Tone Reproduction Curve Color Resolution Enhancement in 3D Printing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern printers face challenges in achieving high effective color resolution due to the limited precision of tone reproduction curves (TRCs), which results in printed images with fewer distinct color levels than the physical capabilities of the printing process, especially in three-dimensional object inkjet printers.
Innovation Solution
The method involves generating modified TRCs with higher precision entries that are adjusted by specific values to produce lower precision entries, allowing for increased effective color resolution without requiring hardware modifications, by using a controller to generate and apply these modified TRCs across multiple planes in a multi-layer printing process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If standard precision TRCs are used in the printing system, then the device complexity and hardware requirements remain low, but the color resolution and number of distinct color levels in printed images are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dimensionality change by transitioning from single-plane halftoning to multi-plane halftoning. Instead of attempting to achieve high color resolution within a single TRC plane, the invention distributes the color information across multiple planes (e.g., 4 planes), where each plane uses a standard precision TRC but the combined effect of all planes produces the high effective color resolution. This resolves the contradiction by moving the resolution enhancement from the hardware/TRC precision dimension to the multi-plane processing dimension.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the color reproduction task into multiple independent planes, each handled by a separate TRC. Rather than using one complex high-precision TRC, the invention divides the color space representation across multiple lower-precision TRCs operating in parallel. Each plane processes a portion of the color information, and the superposition of all planes achieves the desired high color resolution without requiring any single TRC to have high precision, thus avoiding hardware complexity.
2Manufacturing precision
If higher precision TRCs are implemented to increase color resolution, then the number of distinct color levels increases, but extensive hardware and software modifications are required throughout the printing system
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses copying by creating multiple copies of the standard precision TRC structure, one for each plane. Instead of modifying the fundamental TRC precision or architecture, the invention replicates the existing TRC design across multiple planes. Each plane contains an identical or similar standard precision TRC, and the collective output of these copied TRCs achieves the high effective color resolution. This approach avoids extensive hardware and software modifications because it reuses the existing proven TRC design rather than requiring new high-precision TRC implementations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the number of planes parameter rather than changing the precision parameter of individual TRCs. The system maintains standard precision TRCs (e.g., 8-bit) but changes the planar dimension parameter from 1 to multiple planes (e.g., 4). This parameter change in the organizational structure achieves high effective color resolution without requiring changes to the fundamental precision parameters of the TRCs themselves, thereby avoiding extensive system modifications.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple layers of ink are applied using a single halftone pattern, then sufficient ink coverage is achieved for visible printed images, but the effective color resolution is limited by the precision of the TRC
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves the information loss by adding the plane dimension to the color reproduction process. Each plane in the multi-plane system preserves color level information that would be lost in a single-plane system due to TRC precision limitations. The halftone patterns across multiple planes are superimposed, and the cumulative effect recovers and enhances color level detail beyond what any single plane could achieve alone, thereby preventing information loss while maintaining practical ink coverage.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of operating a three-dimensional object printer to form printed images on a surface of an object with increased color resolution includes generating a plurality of low-precision tone reproduction curves (TRCs) from a plurality of high-precision color conversion entries that are modified by a plurality of values in a one-to-one correspondence to the TRCs. The method further comprises generating modified contone image and halftone image data for each plane using one of the low-precision TRCs and forming the image from multiple printed layers of ink corresponding to the plurality of planes.