Printer Color Calibration Using Selective Colorimetric Variation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Page-wide array printers face challenges in color calibration due to the large number of elements that need to be calibrated, making the process long and complex.
Innovation Solution
The method involves selecting a controlled number of colors based on colorimetric values to create a calibration pattern, which can be printed and measured, allowing for flexible calibration by choosing the colors with the largest variations, thereby reducing the number of colors needed for accurate calibration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If all printing devices are calibrated individually, then color accuracy is improved, but calibration time and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The calibration process segments the large set of printing devices into a smaller representative subset. By selecting only critical colors with largest variations from the colorimetric values, the method divides the comprehensive calibration task into manageable portions that can be completed quickly while maintaining overall color accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The method extracts only the essential color information needed for calibration by identifying and selecting colors with the largest variations. This extraction principle removes unnecessary calibration steps for colors that contribute minimally to overall color accuracy, thereby reducing calibration time while preserving measurement precision.
2Measurement precision
If all printing devices are calibrated individually, then color accuracy is improved, but process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The calibration process is segmented by dividing all printing devices into a smaller representative subset. The method segments the color space into critical regions by identifying colors with largest variations, creating a simplified calibration pathway that maintains accuracy while reducing procedural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The method extracts essential calibration information by removing non-critical colors from the calibration set. By taking out only the colors with largest variations, the process complexity is reduced while the extracted subset retains sufficient information for accurate color calibration.
3Manufacturing precision
If more colors are used in calibration pattern, then calibration accuracy is improved, but the number of measurements and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The method applies the extraction principle by removing redundant colors from the calibration pattern and retaining only those with largest variations. This creates a minimal sufficient set that maintains calibration accuracy while dramatically reducing the number of measurements required, thereby improving calibration speed and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The method changes the parameter of color selection from comprehensive to selective based on variation magnitude. By changing the selection criterion to focus on colors with largest variations in colorimetric values, the system achieves high calibration accuracy with fewer measurements, thus improving productivity without sacrificing precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A method is described in which sets of corresponding colorimetric values are obtained. In a set, a colorimetric value is associated with a device color. A number of device colors are selected according to the color differences between colorimetric values associated with the same device color. A color calibration pattern is elaborated for a printer to be calibrated using the selected device colors and calibration is performed using the sets of colorimetric values.