Image forming apparatus configured for printing using color expansion table

• US 9,083,923 B2
• Filed: 02/25/2014
• Issued: 07/14/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions, Inc. (Kyocera Corporation)
• Original Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions, Inc. (Kyocera Corporation)
• Inventors: Tanaka, Kazunori
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, DUNG D
• Application Number:
  US14/189,912
• Publication Number:
  US 20140240728A1
• Time in Patent Office: 504 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/1878 Adjusting colours image colour correction or control for documents in general H04N1/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/6022 Generating a fourth subtractive colour signal, e.g. under colour removal, black masking
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/6058 Reduction of colour to a range of reproducible colours, e.g. to ink- reproducible colour gamut

Abstract

An image forming apparatus performs image formation of a target image with the use of a first color gamut as a standard color gamut for image formation. The image forming apparatus includes a storage section, a color conversion section, and an image forming section. The storage section stores a color expansion table indicating a second color gamut wider than the first color gamut. The color conversion section converts, when a color in the target image is present outside the first color gamut, a color value of the color in the target image to a color value of a coloring material used for image formation on the basis of the color expansion table. The image forming section performs image formation of the target image on the basis of the color value of the coloring material.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus which performs image formation of a target image with the use of a first color gamut as a standard color gamut for image formation, comprising:

a storage section configured to store a color expansion table indicating a second color gamut wider than the first color gamut;

a color conversion section configured to convert, when a color in the target image is present outside the first color gamut, a color value of the color in the target image to a color value of a coloring material used for image formation on the basis of the color expansion table; and

an image forming section configured to perform image formation of the target image on the basis of the color value of the coloring material,

wherein the storage section stores a plurality of the color expansion tables respectively indicating one of the plurality of the second color gamuts,

each of the second color gamuts is made correspondence with a second coloring material amount as an amount of coloring material necessary for expressing the corresponding second gamut,

the image forming apparatus further comprising;

a color table selection section configured to select, when the color in the target image is present outside the first color gamut, one color expansion table from one or more color expansion tables each of which indicates the second color gamut, which includes inside thereof the color outside the first color gamut, out of the plurality of the second color gamuts on the basis of the second coloring material amount,

wherein the color conversion section converts the color value of the target image to the color value of the coloring material on the basis of the color expansion table selected by the color table selection section.

2. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

when the color in the target image is present outside the first color gamut and inside the second color gamut, the color conversion section converts the color value of the color in the target image to the color value of the coloring material on the basis of the color expansion table.

3. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a user input section configured to receive input information which specifies whether or not to use the color expansion table,

wherein when the color in the target image is present outside the first color gamut upon specification of use of the color expansion table according to the input information, the color conversion section converts the color value of the color in the target image to the color value of the coloring material on the basis of the color expansion table.

4. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

each of the second color gamuts is made correspondence with a plurality of the second coloring material amounts for each of a plurality of coloring materials different in color, and

the color table selection section selects an color expansion table indicating a second color gamut of which a total sum of the corresponding plurality of the second coloring material amounts is the smallest of one or more second color gamuts which include inside thereof the color outside the first color gamut.

5. An image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

the first color gamut is made correspondence with a plurality of first coloring material amounts for the plurality of coloring materials different in color as amounts of coloring materials necessary for expressing the first color gamut,

each second color gamut is obtained by changing at least one of the plurality of first coloring material amounts in the first color gamut to a second coloring material amount larger than the first coloring material amount, and

the second color gamuts are different from each other in the second coloring material amount of at least one coloring material of the plurality of coloring materials different in color.

6. An image forming apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

a parameter setting section configured to change, when the color value of the color in the target image is converted to the color value of the coloring material on the basis of the color expansion table, a value of the parameter relating to the operation of the image forming section from a value corresponding to the first coloring material amount to a value corresponding to the second coloring material amount.

7. An image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

the coloring materials are toner in different colors, and the different colors are cyan, magenta, and yellow.

8. An image forming apparatus which performs image formation of a target image with the use of a first color gamut as a standard color gamut for image formation, comprising:

a storage section configured to store a color expansion table indicating a second color gamut wider than the first color gamut;

a color conversion section configured to convert, when a color in the target image is present outside the first color gamut, a color value of the color in the target image to a color value of a coloring material used for image formation on the basis of the color expansion table;

an image forming section configured to perform image formation of the target image on the basis of the color value of the coloring material; and

a parameter setting section configured to change a value of the parameter relating to the operation of the image forming section when the color value of the color in the target image is converted to the color value of the coloring material on the basis of the color expansion table, wherein

the parameter relating to the operation of the image forming section is a fusing temperature and/or a nip width in image formation.