JPS6234463A - Corrected print producing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a corrected print by a sublimation transfer system, by giving picture data fetched by means of a scanner to a thermal transfer printer after performing picture element density conversion, tone conversion, and parallel-to-serial conversion on the data. CONSTITUTION:The light fetched by means of a scanning head 113 from an original X on a separation drum 111 is separated into spectral components by dichroic mirrors 114 and electric signals are modified by successively giving the spectral components to a range adjuster 117, color corrector 118, and tone corrector 119 through photoelectric transducer 115 and a logarithmic amplifier 116. After the modification, electric signals of necessary colors are fetched by a printing color selecting switch 121 and stored in a buffer 123 through an AD converter 122. A printer converts picture data from a brancher 124 through a gate 211, color corrector 212, buffer 213 and parallel-to-serial converter 214 and produces a corrected print on a picture receiving paper on a transfer drum 217 by means of a transfer head 216 through a driver 215 by sublimating and transferring the dyestuffs of a transfer sheet Z.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Technical Field of the Invention) The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing proof prints using image data scanned by a scanner, and more particularly to an apparatus for producing proof prints using a sublimation transfer printer.

[Technical background]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, printing originals have been created by capturing original image data using a scanner and exposing a film to light in accordance with the original image data.

Proof printing is performed to check the completion of this original plate, but conventionally, printing is actually performed using the original plate itself and ink.

However, performing such printing is complicated. Therefore, there is a need for a means to more easily perform proof printing. It is desirable that the constituent prints undergo arbitrary color correction.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus that can easily create a proof print with arbitrary color correction using image data taken out by a scanner.

[Summary of the invention]

To achieve this objective, the present invention performs pixel density conversion, gradation conversion, hue halftone % conversion, turbidity correction, and parallel-to-serial conversion on image data extracted from the separation drum of a scanner to make it suitable for printer operation. Based on this, the printer is a device that forms an image on a sublimation transfer sheet.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be described below by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention. The figure shows a scanner to which the present invention is applied,
In the figure, 111 is a decomposition drum of the scanner, 112 is an exposure drum, and the decomposition drum 11 is also an exposure drum.
The film Y on the exposure drum 112 is exposed based on the image data taken out from the No. 1 original X bs.

A scanning radar 113 is provided to extract image light from the document X on the decomposition drum 111, and the light extracted by the scanning head 113 is transferred to the dichroic mirror 11.
4, and then applied to an optical multiplex converter 115 where it is converted into an electrical signal and applied to a logarithmic amplifier 116. The output of this logarithmic amplifier 116 is transmitted to a range adjuster 117 and a color corrector 118.
The electric signal is then sequentially applied to the third-order corrector 119, and the electric signal is corrected according to the operation details of the scanner operation section 120.

From this correction signal, electrical signals of necessary colors are extracted by a plate color selection switch 121, converted into digital signals by an A/D converter 122, and stored in a buffer 123.

To read the image data stored in the buffer 123,
Magnification command from scanner operation unit 120, mask signal from mask signal circuit 132, and scanner clock circuit 1
A clock signal from 33 is applied to buffer 123. That is, the buffer 123 reads out an image of a size according to the magnification command in an area determined by the mask signal from the mask signal circuit 132. The mask signal circuit 132 receives a pulse every time the drum rotates by a predetermined angle and a pulse from the pulse generators 130 and 131 every time the drum rotates once.
Further, the scanner clock circuit 133 is supplied with a pulse from the pulse generator 130 every time the drum rotates by a predetermined angle.

The image data read from the buffer 123 is sent to the branching device 12.
4 to the D/A converter 125, where it is converted into an analog signal, and then supplied to the WA converter 126, where it is sent to the optical modulator 12.
7, the light from the light source 128 is controlled to expose the film Y on the exposure drum 112.

The output of the buffer 123 in such a scanner is taken out by a branching device 124 and given to a printer.

The printer is supplied with the image data from the splitter 124, a mask signal from the mask signal circuit 132, and a scanner clock from the scanner clock circuit 133, and performs various conversions necessary to form a proof print.

A gate 211, a color corrector 212, a buffer 213, and a parallel-to-serial converter 214 are provided for this conversion, and the converted signal is applied to the transfer head 216 via a driver 215. As a result, the dye on the transfer sheet 2 is sublimated and transferred to the image receiving paper on the transfer drum 217.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of only the printer portion in FIG. 1.

In this circuit, the gate 211 receives image data from the branch 124, a scanner clock from the Sukishina clock 9 circuit 133, and a mask signal from the mask signal circuit 132, and performs pixel density conversion on the area determined by the mask signal in the image data. Data is retrieved. As a result, data corresponding to the resolution of the printer is obtained, this data is given to the color corrector 212, and the corrected data is given to the buffers y213A and 213B. These buffers 213A and 213B perform writing and reading alternately so that when one is being written, the other is being read, thereby preventing interference between the image data writing operation and its reading operation. .

The data read from the buffers 213A and 213B are subjected to parallel-to-serial conversion's! 214, the data is converted into serial data and provided to the head driver 215. Parallel data from the buffers 213A and 213B is transferred to the transfer head 2 through parallel-to-serial conversion.
It can be divided into 16 lines and given. The transfer head 216 energizes each heating element in response to a signal from the head driver 215 to perform thermal transfer.

Figures 3 and 4 show a mechanism for transferring images onto an image receiving paper using a transfer head and a transfer drum.The image receiving paper is wrapped around the circumferential surface of the transfer drum 217, and the transfer head 216 is placed at a predetermined position on the transfer film. The dye on the transfer film Z is sublimated by heating and attached to the image receiving paper.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 4, and shows the transfer drum 217.
The transfer head 216 is shown in contact with the transfer sheet 310 and the image receiving paper 320 in between. The transfer sheet 310 is made up of a heat-resistant 1!5301 layer, a base material 302, and a transfer layer 303 that are stacked one on top of the other, while the image-receiving paper 320 is made up of an image-receiving layer 304 and a base material 305 that are stacked one on top of the other.

Here, as the heat-resistant layer 301 of the transfer sheet 310, a method of providing a silicon oxide layer as a metal layer or an abrasion-resistant layer on 11 sides of the base (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 143152/1989, 74195/1982); Method of providing a heat-resistant resin layer such as silicone or epoxy (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-7
467), a method of providing a resin layer containing a solid or semi-solid surfactant at room temperature (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 57-12
No. 978) or a method of providing a layer containing a lubricating inorganic pigment in a heat-resistant resin (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 15579/1983)
Publication No. 4) have been proposed.

Further, as the base material 302, films such as polyester film, polystyrene film, polysulfonate film, polyvinyl alcohol film, and cellophane are used, and polyester film is particularly preferred from the viewpoint of heat resistance. The thickness thereof is preferably 0.5 to 50 μm, preferably 3 to 10 μm.

Further, the thermal transfer layer 3 is a thermal sublimation transfer layer in which a sublimable dye is contained in a binder resin, and the sublimable dye is contained in a binder resin, and the thickness of this layer is 0.2 ~5.0 μm, preferably 0.4-2.
It is desirable that the thickness be about 0 μm. The dye contained in the transfer layer 3 is preferably a disperse dye, and this dye preferably has molecules m of about 150 to 400. The dye is selected in consideration of thermal sublimation temperature, hue, weather resistance, stability in the binder resin, etc., and specific examples include the following.

Old Keton Po1yester Yellow
-YL (manufactured by Mitsui Toatsu, C, 1, Disperse
Yellow-42), niayaset Yel
l-ow-G (Nippon Kayaku, C, 1, mouth 1spers
e Yellow 77), PTY-52 (Mitsubishi Kasei, C, 1, Solvent Yellow 14-1)
, Hikcton Polycster l1c
d BSF (manufactured by Mitsui Toatsu, C, 1, Disperse
Red 111), ayasct Red
B (Nippon Kayaku, C, (, DisperseRed
B), PTR-54 (manufactured by Mitsubishi Kasei, C, I.

Disperse Red 5G), Hiketo
n Pokyester B-blue FBL (manufactured by Mitsui Toatsu, C, 1, Disperse Blue56
), PTB-67 (manufactured by Mitsubishi Kasei, C,1,Dispe-
rse Blue 241), niayaset
Blue 906 (Nippon Kayaku, C, 1,5ol
vent 112).

Depending on the sublimation temperature of the dye and the level of covering power in the developed state, the dye is usually 5 to 70% by weight in the transfer layer.
Preferably, it is present in an amount of about 10 to 60% by weight.

As the binder resin, one is usually selected that has high heat resistance and does not hinder dye transfer when heated, and for example, the following are used.

(1) Cellulose resins ethylcellulose, hydroxyethylcellulose, edylhydroxycellulose, hydroxypropylcellulose, methylcellulose, cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate, etc.

(2) Vinyl resins polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl butyral, polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyester, polyacrylamide, etc.

To provide such a thermal transfer layer 3 on the base sheet 2,
An ink composition for forming a sublimation transfer layer is prepared by dissolving the dye and binder resin in a solvent or by dispersing only the dye, and applying this onto the base sheet 2 by an appropriate printing or coating method. good. Note that, if necessary, arbitrary additives may be added to the ink for forming the sublimation transfer layer.

On the other hand, as the image receiving layer resin of the receiving f & paper 320, (a)
Polyester resins, polyacrylic acid ester resins, polycarbonate resins, polyvinyl acetate resins, styrene acrylate resins, vinyl toluene acrylate resins, etc. that have ester bonds.

(0) Those with urethane bonds polyurethane resin, etc.

(c) Those with an amide bond Polyamide 81 fat etc.

(d) Those with urea bonds urea resin etc.

(e) Others having highly polar bonds, such as polycabrolactone resin, styrene-maleic anhydride resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, polyacrylonitrile resin, etc.

In addition to the synthetic resins mentioned above, mixtures or copolymers thereof may also be used.

6 and 7 are timing charts showing various signals of each element in the printer shown in FIG. 2,
Figure 6 shows gate 211, Figure 7 shows buffer? 213 and the parallel-to-serial converter 214 are shown.

That is, the gate 211 is supplied with a mask signal (not shown), a scanner clock, and image data from the splitter 124, and thins out the pixel data to match the pixel density of the printer. This performs pixel density conversion and provides the result to color corrector 212. This color correction B212 includes a predetermined gradation conversion table, hue table, and brightness calculator.

The data subjected to gradation conversion, tone halftone % conversion, and cloudy correction by the color corrector 212 is sent to two buffers F as shown in FIG.
(1)<2) Given alternately to 213A and 213B,
Next, the parallel to serial converter 214 converts the data into serial data for each line, and provides the data to the head driver 215.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the printer according to the present invention.

To explain this, first, make preparations such as setting the paper and positioning the ribbon (31), and when printing starts (82), one of the colors, C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), B (black), printing is performed while updating the line one by one (83,
84). When printing for one color is completed (85)
, change the transfer sheet to another color ($6) and print in the other three colors. Printing on the image-receiving paper for each color starts from a predetermined position (88), and when printing of the four colors is completed, the paper is ejected (S9) and the operation ends.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the signal processing operation for color correction that is input to the color corrector 212 of FIG.

■ Separation conversion processing of three attribute data based on preprocessed signals.

■Composition processing of 3 attribute data.

Through these three processes, color-corrected data for the original image data is obtained.

(′@processing■) The contents of this process are as follows.

(1-1) Input color information (C, m, V) for each pixel of color image information, which is read from the original image by using the 17 screen and stored in memory in advance.

(1-2) Sort (arrange) the color information (c, m, y) and arrange it in descending order of size, 1? The one with larger i is defined as data a, the second one is defined as 82, and the third one is defined as a3.

Here, (a, a2, a3) is referred to as preprocessed data.

(Separation conversion process ■) This process consists of the following three processes that proceed in parallel based on the preprocessed data (a, a2, a3).

(a) Separation degree conversion processing of hue information (C, m, yl).

(b) Separation and conversion processing of cloudy information (c', m', y1').

(c) Separation and conversion processing of gradation information Q.

(Separation and conversion processing of hue information (a)) (E1) Factors that determine hue are determined as follows.

T, (a -8) and (a2-a3) However, (a
In the case of ζa3).

I, (a-83) However, in the case of (a　ζa3).

This is due to the following reason. That is, data a 1 when (82ζa3) and data a after (a = a3)
, a3 only function as smile components,
This is because it does not become a factor that changes the hue.

The hue in case I above is (a2-a3)/(a
-83), as shown in FIG. 10, data a1 is found among the points obtained by internally dividing the real number line on the diagram in which hues are circulated and arranged into wavelength classes (C.

m, y), and in the case of (2) above, it is the point where any one of c'c, m, y>, which is data a1, is located.

For example, data (c, m, y) is c-0,3゜m=0
．． 1. Assuming that y=o, in this case a − c
=0.3. a2-m-0,1,a3-y-0, so (a zaki a3), so (a -a )/(a
-)-1/3, and 23 1a3 al = c (cyan), so the point * in Figure 3 is the above de(
E2) Next, as shown in FIG. 11, the horizontal axis represents a single hue.

(E2) Next, as shown in Figure 11, the horizontal axis shows the hue of each wavelength type, and the vertical axis shows the ink level at the highest gradation for each hue (
If you prepare a hue table that takes the dot % or sepa density and convert it by referring to it at the hue position described above, you can find the highest gradation required for each version (separated version) of c, m, and y. Hue information (c, ml, y
l) can be obtained.

(Separation and conversion process of cloudy information 1! I! (B)) (Row 1)
Cloudy ■ is included in an existing color.

It is expressed by the amount of the opposite color (complementary color), and therefore the original data (c
, m, y) is (1-C, 1-rfl, 1
-y). If we sort this and arrange it in descending order, we get (a3゜a2.al), so a 3 /
a1 is hue information (C1, m, !y'1) and data a1
．． a3, calculate and obtain smile information (C', m', V1').

(Separation and conversion processing of gradation information (c)) (Bar 1) The gradation can be expressed by the value of the data a1 itself. This is because in preprocessing 1, color information (r,
This is because Q, b) is normalized from the minimum value -0 to the maximum value -1, and therefore the maximum gradation of the hue is always at al-1.

In other words, the gradation is the data a1 at that time and this data a
It is given by the ratio of the maximum value of 1, but since the maximum value of data a is 1, the gradation is (a1/1)-al.

(Bar 2) Prepare a gradation conversion table as shown in the following Figure 12, and refer to this table using data a1 to obtain N gradation information Q (synthesis processing ■) of desired characteristics. This is to obtain the net % or sepa concentration data c2, m2, y2 required for each decomposition version other than administration, and the calculation process is as follows.

get.

c2- (CI +01') ×Qm2- (m1
+m1')xa・(6)y2-(y
l +y1') xa Using the data obtained in this way, by exposing the cyan, magenta, and yellow separation plates, it is possible to obtain a printed matter with the desired color development, and the color correction work is performed based on the hue. The task is to select the characteristics of the hue table shown in FIG. 11, and for cloudiness, the task is to adjust the size of a 3 / a 1 in the above equation (5) for each color. N
For the tone, the selection of the properties in the R[table in Figure 12 follows, and each task is independent of the other, and also corresponds to the three perceptual attributes of color, so it is extremely easy to Moreover, it can be done accurately.

Note that in the above embodiment, color information (r, o
, b) have been described as being read out from memory and processed, but they may be processed in real time while being read with a scanner.

Also, the color information from the original image data is directly transmitted (C.

m, V), it goes without saying that the inversion process in preprocessing (2) is unnecessary.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the present invention performs pixel density conversion, gradation conversion, and parallel-to-serial conversion on image data taken out by a scanner, and then provides it to a thermal transfer printer to create a proof print using the sublimation transfer method. You can obtain proof prints without any printing process, and easily check what kind of original will be created. According to the thermal sublimation transfer method, excellent prints can be obtained due to the excellent gradation reproduction and resolution that this method originally provides. Moreover, color correction can be uniquely performed according to three mutually independent attributes that match human color perception, and by each tIIIIIIl operation that corresponds one-to-one.
Composed prints with good colors can be created.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a block diagram of the printer section in the configuration of Fig. 1, Figs. 3 and 4 are structural explanatory diagrams of the transfer drum and transfer head part of Fig. 1, and Fig. 5 is the part of Fig. 4. 6 and 7 are timing charts showing the various signals in FIG. 2, FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the printer shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and FIG. 9 is a timing chart showing the operation of the printer shown in FIGS. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the color correction method in the invention; FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of the hue determination process in the embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a hue table, and FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a gradation conversion table. 111... Scanner disassembly drum, 112... Exposure drum, 216... Transfer head, 217... Transfer drum, 310... Transfer sheet, 320... Image receiving paper. Applicant's agent Mr. Sato - Yuen 2 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 10 Figure 11 Figure 12 Procedure correction automatic formula % formula % 1. Indication of the case 1985 Patent application No. 173029 2, Invention title proof print production device 3, Relationship with the person making the amendment Patent applicant (289) Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. 4, Agent (zip code 100) October 9, 1985 (Shipping date: October 29, 1985) 6. Subject of amendment: Specification and drawings. 7. A detailed description of the amendments and engraving of the drawings (no changes to the contents).

Claims (1)

[Claims] Image data extracted from a document during scanner disassembly work,
a first means for converting into predetermined pixel density data; and a first means for converting the data output from this means into predetermined hue;
a second means for converting into data having gradations and corrected for turbidity; a third means for converting the output of this means into serial data; and transfer from the sublimation transfer sheet to image receiving paper in accordance with the output of this means. A proof print creation device that includes a printer that performs and creates prints.