Color Selection Station with Inkjet Printer and Lookup Table
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current paint selection methods, including physical color samples and software, face challenges such as high inventory demands, limited color accuracy, metamerism issues, and inability to produce non-metameric colors on demand, leading to inconvenient customer experiences and inefficiencies for retailers.
Innovation Solution
A color selection station equipped with advanced inkjet printers capable of low-metameric printing and a light-mixing system that uses multiple primary light sources to produce accurate, constant colors, combined with a color lookup table system for precise ink dispensing, allowing for on-demand production of color samples that match standard paint colors under various illuminants.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If physical color merchandise is produced through industrial process with large production runs, then economies of scale are achieved and color control is good, but lead times are long, inventory levels are high, and flexibility to revise is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-establishes a comprehensive color lookup table containing spectral reflectance data and ink formulation instructions for numerous paint colors before actual customer selection. This preliminary preparation enables immediate on-demand printing without requiring production runs, thus reducing lead time while maintaining color accuracy through pre-calibrated ink combinations.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from fixed industrial production parameters to dynamically adjustable printing parameters. By using variable inkjet printing with precise ink dispensing controlled by the color lookup table, the system can adjust color parameters on-demand for each customer selection, eliminating the need for large production runs while maintaining consistent color quality.
2Productivity
If conventional inkjet printers are used for onsite printing, then on-demand production is enabled, but color accuracy is insufficient and metamerism cannot be controlled
Solution Approach 1:
The color lookup table serves as an intermediary between the customer's color selection and the inkjet printing process. It contains pre-calculated ink formulation data that translates desired paint colors into precise ink combinations, enabling conventional inkjet printers to produce accurate colors by following the lookup table instructions rather than relying on printer color management alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary color matching calculations and stores optimal ink formulations in the color lookup table before printing. This pre-computation of color parameters enables the printer to reproduce accurate colors on-demand without requiring advanced printer hardware, thus achieving color accuracy through pre-planned ink combinations.
3Adaptability or versatility
If paint selection software displays colors on computer screens, then a wide variety of colors can be viewed, but color constancy across different screens is poor and limited color gamut restricts accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of relying on screen displays that cannot guarantee color constancy, the system produces physical copies (printed color merchandise) using the color lookup table and inkjet printer. These printed copies accurately represent the selected paint colors through controlled ink dispensing, providing a tangible reference that maintains color accuracy across different viewing conditions unlike variable screen displays.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the optical display mechanism (computer screens with limited color gamut and poor color constancy) with a physical printing mechanism that uses controlled ink deposition. This substitution enables accurate color reproduction by directly applying pigments that match the target paint colors, bypassing the limitations of screen-based color display.
4Ease of operation
If stores maintain sufficient inventory of color merchandise, then customer selection is facilitated, but storage space requirements increase and customized merchandise cannot be produced
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service color selection and on-demand printing at customer locations or store kiosks. Customers can select colors using the software interface, and the system automatically retrieves ink formulation data from the color lookup table to print accurate color samples immediately. This eliminates the need for stores to maintain extensive physical inventories while still providing convenient customer selection and immediate access to color merchandise.
Solution Approach 2:
The color lookup table performs preliminary preparation of ink formulation data for numerous paint colors in advance. This pre-computation enables the system to produce any selected color on-demand without requiring physical stockpiling of color samples. The lookup table acts as a digital inventory that can be instantly accessed and executed by the printing system.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution reduces inventory needs, enhances color accuracy and consistency across different lighting conditions, enabling customers to make informed decisions without relying on pre-manufactured samples, and allows for the production of accurate color merchandise on demand, improving the paint selection process and reducing storage requirements.
Implementation Method 1
advanced inkjet printers capable of low-metameric printing
Implementation Method 2
light-mixing system that uses multiple primary light sources to produce accurate, constant colors
Implementation Method 3
color lookup table system for precise ink dispensing
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A
Figure 2B
AI summary
Disclosed is a color selection apparatus comprising: a central processing unit executing a color selection program, a monitor connected to the central processing unit displaying a plurality of colors, wherein each displayed color correspond to a color standard, an interface system executed by the central processing unit to transform color value of the displayed colors to a color lookup table index value, and a printer connected to the central processing unit to print one or more of the displayed colors using the color lookup table index value, wherein the printed colors are substantially similar to the corresponding color standards, such that an average measured color difference (AE) for a 10° observer between the printed colors and their corresponding color standards is less than about 1.0 CIEDE2000 unit for at least two ambient illuminants.