Color printing method and apparatus which compensates for Abney effect

• US 5,438,649 A
• Filed: 10/28/1992
• Issued: 08/01/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Information Systems Incorporated (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Ruetz, Brigitte
• Primary Examiner(s): Powell, Mark R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEGREE, TRACY MICHELLE
• Application Number:
  US07/967,050
• Time in Patent Office: 1,007 Days
• Field of Search: 395/109, 395/131, 358/515, 358/516, 358/517, 358/518, 358/519, 358/520
• US Class Current: 358/1.9
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/6058 Reduction of colour to a range of reproducible colours, e.g. to ink- reproducible colour gamut

Abstract

Method and apparatus for color printing according to a printer table in which the hue angle of the colors in the printer table are warped so as to compensate for the Abney effect. A color printer gamut edge is first determined through printer gamut measurement, and color primary values within the printer gamut and outside the printer gamut are calculated and inserted into the printer table. If desired, a border table may be provided for colors outside the printer table. The hue angles for the printer table and the border table are then warped, for example, by stretching some ranges of hue angles and by compressing other ranges of hue angles, so that out-of-gamut colors are printed with a hue that is perceived to be the same as the hue of the desired color.

Claims

1. A color printer look-up table for providing color primary values corresponding to colors in device-independent color space, the color primary values having warped hue angles which compensate for the Abney effect.

2. A color printer look-up table according to claim 1, wherein the colors in device-independent color space correspond both to colors within the color printer gamut and to colors out of the color printer gamut.

3. A color printer look-up table according to claim 2, wherein the color primary values are warped for the out-of-gamut colors.

4. A color printer look-up table according to claim 3, wherein the color primary values are increasingly warped for increasingly saturated colors.

5. A color printer look-up table according to claim 3, wherein the color primary values are warped for colors both within the printer gamut and for colors out of the printer gamut.

6. A color printer look-up table according to claim 1, wherein the hue angles are warped so as to stretch the hue angle in the blue region and so as to compress the hue angle in the purplish-blue and the purple region.

7. A color printer look-up table according to claim 1, wherein the hue angles are warped so as to compress the hue angles in the bluish-green region and so as to stretch the hue angles in the greenish-blue region.

8. A color printer look-up table according to claim 1, wherein the hue angles are warped so as to stretch the hue angles in the red region and so as to compress the hue angles in the reddish-orange region.

9. A color printer look-up table according to claim 1, wherein the yellow region is expanded.

10. A color printer driver comprising:

a printer table for providing color primary values corresponding to colors within the color printer gamut and for colors outside the color printer gamut, the color primary values outside the color printer gamut having warped hue angles whereby the Abney effect is compensated;

means for accepting a command for printing a designated color; and

control means for extracting from the printer table the color primary values corresponding to the designated color.

11. A color printer driver according to claim 10, wherein the hue angles for colors within the color printer gamut are also warped whereby color smoothness for the colors in the printer table is preserved.

12. A color printer driver according to claim 11, wherein the color primary values are increasingly warped for increasingly saturated colors.

13. A color printer driver according to claim 11, wherein the hue angles are warped so as to expand the hue angle in the blue region and so as to compress the hue angle in the purplish-blue and the purple region.

14. A color printer driver according to claim 11, wherein the hue angles are warped so as to compress the hue angles in the bluish-green region and so as to stretch the hue angles in the greenish-blue region.

15. A color printer driver according to claim 11, wherein the hue angles are warped so as to stretch the hue angles in the red region and so as to compress the hue angles in the reddish-orange region.

16. A color printer driver according to claim 11, wherein the yellow region is expanded.

17. A color printer driver according to claim 10, further comprising a border table for providing color primary values for colors outside the printer table, and wherein said control means selects the printer table or the border table in accordance with whether the designated color is within the printer table or outside the printer table, and extracts the color primary values from the selected one of the printer table and the border table.

18. A color printer driver according to claim 17, wherein warping of the printer table is the same as warping of the border table.

19. A color printer driver according to claim 17, wherein the border table is arranged in a wheel-like arrangement of cells centered on the lightness axis.

20. Apparatus for color printing comprising:

a color printer for printing color images in response to color primary commands, said color printer having a gamut of printable colors;

a color monitor for displaying colors within a gamut of displayable colors;

a processing unit including a computer for executing stored program process steps, said processing unit including a color monitor interface for providing color primary values to said color monitor and a color printer interface for providing color primary values to said color image forming means; and

a memory for storing process steps for execution by said processing unit;

said process steps including steps to derive a color image, to provide color primary values via said color monitor interface to said color monitor in correspondence to said color image, and to provide color primary values via said color printer interface to said color printer in correspondence to said color image, wherein for colors outside the gamut of printable colors the hue angles are warped such that the hue of displayed images is perceived the same as the hue of printed images.

21. Apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said memory stores a printer table for providing color primary values corresponding to colors in device-independent coordinate space, the color primary values having hue angles that are warped, and wherein said process steps include steps to derive device-independent color coordinates for the color image and to provide the color primary values corresponding to the device-independent color coordinates to the color printer.

22. Apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the colors in device-independent color space correspond both to colors within the color printer gamut and to colors out of the color printer gamut.

23. Apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the color primary values are warped for the out-of-gamut colors.

24. Apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the color primary values are increasingly warped for increasingly saturated colors.

25. Apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the color primary values are warped for colors both within the printer gamut and for colors out of the printer gamut.

26. Apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the hue angles are warped so as to expand the hue angle in the blue region and so as to compress the hue angle in the purplish-blue and the purple region.

27. Apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the hue angles are warped so as to compress the hue angles in the bluish-green region and so as to stretch the hue angles in the greenish-blue region.

28. Apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the hue angles are warped so as to stretch the hue angles in the red region and so as to compress the hue angles in the reddish-orange region.

29. Apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the yellow region is expanded.

30. Apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said memory includes a border table for providing color primary values for colors outside the printer table, and wherein said processing unit selects the printer table or the border table in accordance with whether the designated color is within the printer table or outside the printer table, and extracts the color primary values from the selected one of the printer table or the border table.

31. Apparatus according to claim 30, wherein warping of the printer table is the same as warping of the border table.

32. Apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the border table is arranged in a wheel-like arrangement of cells centered on the lightness axis.

33. A method for building a printer table comprising:

determining a color printer gamut edge;

mapping color primary values into the printer table for colors within the color printer gamut edge;

mapping color primary values into the printer table for colors outside the color printer gamut edge; and

warping hue angles for the color primary values.

34. A method according to claim 33, wherein the color primary values are warped for the out-of-gamut colors.

35. A method according to claim 34, wherein the color primary values are increasingly warped for increasingly saturated colors.

36. A method according to claim 34, wherein the color primary values are warped for colors both within the printer gamut and for colors out of the printer gamut so as to preserve color smoothness.

37. A method according to claim 34, wherein the hue angles are warped so as to expand the hue angle in the blue region and so as to compress the hue angle in the purplish-blue and the purple region.

38. A method according to claim 34, wherein the hue angles are warped so as to compress the hue angles in the bluish-green region and so as to stretch the hue angles in the greenish-blue region.

39. A method according to claim 34, wherein the hue angles are warped so as to stretch the hue angles in the red region and so as to compress the hue angles in the reddish-orange region.

40. A method according to claim 34, wherein the yellow region is expanded.

41. A method according to claim 33, further comprising the step of mapping color primary values into a border table for providing color primary values for colors outside the printer table.

42. A method according to claim 41, wherein warping of the printer table is the same as warping of the border table.

43. A method according to claim 41, wherein the border table is arranged in a wheel-like arrangement of cells centered on the lightness axis.