JPH07107312A - Color information processing method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To output data after operating an optimal color matching processing matched with output color reproducing characteristic in an outputting means by adding image attribute information to each image included in color picture information. CONSTITUTION:In an application 1103 which holds graphic data, a CMM attribute is added to each image as the attribute of a plotting object. The CMM attribute is data for uniquely identifying a color matching algorithm. An OS 1102 checks the CMM attribute added to object data, and selects the optimal matching algorithm. The matching processing by the selected algorithm is operated by a printer driver 1106 or 1109. The printer drivers 1106 and 1109 compensate the color reproducing characteristics of a color laser beam printer 1108 and a color ink jet printer 1110, and operate the matching processing so that the color reproduction of the printers can be matched.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a color information processing method and apparatus, and more particularly to a color information processing method and apparatus for matching color image information output to an output device or the like with a reproduction color space of the output device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 19, a conventional color matching process performed when outputting graphic data created by a computer or the like to a printer is subjected to a predetermined color matching process (Cmm1) on the entire output graphic. I could only choose whether to call or not to call.

[0003]

However, the image information to be output is not always the same information as a whole. For example, one graphic has two image data, and one kind of color matching processing is performed. In many cases, it is difficult to reproduce the color of each image data. Conventionally, even in such a case, only one color matching process (Cmm1) can be performed as described above, and it has been difficult to obtain a desired color reproduction.

That is, the matching process is to perform so-called color space compression on the color range of the input color image and the color reproduction range of the printer. Therefore, if the same color space compression is performed on each image data when the color ranges of the two input image data are different, one image data can be properly color space compressed but the other image data is compressed. There is a risk that the color space cannot be compressed properly.

[0005]

The present invention has been made for the purpose of solving the above-mentioned problems, and has the following structure as one means for solving the above-mentioned problems. That is, a color information processing apparatus capable of processing color image information for one screen composed of a plurality of images, wherein each image included in the color image information for one screen is associated with a color characteristic of the image. Attribute information adding means for sending the image attribute information in association with each other, supply means for supplying to the output means for outputting a color image corresponding to the color image information for one screen, and color image information from the attribute information adding means And a color matching unit for performing color matching processing on the image according to the color reproduction characteristic of the output unit according to the image attribute added to the image.

[0006]

With the above construction, the image attribute information is added to the data to be output when outputting from the output means, so that the optimum color matching the output color reproduction characteristics in the output means in the provided color matching processing function. It is possible to output after performing various color matching processing.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram best representing the features of the present invention, and is a diagram for explaining color matching for each object according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the present invention, unlike the above-described conventional processing shown in FIG. 18, it is a diagram showing a state in which color matching processing suitable for each image in the output data is performed. For example, as shown in FIG. 1 indicates that the color matching process indicated by Cmm1 is performed, and image 2 indicates that the color matching process indicated by Cmm2 is performed.

The apparatus of this embodiment is basically a microprocessor for performing various controls, a program memory for storing an operation program of the micro-losser, a data memory for storing each output data, and an attached display 1.
101, an interface with the printers 1108 and 1110, and a printer 11 connected to the interface
08, 1110 and the like. However,
Since the features of the present embodiment cannot be sufficiently expressed in this configuration, it is executed (achieved) by the operation program of the above-described microprocessor and the micro-losser.
The function is shown in FIG. 2 to facilitate understanding of the invention. Note that each of these configurations may be achieved not only by software but also by hardware.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1101 is a display for displaying color graphic information and the like, 1102 is an OS for generally controlling the respective functions, 1103 is an interface with an operator for actually creating image information, inputting / outputting instructions and the like. An application that controls applications, including
1104 is graphic object data drawn by the application 1103 or the like, and also stores a CMM attribute 105 described later.

1106 is a color laser beam printer 1
A printer driver R that controls the interface with 108, a color laser beam printer that prints out multi-valued information 1108, a printer driver I that controls the color inkjet printer 1110 with a color inkjet printer 1110, and a color inkjet that prints out binary information 1110. It is a printer.

The color laser beam printer 1108 and the color ink jet printer 11 in each of the above configurations.
Next, the flow of actual color information processing of the color matching system (CMS) of this embodiment, which processes output information for ten different printers of two different recording methods, will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the processing and the flow of data in the above configuration in this embodiment.

Color matching will be described by taking a case where a color signal from a host (not shown) such as a personal computer is displayed on the screen of a color display 1101 via a video board or the like. Here, a color laser beam printer 1108 that reproduces color with four color toners of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K), and yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan ( C) and a color inkjet printer 1110 which reproduces colors with four color inks of black (K) are used as printers of two different recording methods.

Color matching is performed independently for each of the printers 1108 and 1110. At this time, in this embodiment, the display 1101 is calibrated with respect to the color input signal. That is, the same color signal as the signal output to the display 1101 is input to each printer driver, the following processing is added, and the result is sent to each printer 1108, 1110, and as many points as possible within each color reproducible region are input. Printing each color patch, then actually measuring the color patch sample to calculate the color difference from the color to be displayed on the color display 1101, and performing the color processing described later so as to reduce this color difference. Change the parameters of.

Actual color processing shown in FIG. 3 1) Input gamma conversion: This is a function of correcting the light emission characteristic of a CRT display. 2) Brightness to density conversio
n): Also called LOG conversion, it is a function of converting RBG luminance data into YMC density data used in a printer or the like.

3) Black generation (Bleck generation): A black component is extracted from the YMC data generated by the luminance density conversion in order to correct the difference between Y + M + C mixed color black and K. 4) Masking: Subtractive primary colors (YMC)
Is a function of correcting an impure color component. 5) UCR (Under color removal): A function of replacing the Y + M + C portion with K.

6) Output gamma correctio
n): A function for correcting the input / output color reproduction relationship with color materials such as ink and toner. For example, it corrects that the relationship between the number of ink dots and the OD (print density) is not in a linear relationship (different depending on the binarization processing described later). 7) Binarization (Digitaize): Various binarization methods such as a pattern dither method, an error diffusion method, and an average density preservation method can be applied.

By repeating the above operation, the parameters of each process for color matching such as input γ conversion, luminance density conversion, masking, UCR, output γ correction, and binarization are determined. According to the above method, since the display on the display is not directly used for color matching, the absolute value data of the virtual color, that is, the color to be displayed, and the respective printers, regardless of whether the calibration level of the display is good or bad. The actual measurement data of the color patch sample printed out by the above method is compared, and as a result, the color laser beam printer 1108 and the color inkjet printer 111 are compared.
Even with a printer having a different recording method of 0 and a different color reproduction range, excellent color matching can be obtained.

The ink jet printer shown in this embodiment uses a so-called multi-scan recording method to improve color reproduction characteristics. As a result, the color reproduction range of the color inkjet printer can be widened, and color matching can be performed well. Next, the color inkjet printer 1110 shown in FIG.
This will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4 to 16.

In FIG. 4, in front of a platen 2 for backing up a sheet (recording medium such as recording paper or a plastic thin plate) 1, reciprocating left and right along guide shafts 3 and 4 installed in parallel therewith. A carriage 5 is provided. A recording head 6 that records an image on the sheet 1 according to recording data is mounted on the carriage 5. In this embodiment, the recording head 6 is an inkjet head having 64 nozzles. The carriage 5 includes a timing belt 1 wound around a pulley 8 driven by a carriage motor 7 and a driven pulley 9.
The carriage motor 7 is fixed at 0, and is reciprocated in the main scanning direction (F direction indicated by the arrow) by the rotation of the carriage motor 7. Then, the recording operation is performed in each of the forward and backward paths of this reciprocating motion.

The sheet 1 is inserted along the paper pan 11 and is supplied to a recording section between the recording head 6 and the platen 2 by a sheet feeding roller (not shown) which is rotationally driven by a sheet feeding motor 12. . The sheet 1 fed to the recording unit is brought into close contact with a platen (fixed flat platen) 2 by a sheet pressing plate 13. The sheet 1 that has passed through the recording unit is conveyed and ejected by sheet ejection rollers 14 and 15 that are driven in synchronization with a sheet feeding roller (not shown).

At the home position, which is set to a position outside the recording range of the recording head 6, there is provided a head recovery device 16 including a cap 17 and an ink suction means that closely contact and separate from the orifice surface of the recording head 6. ing. At the time of recording, the ink droplet ejecting means of the recording head 6 is synchronized with a signal output from a rotor linear coder 18 provided in parallel with the guide shaft 4 as the carriage 5 scans in the main scanning direction. The ink droplets ejected from the orifices inside the nozzles are attached to the sheet 1 by driving based on the recording data to form a dot pattern.

After the recording is completed, the recording head 6 is stopped at the home position, and the orifice surface of the recording head 6 is sealed by the cap 17 of the ink recovery device 16. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the inkjet printer device of FIG. 5, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21 of the printer device is connected to a host computer 20 corresponding to the color image processing device of this embodiment shown in FIG. Command data and character data are exchanged.
The CPU 21 includes a timer 25 that regulates the timing of processing operations, a font ROM (CG / ROM) 26 that stores fonts of characters and symbols, and a control R that stores a control program of the CPU 21 and various data.
A RAM 28 including an OM 27, a reception buffer, and the like, which is used as a work area of the CPU 21, is connected.

As a result, the CPU 21 is based on command data and recording data transferred from the host computer 20, and various command signals input from the various switches 30 and the like provided on the operation panel through the input port 29. Control the rotation of the carriage motor 7, the sheet feeding motor 12 and the like via the output port 31 and the motor drive circuit 32, and to the recording head (inkjet head) 6 via the head control unit 23 and the head drive unit 24. The recording data is output and the recording operation is controlled.

Further, the timer 25 is the carriage motor 7
Also, various time timings used for switching the excitation phase of the sheet feeding motor 12 are generated. Recording head 6
The output signal of the rotary encoder 18, which is used to determine the scanning position and to determine the drive timing of the recording head 6, passes through the detection circuit 34 and the direction signal a and the count pulse signal as indicated by a and b in FIG. molded into b. The direction signal a and the count pulse b are input to the position counter 35, which is an up / down counter, and the CPU 21 outputs the position information of the recording head 6 via the register 36.
Is read by the head controller 23 and is input to the head controller 23, and the up / down counter 4 shown in FIG.
It is used as an 01 up / down signal. Further, the count pulse b is used as an interrupt signal of the CPU 21, and the CPU 21 causes the head controller 23 to operate in response to this interrupt.
A recording data register 4 shown in FIG.
Write the recorded data in 02.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of the head controller 23 of the color ink jet printer 1110 of this embodiment. The parts common to those in the above drawings are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. Reference numerals 101 to 116 are registers composed of 16 16-bit flip-flops as shown in FIG. 16-bit data is set to each of these flip-flops 101 to 116 from the CPU 21 via the data bus. 20
Each of 1 to 216 is a 1-bit selector (16 to 1)
Among the 16-bit data input from each flip-flop, the 1-bit data designated by the 4-bit selection signal 410 output from the 4-bit up / down counter 401 is selected to output the output signals 301 to 316. Is output as.

FIG. 8 shows the relationship between the selection signal 410, which is the output value of the counter 401, and one bit selected by the registers 101 to 116, and the positional relationship with the nozzles of the recording head 6. Also, this up / down counter 40
1 includes a direction signal a and a count pulse b, which are output signals of the encoder detection circuit 34 described above, as shown in FIG.
And have been entered. With the movement of the carriage 5, the counter 401 is incremented by "1" by the count pulse b when the polarity of the direction signal a is high level, and is incremented by "-1" by the count pulse b when the direction signal a is low level. It

This count pulse b has a one-to-one correspondence with the drive timing of the recording head 9, and the timer 403
With the pulse width T set to, the enable signal 4 is generated in synchronization with the falling edge of the count pulse b as shown in FIG.
04 is output. At this time, the data to be recorded is written from the CPU 21 to the 64-bit recording data register 402 composed of a flip-flop or the like via the data bus. The recording data register 402 has a two-stage latch structure, and is configured so that even if the next data is written while the recording head 6 is being driven, the current driving of the recording head 6 is not affected at all.

The 64-bit output signal from the recording data register 402 is AND gate 50 for each bit.
1-564 and data selectors 201-2
Each of the 16 output signals 301 to 316 and the drive enable signal 404 are input to each AND circuit.
As a result, the enable signal 404 becomes high level, and only the nozzles selected by the data selectors 201 to 216 can output the pulse signal for driving the head to the head drive unit 24 according to the print data from the print data register 402. .

With the above configuration, the mask data stored in the flip-flops 101 to 116 is output each time the signal from the encoder 18 is input, that is, each time the recording position of the recording head 6 is switched. The mask pattern of 16 bits × 16 bits can be developed and recorded on the recording paper surface.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the control procedure in the color ink jet printer 1110 of this embodiment, and the operation of the color ink jet printer 1110 will be described below with reference to this drawing. Prior to this description, the mask patterns set in the registers 101 to 116 will be described first.

In the color ink jet printer 1110, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, the nozzles of the recording head having 64 nozzles are divided into L equal parts (L = L in the example of FIG. 10).
4, L ≧ 2), and divide these divided nozzle blocks into 1
The recording medium is conveyed as a unit in the sub-scanning direction. In this way, by reciprocally scanning the recording head L times in the main scanning direction, the width (1 band) that can be recorded by one scanning of the recording head.
The so-called multi-pass printing is performed to print the image.

In FIG. 10, 800 indicates the time of the first pass printing, and the print head is located at this position. 80
Reference numeral 1 denotes the second pass, at which time the recording medium is conveyed by a width of 16 nozzles in the sub-scanning direction. Similarly, 80
Reference numeral 2 indicates the third pass, 803 indicates the fourth pass, and 804 indicates the fifth pass. At this time, since recording is performed at different positions on the recording medium using different nozzles for each pass,
As shown in FIG. 14, a continuous repeating pattern is prepared in units of M × N dots (16 × 16 in these figures) for each print pass, and print is performed while masking the print data for each print pass. 11 shows the pattern of the first pass, FIG. 12 shows the pattern of the second pass, FIG. 13 shows the pattern of the third pass, and FIG. 14 shows the pattern of the fourth pass. In FIGS. 11 to 14, ink is ejected from the corresponding nozzle when print data is present at the black dot position, and ink is masked at the white dot position even if there is print data, even if there is print data. Not discharged. The optimum values of the size (values of M and N) of the repeating pattern and the mask pattern thereof differ depending on the printer device or the recording mode.

The mask patterns set in the registers 101 to 116 are the patterns shown in FIGS. 11 to 14 described above, and 64 nozzles by the recording head 6 are obtained by four main scans using these mask patterns. The width record is completed. In the patterns of FIGS. 11 to 14, when there is print data at the position of a black dot, the nozzle is driven by the print data, and at the position where there is no black dot, regardless of the presence or absence of the print data, that nozzle Is not driven. That is, the drive of the recording head 6 is masked. In this way, after one scan by the recording head 6 is completed, the recording paper is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction by 16 nozzles.

In the flowchart of FIG. 9, after the power of the device is turned on, the device is initialized in step S101. At this time, when the carriage, that is, the recording head 6 is at the home position, the position counter 35 and the up / down counter 401 are cleared to "0". After that, the position counter 35 updates the count value (position of the recording head 6) each time the rising edge of the count pulse output signal b of the rotary encoder 18 is input,
The absolute position is shown.

The count pulse signal b is input to the up / down counter 401, and the data selectors 201 to 2 are switched by switching the count value.
By changing the position of the 16 selected bits, the mask pattern for performing the logical product with the print data is changed. Further, in this initial setting, the time value for determining the drive pulse width of the recording head 6 is set in the timer 403.

Then, in step S102, the input of a recording start command is waited for. When the recording start command is input in step S102, the process proceeds to step S103 and the register 10
The mask patterns for the first pass shown in FIG. 11 are set in 1-116. That is, "00" is stored in the registers 101 to 104.
0F ”H,“ F000 ”H in registers 105 to 108,
“0F00” H in registers 109 to 112, register 1
A pattern of "00F0" H is set in 13 to 116. In addition, "H" has shown the hexadecimal number here. Next, the process proceeds to step S104, the carriage motor 7 is accelerated to a predetermined speed at which recording is possible, and then the speed is switched to a constant speed, and when the value of the position counter 35 reaches the recording start position,
The CPU 21 is enabled for interruption and the recording operation is started. This causes an interrupt at the recording dot interval,
The interrupt process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 15 is executed.

In the interrupt processing routine of FIG. 15, the recording data for 64 nozzles, that is, for 4 words, is written in the recording data register 402 in step S201. Every time the recording position is switched, the up / down counter 401
Of the recording data register 40 and the mask data selected corresponding to this count value.
The logical product of the output value of 2 and the output value of 2 is obtained, and this value is output to the head drive unit 24 as an actual head drive pulse. Then, this routine is finished and the process returns to FIG.

In this way, the data obtained by the logical product of the print data and the mask pattern is output to the print head 6 for printing. After the recording for one scan by the recording head 6 is completed, the process proceeds to step S105 in FIG. 9, the interruption is disabled, and the recording paper is conveyed by the length corresponding to the recording width of 16 nozzles. Thereafter, as in steps S103 to S105 of the first pass, steps S106 to
In S114, the mask pattern (FIGS. 12 to 14) corresponding to each pass is set in the registers 101 to 116 and the printing operation is performed. In this way, when the printing for four passes is completed and the printing for the width of 64 nozzles is completed, step S
The process returns to 102 and waits for the input of the next recording start instruction.

By the control described above, it is possible to reduce the load on the software and to print by masking the print data with a mask pattern of 16 × 16 bits for each scan of the print head 6 with a simple structure. The following advantages can be obtained. (1) High-quality recording with no visible white or black streaks is possible. (2) Since the transfer density of ink in one scan can be reduced, the fixability of ink on plain paper is improved. (3) Since the mask registers 101 to 116 are rewritten each time the print head scans, it is possible to easily perform print position deviation correction during bidirectional printing.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the color reproduction characteristics are improved and the compatibility with the color matching processing is good.

In the above description, the number of nozzles of the recording head 6 is 64 vertical nozzles, and the mask registers 101 to 1 are used.
16 x 16 bit mask pattern configuration,
Further, although the number of scans for printing the nozzle width of the print head 6 has been described as "4", it is obvious that a numerical value other than the above can be used. In the above description, the signal for switching the mask data output from the mask registers 101 to 116 is the count value of the up / down counter 401 that is updated based on the signal output from the rotary encoder 18. 401 may update its count value by a signal from a linear encoder arranged in the main scanning direction instead of a signal from the rotary encoder 18, or the CPU 21
May directly output the trigger signal to the counter 401.

The CPU 21 sets the recording data in the recording data register 402, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the recording data stored in the RAM 28 by using the DMA function is used. It may be directly transferred to the recording data register 402. Next, another configuration example of the inkjet printer described above will be described below.

16 and 17 are flow charts showing another control example in the ink jet printer of this embodiment. In the following control example, it is assumed that the inkjet printer device is capable of color recording and the recording head 6a is composed of four color heads of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. In this embodiment, a mask register composed of 16 bits × 16 bits for storing a mask pattern is provided for each color, and the mask pattern used in one scan can be changed for each color. Although this configuration is not shown in the figure, when explained based on the configuration of the head control unit 23 in FIG. 7, the up / down counter 401 for selecting the corresponding bit of the mask pattern is common to four colors, and the other mask selection selectors 201 to 201. 216,
A recording data register 402 and a timer 403 for determining the head drive pulse width are provided for each color. That is, the black mask registers 101 to 116, the cyan mask registers 121 to 136, the magenta mask registers 141 to 156, and the yellow mask registers 160 to 176 will be described below. The configuration of the mask register for each color is the same as that of FIG. 8 shown in the above-described embodiment. Further, since the configuration other than the configuration of the head control unit 23 is common to the above-described embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

In the flowchart of FIG. 16, after the power of the device is turned on, the device is initialized in step S301. At this time, similarly to the above-described embodiment, when the recording head 6 is at the home position, the position counter 35 and the up / down counter 401 are cleared. At this time, the time value for determining the drive pulse width of the recording head 6 is set in the timer (403) provided for each color. Next, the process proceeds to step S302, and when a recording start command is input, the process proceeds to step S303 and registers 101 to 101 are performed.
116, 121-136, 141-156, 160-1
A mask pattern (not shown) for the first pass, which is different for each color, is set in 76. Next, in step S304, the carriage motor 7 is accelerated to a predetermined printable speed, and when the value of the position counter 35 reaches the printing position, the driving is switched to constant speed driving, and the CPU 21 is interrupt-enabled to perform the printing operation.

In the interrupt routine of FIG. 17, step S
A recording data register (4
The recording data for 64 nozzles, that is, a total of 4 words × 4 colors is written in 02). Each time the recording position is switched in this way, the count value of the up / down counter 401 is updated, and the logical product of the mask data for each color indicated by this count value and the output value of the recording data register (402) corresponding to each color is obtained. It is taken and output to the head drive unit 24 as a head drive pulse for each color. When the recording for one scan is completed in this way, the process proceeds to step S305, the interrupt is disabled, and the recording paper is conveyed by the length corresponding to the recording width of 16 nozzles.

Thereafter, similar to the printing operation of the first pass in steps S303 to S305, steps S306 to S314 are performed.
Before starting the scanning of each pass, a mask pattern (not shown) that is different for each pass and different for each color is registered in the registers 101 to 116, 121 to 136, 141 to 1.
56, 160 to 176, and the recording operation is performed.
When the printing for four passes is completed in this way and a color image for each nozzle width of 64 nozzles is printed, the process returns to step S302 and waits for a printing start instruction for the next line.

By the above control, the load on the software is reduced, and 16 × 1 which is different for each color for each scan.
It is possible to perform recording with a mask of 6 bits. As a result, (1) the fixing order of the respective colors on the recording paper can be changed, so that the hue can be optimized. (2) Since the density of the ink adhering to the recording paper can be reduced by one scanning, which is a problem particularly in color recording, the fixability of the ink on the recording medium such as plain paper is improved. (3) Color unevenness is improved. It is possible to provide a printer device which has the advantage of being capable of recording at high density and high speed.

In the above description, the ink jet recording head and the recording apparatus for recording by forming flying droplets by utilizing thermal energy among the ink jet recording methods have been described as an example. For its typical structure and principle, see, for example, US Pat. No. 4,723,129,
What is carried out using the basic principle disclosed in the above-mentioned No. 47407796 is preferable. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and the continuous type. In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, it is arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path holding the liquid (ink). By applying at least one drive signal to the electrothermal converter, which corresponds to the recorded information and causes a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling, thermal energy is generated in the electrothermal converter, and a recording head is produced. This is effective because film boiling is caused on the heat-acting surface and the bubbles in the liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal in a one-to-one relationship can be formed. The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection openings by the growth and contraction of the bubbles to form at least one droplet. It is more preferable to make this drive signal in a pulse shape, because bubbles can be grown and contracted immediately and appropriately, and thus a liquid (ink) with excellent responsiveness can be achieved.

As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. If the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise on the heat acting surface are adopted, excellent recording can be performed. As the structure of the recording head, in addition to the combination structure (straight liquid flow path or right-angled liquid flow path) of the ejection port, the liquid path, and the electrothermal converter as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications, a heat acting surface U.S. Pat. No. 4,558, which discloses a configuration in which is located in the area of flexion
It is also possible to adopt a configuration using the specification No. 333 and the specification of US Pat. No. 4459600.

In addition, JP-A-59-123670 discloses a structure in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of the electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and a pressure wave of thermal energy is absorbed. It is also possible to adopt a configuration based on Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-138461, which discloses a configuration in which the opening corresponds to the ejection portion. Further, as a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum recording medium width that can be recorded by the recording apparatus, the length is satisfied by a combination of a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above-mentioned specification. It may have either a configuration or a configuration as one recording head integrally formed.

In addition, by being mounted on the apparatus main body, it can be electrically connected to the apparatus main body and can be supplied with ink from the apparatus main body by a replaceable chip type recording head or the recording head itself. Alternatively, a cartridge type recording head provided with an ink tank may be used.
Further, it is preferable to add recovery means for the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means, etc., provided as a configuration of the recording apparatus of the present invention, because the effect of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specific examples thereof include capping means, cleaning means, pressurizing or suctioning means for the recording head, preheating means using an electrothermal converter or another heating element or a combination thereof, and recording. It is also effective to perform a stable recording by performing a preliminary discharge mode in which another discharge is performed.

Further, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but the recording head may be integrally formed or a plurality of combinations may be used. Alternatively, the device may be provided with at least one of full-color mixed colors. In the above-described embodiments of the present invention, the ink is described as a liquid, but an ink that solidifies at room temperature or lower and that softens at room temperature, or is a liquid, or the above-mentioned inkjet method is used. Generally, the temperature of the ink itself is adjusted within the range of 30 ° C to 70 ° C to control the temperature of the ink so that the viscosity of the ink is within the stable ejection range. Anything can be used.

In addition, the temperature rise due to thermal energy is positively prevented by using it as the energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or the ink is solidified in the left state for the purpose of preventing evaporation of the ink. In some cases, such as ink that is liquefied by applying heat energy according to a recording signal and ejected as a liquid ink, or one that has already started to solidify when it reaches a recording medium. The use of an ink having a property of being liquefied only by heat energy is also applicable to the present invention. In such a case, the ink is disclosed in JP-A-54-5684.
No. 7 or JP-A-60-71260, a mode in which the porous sheet is opposed to the electrothermal converter in the state of being held as a liquid or solid in the recess or through hole of the porous sheet. May be In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, as a form of the recording apparatus according to the present invention, the recording apparatus according to the present invention is integrally or separately provided as an image output terminal of an information processing device such as a word processor or a computer, and is combined with a reader or the like. It may be in the form of a copying machine or a facsimile machine having a transmission / reception function. Returning to the description of FIGS. 1 to 3 again. In the configuration of FIG. 2, a plurality of color matching processes can be partially applied to graphics at the same time. That is, for example, when there are two image data from different sources in one graphic and it is difficult to reproduce the color of each image data by one type of color matching processing,
A desired color reproduction can be obtained by applying different color matching processes.

For example, these separate sources include:
One is a color scanner that reads a document or the like and converts it into a color image signal, and the other is a computer image such as computer graphics.

A CMM attribute is added as an attribute of a drawing object in an application that holds graphic data. The CMM attribute is for specifying the color matching process to be selected when the object is output to the printer. When outputting to a printer, the data of the object is transferred with the CMM attribute added to the data of the object. Graphic data is converted and printed out from the printer by a device driver of the printer or a color matching processing function built in the printer in advance.

The color information processing of this embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. The application 1103 manages graphic data for each object. The image has a Cmm attribute in addition to the position, size, and bitmap information. The Cmm attribute is data for uniquely identifying the color matching algorithm and is, for example, a character string. Application 110 of this embodiment
In 3, the individual images are selected and the Cmm attribute is set. For example, Cmm1 for image 1 and C for image 2.
Set mm2.

An optimum algorithm is selected for Cmm1 and Cmm2 in order to compress the respective color ranges of image 1 and image 2 in accordance with the color reproduction range of the printer.

When the start of output to the printer is instructed, O
In S1102, the processing of FIG. 18 is executed. That is, printing is started in step S500, and the subsequent step S501.
First, a CMS start command for activating the color management processing of the color management system (CMS) is sent to the corresponding printer driver and printer. Then, in step S502, it is checked whether there is a selected object to be processed. If there is an object to be printed, the process advances to step S503 to check the Cmm attribute added to the object data by the application 1103 as described above, and select the optimum matching algorithm. For example, in the example of FIG. 1, since the image 1 is processed first, Cmm1 is selected.

As a result, the optimum matching algorithm has been selected, and the matching by the selected algorithm is started in the following step S504. Then, as shown in step S505, drawing processing of the selected image is performed. In the example of FIG. 1, the image 1 is first drawn. Then, as shown in step S506, the matching process according to the selected matching algorithm is ended, and the process returns to step S502. In step S502, the next object is selected. In the example of FIG. 1, the image 2 is selected next. Then, the process proceeds to step S503 again, and the Cmm attribute added to the object data is checked to select the optimum matching algorithm. For example, in the example of FIG. 1, since image 2 is to be processed next, Cmm2 is selected.

As a result, the optimum matching algorithm has been selected, and the matching by the selected algorithm is started in the following step S504. Then, as shown in step S505, drawing processing of the selected image is performed. In the example of FIG. 1, next, the image 2 is drawn. Then, as shown in step S506, the matching process according to the selected matching algorithm is finished,
It returns to step S502. In step S502, the next object is selected. In the example of FIG. 1, since there is no next object, the process proceeds to step S510. If there is a next selected object, the process moves to step S503 again, and the process for the next object is performed.

In step S503, the CMS end command is output to the corresponding printer driver and printer, and in step S511 the print processing ends. OS1102
Terminates the process. The matching process in the above description is performed by the printer driver, and the image data resulting from the matching process is sent to the printer.
The printer drivers 1106 and 1109 compensate for the color reproduction characteristics of the color laser beam printer 1108 and the color inkjet printer 1110, respectively, so that the color laser beam printer 1108 and the color inkjet printer 1110 have the same color reproduction of prints. Such matching processing is preset.

As described above, according to this embodiment, when there are a plurality of image data in one graphic output, each image can be processed by a different color matching algorithm. For example,
For a graphic including different types of image data such as a natural image and CG data, a beautiful output could not be obtained because only one color matching algorithm could be conventionally applied, but according to this embodiment. For example, you can select an appropriate color matching algorithm for each and obtain beautiful output.

The present invention may be applied to either a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device. Further, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to the case where it is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0065]

As described above, according to the present invention, by adding image attribute information to the data to be output when outputting from the output means, the output means in the color matching processing function provided is provided. The optimum color matching processing that matches the output color reproduction characteristics can be performed and output.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating color matching for each object according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a process and a data flow of the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an external view showing a configuration of a recording unit of the inkjet printer of this embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the inkjet printer of this embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a detection signal of a linear encoder and an example of a head drive pulse in the inkjet printer of the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a head control unit of the inkjet printer of this embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a mask pattern used in the inkjet printer of this embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of the inkjet printer according to the present exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the movement of the print head during 4-pass printing adopted in the inkjet printer of this embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a mask pattern of the first pass in the inkjet printer of the present embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a second-pass mask pattern in the inkjet printer of the present embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a mask pattern of a third pass in the inkjet printer of this embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a mask pattern of a fourth pass in the inkjet printer of this embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing interrupt processing in the inkjet printer of this embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing another operation example of the inkjet printer according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an interrupt process of another operation example of the inkjet printer of the present embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart for explaining the image processing of this embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating conventional color matching.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Recording Sheet 5 Carriage 6 Recording Head 7 Carriage Motor 18 Rotary Encoder 21 CPU 23 Head Control Unit 24 Head Drive Unit 27 Control ROM 35 Position Counters 101-116 Mask Register 230 Head DMA Control Unit 231 DMA Control Unit 401 Up / Down Counter 402 Recording data register 1101 Display 1102 OS 1103 Application 1104 Object data 1105 CMM attribute 1106, 1109 Printer driver 1107 Color matching processing unit 1108 Color laser beam printer 1110 Color inkjet printer

Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location 4226-5C H04N 1/46 Z

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A color information processing apparatus capable of processing color image information for one screen composed of a plurality of images, wherein color characteristics of the image are included in each image included in the color image information for one screen. Associated with the image attribute information associated with the attribute information adding means, a supply means for supplying to the output means for outputting a color image corresponding to the color image information for one screen, and the attribute information adding means A color information processing apparatus, comprising: a color matching unit for performing a color matching process on a color image information image in accordance with the color reproduction characteristic of the output unit according to an image attribute added to the image. 2. A color information processing method in a color information processing apparatus for processing and outputting color image information for one screen composed of a plurality of images, wherein each image included in the color image information Color information processing method characterized by adding image attribute information indicating the color characteristic of the image, and performing color matching processing corresponding to the color reproduction characteristic in the output means according to the image attribute added to the image when outputting the image. .