Inkjet printer rapid color tracking method, device, equipment and storage medium

Abstract

The present invention discloses a method, device, equipment, and storage medium for rapid color tracking of an inkjet printer, and relates to the field of inkjet printing technology. The method obtains a first color block image from a first printer and a second color block image from a second printer, and then directly uses the first color block image and the second color block image to obtain a color tracking curve for the second printer. Because the method of the present invention only requires the first printer to print the color block image once and the second printer to print the color block image once, a color tracking curve with good results can be obtained using the two color block images. Compared with the technical means of printing multiple color block images or manually debugging to obtain the color tracking curve of the second printer, the method is simpler and faster, has a good color tracking effect, and saves the number of prints, which is more efficient.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of inkjet printing technology, and in particular to a method, device, equipment and storage medium for fast color tracking of an inkjet printer. Background Art

[0002] In inkjet printing applications, the printer's color management profile is typically adjusted to control the ink output of each printer channel, thereby controlling the overall color quality of the printer's prints. However, when multiple printers are required to print samples that match the color of a target inkjet printer, these printers must be color-tracked so that the colors printed by these multiple printers can reproduce the colors printed by the target inkjet printer. However, simply adjusting the color management profile cannot achieve this requirement. The current practice is to manually and repeatedly debug the linearization curve of the inkjet printer to be color-tracked, print images, and then compare the images with the sample images printed by the target inkjet printer. Based on the comparison results, continuous adjustments and verification are performed to achieve a good color-tracking effect. These methods are inefficient, have poor accuracy, are complex, and are time-consuming and labor-intensive. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of this, embodiments of the present invention provide a method, device, equipment and storage medium for fast color tracking of an inkjet printer, so as to solve the problems of complex and inefficient color tracking of inkjet printers in the prior art.

[0004] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for fast color tracking of an inkjet printer, the method comprising:

[0005] Obtaining a first color patch image according to a linearization curve of the first printer, wherein the first color patch image includes a plurality of color patches with different ink amounts;

[0006] Obtaining a second color patch image according to a linearization curve of a second printer, wherein the second color patch image includes a plurality of color patches with different ink amounts;

[0007] A color tracking curve of the second printer is obtained according to the first color block diagram and the second color block diagram.

[0008] Preferably, obtaining the color tracking curve of the second printer according to the first color block diagram and the second color block diagram includes:

[0009] obtaining a first ink amount of the second printer according to the first color block image and the second color block image;

[0010] Acquire a new linearization curve for the second printer according to the first color block diagram and the second color block diagram;

[0011] Regularization processing is performed on the new linearization curve according to the first ink amount to obtain the color tracking curve.

[0012] Preferably, obtaining the first ink amount of the second printer according to the first color block diagram and the second color block diagram includes:

[0013] Obtain the color value of the color block with the largest amount of ink in the first color block image, and record it as the first color value;

[0014] respectively obtain the color value of each color block in the second color block image, and obtain a set of the ink amount of each color block in the second color block image and its corresponding color value, which is recorded as a second color value set;

[0015] A first maximum ink amount corresponding to the first color value is acquired according to the second color value set, where the first maximum ink amount is the first ink amount.

[0016] Preferably, acquiring a first maximum ink volume corresponding to the first color value according to the second color value set includes:

[0017] interpolating the second color value set using an interpolation method to obtain the first maximum ink amount corresponding to the first color value, or:

[0018] Fitting the elements in the second color value set to obtain a first fitting curve;

[0019] Substitute the first color value into the first fitting curve to obtain the first maximum ink volume corresponding to the first color value.

[0020] Preferably, acquiring a new linearization curve of the second printer according to the first color block diagram and the second color block diagram includes:

[0021] Obtaining the color difference between each color block in the first color block image and the color block with the smallest ink volume in the first color block image, respectively, and obtaining a set of the ink volume of each color block in the first color block image and its corresponding color difference value, recorded as a first color difference set;

[0022] Obtaining the color difference between each color block in the second color block image and the color block with the smallest ink volume in the second color block image, respectively, and obtaining a set of the ink volume of each color block in the second color block image and its corresponding color difference value, recorded as a second color difference set;

[0023] A new linearization curve for the second printer is obtained according to the first color difference set and the second color difference set.

[0024] Preferably, acquiring a new linearization curve for the second printer according to the first color difference set and the second color difference set includes:

[0025] Fitting the elements in the second color difference set to obtain a second fitting curve;

[0026] Obtaining the ink volume corresponding to the color difference values ​​of all elements in the first color difference set in the second fitting curve, recorded as a second ink volume;

[0027] Obtaining the ink amount of the color blocks in all elements in the second color difference set, recorded as the third ink amount;

[0028] The second ink amount and the third ink amount are fitted to obtain a new linearization curve of the second printer.

[0029] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a fast color tracking device for an inkjet printer, the device comprising:

[0030] A first color patch image acquisition module, configured to acquire a first color patch image according to a linearization curve of the first printer, wherein the first color patch image includes a plurality of color patches with different ink amounts;

[0031] A second color patch image acquisition module, configured to acquire a second color patch image according to a linearization curve of a second printer, wherein the second color patch image includes a plurality of color patches with different ink amounts;

[0032] The color tracking curve acquisition module is used to acquire the color tracking curve of the second printer according to the first color block image and the second color block image.

[0033] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an inkjet printer fast color tracking device, comprising: at least one processor, at least one memory, and computer program instructions stored in the memory, which, when executed by the processor, implement the method of the first aspect of the above embodiment.

[0034] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a storage medium having computer program instructions stored thereon, which implements the method of the first aspect of the above-mentioned embodiment when the computer program instructions are executed by a processor.

[0035] In summary, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0036] The method, apparatus, device, and storage medium for rapid color tracking of inkjet printers provided by embodiments of the present invention obtain a first color patch image from a first printer and a second color patch image from a second printer, then directly use the first and second color patch images to obtain a color tracking curve for the second printer. Because the method only requires printing the color patch image once for the first printer and once for the second printer, a highly effective color tracking curve can be obtained using both color patch images. Compared to technical approaches that require printing multiple color patch images or manually debugging to obtain a color tracking curve for the second printer, the method is simpler and faster, provides excellent color tracking results, and reduces the number of prints, resulting in higher efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work, and these are all within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0038] Figure 1 The figure is a flow chart of a method for fast color tracking of an inkjet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] Figure 2a 4 is a schematic diagram of a first color block diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] Figure 2b These are the linearization curves corresponding to the four CMYK color channels of the embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] Figure 3 4 is a schematic diagram of another first color block diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] Figure 4a 4 is a schematic diagram of a second color block diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0043] Figure 4b 4 is a schematic diagram of another second color block diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0044] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of a color tracking curve of the C color channel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0045] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of a color tracking color block diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0046] Figure 7 2 is a schematic diagram of another color tracking color block diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0047] Figure 8 It is a schematic structural diagram of a fast color tracking device for an inkjet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0048] Figure 9 It is a schematic structural diagram of a rapid color tracking device for an inkjet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] The features and exemplary embodiments of various aspects of the present invention will be described in detail below. In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, the present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and Examples. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only configured to explain the present invention and are not configured to limit the present invention. For those skilled in the art, the present invention can be implemented without the need for some of these specific details. The following description of the embodiments is merely to provide a better understanding of the present invention by illustrating examples of the present invention.

[0050] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as first and second, etc., are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article, or device comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article, or device. In the absence of further limitations, the elements defined by the phrase "comprising..." do not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or device comprising the elements.

[0051] Example 1

[0052] An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for rapid color tracking on an inkjet printer. This method is suitable for performing color tracking on an inkjet printer. In actual production applications, one or more printers are often required to produce samples that match the colors of a target inkjet printer. Therefore, color tracking needs to be performed on one or more printers. The target inkjet printer is referred to as a first printer, and the printer requiring color tracking is referred to as a second printer. The second printer can be a different printer from the target inkjet printer or the target inkjet printer itself.

[0053] See Figure 1 , the method specifically comprises the following steps:

[0054] S1: Obtaining a first color patch image according to a linearization curve of a first printer, wherein the first color patch image includes a plurality of color patches with different ink amounts;

[0055] S2: Obtaining a second color patch image according to a linearization curve of a second printer, wherein the second color patch image includes a plurality of color patches with different ink amounts;

[0056] S3: Obtaining a color tracking curve of the second printer according to the first color block diagram and the second color block diagram.

[0057] Specifically, the first color patch diagram is a color patch diagram printed by the first printer according to its linearization curve, including several color patches with different ink volumes; the second color patch diagram is a color patch diagram printed by the second printer according to its linearization curve, including several color patches with different ink volumes. Ideally, the colors of the color patches with the same ink volumes in the first and second color patch diagrams are identical or nearly identical, indicating that the two printers print images with identical colors under the same conditions (e.g., the same ink, the same printing environment, etc.). However, in actual production, the colors of the images printed by the first and second printers will inevitably differ. In this embodiment, by printing two color patch diagrams to obtain the color tracking curve of the second printer, the colors of the images printed by the second printer according to the color tracking curve are as close as possible to those of the first printer. This provides simple operation, high efficiency, and excellent color tracking results.

[0058] The first color block image printed by the first printer can be set according to actual conditions. For example, Figure 2a As shown, the first color patch diagram includes 21 color patches with different ink volumes, which are arranged in ascending order of ink volume. Assuming the minimum ink volume of the first printer is 0 and the maximum is 100, then the ink volume interval between each color patch in the first color patch diagram is 5, and the ink volume of each color patch is 0, 5, 10, 15, ..., 100, in sequence. It is worth noting that the minimum and maximum ink volumes of the first printer are not necessarily 0 and 100, and can be determined based on actual printing conditions. The ink volume interval between each color patch and the number of color patches can also be set based on actual application and are not limited here. The more color patches there are, the more accurate the first curve will be. Preferably, the number of color patches in the first color patch diagram ranges from 10 to 101. Figure 2a The first color block diagram shown is a color block diagram of a single color channel. In actual applications, the ink output channel of a printer includes four color channels of CMYK. Each color channel corresponds to a linearization curve, such as Figure 2b As shown, it is divided into linearization curves corresponding to the four channels of CMYK. When printing color tracking, it can be performed on only a single color channel, for example, only the C color channel; it can also be performed on multiple color channels, such as the four CMYK color channels. In some embodiments, the first color block diagram can include any one of the C color channel, the M color channel, the Y color channel, and the K color channel, or two or more color block diagrams. Figure 3 The first color patch image shown includes color patches for the four CMYK channels. In other embodiments, the color patches in the first color patch image can also be a mixture of any two, three, or four of the four CMYK colors. For example, the color patches in the first color patch image can be a mixture of two colors, C and M. This embodiment uses color tracking for the C color channel as an example to illustrate how to track colors for the second printer.

[0059] In addition to obtaining the first color patch image of the first printer, it is also necessary to obtain the second color patch image printed by the second printer according to the linearization curve of its color management.

[0060] In one embodiment, the number of color blocks in the second color block diagram is the same as the number of color blocks in the first color block diagram. Figure 2a The first color block diagram is similar to that shown in Figure 4a The second color patch diagram shown includes 21 color patches with different ink amounts, arranged in ascending order. Assuming the second printer has a minimum ink amount of 0 and a maximum of 100, the ink amount interval between each color patch in the second color patch diagram is 5, and the ink amount of each color patch is 0, 5, 10, 15, ..., 100. In another example, the ink amount of the first color patch in the second color patch diagram is not 0, but starts at 60 and reaches a maximum of 100. The ink amount interval between each color patch is 2, and the ink amount of each color patch is marked as 60, 62, 64, ..., 100, for a total of 21 color patches with different ink amounts that make up the second color patch diagram. Similarly, if color tracking is required for multiple color channels, the first printer prints a color patch diagram for the four CMYK color channels, and the second printer also needs to print a color patch diagram for the four CMYK color channels.

[0061] In one embodiment, the number of color blocks in the second color block diagram is different from the number of color blocks in the first color block diagram. The number of color blocks in the second color block diagram may be greater or less than the number in the first color block diagram. For example, the second color block diagram may be composed of 51 color blocks with different ink volumes arranged in order from small to large. Assuming that the minimum ink output of the second printer is 0 and the maximum is 100, then the ink volume interval between each color block in the second color block diagram is 1, and the ink volume of each color block is marked as 0, 1, 2, 3, ..., 100 in sequence. In another example, Figure 4b As shown, the ink volume of the first color block in the second color block image starts from 0 and is 100 at most. The ink volume interval between each color block is 10, and the ink volume of each color block is marked as 0, 10, ..., 100 in sequence, with a total of 11 color blocks with different ink volumes.

[0062] It is worth pointing out that the minimum and maximum ink output of the second printer are not necessarily 0 and 100, but can be determined according to the actual printing situation. The ink interval between each color block and the number of color blocks can also be set according to the actual application. There is no restriction here. The more color blocks there are, the smaller the ink interval is, and the color tracking curve obtained will be more accurate.

[0063] After the first printer and the second printer respectively print out a first color patch image and a second color patch image according to their respective linearization curves, the color tracking curve of the second printer can be obtained using these two color patch images. Preferably, obtaining the color tracking curve of the second printer based on the first color patch image and the second color patch image includes:

[0064] S31: Obtaining a first ink volume of the second printer according to the first color block image and the second color block image;

[0065] S32: Acquire a new linearization curve of the second printer according to the first color block diagram and the second color block diagram;

[0066] S33: Regularizing the new linearization curve according to the first ink amount to obtain the color tracking curve.

[0067] Before obtaining the color tracking curve, one data that needs to be determined is the maximum ink output of the second printer during actual printing, which is recorded as the first ink volume (or maximum ink cutoff volume, ink cutoff volume). This data is determined so that the second printer's actual maximum ink output is consistent or nearly consistent with that of the first printer. Preferably, obtaining the first ink volume of the second printer based on the first color block diagram and the second color block diagram includes:

[0068] S311: Obtain the color value of the color block with the largest amount of ink in the first color block image, and record it as the first color value;

[0069] S312: Obtain the color value of each color block in the second color block image respectively, and obtain a set of ink amounts of each color block in the second color block image and their corresponding color values, which is recorded as a second color value set;

[0070] S313: Acquire a first maximum ink amount corresponding to the first color value according to the second color value set, where the first maximum ink amount is the first ink amount.

[0071] In one embodiment, a color block comparison method is used to obtain the first ink volume: the color values ​​of the color blocks in the first color block image are collected, such as using a colorimeter to measure the actual Lab values ​​of the color blocks in the first color block image, and the Lab value of the color block with the largest ink volume is obtained, which is recorded as the first color value. At the same time, the color values ​​of each color block in the second color block image are obtained, and the color values ​​of each color block in the second color block image are compared with the first color value one by one. The color block in the second color block image with the smallest color difference value compared with the first color value is found, and the ink volume corresponding to this color block is recorded as the first ink volume. By comparing the color values ​​of the color blocks in the first color block image and the second color block image (the color value comparison can be manual comparison or automatic recognition comparison using machine vision technology), the actual maximum printing ink volume of the second printer can be obtained relatively simply and quickly.

[0072] In another embodiment, an interpolation or fitting method is used to obtain the first ink amount: the color values ​​of the color blocks in the first color block image are collected, such as using a colorimeter to measure the actual Lab values ​​of the color blocks in the first color block image, and the Lab value of the color block with the largest ink amount is obtained, which is recorded as the first color value. At the same time, the color values ​​of each color block in the second color block image are obtained, and a set of the ink amount of each color block in the second color block image and its corresponding color value is obtained, which is recorded as the second color value set L, L = {(C1, Lab1), (C2, Lab2), ..., (C n , Lab n )}, where C1 is the ink volume corresponding to the first color block in the second color block image, Lab1 is the color value (Lab value) of the second color block in the second color block image; C2 is the ink volume corresponding to the first color block in the second color block image, Lab2 is the color value (Lab value) of the second color block in the second color block image, ..., C n is the ink volume corresponding to the first color block in the second color block image, Lab n is the color value (Lab value) of the nth color block in the second color block image, and n is the number of color blocks in the second color block image. In one embodiment, the second color value set is interpolated using an interpolation method to obtain the first maximum ink volume corresponding to the first color value. The first maximum ink volume is the first ink volume of the second printer. In another embodiment, the elements (C1, Lab1), (C2, Lab2), ..., (C n , Lab n ) is fitted to obtain a first fitting curve, and then the first color value is substituted into the first fitting curve to obtain the corresponding first maximum ink volume, which is recorded as the first ink volume of the second printer. The above color block comparison method is simple and fast, but the first ink volume obtained is only the ink volume of the color block that is closest to the maximum ink volume in the first color block diagram. The accurate first ink volume of the second printer can be obtained by interpolation or fitting, and the color tracking curve obtained based on this first ink volume is more accurate. For example, if the comparison is respectively as Figure 2a and 4a The first color block diagram and the second color block diagram show that the color block with an ink volume of 85 in the second color block diagram has a color value that is closest to the color value of the color block with an ink volume of 100 in the first color block diagram, so the ink volume 85 is used as the first ink volume of the second printer; and the first ink volume obtained by interpolation or fitting may be 87, and the color block with an ink volume of 87 is closest to the color value of the color block with an ink volume of 100 in the first color block diagram. Figure 2a The first color block image is not printed out, and cannot be obtained using the color block comparison method (unless the ink volume interval of the first color block image is set to 1), so the first ink volume obtained is more accurate.

[0073] In another embodiment, when the maximum first ink volume obtained by the above-mentioned color block contrast method, interpolation method, or fitting curve is not within the preset ink volume range, first external input information can also be obtained as the first ink volume. The first external input information here can be an ink volume value set by the user according to actual application conditions, and the preset ink volume range can also be set by the user according to actual application conditions. For example, when the user obtains the first ink volume in the range of 90 to 95 based on accumulation, the color tracking effect will be better, then the preset ink volume range can be set to 90≤Cmax≤95. When the first ink volume obtained by interpolation or fitting curve (such as Cmax=87) is not within the preset ink volume range, this value can be ignored. Instead, the ink volume value input by the user can be used as the first ink volume value, so that the final color tracking effect can better meet user needs.

[0074] In addition to obtaining the first ink volume of the second printer, a new linearization curve for the second printer needs to be obtained based on the first color patch image and the second color patch image. Because the second color patch image is printed based on the second printer's original linearization curve before color tracking, in order to print an image with colors that are consistent or nearly consistent with those of the first printer, it is necessary to adjust the second printer's original linearization curve to obtain a new linearization curve. Preferably, obtaining the new linearization curve for the second printer based on the first color patch image and the second color patch image includes:

[0075] S321: Obtain color difference values ​​between each color block in the first color block image and the color block with the smallest ink volume in the first color block image, and obtain a set of ink volumes of each color block in the first color block image and their corresponding color difference values, recorded as a first color difference set;

[0076] S322: Obtain color difference values ​​between each color block in the second color block image and the color block with the smallest ink volume in the second color block image, and obtain a set of ink volumes of each color block in the second color block image and their corresponding color difference values, recorded as a second color difference set;

[0077] S323: Obtain a new linearization curve for the second printer based on the first color difference set and the second color difference set. Specifically, after printing the first color patch image and the second color patch image, use a colorimeter or other color acquisition device to respectively obtain the color values ​​(such as Lab values) of each color patch in the first color patch image and the second color patch image. Calculate the color difference between the color values ​​of all color patches in the first color patch image and the color value of the color patch with the smallest amount of ink in the image. Each color patch's ink volume corresponds to a color difference. The set in which one color difference corresponds to one ink volume in the first color patch image is recorded as the first color difference set. Similarly, calculate the color difference between the color values ​​of all color patches in the first color patch image and the color value of the color patch with the smallest amount of ink in the image to obtain the second color difference set. Use the first color difference set and the second color difference set to obtain a new linearization curve for the second printer using interpolation or fitting methods.

[0078] Preferably, obtaining a new linearization curve for the second printer according to the first color difference set and the second color difference set includes:

[0079] S3231: Fit the elements in the second color difference set to obtain a second fitting curve;

[0080] S3232: Obtain the ink volume corresponding to the color difference values ​​of all elements in the first color difference set in the second fitting curve, and record it as the second ink volume;

[0081] S3233: Obtain the ink amount of the color blocks in all elements in the second color difference set, and record it as the third ink amount;

[0082] S3234: Fitting the second ink amount and the third ink amount to obtain a new linearization curve of the second printer.

[0083] The second ink amount and the third ink amount are fitted to obtain a color tracking curve of the second printer.

[0084] In one embodiment, the number of color blocks in the second color block image and the first color block image is the same. Assume that the number of color blocks in the second color block image and the first color block image are both n. The obtained second color difference set A={(C A1 , ΔE A1 ),(C A2 , ΔE A2 ),……,(C An , ΔE An )}, where ΔE A1 is the color difference between the first color block in the second color block image and the color block with the smallest amount of ink in the second color block image, C A1 is the amount of ink corresponding to the first color block in the second color block image, ΔE A2 is the color difference between the second color block in the second color block image and the color block with the smallest amount of ink in the second color block image, C A2 is the amount of ink corresponding to the second color block in the second color block image, and so on, ΔE An is the color difference between the second color block in the second color block image and the color block with the smallest amount of ink in the second color block image, C An is the amount of ink corresponding to the first color block in the third color block image, and n is the number of color blocks in the third color block image.

[0085] Similarly, the color difference between each color block in the first color block image and the color block with the smallest ink volume in the first color block image is calculated to obtain the first color difference set B, B = {(C B1 , ΔE B1 ),(C B2 , ΔE B2 ),……,(C Bn , ΔE Bn )}, where ΔEB1 is the color difference between the first color block in the first color block image and the color block with the smallest amount of ink in the first color block image, C B1 is the ink volume corresponding to the first color block in the first color block image, ΔE B2 is the color difference between the second color block in the first color block image and the color block with the smallest amount of ink in the first color block image, C B2 is the amount of ink corresponding to the second color block in the first color block image, and so on, ΔE Bn is the color difference between the nth color block in the first color block image and the color block with the smallest amount of ink in the first color block image, C Bn is the ink volume corresponding to the nth color block in the first color block image, and n is the number of color blocks in the third color block image. B1 、C B2 ,……,C Bn Collectively referred to as the second ink volume.

[0086] In the second color difference set, each element (C A1 , ΔE A1 ),(C A2 , ΔE A2 ),……,(C An , ΔE An ) represents n coordinate points on a two-dimensional plane with ink volume values ​​as the x-axis and color difference values ​​as the y-axis. A cubic spline curve is fitted to all elements of the second color difference set A to obtain a second fitting curve;

[0087] Obtain the third ink amount corresponding to the color difference values ​​of all elements in the first color difference set according to the second fitting curve: Substitute the color difference values ​​ΔE of all elements in the first color difference set B1 , ΔE B2 ,……,ΔE Bn Substituting into the second fitting curve, we can get the third ink volume corresponding to each color difference value: C B1 '、C B2 ', ..., C Bn ', for (C B1 、C B1 '), (C B2 、C B2 '),……,(C Bn , C Bn ') is fitted, and the obtained fitting curve is the new linearization curve of the C color channel of the second printer. Figure 5 Shown is a pair of (C B1 、C B1 '), (C B2 、C B2 '),……,(C Bn , C Bn') The color tracking curve of the C color channel obtained by fitting each point. The color tracking curve obtained according to this fitting method has a good color tracking effect.

[0088] In another embodiment, the number of color blocks in the second color block image is different from that in the first color block image. Assume that the number of color blocks in the second color block image is n and the number of color blocks in the first color block image is m. Similar to the above embodiment, the color difference between each color block in the second color block image and the color block with the smallest amount of ink in the second color block image is calculated to obtain a second color difference set A, where A={(C A1 , ΔE A1 ),(C A2 , ΔE A2 ),……,(C An , ΔE An )}; Perform cubic spline curve fitting on all elements in the second color difference set A to obtain a second fitting curve; Calculate the color difference between each color block in the first color block image and the color block with the smallest amount of ink in the first color block image to obtain the first color difference set B, B = {(C B1 , ΔE B1 ),(C B2 , ΔE B2 ),……,(C Bm , ΔE Bm )}. The ink volume C of each element of the first color difference set B1 、C B2 ,……,C Bm collectively referred to as the second ink volume; in addition, the color difference values ​​ΔE of all elements in the first color difference set B1 , ΔE B2 ,……,ΔE Bm Substituting into the second fitting curve, we can get the third ink volume corresponding to each color difference value: C B1 '、C B2 ', ..., C Bm ', for (C B1 、C B1 '), (C B2 、C B2 '),……,(C Bm , C Bm ') is fitted, and the obtained fitting curve is the new linearization curve of the C color channel of the second printer.

[0089] Because the new linearization curve obtained has not been processed by ink interception, it is also necessary to regularize the new linearization curve according to the first ink volume of the second printer, that is, use the first ink volume as the maximum ink volume of the linearization curve and adjust the ink volume of other curve parts accordingly to obtain the final color tracking curve.

[0090] Similarly, the color tracking curves of the M color channel, Y color channel, K color channel or mixed channel of the second printer can also be obtained. The specific method is similar to that of the C color channel and will not be repeated here.

[0091] In this embodiment of the present invention, the first printer (the target printer) only needs to print a first color patch image based on its linearization curve, and the second printer (the printer to be tracked) only needs to print a second color patch image based on its linearization curve. These two color patch images can then be used to obtain the second printer's color tracking curve, thereby tracking the first printer's color. Compared to a method that requires the first and second printers to each print a color patch image based on their linearization curves, compare the two color patch images, then obtain the second printer's actual maximum ink output (ink cutoff data), then print the color patch image again, and finally use these three color patch images to obtain the second printer's color tracking curve, this method saves the number of color patch image printings, is simpler, faster, and more efficient.

[0092] After obtaining the color tracking curve for the second printer based on the first and second color patch images, a color patch image can be printed based on this color tracking curve to verify the color tracking effect. If the user determines that the color tracking effect does not meet the preset conditions, the color tracking curve can be iteratively updated until a color tracking curve that meets the user's preset conditions is obtained. The preset conditions here can be set by the user based on actual circumstances (for example, the color difference between the color patches with the same ink volume in the color patch image after color tracking and the first color patch image must be less than a certain set value, etc.), and are not limited here.

[0093] Iteratively updating the color tracking curve until a color tracking curve that meets preset conditions is obtained includes the following specific steps:

[0094] S41: Obtaining a color tracking block diagram according to the color tracking curve; wherein the color tracking block diagram includes a plurality of color blocks with different ink amounts;

[0095] S42: adjusting the ink volume of each color block in the color tracking color block diagram according to the first color block diagram;

[0096] S43: Obtaining an updated color tracking curve according to the adjusted color tracking color block diagram;

[0097] S44: Repeat steps S41-S43 until the acquired new color tracking curve meets the preset conditions.

[0098] Specifically, the second printer prints a color tracking block diagram according to its color tracking curve. The color tracking block diagram here is similar to the first color block diagram, including a number of color blocks with different ink volumes. The number of color blocks in the color tracking block diagram can be the same as or different from the number of color blocks in the first color block diagram. In one embodiment, the number of color blocks in the color tracking block diagram is the same as that in the first color block diagram. For example, Figure 6 As shown, Figure 2aSimilar to the first color block diagram shown, the color-tracking color block diagram includes 21 color blocks with different ink amounts. The 21 color blocks with different ink amounts are arranged in order from small to large according to the ink amount, with the minimum ink amount being 0 and the maximum being 100. The ink amount interval between each color block is 5, and the ink amount of each color block is marked as 0, 5, 10, 15, ..., 100 in sequence (it is worth noting that although the ink amount marks corresponding to each color block in the color-tracking color block diagram are divided into 0, 5, 10..., 100, the actual ink output during printing is not necessarily the same as the ink amount mark, but the ink is output according to the color-tracking curve. For example, the actual ink output of each color block in the color-tracking color block diagram is 0, 4, 8, ..., 90). In another embodiment, the number of color blocks in the color-tracking color block diagram is different from that in the first color block diagram. For example, the color tracking block diagram includes 51 blocks of ink with different ink volumes, which are arranged in order from small to large ink volumes, with the smallest ink volume being 0 and the largest being 100. The ink volume interval between each block is 2, and the ink volume of each block is marked as 0, 2, 4, 8, ..., 100. In another example, Figure 7 The color tracking color block diagram includes 11 color blocks with different ink amounts. The 11 color blocks with different ink amounts are arranged in order from small to large according to the ink amount. The smallest ink amount is 0 and the largest is 100. The ink amount interval between each color block is 10, and the ink amount of each color block is marked as 0, 10, 20,..., 100 in sequence.

[0099] Comparing the first color patch image with the color tracking image reveals the specific color tracking performance of the second printer. If the user determines that the preset conditions are not met, the user can further adjust the ink volume of each color patch in the color tracking image using the first color patch image to obtain an updated color tracking curve. After obtaining the updated color tracking curve, a new color tracking image is printed and compared again. If the user still determines that the preset conditions are not met, the ink volume corresponding to each color patch in the new color tracking image can be adjusted again, and the corresponding color tracking curve is also adjusted again. In other words, the color tracking curve is continuously updated iteratively until a color tracking curve that meets the preset conditions is obtained.

[0100] Preferably, the color tracking color block diagram and the first color block diagram have the same number of color blocks, the same minimum ink volume and ink volume interval, and adjusting the ink volume of each color block in the color tracking color block diagram according to the first color block diagram includes the following steps:

[0101] S421: Obtain a color difference between the i-th color block in the first color block image and the color block with the smallest ink volume in the first color block image, and record it as a first contrast color difference value;

[0102] S422: Obtain a color difference between the i-th color block in the color tracking color block image and the color block with the smallest ink volume in the color tracking color block image, and record it as a second contrast color difference value;

[0103] S423: adjusting the ink volume of the i-th color block in the color tracking color block image according to the first contrast color difference value and the second contrast color difference value;

[0104] S424: repeating steps S422-S423 until the difference between the first contrast color difference value and the second contrast color difference value is within a preset difference range;

[0105] Wherein, i=1, 2, ..., N, where N is the total number of color blocks in the first color block image or the color tracking color block image.

[0106] Specifically, the color difference between a certain color block in the first color block image and the color block with the smallest amount of ink in the image is recorded as the first contrast color difference value, and the color difference between the color block with the same amount of ink as the certain color block in the color tracking image and the color block with the smallest amount of ink in the color tracking image is recorded as the second contrast color difference value. If the difference between the first contrast color difference value and the second contrast color difference value is very small, the color tracking effect of the color block is good. For example, see Figure 2a and Figure 6 , use a photometer to obtain the color values ​​(Lab values ​​or CMYK values) of the 1st color block and the 21st color block in the first color block image, calculate the color difference between the two color blocks, and record it as the first contrast color difference value; similarly, use a photometer to obtain the color values ​​(Lab values ​​or CMYK values) of the 1st color block and the 21st color block in the color tracking color block image, calculate the color difference between the two color blocks, and record it as the second contrast color difference value; compare the first contrast color difference value and the second contrast color difference value. If the first contrast color value is the same as the second contrast color difference value, then it means that the color tracking of the 21st color block is correct. The effect is very perfect, but in actual conditions, there will be differences between the first contrast color difference value and the second contrast color difference value. If the difference between the two is small, it means that the color tracking effect is good. If the difference between the two is large, it means that the color tracking effect is poor. At this time, the amount of ink of the 21st color block in the color tracking block diagram can be adjusted according to the first contrast color difference value, so that the difference between the final second contrast color difference value and the first contrast color difference value is within the preset difference range (because it is difficult to achieve a difference of 0 between the two, so as long as it is within the preset difference range, it is considered that the color tracking effect meets the requirements). The preset difference range here can be determined according to actual conditions and is not limited here. For example, the preset difference range is (-0.2 ~ 0.2). As long as the difference between the first contrast color difference value and the second contrast color difference value is within this range, the amount of ink of the 21st color block will no longer be adjusted.

[0107] Similarly, the ink volume of the other color blocks in the color tracking patch image is adjusted so that the difference between the second contrast color difference value of each color block and the first contrast color difference value of the color block with the same ink volume in the first color block image is within a preset difference range. As the ink volume of each color block in the color tracking patch image is adjusted, the color tracking curve is also adjusted accordingly. Ultimately, after the ink volume adjustment of each color block is completed, a new color tracking curve is obtained. This is an optimized color tracking curve with better color tracking performance. If the user determines that the current color tracking curve still does not meet their requirements, they can reprint the color tracking patch image based on this curve and adjust the ink volume of each color block or any color block in the image again to obtain a color tracking curve that better meets their requirements.

[0108] The following example illustrates how to adjust the ink volume of a color block in a color tracking image based on the first contrast color difference value and the second contrast color difference value:

[0109] Example 1: Figure 2a The first color block shown and Figure 6 Taking the 21st color block in the color tracking image as an example, the color difference between the 21st color block in the first color block image and the 1st color block in the image is obtained, i.e., the first contrast color difference value. The color difference between the 21st color block in the color tracking image and the 1st color block in the image is calculated, i.e., the second contrast color difference value. The difference between the first contrast color difference value and the second contrast color difference value is calculated. If the second contrast color difference value is greater or less than the first contrast color difference value, it indicates that the ink volume of the 21st color block in the color tracking image is too high or too low, and adjustment is required. In this case, the ink volume of the 21st color block can be gradually reduced or increased according to the ink volume interval of 5 in the color block image. Taking the second contrast color difference value being greater than the first contrast color difference value as an example, if the actual ink volume corresponding to the 21st color block is 90 (the corresponding ink volume is marked as 100 in the color tracking color block diagram, but its actual maximum ink output is 90), then the actual ink volume of the 21st color block is reduced to 85, and the second contrast color difference value obtained when the actual ink volume of the 21st color block is 85 is obtained; if the second contrast color difference value obtained when the actual ink volume is 85 is smaller than the first contrast color difference value, it means that the second contrast color difference value obtained when the actual ink volume of the 21st color block is a value between 85 and 90 is consistent with or close to the same as the first contrast color difference value; if the second contrast color difference value obtained when the actual ink volume is 85 is still greater than the first contrast color difference value, continue to reduce the ink volume, such as reducing it to 80. If the second contrast color difference obtained at this time is smaller than the first contrast color difference value, then start calculating the adjusted ink volume of the 21st color block.

[0110] Assuming that when the actual ink volume of the 21st color block is 85, the corresponding second contrast color difference value is less than the first contrast color difference value, then the adjusted ink volume M21 of the 21st color block can be calculated by the following method:

[0111] M21=(85+90) / 2=87.5, which is rounded to 88. 88 is used as the adjusted ink volume of the 21st color block.

[0112] In another embodiment, the ink amount M21 of the 21st color block may also be calculated by the following method:

[0113]

[0114] Wherein, d1 is the difference between the second contrast color difference value and the first contrast color difference value when the actual ink volume of the 21st color block is 85, and d2 is the difference between the second contrast color difference value and the first contrast color difference value when the actual ink volume of the 21st color block is 90.

[0115] In other embodiments, the adjusted ink volume of the 21st color block may be obtained by other methods, such as setting the value based on actual experience.

[0116] After obtaining the adjusted ink volume for the 21st color block in the color tracking image using the above method, the corresponding second contrast color difference value after the adjusted ink volume is further calculated. If the difference between the second contrast color difference value and the first contrast color difference value is within the preset difference range, the ink volume adjustment for the 21st color block is complete. If the difference is not within the preset difference range, the ink volume adjustment is continued, using ink volume M21 as the starting ink volume value, and the ink volume adjustment interval is set according to the actual situation. For example, if the ink volume adjustment interval is set to 1, the ink volume M21 is increased or decreased by 1 ink volume, and the corresponding second contrast color difference value is calculated. The ink volume of the 21st color block is further adjusted until the second contrast color difference value and the first contrast color difference value are within the preset difference range.

[0117] Then, the ink volume values ​​of other color blocks are adjusted similarly, and the ink volume of each color block in the color tracking color block diagram is adjusted until the difference between the corresponding second contrast color difference value and the first contrast color difference value of each color block is within the preset difference range. The color tracking curve is continuously adjusted and updated accordingly, and finally a color tracking curve that meets user requirements is obtained.

[0118] In other embodiments, when the number of color blocks in the color tracking block diagram and the first color block diagram is different, adjusting the amount of ink in each color block in the color tracking block diagram includes:

[0119] S4201: Obtain color difference values ​​between each color block in the first color block image and the color block with the smallest ink volume in the first color block image, and record them as first contrast color difference values;

[0120] S4202: Obtaining the color difference between each color block in the color tracking color block image and the color block with the smallest ink volume in the color tracking color block image, recording the difference as a second contrast color difference value; obtaining a set of the ink volume of each color block in the color tracking color block image and its corresponding second contrast color difference value, recording the set as a second contrast color difference value set;

[0121] S4203: Obtain a third fitting curve according to the second contrast color difference value set;

[0122] S4204: adjusting the ink volume of each color block in the color tracking color block image according to the first contrast color difference value and the third fitting curve;

[0123] S4205: Repeat steps S4202-S4204 until the difference between the second contrast color difference value of each color block in the color tracking color block image and the first contrast color difference value of the color block with the same ink volume in the first color block image is within a preset difference range.

[0124] Assume that the number of color blocks in the first color block image is m, the number of color blocks in the color tracking color block image is k, obtain the first contrast color difference value between each color block in the first color block image and the color block with the smallest ink volume in the first color block image; obtain the second contrast color difference value of each color block in the color tracking color block image, and obtain the second contrast color difference set D = {(C D1 , ΔE D1 ),(C D2 , ΔE D2 ),……,(C Dk , ΔE Dk )}, where C D1 is the ink volume of the first color block in the color tracking diagram, ΔE D1 C is the second contrast color difference value of the first color block in the color tracking image, D2 is the ink volume of the second color block in the color tracking diagram, ΔE D2 is the second contrast color difference value of the second color block in the color tracking color block image, ..., C Dk is the ink volume corresponding to the kth color block in the color tracking diagram, ΔE Dk is the second contrast color difference value of the kth color block in the color tracking image. Fit the elements in the second contrast color difference set to obtain a third fitting curve. Based on the third fitting curve, obtain the second contrast color difference values ​​of the color blocks with the same ink volume as each color block in the first color block image. Then, use the first and second contrast color difference values ​​of each color block with the same ink volume in the first color block image and the color tracking image to adjust the ink volume.

[0125] For example, the first color block diagram is as follows Figure 2a As shown, the color block diagram is as follows Figure 7The figure includes 11 color blocks with different ink volumes. The 11 color blocks with different ink volumes are arranged in order from small to large ink volumes, with the minimum ink volume being 0 and the maximum being 100. The ink volume interval between each color block is 10, and the ink volume of each color block is marked as 0, 10, 20, ..., 100 in sequence. The second contrast color difference value of each color block in the color tracking color block image is obtained, and the second contrast color difference value when the ink volume of the color block is 0, 10, 20, ..., 100 is obtained. In one example, the second contrast color difference set D = {(0, ΔE D1 ),(10,ΔE D2 ),……,(20,ΔE Dk )}, each element in the second contrast color difference set D is fitted to obtain a third fitting curve. According to the third fitting curve, the second contrast color difference values ​​when the color block ink volume is 5, 15, 25, ..., 95 can be obtained, thereby obtaining the second contrast color difference values ​​when the color block ink volume is 0, 5, 10, 25, ..., 100. Similarly, these second contrast color difference values ​​and the first contrast color difference values ​​when the color block ink volume in the first color block image is 0, 5, 10, 25, ..., 100 are used to adjust the color block ink volume in the color tracking color block image, so that the difference between the second contrast color difference value of each color block in the color tracking color block image and the first contrast color difference value of the color block with the same ink volume in the first color block image is within a preset difference range. The method for adjusting the color block ink volume is similar to that of the above example 1 and will not be repeated here.

[0126] In another example, the first contrast color difference value when the ink volume of the color block in the first color block image is 0, 10, 20, ..., 100 can be directly used to adjust the ink volume of each color block (0, 10, 20, ..., 100) in the tracking color block image, so that the difference between the second contrast color difference value of each color block in the tracking color block image and the first contrast color difference value of the color block with the same ink volume in the first color block image is within the preset difference range.

[0127] By optimizing the color tracking curve through the above-mentioned iterative method, the requirements of different users for different color tracking effects can be met, helping users obtain the color tracking curve that satisfies them, thereby improving the user experience and ultimately printing image products that satisfy the users.

[0128] In one embodiment, after obtaining the color tracking curve of the second printer, the method further includes:

[0129] Acquire a third color block diagram according to the color tracking curve; wherein the third color block diagram includes a plurality of color blocks with different ink amounts;

[0130] Obtain a color difference value between a color block with the same ink volume in the third color block image and the first color block image, and record it as an evaluation color difference value;

[0131] When the evaluated color difference value is not within the preset color difference range, second external input information is obtained and the color tracking curve is adjusted according to the second external input information.

[0132] Specifically, the second printer prints a color patch diagram according to the color tracking curve to obtain a third color patch diagram, wherein the third color patch diagram includes several color patches with different ink amounts; the color patches in the third color patch diagram are compared with the color patches with the same ink amount in the first color patch diagram, and the color patch comparison can be performed by using a photometer to obtain the actual Lab value or CMYK value of a color patch in the third color patch diagram, and then comparing it with the Lab value or CMYK value of the color patch with the same ink amount in the first color patch diagram to obtain a color difference value (recorded as an evaluation color difference value); or the photometer is used to obtain the actual Lab value or CMYK value of all color patches in the third color patch diagram, and then comparing it with the Lab value or CMYK value of the color patch with the same ink amount in the first color patch diagram to obtain several evaluation color difference values. When any evaluation color difference value is not within a preset difference range (the preset color difference range can be set by the user according to actual conditions, or can be automatically set by the second printer, which is not limited here), it is considered that the color tracking curve still needs to be optimized. At this time, the second external input information (such as user input) can be used. Manual adjustment is performed, or the first ink amount value is re-modified to generate a new color tracking curve, thereby obtaining a better color tracking effect that is closer to the user's expectations.

[0133] In summary, the rapid color tracking method for inkjet printers provided by the embodiments of the present invention obtains a first color patch image from a first printer and a second color patch image from a second printer, then directly uses the first and second color patch images to derive a color tracking curve for the second printer. Compared to manual, repetitive debugging techniques to obtain a color tracking curve for the second printer, the present method is simple, rapid, and highly efficient, achieving excellent color tracking results. Furthermore, the color tracking curve can be iteratively updated based on user-defined preset conditions to obtain a color tracking curve that meets the user's requirements, resulting in satisfactory printing results and an improved user experience.

[0134] Since the method provided by the embodiment of the present invention only requires the first printer to print the color block diagram once and the second printer to print the color block diagram once, a better color tracking curve can be obtained by using the two color block diagrams. Compared with the method of using the first printer to print the color block diagram once, the second printer to print the color block diagram once, and then obtaining the first ink volume of the second printer and then printing the third color block diagram, and finally obtaining the color tracking curve of the second printer by using the first color block diagram and the third color block diagram, the method is simpler and faster, saves the number of prints, and is more efficient.

[0135] Example 2

[0136] See also Figure 8The embodiment of the present invention provides a fast color tracking device 200 for an inkjet printer, the device 200 comprising:

[0137] A first color patch image acquisition module 201 is configured to acquire a first color patch image according to a linearization curve of a first printer, wherein the first color patch image includes a plurality of color patches with different ink amounts;

[0138] A second color patch image acquisition module 202 is configured to acquire a second color patch image according to a linearization curve of a second printer, wherein the second color patch image includes a plurality of color patches with different ink amounts;

[0139] The color tracking curve acquisition module 203 is configured to acquire a color tracking curve of the second printer according to the first color block diagram and the second color block diagram.

[0140] Furthermore, the color tracking curve acquisition module 203 includes:

[0141] a first ink quantity obtaining unit, configured to obtain a first ink quantity of the second printer according to the first color block image and the second color block image;

[0142] a new linearization curve acquiring unit, configured to acquire a new linearization curve for the second printer according to the first color block diagram and the second color block diagram;

[0143] The color tracking curve acquiring unit is configured to acquire the color tracking curve by performing regularization processing on the new linearization curve according to the first ink amount.

[0144] Furthermore, the first ink amount obtaining unit includes:

[0145] a first color value acquiring unit, configured to acquire a color value of a color block with the largest amount of ink in the first color block image, recorded as a first color value;

[0146] a second color value set acquisition unit, configured to respectively acquire the color value of each color block in the second color block image, and acquire a set of ink amounts of each color block in the second color block image and their corresponding color values, recorded as a second color value set;

[0147] The first maximum ink amount obtaining unit is configured to obtain a first maximum ink amount corresponding to the first color value according to the second color value set, where the first maximum ink amount is the first ink amount.

[0148] Furthermore, the first maximum ink amount obtaining unit includes:

[0149] an interpolation unit, configured to interpolate the second color value set using an interpolation method to obtain the first maximum ink amount corresponding to the first color value;

[0150] or:

[0151] a fitting unit, configured to fit the elements in the second color value set to obtain a first fitting curve;

[0152] A substitution unit is configured to substitute the first color value into the first fitting curve to obtain the first maximum ink volume corresponding to the first color value.

[0153] Furthermore, the new linearization curve acquisition unit includes:

[0154] a first color difference set acquisition unit, configured to respectively acquire color difference values ​​between each color block in the first color block image and the color block with the smallest ink volume in the first color block image, and acquire a set of ink volumes of each color block in the first color block image and their corresponding color difference values, recorded as a first color difference set;

[0155] a second color difference set acquisition unit, configured to respectively acquire color difference values ​​between each color block in the second color block image and the color block with the smallest ink volume in the second color block image, and acquire a set of ink volumes of each color block in the second color block image and their corresponding color difference values, recorded as a second color difference set;

[0156] A curve acquisition unit is configured to acquire a new linearization curve for the second printer according to the first color difference set and the second color difference set.

[0157] Furthermore, the curve acquisition unit includes:

[0158] A second fitting unit, configured to fit the elements in the second color difference set to obtain a second fitting curve;

[0159] a second ink volume obtaining unit, configured to obtain ink volumes corresponding to the color difference values ​​of all elements in the first color difference set in the second fitting curve, recorded as second ink volumes;

[0160] A third ink amount obtaining unit is configured to obtain the ink amount of the color blocks in all elements in the second color difference set, which is recorded as a third ink amount;

[0161] The third fitting unit is configured to fit the second ink amount and the third ink amount to obtain a new linearization curve of the second printer.

[0162] Furthermore, the apparatus 200 further includes:

[0163] The iterative module is used to iteratively update the color tracking curve until a color tracking curve that meets the preset adjustment is obtained.

[0164] In summary, the rapid color tracking device for inkjet printers provided by the embodiments of the present invention obtains a first color patch image from a first printer and a second color patch image from a second printer, then directly uses the first and second color patch images to derive a color tracking curve for the second printer. Compared to manual, repetitive debugging techniques to obtain a color tracking curve for the second printer, the present method is simple, rapid, and highly efficient, achieving excellent color tracking results. Furthermore, the color tracking curve can be iteratively updated based on user-defined preset conditions to obtain a color tracking curve that meets the user's requirements, thereby achieving satisfactory printing results and improving the user experience.

[0165] Since the method provided by the embodiment of the present invention only requires the first printer to print the color block diagram once and the second printer to print the color block diagram once, a better color tracking curve can be obtained by using the two color block diagrams. Compared with the method of using the first printer to print the color block diagram once, the second printer to print the color block diagram once, and then obtaining the first ink volume of the second printer and then printing the third color block diagram, and finally obtaining the color tracking curve of the second printer by using the first color block diagram and the third color block diagram, the method is simpler and faster, saves the number of prints, and is more efficient.

[0166] Example 3

[0167] In addition, the inkjet printer fast color tracking method according to the embodiment of the present invention can be implemented by an inkjet printer fast color tracking device. Figure 9 A schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a fast color tracking device for an inkjet printer provided by an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0168] The inkjet printer fast color tracking device may include a processor 301 and a memory 302 storing computer program instructions.

[0169] Specifically, the processor 301 may include a central processing unit (CPU), or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or may be configured to implement one or more integrated circuits of the embodiment of the present invention.

[0170] Memory 302 may include a large capacity memory for data or instructions. By way of example and not limitation, memory 302 may include a hard disk drive (HDD), a floppy disk drive, a flash memory, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a magnetic tape, or a universal serial bus (USB) drive, or a combination of two or more of these. Where appropriate, memory 302 may include removable or non-removable (or fixed) media. Where appropriate, memory 302 may be inside or outside the data processing device. In a specific embodiment, memory 302 is a non-volatile solid-state memory. In a specific embodiment, memory 302 includes a read-only memory (ROM). Where appropriate, the ROM may be a mask-programmed ROM, a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), an electrically rewritable ROM (EAROM), or a flash memory, or a combination of two or more of these.

[0171] The processor 301 reads and executes computer program instructions stored in the memory 302 to implement any one of the inkjet printer fast color tracking methods in the above embodiments.

[0172] In one example, the inkjet printer fast color tracking device may further include a communication interface 303 and a bus 310. As shown in FIG9, the processor 301, the memory 302, and the communication interface 303 are connected via the bus 310 and communicate with each other.

[0173] The communication interface 303 is mainly used to implement communication between various modules, devices, units and / or equipment in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0174] Bus 310 comprises hardware, software or both, and the parts of inkjet printer fast pursuit color equipment are coupled together.For example, and not limitation, bus 310 may comprise accelerated graphics port (AGP) or other graphics buses, enhanced industrial standard architecture (EISA) bus, front side bus (FSB), hypertransport (HT) interconnection, industrial standard architecture (ISA) bus, infinite bandwidth interconnection, low pin count (LPC) bus, memory bus, micro channel architecture (MCA) bus, peripheral component interconnection (PCI) bus, PCI-Express (PCI-X) bus, serial advanced technology attachment (SATA) bus, video electronics standard association local (VLB) bus or other suitable bus or two or more of these combinations.In suitable cases, bus 310 may comprise one or more buses.Although the embodiment of the present invention describes and shows specific bus, the present invention considers any suitable bus or interconnection.

[0175] Example 4

[0176] In addition, in conjunction with the inkjet printer fast color tracking method described in the above embodiments, embodiments of the present invention may provide a computer-readable storage medium for implementation. The computer-readable storage medium stores computer program instructions; when executed by processor 301, the computer program instructions implement any of the inkjet printer fast color tracking methods described in the above embodiments.

[0177] In summary, the embodiments of the present invention provide a method, apparatus, device, and storage medium for rapid color tracking in inkjet printers. By obtaining a first color patch image from a first printer and a second color patch image from a second printer, the method directly uses the first and second color patch images to derive a color tracking curve for the second printer. Compared to manual, repetitive debugging techniques to obtain a color tracking curve for the second printer, the method of the present invention is simple, rapid, and highly efficient, achieving excellent color tracking results. Furthermore, the color tracking curve can be iteratively updated based on user-defined preset conditions to obtain a color tracking curve that meets the user's requirements, thereby achieving satisfactory printing results and improving the user experience.

[0178] Since the method provided by the embodiment of the present invention only requires the first printer to print the color block diagram once and the second printer to print the color block diagram once, a better color tracking curve can be obtained by using the two color block diagrams. Compared with the method of using the first printer to print the color block diagram once, the second printer to print the color block diagram once, and then obtaining the first ink volume of the second printer and then printing the third color block diagram, and finally obtaining the color tracking curve of the second printer by using the first color block diagram and the third color block diagram, the method is simpler and faster, saves the number of prints, and is more efficient.

[0179] It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific configurations and processes described above and illustrated in the figures. For the sake of brevity, a detailed description of known methods is omitted. In the above embodiments, several specific steps are described and illustrated as examples. However, the method of the present invention is not limited to the specific steps described and illustrated. Those skilled in the art may make various changes, modifications, and additions, or change the order of the steps after understanding the spirit of the present invention.

[0180] The functional blocks shown in the above-described block diagram can be implemented as hardware, software, firmware or a combination thereof. When implemented in hardware, it can be, for example, an electronic circuit, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), appropriate firmware, a plug-in unit, a function card or the like. When implemented in software, the elements of the present invention are programs or code segments that are used to perform the required tasks. The program or code segment can be stored in a machine-readable medium, or transmitted on a transmission medium or a communication link by a data signal carried in a carrier wave. "Machine-readable medium" can include any medium capable of storing or transmitting information. Examples of machine-readable media include electronic circuits, semiconductor memory devices, ROMs, flash memories, erasable ROMs (EROMs), floppy disks, CD-ROMs, optical disks, hard disks, optical fiber media, radio frequency (RF) links, etc. The code segment can be downloaded via a computer network such as the Internet, an intranet, etc.

[0181] It should also be noted that the exemplary embodiments described herein describe methods or systems based on a series of steps or devices. However, the present invention is not limited to the order of the steps described above. In other words, the steps may be performed in the order described in the embodiments, or in a different order, or several steps may be performed simultaneously.

[0182] The above description is only a specific embodiment of the present invention. Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, modules and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments, and will not be repeated here. It should be understood that the protection scope of the present invention is not limited to this. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of various equivalent modifications or replacements within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention, and these modifications or replacements should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for fast color tracking of an inkjet printer, characterized in that: The method comprises: Obtaining a first color patch image according to a linearization curve of the first printer, wherein the first color patch image includes a plurality of color patches with different ink amounts; Obtaining a second color patch image according to a linearization curve of a second printer, wherein the second color patch image includes a plurality of color patches with different ink amounts; Obtaining a color tracking curve of the second printer according to the first color block diagram and the second color block diagram; The acquiring of the color tracking curve of the second printer according to the first color block diagram and the second color block diagram includes: obtaining a first ink amount of the second printer according to the first color block image and the second color block image; Acquire a new linearization curve for the second printer according to the first color block diagram and the second color block diagram; Regularization processing is performed on the new linearization curve according to the first ink amount to obtain the color tracking curve.

2. The method for fast color tracking of an inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein: The acquiring the first ink amount of the second printer according to the first color block diagram and the second color block diagram includes: Obtain the color value of the color block with the largest amount of ink in the first color block image, and record it as the first color value; respectively obtain the color value of each color block in the second color block image, and obtain a set of the ink amount of each color block in the second color block image and its corresponding color value, which is recorded as a second color value set; A first maximum ink amount corresponding to the first color value is acquired according to the second color value set, where the first maximum ink amount is the first ink amount.

3. The method for fast color tracking of an inkjet printer according to claim 2, wherein: The acquiring, according to the second color value set, a first maximum ink volume corresponding to the first color value comprises: interpolating the second color value set using an interpolation method to obtain the first maximum ink amount corresponding to the first color value, or: Fitting the elements in the second color value set to obtain a first fitting curve; Substitute the first color value into the first fitting curve to obtain the first maximum ink volume corresponding to the first color value.

4. The method for fast color tracking of an inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein: The acquiring of a new linearization curve for the second printer according to the first color block diagram and the second color block diagram includes: Obtaining the color difference between each color block in the first color block image and the color block with the smallest ink volume in the first color block image, respectively, and obtaining a set of the ink volume of each color block in the first color block image and its corresponding color difference value, recorded as a first color difference set; Obtaining the color difference between each color block in the second color block image and the color block with the smallest ink volume in the second color block image, respectively, and obtaining a set of the ink volume of each color block in the second color block image and its corresponding color difference value, recorded as a second color difference set; A new linearization curve for the second printer is obtained according to the first color difference set and the second color difference set.

5. The method for fast color tracking of an inkjet printer according to claim 4, wherein: The acquiring a new linearization curve for the second printer according to the first color difference set and the second color difference set comprises: Fitting the elements in the second color difference set to obtain a second fitting curve; Obtaining the ink volume corresponding to the color difference values ​​of all elements in the first color difference set in the second fitting curve, recorded as a second ink volume; Obtaining the ink amount of the color blocks in all elements in the second color difference set, recorded as the third ink amount; The second ink amount and the third ink amount are fitted to obtain a new linearization curve of the second printer.

6. The method for fast color tracking of an inkjet printer according to claim 1, wherein: The method further comprises: The color tracking curve is iteratively updated until a color tracking curve that meets the preset adjustment is obtained.

7. A fast color tracking device for an inkjet printer, characterized in that: The device comprises: A first color patch image acquisition module, configured to acquire a first color patch image according to a linearization curve of the first printer, wherein the first color patch image includes a plurality of color patches with different ink amounts; A second color patch image acquisition module, configured to acquire a second color patch image according to a linearization curve of a second printer, wherein the second color patch image includes a plurality of color patches with different ink amounts; A color tracking curve acquisition module is configured to acquire a color tracking curve of the second printer based on the first color block diagram and the second color block diagram. The acquiring of the color tracking curve of the second printer based on the first color block diagram and the second color block diagram includes: obtaining a first ink amount of the second printer according to the first color block image and the second color block image; Acquire a new linearization curve for the second printer according to the first color block diagram and the second color block diagram; Regularization processing is performed on the new linearization curve according to the first ink amount to obtain the color tracking curve.

8. A rapid color tracking device for an inkjet printer, characterized in that: include: At least one processor, at least one memory, and computer program instructions stored in the memory, which implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 when the computer program instructions are executed by the processor.

9. A storage medium having computer program instructions stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program instructions are executed by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is implemented.

Images