquisition unit for acquiring history information of a job in which a spot color conversion is performed,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the display control unit displays the history information together with the color material set on the display unit. An image processing method executed by an image processing device, comprising:
a step of a spot color information management unit acquiring, for each spot color reproduced using at least one of a process color material and a color material different from the process color material, color material set information indicating at least one color material set for reproducing the spot color;
a step of a color material set determination unit classifying the color material sets into a first color material set that is a color material set capable of reproducing the spot color without replacing color materials in the image forming device, and a second color material set that is a color material set that is a color material set capable of reproducing the spot color by replacing color materials in the image forming device, based on color material installation information that indicates a state in which color materials are installed in the image forming device;
a display control unit displays the color material set on a display unit in a display method that allows the first color material set and the second color material set to be distinguished from each other, and accepts a selection of the first color material set to be used for reproducing the spot color from among the first color material sets;
An image processing method comprising: Computer,
a spot color information management unit that acquires, for each spot color that is reproduced using at least one of a process color material and a color material different from the process color material, color material set information that indicates at least one color material set that reproduces the spot color;
a color material set determination unit that classifies the color material sets into a first color material set that is a color material set capable of reproducing the spot color without replacing color materials in the image forming device, and a second color material set that is a color material set that is a color material set capable of reproducing the spot color by replacing color materials in the image forming device, based on color material installation information that indicates a state in which color materials are installed in the image forming device;
a display control unit that displays the color material set on a display unit in a display method that allows the first color material set and the second color material set to be distinguished from each other, and accepts selection of the first color material set to be used for reproducing the spot color from among the first color material sets;
A program to make it function as such.

Images