Image Processing Control Apparatus for Color Material Optimization
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current printing technologies face challenges in achieving high color reproducibility and fully utilizing the color gamut when printing a source image with a white base, due to limitations in the amount of color materials that can be transferred and fixed on a substrate, leading to reduced color material amounts for both the source image and white base, which affects the appearance of the printed image.
Innovation Solution
A control apparatus and method that adjusts pixel values for both the source image and white base to stay within a color material limit, using a raster-image processor and hardware processor to convert multi-valued pixels into two-valued pixels and rearrange white pixels to ensure adequate coverage, thereby optimizing the use of color materials and maintaining color characteristics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the color material limit is increased to achieve high color reproducibility and full color gamut utilization, then the color reproduction quality improves, but the printing device capacity and color material requirements become excessively high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter of color material distribution by introducing a weight map that assigns different weights to different regions. This allows the system to concentrate color materials in important regions (where the weight is high) and reduce or omit color materials in less important regions (where the weight is low), thereby achieving high color reproduction quality in critical areas while staying within the color material limit
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by treating different regions of the image differently through the weight map. Important regions (such as areas with high-frequency components or significant color information) are assigned higher weights and receive more color materials, while less important regions are assigned lower weights and receive fewer color materials. This localized approach optimizes color reproduction where it matters most while conserving color materials
2Quantity of substance
If the amount of color materials is reduced to stay within the color material limit, then the printing process becomes feasible, but the color reproducibility and color gamut utilization deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the uniform color material distribution into a non-uniform distribution guided by the weight map. By changing the parameter of color material allocation from equal to weighted distribution, the system achieves better color reproduction with the same total amount of color materials, as the materials are concentrated in regions where they provide the most value
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by selectively applying color materials only where needed, as determined by the weight map. Instead of distributing color materials uniformly across the entire image, the system concentrates color materials in important regions and reduces or omits them in less important regions, achieving efficient use of color materials while maintaining color reproduction quality
3Manufacturing precision
If printing is performed in multiple passes to achieve high quality output, then the color reproduction quality improves, but the printing time and productivity decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by performing color material control only in regions where it is necessary to maintain quality within the color material limit. The weight map identifies important regions that require full color reproduction and less important regions where color material reduction is acceptable, allowing the system to achieve high quality output in a single pass rather than requiring multiple passes
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are a control apparatus, an image processing method and a non-transitory recording medium. A hardware processor of the control apparatus controls the amount of color materials to be used in printing a source image together with a white base by adjusting pixel values of multi-valued pixels forming the source image and white base, and converts the multi-valued pixels into two-valued pixels corresponding to colors of the color materials of the source image and two-valued white pixels. In controlling the amount of color materials, the hardware processor, for each multi-valued pixel of the white base, defines the pixel value such that colored two-valued white pixels exist in a coverage ratio being equal to or greater than the total coverage ratio of the color materials of the source image. The hardware processor rearranges the two-valued white pixels so that colored two-valued white pixels are located at all the colored pixel positions.