Image Processing Apparatus for Fabric Printing Ink Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional printing systems fail to easily determine optimal printing conditions for image quality and durability of printed materials on various fabrics, as the amount of pretreatment liquid and white ink required varies significantly based on fabric material and color, leading to issues with white hiding ratio and fastness to washing.
Innovation Solution
An image processing apparatus that extracts correlations from a correlation table to generate first and second print images, with the first image based on input values and the second image based on correction values improving image quality and durability, allowing users to select optimal printing conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the amount of pretreatment liquid and white ink is increased to improve white hiding ratio and image quality, then image quality improves, but ink usage and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the parameters of pretreatment liquid amount and white ink amount based on fabric type and color information from the correlation table, optimizing the ratio between these materials to achieve adequate white hiding ratio while minimizing ink consumption. Different fabric types (cotton, polyester, rayon) and colors have different optimal parameter settings.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary determination of optimal printing conditions by referencing the correlation table before actual printing. The image processing apparatus pre-calculates the appropriate amounts of pretreatment liquid and white ink based on the detected fabric type and color, so that the optimal ink usage is established before the printing process begins.
2Ease of operation
If conventional printing systems use fixed printing conditions, then operation is simple, but image quality and durability vary significantly across different fabric types
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback from fabric type detection and color information to automatically adjust printing conditions. The image processing apparatus receives information about the fabric type (cotton, polyester, rayon, etc.) and color, then references the correlation table to determine optimal printing conditions, creating a feedback loop that adapts settings to match the specific fabric being printed on.
Solution Approach 2:
The system makes printing conditions dynamic rather than fixed. The correlation table stores multiple sets of printing conditions corresponding to different fabric types and colors, allowing the system to dynamically select and adjust the appropriate printing parameters (pretreatment liquid amount, white ink amount, base ink amount) based on the specific fabric being processed.
3Reliability
If the amount of base ink is increased to improve durability and fastness to washing, then durability improves, but printing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system optimizes the parameter of base ink amount based on fabric type and color information from the correlation table. Different fabric types have different optimal base ink amounts required to achieve adequate fastness to washing. The system adjusts this parameter to use the minimum necessary amount of base ink for each fabric type, reducing costs while maintaining durability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies different base ink amounts locally optimized for each fabric type and color combination. Rather than using a uniform high amount of base ink for all fabrics, the system tailors the base ink amount to the specific requirements of each fabric type (cotton, polyester, rayon, etc.) and color, achieving adequate durability with minimized material usage.
Data Source
AI summary
An image processing apparatus includes a processor being configured to extract a correlation from a correlation table that indicates the correlation between a type of printing medium used for printing that uses pretreatment liquid, base ink, and color ink, an amount of the pretreatment liquid, and an amount of the base ink, and image quality and characteristic information of a printed material, and to generate a first print image based on the type of printing medium and input values of the amount of the pretreatment liquid and the amount of the base ink that have been input, and a second print image based on correction values that improve at least one of the image quality and the characteristic information more than the input values and that are the amount of the pretreatment liquid and the amount of the base ink obtained from the correlation.