Apparatus, system, and method for print quality measurements

• US 20070144388A1
• Filed: 12/16/2005
• Published: 06/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Shakespeare, Tarja, Shakespeare, John
• Granted Patent: US 8,017,927 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 101/484
• CPC Class Codes: B41F 33/0045 for automatically regulating the ink supply

Abstract

An apparatus includes at least one scanner. Each scanner includes a plurality of sensors, and each sensor is capable of measuring one or more characteristics associated with a portion of a substrate. The substrate has printing produced by a printing system. The apparatus also includes a controller capable of receiving at least some of the measurements from the plurality of sensors and determining a quality of the printing on the substrate using the received measurements. The substrate could represent paper, and the printing system could represent an offset printing system. At least one of the sensors may be in a fixed position and/or at least one of the sensors may be movable over part of a surface of the substrate. The determined quality of the printing could involve density, dot area, dot gain, contour sharpness, doubling, mottling, ghosting, misregister of different colored inks, slur, or improper positioning of the printing.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one scanner each comprising a plurality of sensors, each sensor capable of measuring one or more characteristics associated with a portion of a substrate, the substrate having printing produced by a printing system; and

a controller capable of receiving at least some of the measurements from the plurality of sensors and determining a quality of the printing on the substrate using the received measurements.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

at least one of the sensors is mounted on a frame; and

the apparatus further comprises a frame carrier capable of moving the frame so as to move each of the at least one sensor across part of a surface of the substrate.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein multiple sensors are mounted on the frame at an uneven spacing.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

at least one of the sensors is slidably mounted on a frame and attached to a guide; and

the apparatus further comprises a guide mover capable of moving the guide so as to move each of the at least one sensor across part of a surface of the substrate.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein at least one other of the sensors is fixably mounted on the frame.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors comprises one or more of:

a densitometer, a spectrophotometer, a calorimeter, a camera, and a microscope.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the controller is capable of determining the quality of the printing by one or more of:

determining if at least one of a density, a dot area, a dot gain, and a sharpness of contours of the printing is acceptable;

determining if the printing is suffering from at least one of;

doubling, mottling, ghosting, misregister of different colored inks, and slur; and

determining if the printing is located in an acceptable position on the substrate.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one scanner further comprises at least one calibration tile, the at least one calibration tile having a known color, the at least one calibration tile used to calibrate one or more of the sensors.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one scanner comprises a plurality of scanners, each scanner associated with a different side of the substrate.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the printing system comprises an offset printing system; and

the substrate comprises paper.

11. A system, comprising:

a printing system capable of producing printing on a substrate;

a print quality monitor comprising at least one scanner, each scanner comprising a plurality of sensors, each sensor capable of measuring one or more characteristics associated with a portion of the substrate; and

a controller capable of receiving at least some of the measurements from the plurality of sensors and determining a quality of the printing on the substrate using the received measurements.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein at least one of the sensors is movable across part of a surface of the substrate.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein at least one of the sensors is fixed is relation to a surface of the substrate.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the plurality of sensors comprises one or more of:

a densitometer, a spectrophotometer, a calorimeter, a camera, and a microscope.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the controller is capable of determining the quality of the printing by one or more of:

determining if at least one of a density, a dot area, a dot gain, and a sharpness of contours of the printing is acceptable;

determining if the printing is suffering from at least one of;

doubling, mottling, ghosting, misregister of different colored inks, and slur; and

determining if the printing is located in an acceptable position on the substrate.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein at least one scanner further comprises at least one calibration tile, the at least one calibration tile having a known color, the at least one calibration tile used to calibrate one or more of the sensors.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the controller comprises one of:

a controller residing in the print quality monitor; and

a controller residing external to the print quality monitor.

18. A method, comprising:

measuring one or more characteristics associated with a portion of a substrate using at least one scanner each comprising a plurality of sensors, the substrate having printing produced by a printing system; and

determining a quality of the printing on the substrate using at least some of the measurements from the plurality of sensors.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein at least one of the sensors is movable across part of a surface of the substrate.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein:

measuring the one or more characteristics comprises measuring the one or more characteristics using one or more of;

a densitometer, a spectrophotometer, a calorimeter, a camera, and a microscope; and

determining the quality of the printing comprises one or more of;

determining if at least one of a density, a dot area, a dot gain, and a sharpness of contours of the printing is acceptable;

determining if the printing is suffering from at least one of;

doubling, mottling, ghosting, misregister of different colored inks, and slur; and

determining if the printing is located in an acceptable position on the substrate.