JPH0229648A - Collecting method for scanner simulation data - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To execute a scanner simulation with high accuracy by collecting and managing data of color separation information and detected color density information which are stored, based on a configuration file. CONSTITUTION:Data of color separation information and color density information of a color chart 10 having a color piece of an array are stored at every color piece, and based on the color chart 10 utilized as data in the color chart 10 and a configuration file 32 for designating the color piece, the data of color separation information and detected color density information which are stored are collected and managed. Accordingly, the color separation information and the detected color density information of the color piece can be generated easily without requiring human intervention. In such a way, a scanner simulation can be executed with high accuracy.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

(Industrial Application Field) The present invention is suitable for use in determining appropriate setup conditions for a scanner when performing preparatory work on a scanner device that separates a color transparent original into colors and stores each separated color data. This article relates to a method for collecting scanner simulation data.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, scanners have been used to make plates for printing original films. These scanners scan a color transparent original with a light spot, separate the transmitted light into colors, and create original films (
It outputs colors (yellow, magenta, cyan, black, etc.). When performing color separation using a scanner in this way, as a preparatory work, color separation conditions such as highlight and shadow densities and color balance of the color transparent original are set up in advance on the scanner. (The color separation conditions set in this way are called setup conditions). Traditionally, scanner setup has been left to the experience and judgment of the operator operating the scanner.
There have been problems in that it takes time to set color separation conditions, making it impossible to operate the scanner efficiently, and also causing poor color balance due to poor setup, which often results in the inability to obtain desired print reproduction. In order to solve such problems, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-2
No. 06838 discloses a dot area ratio determination device, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 164378/1983 discloses a color separation simulation device. In these devices, a color density-dot area ratio conversion table is prepared in advance, which shows the correspondence between a combination of color densities and a combination of dot area ratios corresponding to the combinations of color densities of color separation plates of multiple colors. Predict the combination of color densities of the object to be measured by storing the detected color density information and comparing and referencing the table of combinations of color densities of the object to be measured and the stored conversion table. That's what I do. In addition, in order to solve the above problem, the applicant has already proposed various techniques relating to a scanner setup condition instruction issuing device that has a scanner simulation function that can obtain setup conditions through simulation without operating the scanner. There is (unknown). This instruction issuing device uses a color information measuring means such as a densitometer at several positions of a color transparent document manually by an operator, for example, to
The color density of B is detected, and based on this color density, the yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), etc. that will be recorded by the scanner when the input spot light is applied to the same location with the scanner The setup conditions are determined by more accurately determining the dot area ratio display. In the above-mentioned instruction issuing device, simulation accuracy is important. In addition, in order to improve and maintain its accuracy, density measurement value data and scanner measurement value data (display of halftone area ratio of each color piece) for a large number of reference colors are required.
is necessary. Therefore, a large number of color pieces of the reference color are required. However, when trying to use a large number of color chips to improve accuracy as described above, the detection of color density is done manually, and the number of color chips provided on a color chart is limited, so the color density cannot be detected manually. It became necessary to replace the charts one by one, which caused an efficiency problem. In other words, even if you try to speed up processing by determining set-up conditions through simulation, if you want to do it with high precision, you will spend time measuring and replacing color strips and color charts, making it impossible to speed up processing. There was fear.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and
Density measurement value data and scanner measurement value data of many color chips can be easily created without human intervention. Therefore, highly accurate setup conditions can be obtained from numerous simulation results, and color chips and color charts can be easily created. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for collecting scanner simulation data that does not cause confusion even when replacing the scanner.

[Means to achieve the task]

The present invention provides a scanner simulation data acquisition method that includes at least one color chart having a predetermined array of color pieces, and a configuration file that specifies the color chart and color pieces used as data in the color chart. is provided, the color chart is scanned with a scanner, the color separation information data of the color pieces is stored for each color piece, the color density of the color pieces is detected, and the detected color density information data is stored for each color piece. and collecting and managing data of the stored color separation information and detected color density information based on the configuration file,
The above-mentioned problem has been achieved.

[Operation and effects of the invention]

In the present invention, data of color separation information and color density information of a color chart having a predetermined array of color pieces is stored for each color piece, and a color chart and a color piece to be used as data are specified in the color chart. The data of the stored color separation information and detected color density information is collected and managed based on the configuration file. Therefore, color separation information and detected color density information of color pieces can be easily created without manual intervention. Therefore, highly accurate scanner simulation is actually possible. That is, if at least one color separation data of the reference color by the scanner is required for each scanner, the white reference setting stage (the most important parameter for the representative setting point of the photomultiplier tube of the scanner) is required. It is necessary to prepare standard color data for each highlight control point (HCP), but these data usually require 500 to 1100 color pieces, and data for such a large number of color pieces is Manual measurement, such as manually scanning and manually entering data, requires a huge amount of repetitive work and is therefore impossible in practice. In contrast, in the present invention, since data can be created by selecting only the necessary color pieces on the color chart, it is possible to easily create color separation information of the color pieces. Furthermore, since there is a configuration file independent of the scanner measurement value data (color separation information), confusion does not occur even if the reference color (color piece) data is changed and a color chart to be used is added. Furthermore, the procedure for creating the measurement data file is simplified since it does not have to take the configuration file into account.

【Example】

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the present invention is adopted and scanner simulation data is collected by the procedure shown in FIG. In this embodiment, a planar color chart 10 as shown in FIG. It is formed by arranging blocks) 12 in a grid pattern. This color chart 10 is created using a well-known film recorder for C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow).
, Bk (black), etc., in the form of digital data, and a color corresponding to the combination is exposed onto a film. Further, each color piece 12 has various colors to be used as reference colors for each color piece. Further, it is desirable that the dimensions (size) of the colored pieces 12 be large enough to obtain sufficient information with a densitometer when scanned, and as small as possible. Therefore, in the case of the embodiment, the color strips 12 are five in number as shown in FIG.
It is formed into a u square. Note that this shape may be rectangular or other. Further, the distance between the upper and lower ends or between the left and right ends of the color pieces 12 on each color chart 10 is 34 m++. Here, FIG. 3 shows the configuration of a layout trimming device for scanning a color chart]0 pasted and fixed (mounted) on a scanner drum 13, which will be described later, with the scanner 14 to collect data. This layout trimming device includes a DI scanning direction position detector 16 for detecting the position ff1Py in the 01 scanning direction (tangential direction of the drum) on the cylindrical scanner drum 13, and a DI scanning direction position detector 16 for detecting the position px in the main scanning direction. a main-scanning direction position detector 18, and an interface (1/
F) A computer 20 having a look-up table (LtJT) and a film linear table (not shown) and for applying desired processing to image data, and a color chart 10 mounted on a scanner drum 13 was scanned. A memory 24 for storing data, a data file 25 and a floppy disk 26 for inputting various external data to the computer 20, and a color separation film 29 using a prepress scanner via an interface 28 based on the output of the computer 20. An exposure cylinder 30 is provided for exposing. The effects of the embodiment will be explained below. First, the color chart 10 shown in the second factor is created by exposing a film to light using a film recorder (not shown). In this case, each color piece 12 is formed in a variety of colors to be used as reference colors during measurement. The number of color pieces on this color chart 10 is arbitrary, and in the case of the example, 20
Since ~30 types are required, 6×6-36 colored pieces 12 are formed. The operator selects the color chart 1 formed as above.
0 is fixed (mounted) on the scanner drum 13. At this time, the color chart 10 is fixed so that its horizontal and vertical directions coincide with the main scanning direction and sub-scanning direction of the scanner 14. However, it is permissible even if these directions are shifted by about 1 to 2 degrees. Further, the scanning start point of the scanner 14 is made to coincide with the corner of the color piece 12 of the color chart 10 (indicated by the symbol S in FIG. 2). In this case as well, it suffices if they roughly match. Note that the number of dots on the scanner is 1 m when the magnification is 100%.
- corresponds to 14.9 dots. Therefore, since one colored piece 12 is 5 mm square, its vertical or horizontal length corresponds to 14.5 x 9-74.5 dots. Also, since the distance between the centers of adjacent mouth pieces is 5.8 mm, the number of dots corresponds to 5.8 x 14.9-86.4 dots. Furthermore, the number of dots required for the entire color chart is 34n x 34 mm → 507 dots x 507
dot→requires more than 1 megabyte (IM byte) of memory. On the other hand, the lookup table and film linear table in the computer 20 are set as input value - output value.
That is, the input value is set to be output without being processed. The scanner drum 13 of the layout trimming device is rotated under the above conditions to scan the color chart 10, and the data of the halftone area ratio is stored in the memory 24. Based on the data in the memory 24, the procedure shown in FIG. 4 is executed to create a scanner measurement value data file with the color separation halftone area ratio of the lost points on the road for each color piece. That is, when the procedure shown in the figure is started, first, zero is put into the parameter J representing the number of pixel data for initialization (step 110). Next, a constant 81 is set in the parameter GLINE for reading image data of a predetermined line in the data file 24 (step 120). Next, image data corresponding to GLINE in the image data is read into the line buffer LINEBUF (step 130). Next, from among the data read into the line buffer LINEBUF, the fifth pixel data (corresponding to the data of the 82nd pixel in S++(k-1)) shown by the following equation (1) is sequentially read from the beginning as DATA (k .J). J-8t+(k-1)・S2...(1) The parameter indicates the number in the arrangement direction of the colored pieces 12, and k-1, 2
,...takes a value of 6. In the case of the example, the number of exposed dots per 1 mm of the scanner is 14.9 dots, and each color piece 12 is 5n x 5.
Since the dimensions are mm, it is 14.9 x 2° 5-37.3 from the top, bottom, left, and right ends of the colored piece 12, respectively.
The position of the dot indicates the pixel data at the center of the color piece 12. In addition, the interval between the colored pieces 12 is 5.8 in the case of the embodiment.
1, which corresponds to 8664 dots in terms of the number of exposed dots. Therefore, the constant in formula (1) above is changed to S+-37,5z=8
6, pixel data approximately at the center of each adjacent color piece 12 is collected. Note that the line buffer LINE read as described above
It is assumed that BLJF and data DATA exist for each color of yellow (y), magenta (m), and cyan (C). Next, it is determined whether the number J of the pixel data is smaller than 6 (step 150). If the judgment result is positive, that is, if there is data of a color piece for which no data has been collected, the parameter GLINE is incremented by the predetermined value ls2 (step 160), and the procedure from step 1'30 is continued. . That is, since there is a distance of 86.4 dots between the centers of the upper and lower color strips 12 in terms of exposure dots, it is possible to read pixel data near the center of the color strips 12 by sequentially changing rows. Become. On the other hand, if the determination result in step 150 is negative, that is, it is determined that one line data has been collected, y,
Output the data for each color m and c to the scanner measurement value data file as shown in FIG. 1 (step 170).
). While creating the scanner measurement value data for the color chart 10 as described above, the color density of the color chart 10 is calculated using i! Measure once with a meter and create a density data file for the color chart 10. As shown in FIG. 1, scanner measurement value data (symbol 1
0A) and 111 degree value data files (symbol 10B) are created. By the way, normally, not all the colors of the mouthpieces 12 of the plurality of color charts 10 sampled as described above are used as reference colors for simulation. Further, there are cases where not all the mouthpieces 12 of one color chart are used. Therefore, apart from the scanner measurement value data and density value data file, a configuration file (indicated by reference numeral 32 in Figure 1) is created that indicates which lip 12 color of the color chart is to be used as the reference color. I'll keep it. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the configuration file 32 shows that four color charts are used and 98 pieces are used. Also, the instructions for the spout 12 to be used are as shown on the color chart 10.
2 has 36 blocks (6x6), so color chart 1
A matrix of 6 rows and 6 columns (numeral 34 in the figure) is provided for each 0, and the mouth piece 12 to be used is indicated as "1", and the mouth piece 12 that is not used is designated as rOJ.
It is shown in In this way, the configuration file 3 is created independently of the scanner measurement value data 10A and the density value data 10B.
2, the organized data can be used without causing confusion even if the color chart 10 to be used is added when changing the color piece data used as the reference color. Further, when changing the scanner measurement value data file, the change can be made without taking the configuration file into consideration, so the procedure can be simplified. Therefore, data can be easily collected and managed, and the scanner can be set up quickly and appropriately. In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, scanner measurement data 10A, degree value data 10B are created from the color chart 10 having the configuration as shown in FIG. 2, and the created data is configured. Although the color charts are selected and used in the configuration file 32, the configuration and number of color charts in which the present invention is implemented, and the data in the configuration file are not limited to those shown in FIG. That is, the number of sheets of the color chart can be appropriately selected depending on the measurement conditions of the scanner or densitometer or the number of reference colors required for the color transparent original.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing examples of each data file and configuration file generated in the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of main parts showing an example of a color chart from which data is taken in the above embodiment, FIG. 3 is a block diagram, including a partial perspective view, showing a configuration example of a layout trimming device that scans the color chart to obtain scanner measurement value data, and FIG. 4 shows a procedure for creating the scanner measurement value data. FIG. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Color chart, 10A... Scanner measurement value data, 10B... Density data file, 12... Mouth piece, 13... Scanner drum, 14... Scanner, 20... Computer, 24...Data file, 32...Configuration file.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) Provide at least one color chart having a predetermined array of color pieces, and a configuration file that specifies the color chart and color pieces to be used as data in the color chart; scanning the color pieces with a scanner and storing color separation information data for each color piece; detecting the color density of the color pieces; and storing detected color density information data for each color piece; Based on the color separation file, the data of the stored color separation information and detected color density information is collected.
How to collect managed scanner simulation data.