Intelligent media profile management

Abstract

Systems and methods manage information related to paper media to improve the print quality of a printer. The systems and methods effectively maintain color management profiles for different papers and ensure that the most appropriate (e.g., optimal) color management profile is used for color conversion on a particular paper. In particular, embodiments can employ dynamic management of data stored in a paper catalog of a printing system. Thus, a paper catalog of a printer can effectively associate a paper with a color management profile to provide optimal color reproduction on the paper.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to printing on paper media, and more particularly, to managing information related to different paper media to improve the print quality of a printer. Background Art

[0002] To achieve high-quality color reproduction, print shops use different color management profiles (or profiles) for paper media. Ideally, each paper is associated with a color management profile customized for each printer. However, in reality, print shops cannot profile all the papers they use. Most print shops use hundreds of papers, but to create a suitable color management profile for each paper, 1,000 to 2,000 color patches must be printed and measured.

[0003] A printer manufacturer can certify (at most) a few hundred papers with a printer device. The printer device can store a paper catalog that includes the color management profiles for these few hundred certified papers. However, there are thousands of other papers on the market that are not included in the paper catalog.

[0004] Most print shops can add papers to the catalog of papers stored in the printer, but the printer device manufacturers do not provide color management profiles for these added papers. Print shops can use color management profiles provided by paper manufacturers, but these color management profiles were developed for "generic" printer devices and may not produce high-quality color reproduction for a specific printer.

[0005] Given the challenges of profiling a large number of different papers, many print shops do minimal color management, if any. Summary of the invention

[0006] According to aspects of the present disclosure, systems and methods manage information related to paper media to improve the print quality of a printer. According to aspects of the present disclosure, systems and methods effectively maintain color management profiles for different papers and ensure that the most appropriate (e.g., optimal) color management profile is used for color conversion on a particular paper. In particular, an embodiment can employ dynamic management of data stored in a paper directory of a printing system. Thus, a paper directory of a printer can effectively associate paper with a color management profile to provide optimal color reproduction on the paper.

[0007] In an example embodiment, a method for managing paper information in a printing system includes storing a paper catalog in one or more computer storage devices. The paper catalog includes records of measured papers and standard papers. Each record of the measured papers has corresponding color information and a corresponding color management profile. Each record of the standard papers has corresponding color information but no corresponding color management profile. The method includes identifying one of the standard papers selected by a user. The method includes receiving a print instruction from the user including a color preference. The method includes: by one or more processors, associating one of the measured papers with the selected standard paper according to the color preference in the print instruction. The method includes: by one or more processors, outputting the color management profile of the associated measured paper for printing using the selected standard paper.

[0008] In another example embodiment, a system for managing paper information in a printing system includes one or more computer storage devices configured to store a paper catalog. The paper catalog includes records of measured papers and standard papers. Each record of the measured paper has corresponding color information and a corresponding color management profile. Each record of the standard paper has corresponding color information but no corresponding color management profile. The system has one or more processors configured to execute instructions stored on a computer-readable medium, the instructions causing one or more of the processors to: identify one of the standard papers selected by a user; receive a print instruction from the user including a color preference; associate one of the measured papers with the selected standard paper according to the color preference in the print instruction; and output the color management profile of the associated measured paper to print using the selected standard paper.

[0009] Yet another example embodiment includes one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media for a printing system. The printing system includes one or more computer storage devices configured to store a paper catalog. The paper catalog includes records of measured papers and standard papers. Each record of the measured paper has corresponding color information and a corresponding color management profile. Each record of the standard paper has corresponding color information but no corresponding color management profile. One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media have computer-executable instructions stored thereon, wherein when the computer-executable instructions are executed by one or more processors, the computer-executable instructions cause the one or more processors to: identify one of the standard papers selected by a user; receive a print instruction from the user including a color preference; associate one of the measured papers with the selected standard paper according to the color preference in the print instruction; and output the color management profile of the associated measured paper for printing using the selected standard paper.

[0010] In an example embodiment, a method for managing paper information in a printing system includes storing a paper catalog in one or more computer storage devices. The paper catalog includes a record of measured papers. Each measured paper is defined by corresponding color information and a corresponding color management profile. The method includes grouping the measured papers into a plurality of groups according to shared characteristics by one or more computer processors. For each group, the method includes selecting, by the one or more computer processors, a representative one of the measured papers; and updating, by the one or more computer processors, the paper catalog by recording a reference to the representative measured paper for the other measured papers to convert the other measured papers in the group to a standard paper. The standard paper is associated with the color management profile of the representative measured paper.

[0011] In another example embodiment, a system for managing paper information in a printing system includes one or more computer storage devices configured to store a paper catalog including records of measured papers. Each measured paper is defined by corresponding color information and a corresponding color management profile. The system includes one or more computer processors configured to execute instructions stored on a computer-readable medium, the instructions causing the one or more processors to divide the measured papers into a plurality of groups based on shared characteristics. For each group, the instructions cause the one or more processors to select a representative one of the measured papers; and to update the paper catalog by recording references of the other measured papers to the representative measured paper to convert the other measured papers in the group to standard papers. The standard paper is associated with the color management profile of the representative measured paper.

[0012] Yet another example embodiment includes one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media for a printing system. The printing system includes one or more computer storage devices configured to store a paper catalog including records of measured papers. Each measured paper is defined by corresponding color information and a corresponding color management profile. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media have computer-executable instructions stored thereon, wherein when the computer-executable instructions are executed by one or more processors, the computer-executable instructions cause the one or more processors to group the measured papers into a plurality of groups according to shared characteristics. For each group, the instructions cause the one or more processors to select a representative one of the measured papers; and to update the paper catalog by recording references of the other measured papers to the representative measured paper to convert the other measured papers in the group into standard papers. The standard paper is associated with the color management profile of the representative measured paper.

[0013] In an example embodiment, a method for managing paper information in a printing system includes accessing a paper catalog by one or more computer processors, the paper catalog including records of measured paper and standard paper. Each record of measured paper has corresponding color information and a corresponding color management profile. Each record of standard paper has corresponding color information but no corresponding color management profile. The method includes determining, by the one or more computer processors, a recommendation indicating whether one or more standard paper records should be converted to measured paper records and whether one or more measured paper records should be converted to records of standard paper. The method includes outputting the recommendation by the one or more computer processors and may include updating the paper catalog based on the recommendation.

[0014] In another example embodiment, a system for managing paper information in a printing system includes one or more computer storage devices configured to store a paper catalog, the paper catalog including records of measured paper and standard paper. Each record of measured paper has corresponding color information and a corresponding color management profile. Each record of standard paper has corresponding color information but no corresponding color management profile. The system includes one or more computer processors configured to execute instructions stored on a computer-readable medium, the instructions causing the one or more processors to: determine a recommendation indicating whether one or more records of standard paper should be converted to records of measured paper and whether one or more records of measured paper should be converted to records of standard paper; and output the recommendation.

[0015] Yet another example embodiment includes one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media for a printing system. The printing system includes one or more computer storage devices configured to store records including measured paper and standard paper. Each record of the measured paper has corresponding color information and a corresponding color management profile. Each record of the standard paper has corresponding color information but no corresponding color management profile. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media have computer-executable instructions stored thereon, wherein when the computer-executable instructions are executed by one or more processors, the computer-executable instructions cause the one or more processors to: determine a recommendation indicating whether one or more records of standard paper should be converted to records of measured paper and whether one or more records of measured paper should be converted to records of standard paper; and output the recommendation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1A An example paper catalog management system for managing paper information in a printing system according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown, including an aspect for adding new standard paper to a paper catalog.

[0017] Figure 1B According to aspects of the present disclosure, Figure 1A An example system for including aspects for adding new measured paper to a paper catalog.

[0018] Figure 2 An example method for adding a new standard paper to a paper catalog in a printing system according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0019] Figure 3 The supplement according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown Figure 2 Further steps of the example method shown in .

[0020] Figure 4 An example method for adding a new measured paper to a paper inventory in a printing system according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0021] Figure 5 An example method for dynamically associating measured papers with standard papers in response to an update of a paper inventory in a printing system according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0022] Figure 6 An example method for processing a print instruction from a user according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0023] Figure 7 An example printing system is shown that evaluates color information of papers in a paper catalog in the printing system and organizes papers with similar characteristics into groups according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0024] Figure 8 An example method for organizing paper in a paper catalog in a printing system according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0025] Although the present disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown in the drawings by way of example and will be described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not intended to limit the present disclosure to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] To achieve reasonable color reproduction with a reasonable level of effort, a print shop can develop color management profiles for a subset of the papers it uses, and apply these color management profiles to other similar papers in the paper catalog. For example, a print shop can associate similar papers as a group that uses a single color management profile. The same color management profile is used when printing on any of these similar papers.

[0027] The printing system may use a paper catalog that stores information for reproducing colors on different papers using a specific printer device. The paper catalog may include paper color information for different papers. Such paper color information may include, for example, the following measurements for each paper: (i) brightness (e.g., expressed as reflectance at a wavelength of 457 nm); (ii) whiteness (relative balance of light in the visible spectrum); (iii) fluorescence (amount of fluorescence in whiteness measurement); (iv) hue (non-whiteness of the paper). Although example embodiments may employ evaluations of paper brightness, whiteness, and hue, it should be understood that other embodiments may consider additional or alternative information related to paper color information, such as measurements of yellowness, opacity, gloss, etc. Most production print spectrophotometers can measure the required paper color information. A print shop can measure the paper color information. Alternatively, another party, such as a paper manufacturer or other supplier, may provide the paper color information.

[0028] In addition, the paper catalog may include information about a color management profile for each paper. A color management profile, which is a set of data describing a color space, is used by a printer device to perform color conversions when printing on a particular paper. A color management profile may be, for example, an International Color Consortium (ICC) profile. An ICC profile provides a set of data that characterizes a printer device according to an ICC standard by defining a mapping between a printer device source and a color space such as a CIELAB or CIEXYZ color space described further below.

[0029] Alternatively, a color management profile can be a profile implemented based on a Tone / Tonal Reproduction Curve (TRC). For example, calibration of a printer device involves determining the repeatable maximum density of the printer device (usually 95% of the maximum density achieved when printing a calibration target). Calibration also includes determining the density at different ink coverage amounts. TRCs are created to ensure that the curves are smooth and evenly spaced, resulting in good color banding (color gradients). When highly accurate color reproduction is not required, using TRCs is sufficient. Printer devices can periodically check calibration and recalibrate to restore printer color reproduction to a calibrated state.

[0030] Alternatively, the color management profile can be a profile implemented from TRCs included in the color conversion of the ICC profile. This can be more complex, but allows the color management application to be used with any printer device without having to worry about the calibration capabilities of that printer device. The disadvantage of using only ICC profiles is that creating an ICC profile requires measuring a large number of patches. TRCs provide the ability to make adjustments to the ICC profile by measuring a smaller set of patches. In addition, TRCs can be used to provide stable color reproduction, and then the ICC profile can be used to obtain the desired color mapping.

[0031] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a paper catalog includes records organized according to two defined paper categories: measurement paper and standard paper.

[0032] The record of the measured paper includes (i) the paper color information as described above, and (ii) a color management profile. The color management profile can be determined by printing and measuring a test target. A supplier such as a printer device manufacturer can provide the color management profile, or a print shop can create a color management profile (i.e., profile the paper).

[0033] The record of the standard paper includes (i) paper color information as described above, and (ii) a reference to the measured paper (or a reference to a corresponding color management profile). The standard paper record does not include a color management profile. Instead, the standard paper is associated with the color management profile in the record of the referenced measured paper. Using a reference to the measured paper can greatly reduce the number of color management profiles that must be measured to manage the color of all the papers in a paper catalog.

[0034] The reference of the standard paper to the measured paper can be determined by comparing the paper color information of the standard paper with the paper color information of the measured paper. The measured value of the above-mentioned paper color information can be expressed as a numerical value (e.g., a decimal number) that can easily compare the paper color information of different papers. Therefore, the reference to the measured paper is determined by selecting the measured paper whose paper color information is closest to the paper color information of the standard paper. Different rules or standards can be used to determine which measured paper is closest or most suitable for the recorded reference of the standard paper.

[0035] Paper color information of paper can be evaluated according to the CIELAB color space (also known as the CIE L*a*b* color space), which is a color space defined by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE). The CIE LAB color space represents color as three values: L* represents lightness from black (0) to white (100), a* from green (-) to red (+), and b* from blue (-) to yellow (+). The CIELAB color space is designed so that the same amount of numerical change in these values ​​corresponds to approximately the same amount of visual perception change. CIE L*a*b* measurements of paper can be compared using a ΔE (DeltaE) measurement, which generally measures the visual perception change of two given colors according to standards supervised by the CIE. Alternatively, paper color information can be evaluated according to the CIE1931XYZ (CIEXYZ) color space, which uses a color vision-based color space to measure lightness and chromaticity.

[0036] Figure 1A and Figure 1B An example paper catalog management system 101 for managing paper information in a printing system associated with a printer device is shown. The system 101 includes one or more computer storage devices 102 configured to store a paper catalog 10. The paper catalog 10 includes a first set of records 12 associated with measured papers. The records 12 include respective paper color information 12a and respective color management profiles 12b for each measured paper. The paper catalog 10 also includes a second set of records 14 associated with standard papers. For each standard paper, the record 14 includes respective paper color information 14a and respective references 14b to one of the measured papers. Each standard paper is associated with the color management profile 12b of one of the measured papers via the respective references 14b.

[0037] The system 101 includes a processor 104 configured to execute instructions 20 stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium 106. The instructions 20 may, for example, cause the processor 104 to implement any of the example methods described further below.

[0038] Figure 2An example method 200 for adding a new standard paper to the paper catalog 10 is shown. Figure 1A Aspects of a system 101 for implementing a method 200 are shown. Instructions 20 stored on a computer-readable medium 106 may cause a processor 104 to perform the method 200. According to the method 200, in step 202, the processor 104 may identify a new standard paper 4'. For example, a user may specify a new standard paper 4' to be added to the paper catalog 10. For example, such input may be provided by a digital front end (DFE) of a printing system. In step 204, the processor 104 may determine paper color information 14a' of the new standard paper 4'. As described above, most production print spectrophotometers can measure the color information 14a'. A print shop may measure the color information 14a'. Alternatively, another party, such as a paper manufacturer or other supplier, may provide the color information 14a'.

[0039] In a subsequent step 206, the processor 104 may compare the color information 14a' of the new standard paper 4' with the color information 12a stored in the record 12 of the measured paper in the paper catalog 10. Based on the comparison in step 206, in step 208, the processor 104 may associate one of the measured papers with the new standard paper 4'. Figure 1A . In a further step 210, the computer storage device 102 stores the record 14' of the new standard paper 4' in the paper directory 10. The record 14' is now stored in other records 14 associated with other standard papers. The record 14' of the new standard paper 4' includes color information 14a' and a reference 14b' to the record 12' of the associated measured paper. Accordingly, the new standard paper 4' is associated with the color management profile 12b' of the associated measured paper. In some embodiments, instead of pointing more generally to the record 12', the reference 14b' may point more directly to the color management profile 12b' of the record 12'.

[0040] The processor 104 may additionally or alternatively copy the color management profile 12b' to the record 14 of the new standard paper 4', rather than merely referencing the record 12' (or color management profile 12b') of the associated measured paper. If the color management profile 12b' of the associated measured paper is modified, the processor 104 may modify the copy of the color management profile 12b' in the record 14' accordingly.

[0041] As described above, the measured value of the color information can be expressed as a numerical value (e.g., a decimal number) that can easily compare the color information of different papers. Figure 1AAs shown, the color information 12a in the record 12 of the measured paper is associated with the color information value 22. Similarly, the color information 14a in the record 14 of the standard paper is associated with the color information value 24.

[0042] Figure 3 An example method 300 is shown, which includes supplementing Figure 2 . According to the method 300, in step 302, the processor 104 may determine the color information value 24' of the new standard paper 4' and the respective color information value 22 of the record 12 associated with the measured paper. Therefore, in step 304, the processor 104 may compare the color information 14a' of the new standard paper 4' with the color information 12a of the measured paper by determining the difference between the color information value 24' of the new standard paper 4' and the color information value 22 of each record 12. In addition, in step 306, the processor 104 may associate the measured paper (record 12') with the new standard paper 4' by determining that the difference between the color information value 24' of the new standard paper 4' and the color information value 22' of the associated measured paper is less than the other difference.

[0043] The selection of the associated measured paper 4' may involve applying different rules or criteria. For example, a user may define a threshold value that must be met before the standard paper 2' is associated with the measured paper. According to step 300, the processor 104 may associate one of the measured papers with the new standard paper 4' by further determining the relevant threshold value in step 308 and determining in step 310 that the difference between the color information value 24' of the new standard paper 4' and the color information value 22' of the associated measured paper satisfies the relevant threshold value. Before the associated measured paper (record 12') is associated with the new standard paper 4' via the reference 14b' in the paper catalog 10, the associated measured paper must be sufficiently similar to the new standard paper 4', i.e. within the relevant threshold value. If the difference between the color information value 24' of the new standard paper 4' and the color information value 22 of any record 12 of the measured paper fails to meet the relevant threshold value, the record 14' of the new standard paper 4' may be recorded without the reference 14b' to the measured paper.

[0044] like Figure 1AAs further shown, the color information 14a of the standard paper and the color information 12a of the measured paper are defined according to a plurality of attributes. For example, the plurality of attributes may include brightness, whiteness, hue, yellowness, opacity and / or glossiness. The color information 12a of the measured paper may be associated with an attribute value 32 (i.e., a measured value of each of the plurality of attributes). The color information 14a of the standard paper may be associated with an attribute value 34 (i.e., a measured value of each of the plurality of attributes). As described above, for example, the color information 14a' of the new standard paper 4' may be determined by measuring the color information 14a' with a spectrophotometer.

[0045] Therefore, in step 302, the processor 104 can determine the color information value 24' of the new standard paper 4' according to the (numerical) combination of the attribute value 34'. In addition, the processor 104 can determine the color information value 22 for the measured paper according to the (numerical) combination of the attribute value 32. The processor 104 can associate one of the measured papers with the new standard paper 4' by additionally determining one or more relevant thresholds based on a plurality of attributes, and then determining that the difference between the attribute value 34' of the new standard paper 4' and the corresponding attribute value 32' of the associated measured paper meets the one or more relevant thresholds. Therefore, before the associated measured paper (record 12') can be associated with the new standard paper 4' by reference 14b', one or more attributes of the new standard paper 4' must be sufficiently similar to the corresponding attributes of the associated measured paper, i.e., within the relevant relevant threshold. If the difference between the attribute value 34' of the new standard paper 4' and the corresponding attribute value 32' of the associated measured paper 2' fails to meet the relevant threshold, the record 14' of the new standard paper 4' can be recorded without the reference 14b' to the measured paper 2.

[0046] like Figure 1A As shown, each of the multiple attributes can be associated with a corresponding weight. In some cases, such weights may depend on the configuration of the printer device. For example, a black and white printer device can assign more weight to hue information, while a color printer device can assign more weight to brightness and fluorescence information. Accordingly, the color information value 24 of the new standard paper 4' and the color information value 22 of the measured paper can be further determined based on the weights of the multiple attributes. In addition, the processor 104 can identify the printer device (e.g., a black and white printer device, a color printer device, etc.) and determine the weights of the multiple attributes 16 based on the printer device.

[0047] Figure 4 An example method 400 for adding a new measured paper to the paper catalog 10 is shown. Figure 1BAspects of a system 101 for implementing the method 400 are shown. As described above, the paper catalog 10 includes a first set of records 12 associated with measured papers, wherein the records 12 include respective color information 12a and respective color management profiles 12b for each measured paper. In addition, the paper catalog includes a second set of records 14 associated with standard papers, wherein the records 14 include a respective reference 14b to one of the records 12 of the measured paper in the paper catalog 10.

[0048] The instructions 20 stored on the computer-readable medium 106 may cause the processor 104 to perform the method 400. According to the method 400, in step 402, the processor 104 may identify a new measured paper 2" to be added to the paper catalog 10. The new measured paper 2" is not associated with any record 12 in the paper catalog 10. In step 404, the processor 104 may determine the paper color information 12a" and the color management profile 12b" for the new measured paper 2". As described above, the print shop may create the paper color information 12a" or the color management profile 12b". Alternatively, another party, such as a supplier, may provide information on the color information 12a" or the color management profile 12b".

[0049] In step 406, the computer storage device 102 stores a record 12" of the new measured paper 2" in the paper directory 10. The record 12" includes color information 12a" and a color management profile 12b" for the new measured paper 2". The record 12" is now contained in the paper directory 10 in the previously stored measured paper. At this point, each record 14 of the standard paper remains associated with the color management profile 12b of one of the previously stored measured papers through a corresponding reference 14b. However, by being added to the paper directory 10, the color management profile 12b" of the new measured paper 2" can provide the most appropriate color management profile for color conversion of some standard papers. Compared with the color information 12a of the previously stored measured paper, the color information 12a of the new measured paper 2" can be more similar to the color information 14a of certain standard papers. Therefore, in step 408, in response to the new record 12" of the new measured paper 2" being stored in the paper directory 10, the processor 104 can update the reference 14b to the record 14 of some standard papers.

[0050] In order to update the reference 14b of the record 14 for some standard papers, in step 410, the processor 104 can compare the color information 14a of the standard papers and the color information 12a of the measured papers, which now include the new measured papers 2". These comparisons can be implemented in a manner similar to the comparisons described in the above method, for example, comparing color information values, which can be based on multiple weighted or unweighted attribute values. Based on the comparison in step 410, in step 412, the processor determines new correlations between the measured papers and the standard papers. These correlations can also be implemented in a manner similar to the correlations described in the above method, for example, applying correlation thresholds to color information values ​​and / or attribute values. In step 414, the processor 104 can update the reference 14b of the record 14 in the paper catalog 10 according to the new correlations.

[0051] Usually, if Figure 5 As shown, the measured paper can be dynamically associated with the standard paper in response to different updates of the paper catalog 10. The instructions 20 stored on the computer readable medium 106 can cause the processor 104 to execute Figure 5 An exemplary method 500 is shown. As described above, the measured paper and the standard paper in the paper catalog 10 are distinguished by the records having or not having the color management profile 12b (as opposed to the reference 14b). In other words, each record 12 of the measured paper has respective paper color information 12a and respective color management profile 12b, while each record 14 of the standard paper has respective paper color information 14a but no respective color management profile.

[0052] In step 502, the processor 104 can automatically and dynamically respond to modifications to the paper catalog 10 by comparing the paper color information 14a of the standard paper and the paper color information 12a of the measured paper. These comparisons can be implemented in a manner similar to the comparisons described in the above method, for example, comparing color information values, which can be based on multiple weighted or unweighted attribute values.

[0053] Modifications to the paper catalog 10 may include adding new records 12, 14 of new measured papers or new standard papers to the paper catalog 10. Modifications to the paper catalog 10 may include deleting records 12, 14 from the paper catalog 10. Modifications to the paper catalog 10 may include converting measured papers into standard papers 12 by deleting respective color management profiles 12b from the corresponding records 12. Modifications to the paper catalog 10 may include converting standard papers into measured papers by adding color management profiles to the corresponding records 14.

[0054] Modifications to the paper catalog 10 may include modifying corresponding paper color information 12a, 14a of at least one of the records 12, 14, or modifying corresponding color management profiles 12b of at least one of the records 12. As described above, the print shop may create the paper color information or the color management profile. Alternatively, another party, such as a supplier, may provide information about the color information or the color management profile. When the print shop creates the paper color information and / or the color management profile, the information provided by the supplier may be retained so that one may choose to restore the information. Restoring to the information provided by the supplier may be a modification to the printer catalog 10.

[0055] In response to the comparison in step 502, in step 504, the processor 104 may associate the measured paper with the standard paper. The association in step 502 may be implemented in a manner similar to the association described in the above method, for example, by applying a correlation threshold to the color information value and / or the attribute value. In step 506, the processor 104 may further update the records 12, 14 of the paper catalog 10 according to the correlation between the measured paper and the standard paper. According to one embodiment, in step 504, the processor 104 may associate one of the measured papers with each standard paper, and in response, update the record 14 of the standard paper in step 506 to include a reference 14b to the associated measured paper. According to some embodiments, the processor may determine in a further step 508 that at least one of the standard papers is not associated with one of the measured papers, and therefore, in step 510, the computer storage device 102 may store the record 14 of the non-associated standard paper without the reference 14b.

[0056] When the user selects a paper, the printing system may, by default, use the color management profile 12b stored in the paper catalog 10 to perform color conversion on the measured paper. Alternatively, the printing system may, by default, process the reference 14b stored in the paper catalog to obtain a color management profile for color conversion on the standard paper. However, the printing system may allow the association between the standard paper and the measured paper to be modified dynamically (e.g., at printing time). For example, the printing system may allow the user to enter print instructions (e.g., via a DFE) that specify different attribute weights and / or associated thresholds. The print instructions may, for example, be provided by way of printer device settings. The specification of these attribute weights and / or associated thresholds may produce correlations between the standard paper and the measured paper that are different from the correlations stored in the paper catalog 10. For example, for black and white printing, the user may enter print instructions that give more weight to hue. Or for color printing, the user may enter print instructions that give more weight to brightness. Or to produce a higher quality reproduction, the user may enter print instructions with associated thresholds that require greater similarity between the standard paper and the associated measured paper.

[0057] In addition, the printing system can allow a user to define rules for selecting different settings for attribute weights and / or associated thresholds in specific situations. For example, a rule can specify settings with different attribute weights for black and white jobs that are more than 100 pages or color jobs that are more than 100 MB in size. Or a rule can specify settings with different associated thresholds for print jobs for customers with specific requirements. Such rules can involve any type of print job information that is generally available to a color conversion system or a printing system (at the DFE or upstream of the DFE of the printing system). In addition, the printing system can also apply rules to handle specific exception situations. For example, if the record 14 of the standard paper does not include a reference 14b to the measured paper, a rule may prevent the printing system from completing a print job for a particular customer on the standard paper.

[0058] Thus, for the standard paper, a reference to the measured paper may be statically stored in the paper catalog 10 as a reference 14b in the record 14. Alternatively, the reference to the measured paper may be dynamically determined in real time (e.g., at print time) based on the user's printing instructions (e.g., specifications / rules with attribute weights or associated thresholds), which may result in different correlations. The reference to the measured paper determines the color management profile and thus the color conversion in the standard paper print job. The user may control the color management profiles for as many papers as desired. The printing system is then responsible for using the generated color management profile with as many papers as possible.

[0059] Figure 6An example method 600 for processing a print instruction from a user is shown. As described above, the measured paper and the standard paper in the paper catalog 10 are distinguished by the record having or not having the color management profile 12b (as opposed to the reference 14b). In other words, each record 12 of the measured paper has the corresponding paper information 12a and the corresponding color management profile 12b, while each record 14 of the standard paper has the corresponding paper information 14a but no corresponding color management profile.

[0060] The instructions 20 stored on the computer-readable medium 106 may cause the processor 104 to perform the method 600. According to the method 600, in step 602, the processor 104 may identify one of the standard papers selected by the user for the print job. In step 604, the processor 104 may receive a print instruction including a color preference from the user. For example, the color preference may be determined by a specification / rule of attribute weights or associated thresholds as described above. In step 606, the processor 104 may associate one of the measured papers with the selected standard paper according to the color preference in the print instruction. In step 608, the processor 104 may output a color management profile of the associated measured paper for printing using the selected standard paper.

[0061] If the color preference includes a correlation threshold, the processor 104 may determine the respective color information values ​​of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper. The processor 104 may then determine the difference between the respective color information values ​​of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper, wherein the color preference includes the correlation threshold. Thus, the processor 104 may associate one of the measured papers with the selected standard paper by determining whether the difference between the respective color information values ​​of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper satisfies the correlation threshold.

[0062] In some embodiments, the color information of the selected standard paper and the color information of the measured paper are defined according to multiple attributes, and the print instruction includes color preferences associated with multiple attributes. For example, multiple attributes may include measured values ​​of brightness, whiteness, hue, yellowness, opacity and / or glossiness. For these embodiments, the processor 104 may determine the attribute values ​​of multiple attributes of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper. In addition, the processor 104 may determine the difference between the attribute values ​​of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper. In addition, in step 606, the processor 104 may associate one of the measured papers with the selected standard paper by determining whether the difference between the attribute values ​​of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper meets one or more relevant thresholds.

[0063] In further embodiments, the color preference includes one or more weights associated with the plurality of attributes. For such embodiments, the processor 104 may determine attribute values ​​of the plurality of attributes of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper based on the one or more weights. In addition, the processor 104 may determine the difference between the attribute values ​​of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper. Therefore, in step 606, the processor 104 may associate the associated measured paper with the selected standard paper based on the difference between the attribute values ​​of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper.

[0064] The printing system may also include a feature for recommending which papers should be configured (with color management profiles) to obtain reasonable color reproduction while keeping the number of color management profiles as small as possible. Figure 7 As shown, a printing system 100 with a printer device 108 can evaluate the color information of the paper in the paper catalog 10 and organize the paper with similar characteristics into groups 6. The user can control how the paper is organized, including determining the number and / or size of the groups 6. Once the paper is organized into groups 6, the printing system 100 can determine a representative paper for each group 6 and make a recommendation to configure the representative paper for the corresponding group 6. Through the color management profile, the representative paper is the only measured paper in group 6 that is associated with the record 12, while the other papers in group 6 are standard papers associated with the record 14 that includes a reference 14b to the representative measured paper. The number of standard papers associated with the measured paper in group 6 can be determined based on a threshold that defines how similar the standard papers should be to the measured paper in group 6. For example, the standard papers and the measured papers in the group meet the relevant threshold.

[0065] Figure 8 An example method 800 for organizing paper in a paper catalog 10 is shown. As described above, in the paper catalog 10, measured paper and standard paper are distinguished by records having or not having a color management profile 12b (as opposed to a reference 14b). In other words, each record 12 of measured paper has corresponding paper color information 12a and a corresponding color management profile 12b, while each record 14 of standard paper has corresponding paper color information 14a but no corresponding color management profile.

[0066] The instructions 20 stored on the computer-readable medium 106 may cause the processor 104 to perform the method 800. According to the method 800, in step 802, the processor 104 may determine a recommendation indicating whether one or more records of standard paper should be converted to records of measured paper and whether one or more records of measured paper should be converted to records of standard paper. In step 804, the processor 104 may output the recommendation determined in step 802. In addition, in step 806, the processor 104 may update the paper catalog 10 according to the recommendation.

[0067] In order to develop recommendations, in step 808, the processor 104 can group the measured papers into a plurality of groups 6 according to shared characteristics. These shared characteristics can be related to the corresponding color information of the measured papers, for example. In other words, group 6 can be defined as a subset of the measured papers that organize the color information values ​​that fall within a specified range. As described above, the number of standard papers associated with the measured papers in group 6 can be determined according to a threshold value that defines the degree of similarity between the standard papers and the measured papers in group 6. In step 810, the processor 104 can select a representative one of the measured papers for each group. For example, the selected measured paper with a color information value that is closest to the average color information value of the measured papers in group 6 may be the most representative. Therefore, in step 812, the processor 104 can therefore recommend that all papers except the representative measured paper be converted to standard paper with reference to the representative measured paper. Accordingly, in step 814, the processor 104 can update the paper catalog to convert other measured papers in the group to standard paper by recording the reference of other measured papers to the representative measured paper. The standard paper is then associated with the color management feature file of the representative measured paper.

[0068] In some embodiments, the paper catalog 10 includes a previous record 14 of a standard paper with a reference 14b to the measured paper converted to the standard paper in step 814. In these embodiments, the processor 104 may also update the paper catalog by updating the previous record to include an updated reference 14b to the representative measured paper, thereby associating the previous standard paper with the color management profile of the representative measured paper.

[0069] As described above, the recommendation may be determined by a threshold that defines how similar the standard paper should be to the measured papers in group 6. In the case of a looser threshold, the recommendation may result in more measured papers (and groups). Alternatively, in the case of a stricter threshold, the recommendation may result in fewer measured papers (and groups).

[0070] Aspects of the above-described systems may be implemented as a combination of hardware and software elements. The hardware elements may be implemented as a combination of effectively coupled microprocessors, logic circuits, communication / network ports, digital filters, memories, or logic circuits. The processor may be adapted to perform operations specified by computer executable instructions, which may be stored on a computer readable medium. The example embodiments are not limited to any particular combination of hardware circuits and / or software.

[0071] As described above, some or all of the steps of the described and illustrated methods may be performed or directed under the control of one or more processors (e.g., processor 104) executing software or stored instructions. In general, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art of computers and software, the embodiments of the present disclosure may be used for any physical processor and / or machine for processing or evaluation, including one or more networked or non-networked general-purpose computer systems, microprocessors, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), microcontrollers, etc., programmed according to the teachings of the example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0072] As understood by those skilled in the art of software, based on the teachings of the example embodiments, programmers of ordinary skills can easily prepare appropriate software. The example embodiments of the present disclosure are stored on any one or combination of non-transient computer-readable media, and the example embodiments of the present disclosure may include software for controlling the devices and subsystems of the example embodiments, for driving the devices and subsystems of the example embodiments, for enabling the devices and subsystems of the example embodiments to interact with human users, etc. Such software may include, but is not limited to, device drivers, firmware, operating systems, development tools, application software, etc. Such computer-readable media may also include a computer program product of all or part (if the processing is distributed) of the processing performed in the implementation of the embodiment of the present disclosure. The computer code device of the example embodiment of the present disclosure may include any suitable interpretable or executable code mechanism, including but not limited to scripts, interpreters, dynamic link libraries (DLLs), Java classes and applets, complete executable programs, etc. In addition, for better performance, reliability, cost, etc., some of the processing of the example embodiments of the present disclosure may be separated.

[0073] Common forms of non-transitory computer-readable media may include, for example, floppy disks, flexible disks, hard disks, magnetic tape, any other suitable magnetic media, CDROMs, CDRWs, DVDs, any other suitable optical media, punch cards, paper tape, optical marking paper, any other suitable physical media with patterns of holes or other optically identifiable markings, RAM, PROMs, EPROMs, FLASH-EPROMs, any other suitable memory chips or cassettes, or any other suitable media that can be read by a computer.

[0074] Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to one or more specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Each of these embodiments and their obvious variations are considered to fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention. It is also contemplated that additional embodiments according to aspects of the present disclosure may combine any number of features from any embodiment described herein.

Claims

1. A method for managing paper information in a printing system, comprising: storing a paper catalog in one or more computer storage devices, the paper catalog including records of measured paper and standard paper, the records of measured paper having color information and a color management profile of the measured paper, and the records of standard paper having color information of the standard paper but without a color management profile; identifying one of the standard papers selected by a user from the paper catalog, receiving a print instruction including a color preference from the user; By one or more processors, associating one of the measured papers included in the paper catalog with the selected standard paper according to the color preference in the print instruction; as well as The color management profile of the associated measured paper is outputted by the one or more processors as the color management profile of the selected standard paper.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: Determining, by the one or more processors, respective color information values ​​of the selected standard paper and the associated measurement paper; as well as determining a difference between said respective color information values ​​of said selected standard paper and said associated measurement paper, wherein the color preference includes a relevant threshold, and Associating one of the measured papers with the selected standard paper includes determining whether the difference between the respective color information values ​​of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper satisfies the correlation threshold.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein: defining the color information of the selected standard paper and the color information of the measurement paper according to a plurality of attributes, and The printing instructions include color preferences associated with the plurality of attributes.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein: The plurality of properties includes a measurement of at least one of brightness, whiteness, hue, yellowness, opacity, or gloss.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein: The color preference includes one or more associated thresholds associated with the plurality of attributes, The method further comprises: determining property values ​​of the plurality of properties of the selected standard paper and the associated measurement paper; and determining a difference between the property value of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper, and Associating one of the measured papers with the selected standard paper includes determining whether the difference between the property values ​​of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper satisfies the one or more correlation thresholds.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein: The color preference includes one or more weights associated with the plurality of attributes, The method further comprises: determining attribute values ​​of the plurality of attributes of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper based on the one or more weights; and determining the difference between the property values ​​of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper, and The associated measured paper is associated with the selected standard paper according to the difference between the property values ​​of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising printing on the selected standard paper having the color management profile of the associated measured paper using a printer device, wherein The color preference is based on at least the printer device.

8. A system for managing paper information in a printing system, including: One or more computer storage devices configured to store a paper catalog, wherein the paper catalog includes records of measured papers and standard papers, the records of measured papers having color information and a color management profile of the measured papers, and the records of standard papers having color information but no color management profile of the standard papers; and One or more processors configured to execute instructions stored on a computer-readable medium, the instructions causing the one or more processors to: identifying one of the standard papers selected by a user from the paper catalog, receiving a print instruction including a color preference from the user; associating one of the measurement papers included in the paper catalog with the selected standard paper according to the color preference in the print instruction; and The color management profile of the associated measurement paper is output as the color management profile of the selected standard paper.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein: The instructions further cause the one or more processors to: determining respective color information values ​​of the selected standard paper and the associated measurement paper; and determining a difference between said respective color information values ​​of said selected standard paper and said associated measurement paper, Wherein, the color preference includes a relevant threshold, and The one or more processors associate one of the measured papers with the selected standard paper by determining whether the difference between the respective color information values ​​of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper satisfies the associated threshold value.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein: defining the color information of the selected standard paper and the color information of the measurement paper according to a plurality of attributes, and The printing instructions include color preferences associated with the plurality of attributes.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein: The plurality of properties includes a measurement of at least one of brightness, whiteness, hue, yellowness, opacity, or gloss.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein: The color preference includes one or more associated thresholds associated with the plurality of attributes, The instructions further cause the one or more processors to: determining property values ​​of the plurality of properties of the selected standard paper and the associated measurement paper; and determining a difference between the property values ​​of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper; and The one or more processors associate one of the measured papers with the selected standard paper by determining whether the difference between the property values ​​of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper satisfies the one or more associated thresholds.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein: The color preference includes one or more weights associated with the plurality of attributes, The instructions further cause the one or more processors to: determining attribute values ​​of the plurality of attributes of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper based on the one or more weights; as well as determining a difference between the property values ​​of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper; and The associated measured paper is associated with the selected standard paper according to the difference between the property values ​​of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper.

14. The system of claim 8, further comprising a printer device, and the printer device prints on the selected standard paper having the color management profile of the associated measured paper, wherein The color preference is based on at least the printer device.

15. One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media for a printing system, the printing system comprising one or more computer storage devices configured to store a paper catalog, wherein: The paper catalog includes records of measured paper and standard paper, the records of measured paper have color information and color management profiles of the measured paper, and the records of standard paper have color information of the standard paper but no color management profile, and the one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media have computer-executable instructions stored thereon, wherein when the computer-executable instructions are executed by one or more processors, the computer-executable instructions cause the one or more processors to: identifying one of the standard papers selected by a user from the paper catalog, receiving a print instruction including a color preference from the user; associating one of the measurement papers included in the paper catalog with the selected standard paper according to the color preference in the print instruction; and The color management profile of the associated measurement paper is output as the color management profile of the selected standard paper.

16. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 15, wherein: The instructions further cause the one or more processors to: determining respective color information values ​​of the selected standard paper and the associated measurement paper; and determining a difference between said respective color information values ​​of said selected standard paper and said associated measurement paper, wherein the color preference includes a relevant threshold, and The one or more processors associate one of the measured papers with the selected standard paper by determining whether the difference between the respective color information values ​​of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper satisfies the associated threshold value.

17. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 15, wherein: defining the color information of the selected standard paper and the color information of the measurement paper according to a plurality of attributes, and The printing instructions include color preferences associated with the plurality of attributes.

18. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 17, wherein: The plurality of properties includes a measurement of at least one of brightness, whiteness, hue, opacity, or gloss.

19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 17, wherein: The color preference includes one or more associated thresholds associated with the plurality of attributes, The instructions further cause the one or more processors to: determining property values ​​of the plurality of properties of the selected standard paper and the associated measurement paper; as well as determining a difference between the property values ​​of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper; and One or more of the processors associate one of the measured papers with the selected standard paper by determining whether the difference between the property values ​​of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper satisfies the one or more associated thresholds.

20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 17, wherein: The color preference includes one or more weights associated with the plurality of attributes, The instructions further cause the one or more processors to: determining attribute values ​​of the plurality of attributes of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper based on the one or more weights; as well as determining a difference between the property value of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper, and The associated measured paper is associated with the selected standard paper according to the difference between the property values ​​of the selected standard paper and the associated measured paper.

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