JPH10155095A - Image data processor and color matching method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image data processor and a color matching method by which the color expression of a final image recording object outputted from an output device can be matched with color expression of a before-calibration image recording object obtained by a calibration device. SOLUTION: An image data processing unit 1 stores 1st and 2nd profile tables. Upon the receipt of a print condition having been used by a digital calibration device 3 to obtain a before-calibration image recording object 5 being an object of color expression and a print condition used for an output device 4 to obtain a final image recording object 6, the image data processing unit 1 reads profile data corresponding to the received print conditions from the 1st and 2nd profile tables to generate a color conversion table. Moreover, the image data processing unit 1 applies prescribed color matching processing to input image data based on a generated color conversion table. Thus, the color expression in the final image recording object 6 outputted from the output device 4 is matched with a color expression of the before-calibration image recording object 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an image data processing apparatus and a color matching method, and more particularly, to a color representation of a final image recorded matter output from an output device.
The present invention relates to an image data processing apparatus and a color matching method for matching the color representation of an uncorrected image record obtained by a proofreading machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, as a method of checking the final finish of a printed matter in advance, a proof printing by a flatbed proofing machine has been generally used. However, with the rapid progress of electronic technology, a plate making system that handles images with digital signals has appeared, and an image setter that outputs image data represented by digital signals on a film has been used. For this reason, color proofing has recently been carried out using digital printers (ink-jet printers, thermal transfer printers, sublimation printers, and color sensitizing materials such as silver halide) that print image data based on digital signals. Printer or the like). Such digital printers are often referred to as digital color proofing devices in the field of plate making, and some can reproduce the same halftone dots as printed matter. A color proofing technique using such a digital printer is generally called DDCP (Digital Data Color Proofing).

In a conventional flatbed proofing machine, the printing plate itself is used for proofing with a proofing ink similar to the printing ink. It can be carried out. On the other hand, in the case of color proofing using a digital printer, since the printing plate does not exist and the characteristics of the printer are different from the spectral characteristics of the printing press, the color of the output result is different from the color of the final print. It will be. Therefore, when simulating the finish of a printed material using a digital printer, it is necessary to perform some kind of color conversion on the output data to approximate the color expression of the printing press. Conventionally, a color conversion technique called color matching has been introduced to address such a demand. The color matching technique is described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,919, JP-A-7-234158, and Nikkei Electronics 1993.4.12 (No. 578) No. 235.
William F., pp. 240-240. Sch
Reiber, "Color Management Patent, Born from Development of Newspaper Color Printing Technology" and the like.

[0004]

However, with the recent improvement in the performance of digital printers, in some cases, there has been a demand that the color expression of the final printed matter be matched with the color expression of the output result of the digital printer. ing.
However, since the conventional color matching technique is performed for the purpose of matching the color expression of the output result of the digital printer with the color expression of the final print as described above, it has not been possible to cope with such a demand.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an image data processing apparatus capable of adjusting the color expression of a final image recorded matter output from an output device to the color expression of a pre-calibrated image recorded material obtained by a proofreading machine. And a color matching method.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, the color expression of a final image recorded matter output from an output device is matched with the color expression of a pre-calibration image recorded material obtained by a proofing machine. Data processing apparatus for outputting profile data describing color spectral characteristics of an uncorrected image record obtained by a proofing machine for each printing condition; A second profile table storing profile data describing the color spectral characteristics of the final image recorded matter for each printing condition;
Input means for inputting printing conditions used by the proofing machine when obtaining a pre-calibration image recorded matter which is a target of color expression, and printing conditions used by an output machine to obtain a final image recorded matter; Means for reading profile data corresponding to each printing condition input from the means from the first and second profile tables, and for creating a color conversion table based on the read profile data; Color conversion means for performing a color matching process on the input image data to match the color expression of the final image record output from the output device with the color expression of the image record before calibration obtained by the proofreader And

A second invention is a color matching method for matching the color expression of a final image recorded matter output from an output device with the color expression of a pre-calibrated image recorded material obtained by a proofing machine, comprising: A first step of preparing a first profile table storing profile data describing color spectral characteristics of a pre-calibration image recording obtained by a printing machine for each printing condition, and a final image output from an output machine. A second step of preparing a second profile table in which profile data describing the color spectral characteristics of the recorded matter are stored for each printing condition, and calibrating when obtaining a pre-calibrated image recorded matter that is a target of color expression A third step for inputting the printing conditions used by the printing machine and the printing conditions used by the output machine to obtain the final image recorded matter; A fourth step of reading profile data to be performed from the first and second profile tables and creating a color conversion table based on the read profile data; and an output device for input image data based on the color conversion table. And a fifth step of performing a color matching process for matching the color expression of the final image record output from the printer with the color expression of the image record before calibration obtained by the proofing machine.

As described above, according to the first or second aspect, the profile data corresponding to the input printing condition is read from the first and second profile tables, and the color data is read based on the read profile data. Creates a conversion table and, based on the created color conversion table, expresses the color representation of the final image record output from the output unit with respect to the input image data, and the color representation of the image record before calibration obtained by the proofreader. The color expression of the final image record output from the output device can be matched with the color expression of the pre-calibration image record obtained by the proofreader because the color matching process is performed so as to match the color. Therefore, the existing color matching technology can be utilized more flexibly.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer apparatus for performing a color matching process for matching a color representation of a final image recorded matter output from an output unit with a color representation of an uncorrected image recorded matter obtained by a proofreading machine. Is a storage medium storing a program to be executed in the first profile table, in which profile data describing in advance color spectral characteristics of a pre-calibration image recorded matter obtained by a calibrator are stored for each printing condition. And a second profile table storing profile data describing the color spectral characteristics of the final image recorded matter output from the output device for each printing condition, and prepares a pre-calibration image recording as a color expression target. A first step for inputting printing conditions used by the proofing machine when obtaining a product and printing conditions used by the output device to obtain a final image recorded matter; A second step of reading profile data corresponding to each printing condition input in the first step from the first and second profile tables and creating a color conversion table based on the read profile data; A third color matching process is performed on the input image data to match the color expression of the final image record output from the output device with the color expression of the uncorrected image record obtained by the proof device based on Are realized on a computer device.

[0010]

Other Embodiments of the Invention The present invention includes the following other embodiments. That is, the first aspect is a software program that executes a color matching process for matching the color expression of the final image recorded matter output from the output device with the color expression of the pre-calibration image recorded material obtained by the proofing machine. A first profile table storing, in advance, profile data describing the color spectral characteristics of an uncorrected image recording obtained by a proofing machine for each printing condition; and a final image recording output from an output device. And a second profile table storing profile data describing the color spectral characteristics of each of the printing conditions is prepared for each printing condition. A first step for inputting conditions and printing conditions used by the output device to obtain the final image recorded matter, and corresponding to each printing condition input from the input means; A second step of reading the profile data from the first and second profile tables and creating a color conversion table based on the read profile data; and an output device for input image data based on the color conversion table. A third step of performing a color matching process for matching the color representation of the final image record output from the printer with the color representation of the uncorrected image record obtained by the proofing machine. It is.

[0011] A second aspect relates to a method for supplying the above-mentioned software program via a communication line.

[0012]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a plate making system provided with an image data processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the plate making system includes an image data processing device 1 and a CRT display 2.
, A digital calibrator 3 and an output unit 4.

Image data is input to the image data processing device 1 from an editing device, a layout device, or the like. The image data processing apparatus 1 performs various processes on the input image data.
Color conversion processing. The CRT display 2 displays a predetermined image based on display data provided from the image data processing device 1. The digital proofreading machine 3 is configured by a digital printer or the like, and outputs a pre-calibration image recording 5 based on image data provided from the image data processing device 1. The pre-calibration image recording 5 is an image before calibration recorded on a sheet such as paper or film, and is subjected to color calibration. The output device 4 outputs a final image record 6 based on image data provided from the image data processing device 1. Final image record 6
Is a recorded image on a sheet such as paper or film after calibration, and is a final printed matter (a printed matter finally used by a user) itself or a recorded matter directly related to the final printed matter. When a device having a plate making function (such as an image setter) is used as the output device 4, the final image record 6
A recorded matter (such as a film on which an image is recorded) directly related to the final printed matter, and printed by a printing machine using the final image recorded matter 6 is the final printed matter. When a device having a printing function (a digital printer, an on-demand printing machine, or the like) is used as the output device 4, the final image record 6 is the final print itself.

FIG. 2 shows the image data processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of FIG. 2, an image data processing device 1 includes a CPU 11 and a program memory 1.
2, a working memory 13, and an input device 14. The program memory 12 stores an operation program for the CPU 11. As such a program memory 12, a ROM or a RAM can be used. When a ROM is used as the program memory 12,
The operation program is fixedly stored in advance. In this case, the change of the operation program can be dealt with by replacing the ROM chip. RA as the program memory 12
When M is used, the operation program is read from an external storage device (not shown) such as a hard disk and stored in the RAM. To install the operation program in the external storage device, a portable storage medium (such as a flexible disk or a CD-ROM) in which the operation program is recorded is mounted on a reading device, and the operation program read by the reading device is stored in the external storage device. This is done by forwarding to Further, an operation program transferred online from another system may be installed in an external storage device. The CPU 11 stores the program memory 1
2 performs a predetermined process according to the operation program stored in the storage device 2. The working memory 13 stores various data required for the operation of the CPU 11. The input device 14 is configured by a keyboard or the like, and inputs various data to the CPU 11.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the profile table stored in the work memory 13 shown in FIG. Note that the profile table PT shown in FIG.
1 is profile data A relating to the digital calibrator 3
1 to AM, and a profile table PT2 shown in FIG. 2B stores profile data B1 to BN relating to the output device 4. Here, each profile data includes printing conditions (type of ink and paper used,
Dot gain, etc.) and an output result (image recording material 5 before calibration or final image recording) obtained when a standard original (color patch) is supplied to each device (digital proofing machine 3 or output machine 4) under the printing conditions. And the color spectral characteristics of the object 6).

FIG. 4 shows the image data processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG.
3 is a flowchart for explaining a color conversion process performed in step S1. Hereinafter, the color conversion processing will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the profile table P shown in FIG.
T1 and PT2 are prepared and stored in the working memory 13. Next, the operator inputs printing conditions (hereinafter, referred to as first printing conditions) in the digital proofreader 3 when the target unrecorded image record 5 is printed to the CPU 11 using the input device 14. I do. Next, the operator uses the input device 14 to input a printing condition (hereinafter, referred to as a second printing condition) on the output device 4 to the CPU 11 using the input device 14.
To enter. In response, the CPU 11 selects and reads out profile data (hereinafter, referred to as target profile data) that matches the first printing condition from the profile table PT1 (step S1). Next, CP
U11 obtains the second information from the profile table PT2.
Is selected and read out (step S2).

Next, the CPU 11 determines the target profile data read in step S1 and the output device profile data read in step S2 based on the target profile data.
A color conversion table is created (Step S3). This color conversion table represents the color expression of the target unrecorded image recording material 5 obtained by the digital proofreading machine 3 and the color expression of the final image recording material 6 (film, final printed material, etc.) to be output from the output device 4. This is a conversion table used for matching. next,
The CPU 11 performs a predetermined color matching process on the input image data based on the color conversion table obtained in step S3 (step S4). The color matching process performed by the CPU 11 is described in, for example, US Pat.
No. 0,919, JP-A-7-234158, and Nikkei Electronics 1993.4.12 (No. 57).
8), pages 235 to 240, William.
F. The processing may be the same as that disclosed in Schreiber, “Color Management Patent, Born from Development of Newspaper Color Printing Technology” and the like.

Next, the CPU 11 outputs the image data subjected to the color matching processing to the output device 4 (step S5). In response, the output device 4 outputs the final image record 6.

As described above, the image data processing device 1
The color expression of the final image record 6 obtained by the output device 4 can be matched with the color expression of the image record 5 before calibration obtained by the digital proof device 3.

In the above embodiment, one digital calibrator 3 and one output unit 4 are provided, but the system may be expanded so that one or both of them are provided in plurals. . In this case, a plurality of sets of profile tables PT1 and / or PT2 shown in FIG. 3 may be provided according to the number of corresponding devices.
Further, the image data subjected to the color matching processing may be output to a remote digital proofreader using a network line or the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a plate making system including an image data processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the image data processing device 1 shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a profile table stored in a work memory 13 shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a color conversion process performed by the image data processing device 1 illustrated in FIG. 1;

[Brief description of reference numerals]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image data processing apparatus 2 ... CRT display 3 ... Digital calibrator 4 ... Output machine 11 ... CPU 12 ... Program memory 13 ... Work memory 14 ... Input device

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An image data processing apparatus for matching a color representation of a final image recorded matter output from an output unit with a color representation of an uncorrected image recorded matter obtained by a proofing machine. A first profile table storing profile data describing the obtained color spectral characteristics of the image recording material before calibration for each printing condition, and describing the color spectral characteristics of the final image recording material output from the output device. A second profile table storing the obtained profile data for each printing condition, a printing condition used by the proofreading machine when obtaining a pre-calibration image record as a color expression target, and a final image record. An input unit for inputting printing conditions used by the output device to obtain the profile information corresponding to each printing condition input from the input unit. A color conversion table creating unit that reads from a file table and creates a color conversion table based on the read profile data; and a final image record output from an output device with respect to input image data based on the color conversion table. Color expression,
An image data processing apparatus comprising: a color conversion unit that performs a color matching process to match a color expression of an uncorrected image record obtained by a proofreading machine. 2. A color matching method for matching a color expression of a final image recorded matter output from an output device with a color expression of an uncorrected image recorded material obtained by a proofing machine, wherein the color expression is obtained by the proofing machine. A first step of preparing a first profile table storing profile data describing the color spectral characteristics of the obtained pre-calibration image recording material for each printing condition; and a final image recording material output from the output device. A second step of preparing a second profile table storing profile data describing the color spectral characteristics of each of the printing conditions, for each printing condition; A third step for inputting the printing conditions used in the above and the printing conditions used in the output device to obtain a final image recorded matter; and each mark input in the third step. A fourth step of reading profile data corresponding to the conditions from the first and second profile tables and creating a color conversion table based on the read profile data; and input image data based on the color conversion table. In contrast, the color expression of the final image record output from the output device is
A fifth step of performing a color matching process to match the color representation of the pre-calibration image recording obtained by the proofing machine. 3. A computer apparatus executes a color matching process for matching the color expression of the final image recorded matter output from the output device with the color expression of the image data before calibration obtained by the proofing machine. A first profile table, which is a storage medium storing a program and stores profile data describing color spectral characteristics of an uncorrected image recording material obtained by a proofreader in advance for each printing condition; And a second profile table storing profile data describing the color spectral characteristics of the final image record output from the printer for each printing condition, and preparing a pre-calibration image record as a target of color expression. A first step for inputting printing conditions used by the proofing machine and printing conditions used by the output device to obtain a final image recorded matter; A second step of reading profile data corresponding to each printing condition input in the first step from the first and second profile tables, and creating a color conversion table based on the read profile data; Based on the color conversion table, color matching for input image data to match the color expression of the final image record output from the output device with the color expression of the uncorrected image record obtained by the proof device A storage medium storing a program for realizing, on the computer device, an operating environment including a third step of performing processing.