Design appeal determination device, printing system, and program

Abstract

To make it possible to check design appeal for image data to be printed.SOLUTION: A printing machine (a design appeal determination device) calculates a composition ratio of color outside a reference color region constituting image data (step S8). For example, the printing machine calculates the composition ratio of color outside the reference color region by obtaining a value obtained by dividing the total number of pixels of the color outside the reference color region in the image data by the total number of pixels in the image data. The printing machine determines design appeal based on the composition ratio of color outside of the reference color region (step S9). The printing machine causes a display unit of a PC to display determination results of the design appeal (steps S10 and S11).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a design appeal determination device, a printing system, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Printers that use high-saturation toner (high-saturation toner machines) can print highly saturated colors that cannot be reproduced by printers that use regular toner (regular toner machines). However, clients who order printing from a printing company usually do not have access to printer profiles. For this reason, it is recommended that RGB data be submitted when printing with high-saturation toner machines.

[0003] Each printer has a different color gamut that it can reproduce, so a technique has been disclosed for selecting a destination printer from among multiple printers depending on the colors used in the original image (see Patent Document 1).

[0004] In addition, a technology has been proposed that determines whether each of multiple output profiles can reproduce a predetermined color value (specified color), and displays setting information (model, paper type, etc.) related to the output profile that can reproduce the specified color (see Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-152003 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-112968 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, when printing with high-saturation toner printers, there are often images that do not fully utilize the colors in areas that cannot be printed with normal toner printers. In such images, the advantages of high-saturation toner printers cannot be fully utilized. For this reason, printing companies recommend that clients check samples before printing. In contrast, it would be useful to be able to check the design appeal from the perspective of whether the image effectively utilizes the printer's output color gamut before actually printing a sample.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems in the conventional technology, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to confirm the design appeal of image data to be printed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problem, the invention described in claim 1 is a design appeal judgment device that calculates the composition ratio of colors outside a reference color gamut that make up image data, judges design appeal based on the composition ratio, and displays the judgment result of design appeal on a display unit.

[0009] The invention described in claim 2 is the design appeal judgment device described in claim 1, wherein the control unit calculates the reference color gamut from an ICC profile established by a printing certification organization or an ICC profile created using any ICC profile creation software based on the colorimetric results of a color reproduction characteristic evaluation chart printed by any printing machine using any printing color material and any printing substrate, measured using any colorimetric device.

[0010] The invention described in claim 3 is a design appeal judgment device described in claim 1, in which the control unit calculates the composition ratio by dividing the total number of pixels of colors outside the reference color gamut in the image data by the total number of pixels in the image data.

[0011] The invention described in claim 4 is a design appeal judgment device described in claim 1, wherein the control unit calculates the composition ratio in each specific color area by dividing the total number of pixels of colors outside the reference color gamut contained in the specific color area in the image data by the total number of pixels contained in the specific color area in the image data, and judges the design appeal based on the composition ratio calculated for each specific color area.

[0012] The invention described in claim 5 is a printing system including the design appeal determination device described in any one of claims 1 to 4.

[0013] The invention described in claim 6 is the printing system described in claim 5, wherein the control unit predicts the print colors to be printed by a specified printing machine based on the image data from the color space of the image data and the output profile of a specified printing machine that can reproduce colors in an area wider than the reference color gamut, and calculates the proportion of colors outside the reference color gamut in the predicted print colors as the composition proportion.

[0014] The invention described in claim 7 is the printing system described in claim 6, wherein the control unit displays at least one of the reference color gamut, the output color gamut of the specified printing machine, information about representative colors in the image data, and information about colors in the image data outside the reference color gamut on the display unit.

[0015] The invention described in claim 8 is the printing system described in claim 6, wherein when the control unit displays a print preview image showing the print image to be printed by the specified printing machine based on the image data on the display unit, the control unit displays the image in a way that makes areas where colors outside the reference color gamut are used stand out.

[0016] The invention described in claim 9 is a program for enabling a computer to perform the following functions: calculate the composition ratio of colors outside the reference color gamut that make up image data; determine the design appeal based on the composition ratio; and display the result of the design appeal judgment on a display unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0017] According to the present invention, it is possible to check the design appeal of image data to be printed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of a printing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 10 is a flowchart showing a first design appeal determination process executed in the first embodiment. [Figure 3] 10 is an example of a message table. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing a second design appeal determination process executed in the second embodiment. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart showing a second design appeal determination process executed in the second embodiment. [Figure 6] 10 is an example of an advice table. [Figure 7] 10 is an example of an advice table. [Figure 8] 10 is an example of a design appeal judgment result screen. [Figure 9] 10 is an example of a design appeal judgment result screen. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a two-dimensional color gamut display area. [Figure 11] FIG. 1 is an enlarged view of a three-dimensional color gamut display area. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Advantages and features provided by the embodiments will be understood from the following detailed description and drawings. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below or the examples shown in the drawings.

[0020] [First embodiment] First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a printing system 100 according to a first embodiment. The printing system 100 includes a personal computer (PC) 10 and a printing machine 20 serving as a design appeal determination device. The PC 10 and the printing machine 20 are connected via a communication network NT. The communication network NT may be Wi-Fi (registered trademark), Ethernet (registered trademark), or the like.

[0021] Applications such as an image creation application, a web browser, and a printer driver are installed on the PC 10. A smartphone, tablet terminal, or the like may be used instead of the PC 10. The PC 10 accepts settings for a print job to be executed by the printing press 20 based on user operations, and outputs print data to the printing press 20. On the PC 10, the user can check information stored in the memory unit 24 of the printing press 20, which is connected via the communications network NT.

[0022] The printer 20 performs a rasterization process on the print data to generate bitmap data (image data). The printer 20 prints an image on a print substrate using print color materials based on the image data. Examples of print substrates include paper (plain paper, cardboard, coated paper, etc.) and film. Examples of print color materials include toner and ink. The printer 20 may be a multifunction peripheral (MFP) that has a copy function, a scanner function, a facsimile function, etc. in addition to a printing function.

[0023] , The PC 10 includes a control unit 11, a display unit 12, an operation unit 13, a storage unit 14, a communication unit 15, and the like. The control unit 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The CPU reads out various programs stored in the storage unit 14, loads them into the RAM, and performs various processes in cooperation with the programs.

[0024] The display unit 12 includes a monitor such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), etc. The display unit 12 displays various screens in accordance with instructions of a display signal input from the control unit 11. The operation unit 13 includes a keyboard, a mouse, etc. The keyboard includes cursor keys, character input keys, various function keys, etc. The operation unit 13 outputs operation signals input by key operations on the keyboard or mouse operations to the control unit 11.

[0025] The storage unit 14 is a storage device configured with an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), a non-volatile semiconductor memory, etc. For example, the storage unit 14 stores various programs such as a printer driver, and parameters and data required to execute the various programs.

[0026] The communication unit 15 transmits and receives data to and from external devices such as a printing machine 20 connected via a communication network NT.

[0027] The control unit 11, using the printer driver functions, performs various print settings in response to user operations and outputs print data to the printing machine 20 via the communication unit 15. The print data includes bitmap images, coded images, vector images, etc. The print data is also expressed using color information such as RGB values, CMYK values, and spot colors.

[0028] The printing machine 20 includes a control unit 21, a display unit 22, an operation unit 23, a storage unit 24, a communication unit 25, a printing unit 26, and the like. The control unit 21 includes a CPU, a RAM, etc. The CPU reads out various programs stored in the storage unit 24, loads them into the RAM, and performs various processes in cooperation with the programs.

[0029] The display unit 22 is configured by an LCD. The display unit 22 displays various screens in accordance with instructions of a display signal input from the control unit 21. The operation unit 23 includes various operation buttons and a touch screen that is integrally configured with the display unit 22. The operation unit 23 outputs operation signals based on user operations to the control unit 21. The various operation buttons include number buttons, a start button, etc.

[0030] The storage unit 24 is a storage device configured by an HDD, an SSD, a non-volatile semiconductor memory, etc. For example, the storage unit 24 stores various programs, and parameters and data required to execute the various programs.

[0031] The communication unit 25 transmits and receives data to and from external devices such as the PC 10 connected via the communication network NT.

[0032] The printing unit 26 prints an image on a printing substrate using a printing color material. For example, the printing unit 26 forms a toner image based on image data on a photoreceptor and transfers the toner image to a transfer belt. The printing unit 26 then transfers the toner image on the transfer belt to the printing substrate and fixes the image to the printing substrate by thermocompression bonding.

[0033] The control unit 21 receives print data from the PC 10 via the communication unit 25. The control unit 21 performs rasterization processing on the print data to generate image data. The control unit 21 performs rendering to a resolution that can be printed by the printing unit 26 to generate a raster image having CMYK color information. The control unit 21 acquires print settings related to the print job from the print data. The control unit 21 causes the printing unit 26 to perform printing in accordance with the print settings and image data. The control unit 21 selects optimal parameters based on the print settings and applies correction data.

[0034] The control unit 21 calculates the reference color gamut from an ICC (International Color Consortium) profile specified in the print settings. Alternatively, the control unit 21 may calculate the reference color gamut from an ICC profile embedded in the image data.

[0035] The reference color gamut is the color gamut of the reference color. The reference color is characteristic information that associates the combined values of multiple CMYK colorants with the color values of multiple uniform color spaces obtained by measurement. The reference color can be selected arbitrarily by the user. A uniform color space is a color space in which the distance between two points on the color space coordinates corresponds to the perceived color difference.

[0036] An ICC profile is a file that describes how a device reproduces colors. It describes the two-way correspondence between device-dependent CMYK values and device-independent uniform color space values, and also describes which CMYK values a device can use to reproduce a color value in device-independent uniform color space.

[0037] Below are examples of ICC profiles that are used as standard colors in the printing industry. JapanColor2001Coated.icc(Japan) JapanColor2011Coated.icc(Japan) ISOcoated_v2_eci.icc (Europe) PSOcoated_v3.icc (Europe) GRACoL2006_Coated1v2.icc (North America) GRACoL2013_CRPC6.icc (North America) The ICC profiles listed here are those established by print certification organizations.

[0038] Standard colors are industry-standard colors used for print certification in the printing industry, primarily for paper media such as publications, business cards, and labels. Industry-standard colors are characteristic information that associates the combination values of multiple CMYK colorants with the color values of multiple uniform color spaces. To obtain this characteristic information, a stable printing press is first used to print multiple colors created by increasing or decreasing the amount of CMYK colorants, including colorants with a relatively stable color, onto paper of a relatively stable quality. The multiple colors printed on the paper are then measured to determine the color values that humans perceive as the colors. By repeating printing and color measurement multiple times in this manner, industry-standard characteristic information is obtained that represents the correspondence between CMYK and the printed color.

[0039] When a standard color gamut is used as the reference color gamut, the control unit 21 calculates the reference color gamut from an ICC profile determined by a printing certification organization.

[0040] The control unit 21 may calculate the reference color gamut from an ICC profile (custom profile) customized by the user. When creating a custom profile, first, a color reproduction characteristic evaluation chart is printed using any printing machine, any printing color material, and any printing substrate. The color reproduction characteristic evaluation chart is a chart for evaluating the color reproduction characteristics of the printing machine. The color reproduction characteristic evaluation chart includes multiple patch images created by assigning CMYK values corresponding to the color materials of the printing machine. Next, the color reproduction characteristic evaluation chart is measured using any colorimetric device. Then, an ICC profile is created based on the color measurement results of the color reproduction characteristic evaluation chart using any ICC profile creation software.

[0041] For example, the control unit 21 may create an ICC profile from an average color gamut based on the past printing history of a printing machine that covers the color gamut of standard colors such as Japan Color (or has a color gamut close to that of Japan Color). The user may select an ICC profile created in this way.

[0042] The control unit 21 calculates the composition ratio of colors outside the reference color gamut (outside the reference color gamut) that compose the image data. The control unit 21 calculates the composition ratio by dividing the total number of pixels of colors outside the reference color gamut in the image data by the total number of pixels in the image data.

[0043] The control unit 21 determines the design appeal based on the calculated composition ratio. When printed matter makes extensive use of highly saturated colors that exceed the standard color gamut and are different from the colors in the standard color gamut that we normally see, it can attract more consumer attention and achieve a higher advertising effect. This type of color utilization is referred to as design appeal in this case. Here, the control unit 21 determines the design appeal of the image data from the perspective of whether the available color gamut is being fully utilized. The control unit 21 causes the display unit 12 of the PC 10 to display the judgment result of the design appeal.

[0044] Next, the operation of the printing system 100 will be described. First, various print settings are made in the PC 10 in response to user operations, and print data is generated. For example, the user specifies a target profile in the print settings by operating the operation unit 13. The specified target profile becomes the reference color. Note that the target profile may be embedded in the image data.

[0045] 2 is a flowchart showing a first design appeal determination process executed in the printing machine 20 of the first embodiment. This process is realized by software processing in cooperation between the control unit 21 and a program stored in the storage unit 24.

[0046] When control unit 21 receives print data from PC 10 via communication unit 25, it acquires image data and print settings from the print data (step S1). Control unit 21 performs print setting analysis on the print data and acquires parameters to be used for printing by print unit 26. Control unit 21 performs PDL analysis on the print data and acquires image data (bitmap data) that can be printed by print unit 26.

[0047] Next, the control unit 21 selects the n-th pixel from the image data (step S2), where the initial value of n is 1.

[0048] Next, the control unit 21 converts the color information (RGB value, etc.) of the selected pixel (target pixel) into a device-independent value (L * a * b * value, etc.) (step S3).

[0049] Next, the control unit 21 determines whether the device-independent value corresponding to the target pixel is a color outside the reference color gamut (step S4). First, the control unit 21 calculates the reference color gamut from the specified target profile (ICC profile). In the ICC profile, color correspondence data is sampled with some thinning. The control unit 21 obtains the color of the outermost shell (boundary part) of the reference color gamut that is close to the color of the target pixel from the ICC profile, and determines whether the color of the target pixel is outside or inside the reference color gamut.

[0050] In the process of step S4, the control unit 21 calculates the L of the boundary of the reference color gamut. * a * b * The value may be given a predetermined range to determine whether or not the color is outside the reference color gamut. Alternatively, the control unit 21 may adjust the L of the boundary of the reference color gamut. * a * b * When determining whether a color is outside the reference color gamut based on the color difference between the value and the device-independent value corresponding to the target pixel, the color difference threshold used for the determination may have a predetermined range.

[0051] If the device-independent value corresponding to the target pixel is a color outside the reference color gamut (step S4; YES), the control unit 21 adds 1 to the number of pixels outside the reference color gamut (step S5).

[0052] After step S5, or if the device-independent value corresponding to the target pixel is not a color outside the reference color gamut (step S4; NO), the process proceeds to step S6. In step S6, the control unit 21 determines whether all pixels included in the image data have been processed.

[0053] If there are any unprocessed pixels among the pixels included in the image data (step S6; NO), the control unit 21 adds 1 to the value of n (step S7). After step S7, the process returns to step S2, and the control unit 21 repeats the process for another pixel.

[0054] In step S6, if all pixels included in the image data have been processed (step S6; YES), the control unit 21 calculates the composition ratio of colors outside the reference color gamut (step S8). The composition ratio of colors outside the reference color gamut is calculated by equation (1). (Composition ratio of colors outside the reference color gamut) [%] = {(Number of pixels of colors outside the reference color gamut in the image data) / (Number of pixels in the image data)} × 100 ... Equation (1)

[0055] Next, the control unit 21 determines whether the composition ratio of the colors outside the reference color gamut is equal to or greater than a threshold value (step S9). The threshold value used in step S9 is stored in advance in the storage unit 24. Note that in step S9, the control unit 21 may compare the composition ratio with a plurality of threshold values, thereby branching into three or more processing paths. The control unit 21 determines the design appeal based on the composition ratio. For example, the control unit 21 determines that the design appeal is high when there are many colors outside the reference color gamut in the image data.

[0056] If the composition ratio is equal to or greater than the threshold (step S9; YES), the control unit 21 determines that the design has appeal, and causes the display unit 12 of the PC 10 to display a message indicating that the design has appeal (step S10).

[0057] In step S9, if the composition ratio is less than the threshold value (step S9; NO), the control unit 21 determines that the design has no appeal. The control unit 21 then displays a message on the display unit 12 of the PC 10 that color (especially high saturation colors) needs improvement (step S11). After step S10 or step S11, the first design appeal determination process ends.

[0058] In step S10 or step S11, the control unit 21 selects a message to be displayed on the display unit 12 of the PC 10 according to the composition ratio. 3 shows an example of the message table T1. In the message table T1, a message ID and a message are associated with each classification of the composition ratio. The message table T1 is stored in the storage unit 24. The message corresponding to message ID "1" indicates that the design has low appeal (the color gamut is not fully utilized). The message corresponding to message ID "2" is judged to have a certain degree of design appeal. The message corresponding to message ID "3" is judged to have a highly appealing design.

[0059] For example, if the composition ratio is 50% or more, the control unit 21 causes the display unit 12 of the PC 10 to display the message with the message ID "3." If the composition ratio is equal to or greater than 10% and less than 50%, the control unit 21 causes the display unit 12 of the PC 10 to display the message with the message ID "2". If the composition ratio is less than 10%, the control unit 21 causes the display unit 12 of the PC 10 to display the message with the message ID "1".

[0060] As described above, according to the first embodiment, the control unit 21 of the printing machine 20 calculates the composition ratio of colors outside the reference color gamut that make up the image data. The control unit 21 determines the design appeal based on the calculated composition ratio. The control unit 21 displays the design appeal determination result on the display unit 12 of the PC 10. This allows the user to check the design appeal of the image data to be printed.

[0061] Furthermore, the control unit 21 calculates the reference color gamut from an ICC profile established by a printing certification authority or an arbitrarily created ICC profile. Therefore, the control unit 21 can calculate the reference color gamut using an arbitrary ICC profile as the reference color.

[0062] The control unit 21 calculates the composition ratio of colors outside the reference color gamut by dividing the total number of pixels of colors outside the reference color gamut in the image data by the total number of pixels in the image data. Thus, the control unit 21 can easily calculate the composition ratio of colors outside the reference color gamut.

[0063] In step S4 of the first design appeal determination process, the control unit 21 of the printing machine 20 may determine, for each color region, whether the device-independent value corresponding to the target pixel is a color outside the reference color gamut. In the "per color region" process, each color region may be specified as a range of colors that can be treated as the same color or similar colors. Alternatively, each color region may be a region divided according to a predetermined index (lightness, saturation, hue, etc.), such as a low-lightness region or a high-saturation region. When determining whether or not a color is outside the reference color gamut for each color region, the control unit 21 counts the number of pixels outside the reference color gamut in step S5 by setting up a counter for each color region.

[0064] For each specific color area, the control unit 21 calculates the composition ratio in the specific color area by dividing the total number of pixels of colors outside the reference color gamut included in the specific color area in the image data by the total number of pixels included in the specific color area in the image data. The composition ratio of colors outside the reference color gamut for each color region is calculated by equation (2). (Percentage of colors outside the reference color gamut in color area i) [%] = {(Number of pixels of colors outside the reference color gamut included in color area i in the image data) / (Number of pixels included in color area i in the image data)} × 100 ... Equation (2)

[0065] The control unit 21 determines the design appeal based on the composition ratio calculated for each specific color region. This allows the control unit 21 to determine the design appeal based on whether the color gamut is being effectively utilized in each color region. The user can check how highly saturated colors are used in the image data and make improvements. Specifically, the control unit 21 determines the design appeal based on the overall composition ratio obtained by weighting and adding the composition ratios calculated for each color region. The control unit 21 multiplies the composition ratio for each color region by a weighting coefficient to obtain a weighted average. For example, the weighting coefficient for low-brightness regions is set to "0.5" (halving the effect), the weighting coefficient for high-saturation regions is set to "1.2" (20% increase), and the weighting coefficient for the region of interest is set to "1.5."

[0066] Alternatively, the control unit 21 may determine the design appeal of each color area based on the composition ratio calculated for each color area. The control unit 21 can present the design appeal of each color area to the user by displaying the design appeal of each color area on the display unit 12 of the PC 10.

[0067] Alternatively, the control unit 21 may calculate the composition ratio of colors outside the reference color gamut for each attribute of each pixel included in the image data, and multiply the composition ratio by a weighting factor to calculate the overall composition ratio. For example, the weighting factor for pixels with a text attribute may be set to "1.2," the weighting factor for pixels with a graphic attribute to "0.9," and the weighting factor for pixels with an image attribute to "0.8."

[0068] Furthermore, the control unit 21 may determine whether or not each pixel in the image data has a color outside the reference color gamut by changing the smoothing or interpolation method for each color region.

[0069] [Second embodiment] Next, a second embodiment to which the present invention is applied will be described. The printing system in the second embodiment has the same configuration as the printing system 100 shown in the first embodiment. Therefore, Fig. 1 is used, and illustrations and descriptions of the configuration in the second embodiment that is common to the first embodiment are omitted. The configuration and processing that are characteristic of the second embodiment will be described below.

[0070] The printing machine 20 is a high chroma toner machine that uses high chroma toner. In the second embodiment, the appeal of a design is determined based on whether or not the color (predicted value) after printing with a high saturation toner printer falls outside the reference color gamut. The control unit 21 of the printing machine 20 uses an ICC profile that indicates the color reproduction characteristics of the printing machine 20 to calculate the L value of the uniform color space from the CMYK values in the image data. * a * b * The value is calculated and it is determined whether the color is outside the reference color gamut.

[0071] The control unit 21 predicts the print colors to be printed by a predetermined printing machine (printing machine 20) based on the image data, using the color space of the image data (CMYK for printing by the printing machine 20) and the output profile of the predetermined printing machine (printing machine 20) that can reproduce colors in a range wider than the reference color gamut. The control unit 21 calculates the proportion of colors outside the reference color gamut in the predicted print colors as the composition ratio. The control unit 21 determines the design appeal based on the calculated composition ratio. The control unit 21 displays the design appeal determination result on the display unit 12 of the PC 10.

[0072] The control unit 21 causes the display unit 12 of the PC 10 to display at least one of the reference color gamut, the output color gamut of a specified printing machine (printing machine 20), information about representative colors in the image data, and information about colors outside the reference color gamut in the image data.

[0073] The control unit 21 switches the display of the reference color gamut between two-dimensional display and three-dimensional display in accordance with an operation instruction from the user. The control unit 21 switches between two-dimensional display and three-dimensional display for displaying the output color gamut of a predetermined printing press (printing press 20) in accordance with an operational instruction from the user. The control unit 21 calculates the output color gamut of the printing press 20 from the output profile of the printing press 20.

[0074] A representative color is a color that, among the colors that make up image data, such as a background color, has a relatively high occupancy in the image data. Information about the representative color includes the color of the representative color, the position (coordinates) of the representative color in color space, the percentage of the representative color contained in the image data, etc. The control unit 21 expresses the percentage of the representative color contained by plotting a mark (such as a circle) that indicates the representative color with a size corresponding to the number of pixels of the representative color or the occupancy of the representative color in the image data.

[0075] When displaying "information about colors outside the reference color gamut in image data," a color outside the reference color gamut that is included in a specific color area (hereinafter referred to as "specific color") is used as the "color outside the reference color gamut." The information about the specific color includes the color of the specific color, the position (coordinates) of the specific color in color space, the percentage of the specific color contained in the image data, etc. The control unit 21 expresses the percentage of the specific color contained by plotting a mark indicating the specific color with a size corresponding to the number of pixels of the specific color or the occupancy rate of the specific color in the image data.

[0076] The control unit 21 displays a print preview image on the display unit 12 of the PC 10, which shows a print image to be printed by a predetermined printing machine (printing machine 20) based on the image data. At this time, the control unit 21 displays the image in a way that highlights areas where colors outside the reference color gamut are used. For example, the control unit 21 displays the "areas where colors outside the reference color gamut are used" in the print preview image in a blinking manner. Specifically, the control unit 21 alternates between a normal state and a state in which the colors of the "areas where colors outside the reference color gamut are used" are inverted at predetermined time intervals for the print preview image. Here, inverting a color means replacing it with a color (complementary color) that is located exactly opposite on the color wheel.

[0077] 4 and 5 are flowcharts showing a second design appeal determination process executed in the printing machine 20 of the second embodiment. This process is realized by software processing in cooperation between the control unit 21 and a program stored in the storage unit 24.

[0078] The processing of steps S21 to S23 is the same as the processing of steps S1 to S3 of the first design appeal determination processing (see FIG. 2), and therefore a description thereof will be omitted. In step S23, when gamut mapping is performed on intermediate colors, there is a possibility that the converted colors will fall within the reference color gamut. For example, in step S23, the colors are converted into colors within the color reproduction gamut of AdobeRGB or the like.

[0079] After step S23, the control unit 21 calculates a device-independent value (for example, L * a * b * The output profile (printer profile) of the printing machine 20 is used to convert the CMYK values into printing CMYK values (step S24). The printing CMYK values are optimal CMYK values that allow the printing machine 20 to reproduce the colors of the original image (image to be output).

[0080] Next, the control unit 21 uses the output profile (printer profile) of the printing machine 20 to convert the printing CMYK values into device-independent values (for example, L * a * b * The color values are predicted (step S25). Here, the colors are converted into colors within the color reproduction range of the printing machine 20 (high saturation toner machine). In the process of step S25, the control unit 21 determines the print color (L, Y, M, Y, K) of the target pixel from the color space (CMYK color space) of the target pixel and the output profile of the printing machine 20. * a * b * value).

[0081] The control unit 21 determines whether the device-independent value predicted for the target pixel is a color outside the reference color gamut (step S26). If the device-independent value predicted for the target pixel is a color outside the reference color gamut (step S26; YES), the control unit 21 adds 1 to the number of pixels outside the reference color gamut (step S27).

[0082] After step S27, or if the device-independent value predicted for the target pixel in step S26 is not a color outside the reference color gamut (step S26; NO), the process proceeds to step S28. In step S28, the control unit 21 determines whether all pixels included in the image data have been processed.

[0083] If there are any unprocessed pixels among the pixels included in the image data (step S28; NO), the control unit 21 adds 1 to the value of n (step S29). After step S29, the process returns to step S22, and the control unit 21 repeats the process for another pixel.

[0084] In step S28, if all pixels included in the image data have been processed (step S28; YES), the process proceeds to step S30. The processing of steps S30 to S33 is similar to the processing of steps S8 to S11 of the first design appeal determination processing (see FIG. 2), and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0085] After step S32 or step S33, the control unit 21 displays the preview image, the reference color gamut, the output color gamut of the printing machine 20, the representative colors contained in the image data, and the colors (specific colors) outside the reference color gamut contained in the image data on the display unit 12 of the PC 10 (step S34). This completes the second design appeal determination process.

[0086] The control unit 21 may perform the process of step S34 together with the process of step S32 or step S33 (displaying the message). Also, in the second design appeal determination process, control unit 21 may count the number of pixels outside the reference color gamut by using a separate counter for each color region in step S27. In this case, control unit 21 calculates the composition ratio of colors outside the reference color gamut for each color region in step S30. Control unit 21 then determines the design appeal based on the composition ratio calculated for each color region.

[0087] In step S32 or step S33, the control unit 21 may display an additional message in addition to the messages shown in the message table T1 (see FIG. 3) when a predetermined condition is met.

[0088] 6 shows an example of the advice table T2. In the advice table T2, advice IDs and advice messages are associated with each other. The advice table T2 is stored in the storage unit 24. For example, if the proportion of high saturation colors in the image data is less than a predetermined proportion, the control unit 21 adds an advice message with advice ID "11" and displays it on the display unit 12 of the PC 10. The proportion of high saturation colors can be the proportion of colors outside the reference color gamut. If the image data contains a certain amount of highly saturated colors, the control unit 21 adds an advice message with advice ID "12" and displays it on the display unit 12 of the PC 10. If the high saturation color in the image data is equal to or greater than a predetermined ratio, the control unit 21 adds an advice message with advice ID "13" and causes the display unit 12 of the PC 10 to display it.

[0089] 7 shows an example of the advice table T3. The advice table T3 associates advice IDs with advice messages. The advice table T3 includes trouble avoidance messages that should be presented when the print data corresponds to a cautionary note, etc. The advice table T3 is stored in the storage unit 24. For example, if the image in the print data is created in CMYK, the control unit 21 causes the display unit 12 of the PC 10 to display an advice message with advice ID "21." If the print color predicted from the CMYK values for printing falls within the reference color gamut, the control unit 21 adds an advice message with advice ID "22" and displays it on the display unit 12 of the PC 10.

[0090] If few colors from the expanded color gamut are used in the image, the control unit 21 adds an advice message with advice ID "23" and displays it on the display unit 12 of the PC 10. The expanded color gamut is an area within the output color gamut of the printing machine 20 but outside the reference color gamut. For the advice message with advice ID "23," the "%s" portion that specifies the color may be a variable value. Specifically, the control unit 21 may present colors from the expanded color gamut used in the image as "colors to be added." Furthermore, if no colors from the expanded color gamut are used in the image, and there is a color in the expanded color gamut that is a contrasting color (complementary color) to a color used in the image, the control unit 21 may present that color as a "color to be added."

[0091] 8 and 9 show examples of design appeal judgment result screens 121 and 122 displayed on the display unit 12 of the PC 10. The design appeal judgment result screens 121 and 122 include a preview image area 31, a message area 32, a color gamut display area 33, a display switch button 34, a viewpoint change instruction area 35, a setting details button 36, an OK button 37, etc.

[0092] The preview image area 31 displays a print image (preview image) that will be printed by the printer 20 based on the image data. The control unit 21 alternately displays (blinks) in the preview image area 31 a normal state and a state in which the colors of the expanded color gamut that contribute to the judgment of appeal are inverted. The design appeal judgment result screen 121 shown in FIG. 8 is an example in which a preview image in a normal state is displayed in the preview image area 31. The design appeal judgment result screen 122 shown in FIG. 9 is an example in which a preview image is displayed in the preview image area 31 with the colors of the expanded color gamut inverted.

[0093] The message area 32 displays the design appeal judgment result, additional messages, etc. The additional messages include advice, evaluation comments, praise comments, etc.

[0094] The color gamut display area 33 displays the reference color gamut, the output color gamut of the printing press 20, information about the representative color, and information about the specific color. The display format of the color gamut display area 33 can be switched between two-dimensional display and three-dimensional display. On the design appeal judgment result screen 121 shown in FIG. 8, each piece of information is displayed on two-dimensional coordinates in the color gamut display area 33 (two-dimensional color gamut display area 33A). On the design appeal judgment result screen 122 shown in FIG. 9, each piece of information is displayed on three-dimensional coordinates in the color gamut display area 33 (three-dimensional color gamut display area 33B).

[0095] The display switching button 34 is a button for switching the display format of the color gamut display area 33. The user can press the display switching button 34 from the operation unit 13 of the PC 10. When the display switching button 34 is pressed while the color gamut display area 33 is displayed two-dimensionally as shown in FIG. 8, the color gamut display area 33 switches to a three-dimensional display as shown in FIG. When the display switching button 34 is pressed while the color gamut display area 33 is displayed three-dimensionally as shown in FIG. 9, the color gamut display area 33 switches to two-dimensional display as shown in FIG.

[0096] FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of the two-dimensional color gamut display area 33A included in the design appeal judgment result screen 121 shown in FIG. 8. In the two-dimensional color gamut display area 33A, the reference color gamut 41 and the output color gamut 42 of the printing press are displayed in two-dimensional coordinates (a * b *The output color gamut 42 of the printer has a portion that extends outside the reference color gamut 41. The two-dimensional color gamut display area 33A also displays information about specific colors 43 to 47 included in the image data. The specific colors 43 to 47 are each displayed in their corresponding colors. The specific colors 43 to 47 are each displayed in a * b * On the plane, the corresponding color a * b * The specific colors 43 to 47 are plotted at positions corresponding to the values. The specific colors 43 to 47 are displayed in sizes corresponding to the proportion of the corresponding color contained in the image data. Note that the specific color 43 is the color corresponding to the background color of the image data, and is also the representative color in the image data.

[0097] FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of the three-dimensional color gamut display area 33B included in the design appeal judgment result screen 122 shown in FIG. 9. In the three-dimensional color gamut display area 33B, the reference color gamut 41 and the output color gamut 42 of the printing press are displayed in three-dimensional coordinates (L * a * b * In addition, the reference color gamut 41 is displayed in a three-dimensional color gamut display area 33B. * b * Plane (L * = 0), the reference color gamut projection diagram 51, and the output color gamut 42 of the printer are a * b * An output color gamut projection 52 projected onto a plane is also displayed. The three-dimensional color gamut display area 33B displays information about specific colors 43 to 47 included in the image data. The specific colors 43 to 47 are displayed in their respective colors. The specific colors 43 to 47 are each displayed in L * a * b * In the color space, the L of the corresponding color * a * b * The specific colors 43 to 47 are plotted at positions corresponding to the values. The specific colors 43 to 47 are displayed in sizes corresponding to the proportion of the corresponding color contained in the image data.

[0098] A viewpoint change instruction unit 35 (see FIGS. 8 and 9) receives an operation instruction to change the viewpoint with respect to the coordinates displayed in the color gamut display area 33. The user operates the viewpoint change instruction unit 35 from the operation unit 13 of the PC 10 to change the range displayed in the color gamut display area 33 or rotate the display object. Operating the viewpoint change instruction unit 35 makes it easier to recognize that the specific colors 43 to 47 are outside the reference color gamut 41 in the three-dimensional color gamut display area 33B (see FIG. 11).

[0099] The setting details button 36 is pressed when changing the settings on the design appeal judgment result screens 121, 122. When the setting details button 36 is pressed, a setting details screen is displayed on the display unit 12 of the PC 10. For example, on the setting details screen, it is possible to switch whether or not to display each of the items related to the reference color gamut, the output color gamut of the printing press 20, information related to the representative color, and information related to the specific color in the color gamut display area 33. The OK button 37 is pressed to close the design appeal judgment result screens 121 and 122.

[0100] As described above, according to the second embodiment, the control unit 21 of the printing machine 20 predicts the print colors to be printed by the printing machine 20 based on the image data, using the color space of the image data and the output profile of the printing machine 20. The control unit 21 calculates the proportion of colors outside the reference color gamut in the predicted print colors as the composition ratio. The control unit 21 determines the design appeal based on the calculated composition ratio. In other words, the control unit 21 can determine the design appeal after predicting the colors to be ultimately printed. The control unit 21 displays the design appeal determination result on the display unit 12 of the PC 10. The user can confirm the design appeal of the image data to be printed. The control unit 21 can assist in the creation of design images by displaying the design appeal determination result and advice.

[0101] Furthermore, the control unit 21 causes the display unit 12 of the PC 10 to display the reference color gamut, the output color gamut of the printing machine 20, information about representative colors in the image data, information about colors in the image data outside the reference color gamut, etc. The control unit 21 can present the positions in the color space, the proportions included in the image data, etc. of the representative colors, specific colors, etc.

[0102] Furthermore, when displaying the print preview image on the display unit 12 of the PC 10, the control unit 21 can make areas where colors outside the reference color gamut are used stand out. For example, the control unit 21 can make areas where colors outside the reference color gamut are used blink, thereby making the user aware of the areas where colors outside the reference color gamut are used. The user can check the areas where colors outside the reference color gamut are used on the print preview image, which can lead to improvements to make the most of the color gamut.

[0103] The above-described embodiments are merely examples of the design appeal assessment device, printing system, and program according to the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. The detailed configuration and operation of each device constituting the system may also be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the control unit 21 may execute a combination of the processes in each embodiment.

[0104] In the above embodiments, the control unit 21 of the printing machine 20 selects pixels to be processed (steps S2 and S22) and determines whether or not the pixels are outside the reference color gamut on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Alternatively, the control unit 21 may select and average representative colors on a block-by-block basis, such as an 8x8 block, rather than on a pixel-by-pixel basis, and determine whether or not the pixels are outside the reference color gamut on a block-by-block basis.

[0105] Furthermore, the control unit 21 may change the message of the appeal determination result by comparing a past design image with a current design image.

[0106] In the above embodiments, the controller 21 of the printing press 20 has the function of determining design appeal. Alternatively, the PC 10 may have the function of determining design appeal as an application.

[0107] In the above embodiments, the case where the judgment result of design appeal, etc. is displayed on the display unit 12 of the PC 10 has been described. Alternatively, the control unit 21 of the printing press 20 may cause the display unit 22 of the printing press 20 to display the judgment result of design appeal, etc.

[0108] Alternatively, the control unit 21 may display the composition ratio of the colors outside the reference color gamut as a value indicating the design appeal. By the control unit 21 presenting a numerical value, the user can easily recognize the level of the design appeal.

[0109] Also, device-dependent color systems (CMYK, RGB, etc.) or device-independent color systems (L * a * b * , L * u * v * Any color system can be used for the color space.

[0110] The computer-readable medium storing the program for executing each process is not limited to the above examples. A carrier wave may also be used as a medium for providing program data via a communication line. [Explanation of symbols]

[0111] 10 PC 11 Control section 12 Display section 13 Control section 14 Storage section 15 Communications Department 20 Printing machine 21 Control Unit 22 Display section 23 Control section 24 Memory section 25 Communications Department 26 Printing Department 31 Preview Image Area 32 Message Area 33 Color gamut display area 34 Display switching button 35 Viewpoint change instruction section 100 Printing Systems 121 Design Appeal Judgment Result Screen 122 Design Appeal Judgment Result Screen NT Communications Network

Claims

1. A design appeal assessment device that calculates the composition ratio of colors outside a reference color gamut that make up image data, assesses design appeal based on the composition ratio, and displays the assessment result of design appeal on a display unit.

2. the control unit calculates the reference color gamut from an ICC profile established by a printing certification organization, or an ICC profile created using any ICC profile creation software based on a color measurement result obtained by measuring, with any color measurement device, a color reproduction characteristic evaluation chart printed by any printing machine using any printing color material and any printing substrate; The design appeal determination device according to claim 1 .

3. the control unit calculates the composition ratio by dividing the total number of pixels of the color outside the reference color gamut in the image data by the total number of pixels in the image data. The design appeal determination device according to claim 1 .

4. The control unit calculating the composition ratio in each specific color region by dividing the total number of pixels of colors outside the reference color gamut included in the specific color region in the image data by the total number of pixels included in the specific color region in the image data; determining the design appeal based on the composition ratio calculated for each of the specific color regions; The design appeal determination device according to claim 1 .

5. A printing system comprising the design appeal determination device according to claim 1 .

6. the control unit predicts print colors to be printed by the predetermined printing press based on the image data from the color space of the image data and an output profile of the predetermined printing press capable of color reproduction in an area wider than the reference color gamut, and calculates the proportion of colors outside the reference color gamut in the predicted print colors as the composition proportion. The printing system according to claim 5 .

7. the control unit causes the display unit to display at least one of the reference color gamut, the output color gamut of the predetermined printing machine, information about representative colors in the image data, and information about colors in the image data outside the reference color gamut. The printing system according to claim 6 .

8. the control unit, when causing the display unit to display a print preview image showing a print image to be printed by the predetermined printing machine based on the image data, causes the display unit to highlight an area in which colors outside the reference color gamut are used. The printing system according to claim 6 .

9. On the computer, A function for calculating the composition ratio of colors outside the reference color gamut that composes the image data; A function for determining the appeal of the design based on the composition ratio; A function of displaying the judgment result of the design appeal on a display unit; A program to achieve this.

Images