Color Mapping via Neugebauer Primary Area Coverage Emulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing imaging systems face challenges in accurately mapping color data from one color space to another, particularly in halftone imaging, where continuous tone images need to be reproduced using discrete dot shapes, leading to variations in output depending on the color halftone processing pipeline used.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a color mapping process that converts color data from a first color space to a Neugebauer Primary area coverage (NPac) space, allowing for the emulation of separate color mapping and halftoning processes, enabling the recreation of halftone outputs in a common color space and facilitating interoperability between different color processing pipelines.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If color mapping is performed followed by halftoning process, then continuous tone image can be reproduced using discrete dot shapes, but output varies depending on the color halftone processing pipeline used
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces NPac (Neugebauer Primary area coverage) space as an intermediary color space between the input color space and the device color space. This intermediary representation allows color data to be transformed into a form that captures the essential halftoning characteristics without being tied to a specific processing pipeline, enabling consistent color reproduction across different pipelines while maintaining the ability to reproduce continuous tone images using discrete dot shapes
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms color data parameters by converting from standard color space values to NPac parameters that represent area coverages of Neugebauer primaries. This parameter transformation allows the color mapping to inherently account for halftoning effects, enabling accurate color reproduction while reducing variability between different processing pipelines through a standardized parameter representation
2Reliability
If separate color mapping and halftoning processes are used, then color data can be mapped to device color space, but the processes are difficult to emulate and combine
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the separate color mapping and halftoning processes into a unified color mapping operation that directly maps from the input color space to NPac space. This unified approach captures the combined effects of both processes in a single transformation, making it easier to emulate legacy pipelines and combine different processing stages while maintaining the reliability of accurate color mapping
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a simplified copy or representation of the complex separate color mapping and halftoning processes through the NPac color space. This copied representation captures the essential behavior and characteristics of the original multi-step process in a more manageable form, reducing device complexity while preserving the reliability of color accuracy
Data Source
AI summary
Certain methods of generating a color mapping are described. In one method, an output of a color halftone processing pipeline is processed so as to determine a set of Neugebauer Primary area coverage (NPac) values that are representative of the output of the color halftone processing pipeline. These NPac values are then used, together with knowledge of an original input image, to generating the color mapping.