Ink reduction device and method for a color inkjet printer

• US 6,233,061 B1
• Filed: 02/11/1999
• Issued: 05/15/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Lexmark International Incorporated (Ninestar Corporation)
• Inventors: Huang, Xuan-Chao, Nystrom, Brant Dennis
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, ANH-VINH THI
• Application Number:
  US09/248,816
• Time in Patent Office: 824 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1-9, 358/520, 358/504, 358/523, 358/527, 358/537, 358/518, 358/1.16, 358/1.17, 358/502, 382/162, 382/167, 382/255, 382/264, 382/274, 347/3, 347/24
• US Class Current: 358/1.9
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/58 Edge or detail enhancement; Noise or error suppression, e.g. colour misregistration correction H04N1/62 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/6033 using test pattern analysis H04N1/6055 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/605 for controlling ink amount, strike-through, bleeding soakage or the like

Abstract

A device and method of determining an amount of ink to be used to print a color of a particular color lightness, chroma and hue in an inkjet printer in which the color lightness, chroma and hue are measured for a full ink wedge and a reduced ink wedge for a given color. The full ink wedge uses the maximum amount of ink for the given color and causes bleed through or smearing to occur and the reduced ink wedge uses less than the maximum amount of ink for the given color. A color difference between the reduced ink wedge and the full ink wedge is calculated. A vector distance between the reduced ink wedge and a white point in a three-dimensional colorant space is then calculated. Calibration points for each colorant or colorant combination in a three-dimensional colorant space are determined based on the vector distance, the color difference, and the predetermined color tolerance. A printer profile table is then generated using these new calibration points and downloaded to the printer. Printing using a reduced ink volume is then accomplished using the printer profile table.

Claims

1. A method of determining an amount of ink to be used to print a-color of a particular color lightness, chroma and hue in a color inkjet printer, comprising:

measuring a color difference based on a color lightness, chroma and hue for a full ink wedge represented by a full ink peak point and a reduced ink wedge represented by a reduced ink peak point, wherein the full ink wedge uses the maximum amount of ink for the color and causes bleed through or smearing to occur and the reduced ink wedge uses less than the maximum amount of ink for the color;

selecting the reduced ink peak point that has a color difference, compared to the full ink peak point, less than a predetermined color tolerance; and

building a printer profile based on the selected reduced ink peak point.

2. A method of determining an amount of ink to be used to print a color as recited in claim 1, wherein the calculating of the color difference between the reduced ink peak point and the full ink peak point is based on a vector distance between the reduced ink peak point and the full ink peak point in a CIELAB space.

3. A method of determining an amount of ink to be used to print a color as recited in claim 2, wherein the vector distance is determined by

4. A method of determining an amount of ink to be used to print a color as recited in claim 1, wherein the full ink color wedge is one of a plurality of full ink color wedges represented by a plurality of full ink peak points, the reduced ink color wedge is one of a plurality of reduced ink wedges represented by a reduced ink peak points, and the color difference is one of a plurality of color differences associated with each of the plurality of full ink peak points and the plurality of reduced ink peak points.

5. A method of determining an amount of ink to be used to print a color as recited in claim 4, wherein building a printer profile further comprises:

determining a maximum permitted ink boundary in a three-dimensional colorant space by selecting reduced ink peak points that have a color difference less than the predetermined color tolerance.

6. A method of determining an amount of ink to be used to print a color as recited in claim 5, further comprising:

interpolating the maximum permitted ink boundary in the three-dimensional colorant space based on the selected reduced ink peak points.

7. A method of determining an amount of ink to be used to print a color as recited in claim 6, wherein interpolating the maximum permitted ink boundary is determined by

 

d_vm=(Σ

w_id_ib)/(Σ

w_i) w_i=(1/a_i)²

8. A method of determining an amount of ink to be used to print a color as recited in claim 5, further comprising:

selecting a plurality of calibration points in the maximum permitted ink boundary.

9. A method of determining an amount of ink to be used to print a color as recited in claim 8, further comprising:

modifying a calibration point of the plurality of calibration points that exceeds a maximum amount of ink permitted based on the reduced ink peak points.

10. A method of determining an amount of ink to be used to print a color as recited in claim 9, further comprising:

building a printer profile table based on the calibration points; and

printing a color image using the printer profile table.

11. A device to determine an amount of ink to be used to print a color of a particular color lightness, chroma and hue in a color inkjet printer, comprising:

color difference calculation module to determine a color difference based on a color lightness, chroma and hue for a full ink wedge represented by a full ink peak point and a reduced ink wedge represented by a reduced ink peak point, wherein the full ink wedge uses the maximum amount of ink for the color and causes bleed through or smearing to occur and the reduced ink wedge uses less than the maximum amount of ink for the color;

boundary determination module to select the reduced ink peak point that has a color difference, compared to the full ink peak point, less than a predetermined color tolerance; and

printer profile build module to build a printer profile based on the selected reduced ink peak point.

12. A device to determine an amount of ink to be used to print a color as recited in claim 11, wherein the color difference calculation module calculates the color difference between the reduced ink peak point and the full ink peak point based on a vector distance between each of the reduced ink peak point and the full ink peak point in a CIELAB space.

13. A device to determine an amount of ink to be used to print a color as recited in claim 12, wherein color difference calculation module determines the vector distance by

14. A device to determine an amount of ink to be used to print a color as recited in claim 11, wherein the full ink color wedge is one of a plurality of full ink color wedges represented by a plurality of full ink peak points, the reduced ink color wedge is one of a plurality of reduced ink wedges represented by a reduced ink peak points, and the color difference is one of a plurality of color differences associated with each of the plurality of full ink peak points and the plurality of reduced ink peak points.

15. A device to determine an amount of ink to be used to print a color as recited in claim 14, further comprising:

boundary determination module to determine a maximum permitted ink boundary in a three-dimensional colorant space by selecting reduced ink peak points that have a color difference less than the predetermined color tolerance.

16. A device to determine an amount of ink to be used to print a color as recited in claim 15, further comprising:

interpolation module to interpolate the maximum permitted ink boundary in the three-dimensional colorant space based on the selected reduced ink peak points.

17. A device to determine an amount of ink to be used to print a color as recited in claim 16, wherein the interpolation module interpolates the maximum permitted ink boundary by

18. A device to determine an amount of ink to be used to print a color as recited in claim 15, further comprising:

calibration point examination module to select a plurality of calibration points in the maximum permitted ink boundary.

19. A device to determine an amount of ink to be used to print a color as recited in claim 18, further comprising:

calibration point modification module to modify a calibration point of the plurality of calibration points that exceeds a maximum amount of ink permitted based on the reduced ink peak points.

20. A device to determine an amount of ink to be used to print a color as recited in claim 19, further comprising:

printer profile build module to build a printer profile table based on the calibration points; and

print mechanism to print a color image using the printer profile table.

21. A method of determining an amount of ink to be used to print a color of a particular color lightness, chroma and hue in an inkjet printer, comprising:

printing full ink wedges for a plurality of full ink peak points using a plurality of ink colors, wherein the full ink wedges are printed using the maximum ink amount for each of the plurality of ink colors;

reducing the amount of ink for each of the full ink peak points and printing a plurality of reduced ink wedges represented by reduced ink peak points selected along a vector line that connects the full ink peak points and a white point in a three-dimensional colorant space when bleed through or smearing is detected in a full ink wedge;

measuring a color lightness, chroma and hue for each of the full ink wedges to form a three-dimensional colorant space with full ink peak points;

measuring a color lightness, chroma and hue for each of the reduced ink wedges to form reduced ink peak points in the three-dimensional colorant space;

calculating a color difference between each of the reduced ink peak points and each of the full ink peak points based on the color lightness, chroma and hue measured;

selecting reduced ink peak points in which the color difference is less than a predetermined color tolerance and to form a maximum permitted ink boundary;

determining a plurality of calibration points for each ink color in the three-dimensional colorant space based on the selected reduced ink peak points; and

building a printer profile table based on the plurality of calibration points.

22. A method of determining an amount of ink to be used to print a color as recited in claim 21, further comprising:

interpolating the maximum permitted ink boundary for all points in the three-dimensional colorant space based on the selected reduced ink peak points.

23. A method of determining an amount of ink to be used to print a color as recited in claim 21, wherein the calculating of the color difference between the reduced ink peak point and the full ink peak point is based on a vector distance between each of the reduced ink peak points and the full ink peak points in the CIELAB space.

24. A device to determine an amount of ink to be used to print a color of a particular color lightness, chroma and hue in an inkjet printer, comprising:

wedge printing module to print full ink wedges for a plurality of full ink peak points using a plurality of ink colors, wherein the full ink wedges are printed using the maximum ink amount for each of the plurality of ink colors;

N₂ points selection module to select reduced ink peak points by reducing the amount of ink for each of the full ink peak points and print a plurality of reduced ink wedges represented by reduced ink peak points selected along a vector line that connects the full ink peak points and a white point in a three-dimensional colorant space when bleed through or smearing is detected in a full ink wedge;

color measurement unit to measure a color lightness, chroma and hue for each of the full ink wedges to form a three-dimensional colorant space with full ink peak points, and to measure a color lightness, chroma and hue for each of the reduced ink wedges to form reduced ink peak points in the three-dimensional colorant space;

color difference calculation module to calculate a color difference between each of the reduced ink peak points and each of the full ink peak points based on the color lightness, chroma and hue measured;

boundary determination module to select reduced ink peak points in which the color difference is less than a predetermined color tolerance and to form a maximum permitted ink boundary;

calibration point examination module to determine a plurality of calibration points for each ink color in the three-dimensional colorant space based on the selected reduced ink peak points; and

print profile build module to build a printer profile table based on the plurality of calibration points.

25. A device to determine an amount of ink to be used to print a color as recited in claim 24, further comprising:

interpolation module to interpolate the maximum permitted ink boundary for all points in the three-dimensional colorant space based the selected reduced ink peak points.

26. A device to determine an amount of ink to be used to print a color as recited in claim 24, wherein the color difference calculation module calculates the color difference between the reduced ink peak point and the full ink peak point based on a vector distance between each of the reduced ink peak points and the full ink peak points in a CIELAB space.

27. A method of determining an amount of ink to be used to print a color of a particular color lightness, chroma and hue in a color inkjet printer, comprising:

printing a plurality of full ink wedges of a plurality of full ink peak points using a plurality of color inks, wherein the plurality of full ink wedges are created using the maximum volume of ink per pixel in the color inkjet printer;

detecting whether bleed through or smearing occurs in the plurality of full ink wedges;

selecting a plurality of reduced ink peak points representing a reduced ink volume along a vector line that connects a full ink peak point and a white point in a three-dimensional colorant space when bleed through or smearing is detected in a full ink wedge;

printing a plurality of reduced ink wedges based on the reduced ink peak points;

measuring a color lightness, chroma and hue for each of the full ink wedges to form a three dimensional colorant space with full ink peak points;

measuring a color lightness, chroma and hue for each of the reduced ink wedges to form reduced ink peak points in the three dimensional colorant space;

calculating a color difference between each of the reduced ink peak points and each of the full ink peak points based on the color lightness, chroma and hue by determining a vector distance between each of the reduced ink peak points and the full ink peak points in a CIELAB space;

determining a maximum permitted ink boundary in the three-dimensional colorant space by selecting reduced ink peak points that have a color difference less than a predefined color tolerance;

interpolating the maximum permitted ink boundary in the three-dimensional colorant space based on the selected reduced ink peak points;

selecting a plurality of calibration points in the maximum permitted ink boundary;

building a printer profile table based on the calibration points; and

printing a color image using the printer profile table.

28. A device to determine an amount of ink to be used to print a color of a particular color lightness, chroma and hue in a color inkjet printer, comprising:

N₁ peak point selection module to select a plurality of full ink peak points in a three-dimensional colorant space, wherein the plurality of full ink peak points represents the maximum amount of ink per pixel that may be printed in the color inkjet printer;

wedge printing module to print a plurality of full ink wedges of the plurality of full ink peak points using a plurality of color inks, wherein the plurality of full ink wedges cause bleed through or smearing to occur in the plurality of full ink wedges;

N₂ point selection module to select a plurality of reduced ink peak points representing a reduced ink volume along a vector line that connects a full ink peak point and a white point in a three-dimensional colorant space when bleed through or smearing is detected in a full ink wedge;

the wedge printing module to print a plurality of reduced ink wedges based on the plurality of reduced ink peak points;

color measurement unit to measure a color lightness, chroma and hue for each of the full ink wedges to form a three-dimensional colorant space with full ink peak points, and to measure a color lightness, chroma and hue for each of the reduced ink wedges to form reduced ink peak points in the three-dimensional colorant space;

color difference calculation module to calculate a color difference between each of the plurality of reduced ink peak points and each of the plurality of full ink peak points based on the color lightness, chroma and hue by determining a vector distance between each of the reduced ink peak points and the full ink peak points in a CIELAB space;

boundary determination module to determine a maximum permitted ink boundary in the three-dimensional colorant space by selecting reduced ink peak points that have a color difference less than a predetermined color tolerance;

interpolation module to interpolate a maximum permitted ink boundary in the three-dimensional colorant space based on the selected reduced ink peak points;

calibration point examination module to select a plurality of calibration points in the maximum permitted ink boundary;

printer profile build module to build a printer profile table based on the calibration points; and

print mechanism to print a color image using the printer profile table.