System for distributing and controlling color reproduction at multiple sites
DCFirst Claim
1. A system for controlling color reproduction comprising:
- a plurality of sites linked for communication through network interfaces, said communication employing one or more network protocols, wherein each of said sites has a computer system or a programmable processor;
a plurality of rendering devices, in which two or more of said rendering devices are linked to the computer system or programmable processor of at least two of said sites; and
memory associated with one or more of said sites for storing data and programs, wherein said data comprise color image data and one or more files having a header with information related to transformation of said color image data for rendering on said rendering devices, said one or more files further comprising one or more data structures expressing the relationship between color gamuts of said rendering devices in device independent units, and wherein said programs comprise;
a program enabling a user to create annotations marking up a soft video copy of said color image data without altering said color image data;
at least one of image retouching software or a page layout program; and
one or more programs for rendering said color image data in accordance with a color transformation on each of said two or more of said rendering devices comprising adjustment of gamut to satisfy a criterion for color matching in which said criterion is at least partly based upon state of calibration and capabilities of the rendering device.
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Abstract
The system provides for controlling color reproduction of input color image data in a network having nodes (or sites). The system distributes the input color image data from one of the nodes to other nodes, and provides data structures in the network. The system has means for providing color calibration data at each node characterizing output colors (colorants) of the rendering device of the node, and means for producing at each node, responsive to the color calibration data of the rendering device of the node, information for transforming the input color image data into output color image data at the rendering device of the node. The rendering device of each node renders a color reproduction responsive to the output color image data, wherein colors displayed in the reproduction at the rendering device of each node appear substantially the same within the output colors attainable by the rendering devices.
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Citations
42 Claims
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1. A system for controlling color reproduction comprising:
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a plurality of sites linked for communication through network interfaces, said communication employing one or more network protocols, wherein each of said sites has a computer system or a programmable processor; a plurality of rendering devices, in which two or more of said rendering devices are linked to the computer system or programmable processor of at least two of said sites; and memory associated with one or more of said sites for storing data and programs, wherein said data comprise color image data and one or more files having a header with information related to transformation of said color image data for rendering on said rendering devices, said one or more files further comprising one or more data structures expressing the relationship between color gamuts of said rendering devices in device independent units, and wherein said programs comprise; a program enabling a user to create annotations marking up a soft video copy of said color image data without altering said color image data; at least one of image retouching software or a page layout program; and one or more programs for rendering said color image data in accordance with a color transformation on each of said two or more of said rendering devices comprising adjustment of gamut to satisfy a criterion for color matching in which said criterion is at least partly based upon state of calibration and capabilities of the rendering device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An apparatus for controlling color reproduction comprising:
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a computer system operating as a server which is one of a plurality of sites that communicate through network interfaces using one or more network protocols; and memory which stores; information for transforming color image data for color rendering devices at said sites, wherein at least part of said information is stored in one or more files having a header and tags identifying data structures of said files, at least one of said files comprising a three-dimensional array whose inputs are device-independent color coordinates and whose output at each input coordinate indicates whether said input coordinate is either inside or outside of a color gamut; and one or more programs operable for rendering said color image data at one or more of said color rendering devices responsive to said information for transforming and to user preferences for color reproduction. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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17. A method of color reproduction comprising the steps of:
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connecting two or more programmable computers in a network provided by LAN, WAN or Internet for communication using one or more network protocols, wherein at least two of said two or more programmable computers are linked to color rendering devices; providing data for storage in memory associated with said network, said data comprising; graphical menu elements used by one or more of said two or more programmable computers to provide a user interface on a display enabling a user to initiate execution of programs for receiving color measurements and verifying the accuracy of transforming input colors having a device independent interpretation for rendering on one or more of said color rendering devices by comparing measured colors to reference colors with respect to an error criterion; at least one file comprising a header and tags identifying a plurality of data structures within said file, said data structures holding information related to color transformation, wherein at least one of said data structures is a three-dimensional array whose inputs are device-independent color values and each of whose outputs indicate whether the corresponding input color is inside or outside of a color gamut, wherein said file is communicable between nodes of said network; and tonal transfer functions expressing the relationship between digital command codes and rendered density values for each of the color channels of at least one of said color rendering devices responsive to measurements and to user preferences expressed through said user interface; and directing execution of one or more programs by one or more of said two or more programmable computers, said one or more programs comprising; software for retouching color images or designing page layouts; a program that receives measurement data representative of rendered output of at least one of said a color rendering devices and accumulates a record of color reproduction performance of said at least one of said color rendering devices over time; a program that uses said measurement data for comparing measured colors to reference colors to produce color error data; and a program for modifying rendering by said at least one of said color rendering devices responsive to said color error data. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
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29. A color reproduction system comprising:
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a press for printing variable information on successive pages; an interface providing communication between said press and a computer that provides data to said press, said computer having a display and a user interface; memory for storing data representing color graphics and images in units having a device-independent interpretation, curves controlling tonal transfer for each color channel of said press and one or more color transformations comprising at least a multi-dimensional transformation for translating at least part of said data representing color graphics and images into values useable for controlling rendering on said press and a three-dimensional array whose inputs are device independent color coordinates and whose output at each input coordinate indicates whether said input coordinate is inside or outside of a color gamut; one or more files stored in said memory, said one or more files having at least a header and tags identifying data structures within said one or more files to enable sharing of contents of said one or more files by said computer with another computer, said data structures comprising at least said multi-dimensional transformation and said three-dimensional array; a program executable by said computer that renders, responsive to at least said multi-dimensional transformation, pages by said press having data representing said color graphics and images; and at least one instrument comprising an illumination source and one or more photosensors, wherein said instrument provides measurements of colors printed by said press, said measurements enabling corrections of at least said curves controlling tonal transfer for each color channel. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A system for controlling color reproduction comprising:
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a plurality of rendering devices; a plurality of sites linked for communication through network interfaces, said communication employing one or more network protocols, wherein each said site has a computer system or a programmable processor linked to at least one of said rendering devices; and memory associated with one or more of said sites for storing data and programs, wherein said data comprise color image data and one or more files having a header that has information related to transformation of said color image data for rendering by said rendering devices of at least two of said sites, at least one of said one or more files comprising a data structure identified by a tag, said data structure comprising a three-dimensional array whose inputs are device-independent color coordinates and whose output for each input color indicates whether said input color is inside or outside of a color gamut, and wherein said programs comprise at least one of image retouching or page layout programs that process color image data responsive to contents of said at least one of said one or more files, and one or more programs for rendering said color image data upon said rendering devices of at least two of said sites responsive to contents of said one or more files. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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Specification