Image Processing With Clear-Ink Dot Control for Print Preview
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image printing technologies do not allow for the confirmation of the finish of printed matter before printing, limiting user control over the quality of the final output.
Innovation Solution
An image processing method that includes displaying a preview image of the printed matter's quality, allowing users to adjust the quality settings, and generating print data with color and clear ink information to achieve the desired finish, including dot size, number, and arrangement, before printing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a preview function is added to show printed matter quality before printing, then user control over quality is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a preview image that copies and simulates the appearance of the final printed matter by processing the original image with the same color conversion and rendering parameters that will be used for actual printing. This allows users to see a digital representation of the printed quality before committing to physical printing, thereby improving quality control without requiring complex additional hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs all quality-related processing operations in advance during the preview generation phase, including color space conversion, rendering with specified quality parameters, and dot pattern application. This preliminary processing allows users to evaluate and adjust quality settings before actual printing occurs, eliminating the need for complex real-time quality adjustment mechanisms during printing.
2Manufacturing precision
If clear ink information is added to print data to control finish quality, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent separates print data into distinct components: color ink information and clear ink information. Each component contains specific parameters (dot size, number of dots, arrangement patterns) that can be independently controlled and optimized. This segmentation allows precise control over the final finish quality by adjusting clear ink parameters without affecting color rendering, while keeping the overall system manageable through modular data structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent controls finish quality by changing specific parameters in the clear ink information, such as dot size, dot number, and arrangement patterns. By adjusting these parameters in the print data, the system can produce different surface finishes (glossy, matte, textured) without requiring complex hardware modifications, thereby achieving high manufacturing precision through software-based parameter control.
Data Source
AI summary
The image processing method includes a step (a) of displaying on a display device a preview image of printed matter that reproduces a degree of a quality represented by a specified value that was set, a step (b) of, when a change instruction to change the degree of the quality is received, executing step (a) by using the specified value based on the change instruction, a step (c) of generating a print data that includes color ink information that is defined for printing a target image and that represents, in a predetermined fixed region, at least one of the size of dots of color ink to be recorded, the number of records of the dots, and an arrangement of the dots, and clear ink information that is defined based on the specified value and that represents, in a predetermined fixed region, at least one of the size of dots of clear ink to be recorded, the number of records of the dots, and an arrangement of the dots.