COLOR INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, COLOR INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, AND COLOR INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM

• US 20130250322A1
• Filed: 12/07/2011
• Published: 09/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Prosper Creative Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Prosper Creative Company Limited
• Inventors: Kawabata, Hideki, Kijima, Akira
• Granted Patent: US 9,087,274 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.9
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/025 Simulating output on another printing arrangement, e.g. proof output matching two or more picture signal generators or two or more picture reproducers H04N1/6052
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/60 Colour correction or control H04N1/54 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/6047 wherein the test pattern is part of an arbitrary user image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/6055 using test pattern analysis
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/6058 Reduction of colour to a range of reproducible colours, e.g. to ink- reproducible colour gamut
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/62 Retouching, i.e. modification of isolated colours only or in isolated picture areas only

Abstract

A color information processing method includes: inputting reference data including color information about each pixel or each pixel group of a reference medium and evaluation target data including color information about each pixel or each pixel group of an evaluation medium by an input means; performing an image matching process of image matching the input reference data and evaluation target data; setting a specific area which is a unit of evaluation and includes a plurality of pixels to each data item subjected to the image matching process; and comparing the color information items about each pixel or each pixel group in the reference data and the evaluation target data in the set specific area to calculate a color difference and performing an averaging process to calculate an average evaluation result for the specific area by a calculation means.

Claims

1. A color information processing method comprising:

inputting reference data including color information about each pixel or each pixel group of a reference medium and evaluation target data including color information about each pixel or each pixel group of an evaluation medium by an input means;

performing an image matching process of image matching the input reference data and evaluation target data by an image processing means such that pixel levels thereof correspond to each other;

setting a specific area which is a unit of evaluation and includes a plurality of pixels to each data item subjected to the image matching process by an area setting means; and

comparing the color information items about each pixel or each pixel group in the reference data and the evaluation target data in the set specific area to calculate a color difference and performing an averaging process to calculate an average evaluation result for the specific area by a calculation means.

2. The color information processing method according to claim 1,

wherein at least one of the color information of the reference data and the color information of the evaluation target data is a spectral value, an L*a*b* value, an RGB value, a CMYK value, an XYZ value, a density value, a Munsell display value, an infrared wavelength, an ultraviolet wavelength, or an X-ray wavelength as a color measurement result obtained by measuring the color of a printed matter, a light emitting surface, or an object in a pixel unit or a pixel group unit using the input means.

3. The color information processing method according to claim 2,

wherein the calculation means calculates a first color material correction value for making the color of the specific area in the evaluation target data close to the color of the specific area in the reference data for each color of an evaluation medium color material forming the image of the evaluation medium, based on the evaluation result of the reference data and the evaluation target data.

4. The color information processing method according to claim 3,

wherein a reference color table is prepared in which the color measurement result can be associated with a plurality of reference colors with different color densities or halftone dot percent in each portion of the image of the reference data, and

the evaluation result is calculated based on the color information which is calculated using the reference data and the reference color table and the color measurement result of the evaluation medium.

5. The color information processing method according to claim 3,

wherein the reference data and the evaluation target data include an image of a control strip including a solid patch of a color material,

the color measurement result includes a color measurement result of the control strip, and

the calculation means calculates a second color material correction value for making the color of the control strip in the evaluation target data close to the color of the control strip in the reference data, and gives a predetermined weight to the first color material correction value and the second color material correction value to calculate a third color material correction value for correcting an ink supply amount of the evaluation medium color material for each color of the evaluation medium color material.

6. The color information processing method according to claim 5, further comprising:

outputting the image of the evaluation medium whose color is changed when at least one of the first to third color material correction values is reflected in the evaluation target data, to the image display means, by an image simulation means.

7. The color information processing method according to claim 1,

wherein the image processing means displays color difference data for each specific area which is based on the evaluation result of the reference data and the evaluation target data on a display screen of the image display means such that at least one of a color, a character, and a numerical value corresponds to the specific area.

8. The color information processing method according to claim 4,

wherein the image processing means performs image matching the reference data input by the input means and image data for a specific color material, using the image data including color information about the specific color material, and separates the color information about the specific color material in the specific area from the color information included in the reference data, and

the calculation means calculates a fourth color material correction value for correcting the ink supply amount of the specific color material, based on an ink supply amount and color information table which is made in advance and the separated color information about the specific color material.

9. The color information processing method according to claim 1,

wherein at least one of the reference data and the evaluation target data includes an image which is displayed on the display screen of the image display means in an illumination environment of a predetermined evaluation light source and is captured by a wide range of color gamut input means, and

the image processing means controls a color reproduction area of the display screen of the image display means based on the evaluation result.

10. The color information processing method according to claim 1,

wherein at least one of the reference data and the evaluation target data includes an image which is printed by a digital printing means and is input by the input means, and

the image processing means adjusts a printing color of the printing means based on the evaluation result.

11. The color information processing method according to claim 1,

wherein the calculation means generates color quality evaluation data including evaluation information which indicates a comparison and evaluation point of each image and color difference data at the point, based on the evaluation result of the reference data and the evaluation target data.

12. A color information processing system comprising:

one or more servers each of which includes an electronic storage that stores the color measurement result and the evaluation result obtained by the color information processing method according to claim 9 and stores the reference data, the evaluation target data, and original plate data as electronic data so as to be associated with each other; and

a plurality of client terminals that include the image display means, selectively include the evaluation light source and the wide range of color gamut input means, and are connected to the servers through a network,

wherein the electronic data used by each of the client terminals is transmitted between the servers and the client terminals,

each of the client terminals controls a color reproduction area of a display screen of the image display means based on the transmitted electronic data and displays at least one of the images of the reference data and the evaluation target data together with the color measurement result and the evaluation result obtained by the evaluation light source and the wide range of color gamut input means,

the client terminal transmits at least one of the reference data and the evaluation target data to the server together with the color measurement result and the evaluation result, and

the server stores the transmitted at least one of the reference data and the evaluation target data, and the color measurement result and the evaluation result as the electronic data in the electronic storage so as to be associated with each other.

13. A color information processing apparatus comprising:

an input means for inputting reference data including color information about each pixel or each pixel group of a reference medium and evaluation target data including color information about each pixel or each pixel group of an evaluation medium;

an image processing means for performing an image matching process of image matching the input reference data and evaluation target data such that pixel levels thereof correspond to each other;

an area setting means for setting a specific area which is a unit of evaluation and includes a plurality of pixels to each data item subjected to the image matching process; and

a calculation means for comparing the color information items about each pixel or each pixel group in the reference data and the evaluation target data in the set specific area to calculate a color difference and performing an averaging process to calculate an average evaluation result for the specific area.

14. The color information processing apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein the input means measures the color of a printed matter, a light emitting surface, or an object in a pixel unit or a pixel group unit, and obtains at least one of the color information of the reference data and the color information of the evaluation target data as a color measurement result of a spectral value, an L*a*b* value, an RGB value, a CMYK value, an XYZ value, a density value, a Munsell display value, an infrared wavelength, an ultraviolet wavelength, or an X-ray wavelength.

15. The color information processing apparatus according to claim 14,

wherein the calculation means calculates a first color material correction value for making the color of the specific area in the evaluation target data close to the color of the specific area in the reference data for each color of an evaluation medium color material forming the image of the evaluation medium, based on the evaluation result of the reference data and the evaluation target data.

16. The color information processing apparatus according to claim 15,

wherein a reference color table is prepared in which the color measurement result can be associated with a plurality of reference colors with different color densities or halftone dot percent in each portion of the image of the reference data, and

the calculation means calculates the evaluation result based on the color information which is calculated using the reference data and the reference color table and the color measurement result of the evaluation medium.

17. The color information processing apparatus according to claim 15,

wherein the reference data and the evaluation target data include an image of a control strip including a solid patch of a color material,

the color measurement result includes a color measurement result of the control strip, and

the calculation means calculates a second color material correction value for making the color of the control strip in the evaluation target data close to the color of the control strip in the reference data, and gives a predetermined weight to the first color material correction value and the second color material correction value to calculate a third color material correction value for correcting an ink supply amount of the evaluation medium color material for each color of the evaluation medium color material.

18. The color information processing apparatus according to claim 17, further comprising:

an image simulation means for outputting, to the image display means, the image of the evaluation medium whose color is changed when at least one of the first to third color material correction values is reflected in the evaluation target data.

19. The color information processing apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein the image processing means displays color difference data for each specific area which is based on the evaluation result of the reference data and the evaluation target data on a display screen of the image display means such that at least one of a color, a character, and a numerical value corresponds to the specific area.

20. The color information processing apparatus according to claim 16,

wherein the image processing means performs image matching the reference data input by the input means and image data for a specific color material, using the image data including color information about the specific color material, and separates the color information about the specific color material in the specific area from the color information included in the reference data, and

the calculation means calculates a fourth color material correction value for correcting the ink supply amount of the specific color material, based on an ink supply amount and color information table which is made in advance and the separated color information about the specific color material.

21. The color information processing apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein at least one of the reference data and the evaluation target data includes an image which is displayed on the display screen of the image display means in an illumination environment of a predetermined evaluation light source and is captured by a wide range of color gamut input means, and

the image processing means controls a color region of the display screen of the image display means based on the evaluation result.

22. The color information processing apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein at least one of the reference data and the evaluation target data includes an image which is printed by a digital printing means and is input by the input means, and

the image processing means adjusts a printing color of the printing means based on the evaluation result.

23. The color information processing apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein the calculation means generates color quality evaluation data including evaluation information which indicates a comparison and evaluation point of each image and color difference data at the point, based on the evaluation result of the reference data and the evaluation target data.