Unified Temperature-Dependent Color LUT for Inkjet Printers
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Solution Overview
Problem
The viscosity of ink in inkjet printers varies with temperature, affecting print quality as the ink's spread and color on the printing medium are temperature-dependent, leading to unstable print results due to the need for switching lookup tables (LUTs) based on temperature.
Innovation Solution
A print control device and method that includes a color conversion lookup table (LUT) defining temperature-dependent ink color space conversions, allowing for real-time adjustment of print data generation and printing to maintain consistent color representation across temperature variations, enabling parallel data generation and printing processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple LUTs are prepared for different temperatures and switching is performed based on temperature, then print quality stability is improved, but device complexity and processing load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple temperature-specific LUTs into a single unified LUT that contains color conversion data for multiple temperatures. Instead of switching between separate LUTs based on temperature, the system stores all temperature-specific color conversion information in one consolidated structure, eliminating the switching mechanism while maintaining print quality stability across different temperatures.
Solution Approach 2:
The unified LUT is designed to serve multiple temperature conditions simultaneously. The LUT contains color conversion information for various temperatures, allowing the same single LUT to be used across different temperature scenarios. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for temperature-based LUT selection and switching processing.
2Measurement precision
If LUT switching is performed based on temperature, then color accuracy is improved, but processing time and productivity are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple LUTs into a single unified LUT that contains color conversion data for multiple temperatures. This eliminates the time-consuming LUT switching operation while maintaining color accuracy. The system directly queries the unified LUT for the appropriate color conversion data based on temperature without needing to switch between separate LUT files or data structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The unified LUT is pre-loaded with color conversion information for multiple temperatures during system initialization or memory loading. This preliminary action eliminates the need for runtime LUT switching, as all necessary color conversion data is already available in the unified structure. The system can directly retrieve the appropriate color conversion data without time-consuming switching operations.
3Measurement precision
If separate LUTs are used for different temperatures, then color conversion accuracy is improved, but data storage requirements and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate LUTs into a single unified LUT that contains color conversion data for multiple temperatures. This consolidation reduces the total data storage requirements compared to maintaining separate LUT files for each temperature. The unified structure organizes color conversion information efficiently, eliminating redundancy while preserving the accuracy needed for different temperature conditions.
Data Source
AI summary
A print control device includes a storage unit storing a color conversion LUT used for color conversion, a print data generating unit, and a print control unit. The color conversion LUT defines a correspondence relationship between color information of the ink color space, and a combination of temperature information indicating a temperature of the printing medium in the printing unit and color information of an input color space. The print data generating unit generates the print data by referring to the color conversion LUT to convert a combination of the input image data represented by the input color space and the temperature information input from the printing unit. The print control unit causes at least part of the printing by the printing unit to be executed in parallel with the generation of the print data by the print data generating unit.