Color converting apparatus and a color converting method

As image processing apparatus includes a color converter 20 as a color converting device. The color converter 20 has, as main functional components for carrying out color conversion of halftone of a spot color, a spot color information acquiring unit 21 for acquiring spot color information from manuscript data, a spot color Lab acquiring unit 22 for acquiring L*a*b* values in an L*a*b* color space when the dot percentage of the spot color is 100%, a first calculating unit 23 for calculating halftone L*a*b* values, using the L*a*b* values at 100% dot percentage of the spot color acquired by the spot color Lab acquiring unit 22 and a dot percentage of the spot color in a printing target portion of the spot color, and a second calculating unit 24 for converting, using an output ICC profile, the halftone L*a*b* values calculated by the first calculating unit 23 into CMYK values.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Application No. 2014-148625, filed on Jul. 22, 2014, the disclosures of which Applications are incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a color converting apparatus and a color converting method for use with a printing machine when making color prints.

2. Description of the Related Art

In a printing system which carries out digital color printing, a different color definition is used for each of a display device such as a liquid crystal display for displaying images, a scanner for reading images, and a printing machine for performing printing. A color management for controlling printing colors of the printing machine is carried out by converting such different color definition for each digital device into a common color expression using ICC profiles. The ICC profiles are files of formats specified by the International Color Consortium, and are files defining characteristics of the color spaces of devices. These ICC profiles employ the CIE color system (CIEXYZ, CIELAB) as a common color display method.

A color printing machine performs printing, using the four color materials of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y) and black (K) which are generally called process colors. On the other hand, for colors difficult to express with color reproduction by the process colors, a specially color-mixed monochromatic ink or toner is prepared and is loaded in the printing machine as spot color (special color). A printing machine particularly suited for mass printing of a single article, such as package printing with a corporate color in large quantities, carries out color printing with a spot color designated as the corporate color, besides the process colors.

Incidentally, for POD (Print On Demand) printing which specializes in multi-article and small number of copies printing, since this prints only a required number of copies when required, a spot color cannot in many cases be loaded in the printing machine. Therefore, in POD printing, a spot color has to be reproduced by means of the process colors used in for printing.

When the printing ink colors used by the printing machine are the four colors of CMYK, for example, a spot color presented in RGB values on the display device will be expressed as separated into CMYK values in a printing color space. In conventional color reproduction of a spot color, the operator determines, for a solid portion of the spot color, CMYK values based on values obtained by measuring color samples or prints with a colorimetric machine. Other varied measures taken include a case of the operator selecting, from among color patches of a printed color chart, the color patch closest to the spot color displayed on the display device. A proposal has been made in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-217007, according to which a color chart consisting of 27 color patches is printed, and the operator selects from the color chart the color patch closest to a spot color displayed on a display device, thereby realizing a color conversion with a high degree of approximation in color sense between the spot color displayed on the display device and the color outputted by a printing machine.

A further proposal has been made in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-157074, according to which, when proof printing is carried out with a printing machine not loaded with a spot color for prior confirmation of the result of printed image in advance of printing by a printing machine loaded with the spot color, image data is generated for the proof printing by combining CMYK process colors and the spot color after color conversions are carried out with different conversion systems, respectively.

A further description will be made of a relationship between L*a*b* values in a device-independent L*a*b* color space, which are employed as conventional common color expression between devices, and CMYK values in a printing color space dependent on the colors of color materials of a printing machine.FIG. 9is a graph showing a relationship between a monochromatic dot percentage and L*a*b* values.FIG. 10is a graph showing hue variations in an a*−b* plane occurring with variations in the monochromatic dot percentage.FIGS. 9 and 10show a plotting of each value when the dot percentage is changed at intervals of 10%.

The relationship between the dot percentage of single color C used as a process color and L*a*b* values is, as shown inFIG. 9, such that each value of L*, a* and b* has a tendency to diminish linearly and substantially equally with the dot percentage. Also the a*−b* plane presenting hue, as shown inFIG. 10, changes linearly and at a substantially constant rate with the variations in the dot percentage.

When reproducing the halftone of a spot color with the process colors, according to conventional practice, L*a*b* values of a solid of the spot color (with dot percentage at 100%) provided by a color material supplier such as an ink maker, or L*a*b* values obtained by measuring with a colorimetric machine a solid patch of the spot color printed with a printing machine, are first converted into coordinate values (CMYK values) in a CMYK color space which is a printing color space of the printing machine, using an ICC profile of a printing machine for output. Then, CMYK values of the spot color are calculated based on the CMYK values of the solid of the spot color (with dot percentage at 100%), on an assumption that the CMYK values of the spot color vary linearly with variations in the dot percentage (in a proportional relation therebetween). When, for example, the CMYK values of the solid of the spot color are CMYK=(50, 30, 20, 0), CMYK values of halftone with a dot percentage at 50% are calculated by multiplying the CMYK values of the solid by the 50% halftone dot percentage, which results in CMYK=(25, 15, 10, 0).

As shown inFIGS. 9 and 10, in the case of a single color, each value of L*, a* and b* and the hue vary linearly with variations in dot percentage. It is ideal that each value of L*, a* and b* of the spot color supplied as a monochromatic color material for a printing machine loadable with the spot color, and hue as well, will change similarly. Conventionally, therefore, even when a spot color is reproduced with the process colors, a technique (conventional technique) is conceivable which calculates halftone CMYK values by multiplying the CMYK values of a solid as they are by a dot percentage, based on an assumption that variations similar to those of a single color will occur with variations in dot percentage.

FIG. 11is a graph showing a relationship between dot percentage and L*a*b* values of a spot color when the spot color is reproduced with the three colors of CMY by a conventional technique.FIG. 12is a graph showing hue variations in an a*b* plane occurring with variations in the dot percentage when the spot color is reproduced with the three colors of CMY by the conventional technique.FIGS. 11 and 12show an example of spot color which can be expressed by CMY=(100, 70, 10) when a solid of the spot color is separated into CMY, and show a plotting of each value occurring when the dot percentage is varied at intervals of 10%.

When halftone CMY (K) values are obtained from CMY=(100, 70, 10) with the dot percentage at 100% by the conventional method of calculation giving CMY=(50, 35, 5) if the dot percentage is 50%, each value of L* and b*, as shown inFIG. 11, can be said to vary linearly with variations in the dot percentage, but the value of a* shows a gentle arch form attaining a maximum at 50% dot percentage. In the a*−b* plane, as shown inFIG. 12, the directional property and rate of change with respect to the variations in the dot percentage are not uniform, and linearity is greatly impaired.

Thus, in printing with the CMYK values acquired by the conventional calculation technique, since the hue in the a*−b* plane varies significantly with variations in dot percentage, halftone portions can deviate from envisaged color sense even though color reproduction in a solid portion of a spot color is performed with high accuracy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a color converting apparatus and a color converting method which can reproduce halftones of a spot color (special color) with high accuracy when the spot color is reproduced with process colors.

The above object is fulfilled, according to this invention, by a color converting apparatus for converting a device-independent color space into a printing color space dependent on colors used in a printing machine, in color printing in which a spot color unused as a color material for the printing machine is reproduced with a plurality of color materials used in the printing machine, the apparatus comprising a first calculating unit for calculating halftone color values of the spot color in the device-independent color space according to a certain rule represented by a line connecting, in the device-independent color space, maximum color values of a time when a dot percentage of the spot color in the device-independent color space is at a maximum, and minimum color values of a time when the dot percentage of the spot color in the device-independent color space is at a minimum; and a second calculating unit for calculating printing color values in the printing color space from the halftone color values.

According to such color converting apparatus, halftone L*a*b* values after being calculated are converted into CMYK values. It is therefore possible to reproduce halftone color sense of the spot color with increased accuracy by the colors of color materials used in the printing machine.

In one preferred embodiment, the device-independent color space is an L*a*b* color space, and the first calculating unit is arranged to calculate halftone L*a*b* values of the spot color in the L*a*b* color space according to a certain rule represented by a line connecting, in the L*a*b* color space, maximum L*a*b* values of a time when a dot percentage of the spot color in the L*a*b* color space is at a maximum, and minimum L*a*b* values of a time when the dot percentage of the spot color in the L*a*b* color space is at a minimum.

In another preferred embodiment, the first calculating unit is arranged to calculate the halftone L*a*b* values on an assumption that the halftone L*a*b* values are variable by equal ratio with the dot percentage of the spot color, on the line connecting the maximum L*a*b* values and the minimum L*a*b* values in the L*a*b* color space.

In yet another preferred embodiment, the first calculating unit is arranged to calculate the halftone L*a*b* values on an assumption that the halftone L*a*b* values are variable unequally with the dot percentage of the spot color, on the line connecting the maximum L*a*b* values and the minimum L*a*b* values in the L*a*b* color space.

In a further preferred embodiment, the first calculating unit is arranged to calculate the halftone L*a*b* values according to a certain rule represented by a line connecting a*b* values, respectively, of the maximum L*a*b* values and the minimum L*a*b* values on an a*−b* plane in the L*a*b* color space.

Further, according to a different aspect of this invention, a color converting method is provided for converting a device-independent color space into a printing color space dependent on colors used in a printing machine, in color printing in which a spot color unused as a color material for the printing machine is reproduced with a plurality of color materials used in the printing machine, the method comprising a first calculating step for calculating halftone color values of the spot color in the device-independent color space according to a certain rule represented by a line connecting, in the device-independent color space, maximum color values of a time when a dot percentage of the spot color in the device-independent color space is at a maximum, and minimum color values of a time when the dot percentage of the spot color in the device-independent color space is at a minimum; and a second calculating step for calculating printing color values in the printing color space from the halftone color values.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of this invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the drawings.FIG. 1is a schematic view showing a construction of a printing system including an image processing apparatus2as a color converting apparatus according to this invention.

This printing system includes a client computer1for creating manuscript data by arranging and editing plural types of parts such as characters and pictures which make up prints, a printing machine3for executing printing, the image processing apparatus2for carrying out a process of generating a color profile (ICC profile) which controls printing colors, a color conversion process using the color profile, a rasterizing process (RIP) for generating print data processable by the printing machine3, and color conversion to be described hereinafter, and a colorimetric machine4connected to the image processing apparatus2. The client computer1, data processing apparatus2and printing machine3can transmit and receive various information to and from one another through a communication line CL connected to a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network).

The printing machine3executes printing using the four color materials of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y) and black (K). The printing machine3is what is called a digital printing machine, and may be the inkjet type or electrophotographic type. The color materials in this invention mean inks and toners. Although the printing system ofFIG. 1exemplifies the type that outputs data to a digital printing machine, it may be a printing system that carries out offset printing through a CPT plate maker.

FIG. 2is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the image processing apparatus2.

The image processing apparatus2is realized by using a personal computer, which includes a CPU201, a ROM202, a RAM203, an interface205, a reading device206such as a disk drive for reading information from a portable storage medium210such as a CD-ROM, an HDD (hard disk)207which is a magnetic disk, a display device208such as a liquid crystal display, and an input device209such as a keyboard and a mouse.

The CPU201, ROM202, RAM203and interface205are connected to one another through a bus204. The reading device206, HDD207and communication line CL are connected to the interface205. The display208displays information including various settings in the image processing system2. The input device209is used by the operator in changing the various settings.

The image processing apparatus2can communicate with the client computer1and printing machine3through the communication line CL connected to the interface205. The HDD207stores various data and programs, such as of a spot color (special color) control DB (database) described hereinafter. When a program stored on the HDD207is executed, the program is loaded into the ROM202, and its functions are realized using the RAM203and CPU201.

FIG. 3is a block diagram showing a main functional construction related to color conversion of halftone of a spot color.FIG. 4is a flow chart showing a procedure for the color conversion of halftone of the spot color. In this embodiment, an L*a*b* color space is employed as device-independent color space.

The image processing apparatus2includes a color converter20acting as a color converting device. The color converter20has, as main functional components for carrying out color conversion of halftone of the spot color, a spot color information acquiring unit21for acquiring spot color information from the manuscript data, a spot color Lab acquiring unit22for acquiring L*a*b* values (solid L*a*b*) in the L*a*b* color space when the dot percentage of the spot color is at its maximum (100%), a first calculating unit23and a second calculating unit24.

The spot color information acquiring unit21acquires spot color information embedded in the manuscript data and including a spot color name and false color values (e.g. CMYK, RGB, etc.) expressing the spot color with key colors in different color systems (step S1). Then, the spot color information acquiring unit21searches the spot color control DB31by means of the acquired spot color name (step S2). Definitions of the spot color name include, for example, an arbitrary name such as gold, silver, or bright orange, and an ink maker's color number.

As shown inFIG. 4, the spot color Lab acquiring unit22, when the spot color name is registered in the spot color control DB31(step S3), refers to corresponding data in the spot color control DB31, and acquires L*a*b* values at 100% dot percentage of the spot color (step S4). On the other hand, when the spot color name is not registered in the spot color control DB31(step S3), the spot color Lab acquiring unit22converts the false color values acquired in step S1into L*a*b* values using an input ICC profile (step S5) to acquire the L*a*b* values at 100% dot percentage of the spot color.

The first calculating unit23calculates halftone L*a*b* values, using the L*a*b* values at 100% dot percentage of the spot color acquired by the spot color Lab acquiring unit22and the dot percentage of the spot color in a printing target portion of the spot color (step S6).

The second calculating unit24, using an output ICC profile, converts the halftone L*a*b* values (halftone L*a*b*) calculated by the first calculating unit23into CMYK values which are color values in a printing color space dependent on the colors (four colors of CMYK) used in printing by the printing machine3(step S7). Subsequently, CMYK data after the conversion to the CMYK values is outputted. The printing machine3carries out printing based on the CMYK data.

The technique of calculating the halftone L*a*b* values in the first calculating unit23will be described in further detail.FIG. 5is an explanatory view of the technique of calculating the halftone L*a*b* values in the first calculating unit23.

As shown inFIG. 5, the L*a*b* color space numerically expresses color with an L* axis representing lightness in numerical values of 0-100, and an a* axis and a b* axis representing chromaticity. +a* indicates a direction of red, −a* a direction of green, +b* a direction of yellow, and −b* a direction of blue. ThisFIG. 5shows an example in which the coordinate ranges of the a* axis and b* axis are −60 to +60. The first calculating unit23calculates halftone L*a*b* values of the spot color in the L*a*b* color space according to a certain rule represented by a line connecting, in the L*a*b* color space, maximum L*a*b* values when the dot percentage of the spot color in the L*a*b* color space is at its maximum, and minimum L*a*b* values when the dot percentage of the spot color in the L*a*b* color space is at its minimum.

The maximum L*a*b* values are L*a*b* values at the time of 100% dot percentage of the spot color acquired by the spot color Lab acquiring unit22. The minimum L*a*b* values are L*a*b* values obtained by measuring beforehand the ground color of a recording medium with the colorimetric machine4. In the example shown inFIG. 5, the maximum L*a*b* values and minimum L*a*b* values are shown in points on a 3D space of L*a*b*. The maximum L*a*b* values (point A) are made L*a*b*=(60, −30, 40), and the minimum L*a*b* values (point B) L*a*b*=(100, 0, 0).

The first calculating unit23calculates L*a*b* values of the spot color with 50% dot percentage (point M) to be L*a*b*=(80, −15, 20), on an assumption that, in the L*a*b* color space shown inFIG. 5, the L*a*b* values of the spot color vary by equal ratio on the straight line connecting point A and point B in response to variations in the dot percentage of the spot color.

FIG. 6is a graph showing a relationship between dot percentage and L*a*b* values of the spot color when the spot color is reproduced with the three colors of CMY.FIG. 7is a graph showing hue variations in an a*−b* plane occurring with variations in the dot percentage when the spot color is reproduced with the three colors of CMY. TheseFIGS. 6 and 7show an example of spot color with CMY=(100, 70, 10) recorded as false color values in the spot color control DB31. That is,FIGS. 6 and 7show an example of spot color which can express the closest color with CMY=(100, 70, 10) when a solid of the spot color is separated into CMY as in the conventional example described with reference toFIGS. 11 and 12, and show a plotting of each value occurring when the dot percentage is varied at intervals of 10%.

The first calculating unit23calculates the halftone L*a*b* values on the assumption that the L*a*b* values of the spot color vary by equal ratio on the straight line connecting maximum L*a*b* values and minimum L*a*b* values in response to variations in the dot percentage of the spot color as noted above. When the second calculating unit24converts the halftone L*a*b* values into halftone CMY (K) values, each value of L*, a* and b*, as shown inFIG. 6, can be said to vary linearly in response to the variations in the dot percentage. On the a*−b* plane, as shown inFIG. 7, it will be seen that the directional property and rate of variations with respect to the variations in the dot percentage have approached the ideal linear variation of hue in the a*−b* plane with respect to the variations of the monochromatic dot percentage shown inFIG. 10.

In the example described above, the L*a*b* values of the spot color are calculated as what varies by equal ratio on the straight line connecting point A and point B in response to variations in the dot percentage of the spot color, but this is not limitative. That is, the halftone L*a*b* values of the spot color may be calculated, for example, with different weights in the ranges of 100 to 80%, 80 to 20% and 20 to 0% dot percentages on an assumption that the L*a*b* values of the spot color vary unequally on the straight line connecting point A and point B in response to variations in the dot percentage of the spot color. Further the line connecting point A and point B in the L*a*b* color space may not necessarily be a straight line. That is, the technique of calculating halftone L*a*b* values in the first calculating unit23is to normalize and calculate the L*a*b* values. Various modifications are possible, such as using other normalizing functions, for example.

FIG. 8is an explanatory view of another technique of calculating the halftone L*a*b* values in the first calculating unit23.

In the example shown inFIG. 5, the maximum L*a*b* values and the minimum L*a*b* values are indicated by point A and point B on the 3D space of L*a*b*, and the halftone L*a*b* values of the spot color are calculated on the assumption that the L*a*b* values of the spot color vary of the line connecting point A and point B in response to variations in the dot percentage of the spot color. In the example of thisFIG. 8, on the other hand, the halftone L*a*b* values of the spot color are calculated according to a certain rule represented by a line connecting each a*b* value of the maximum L*a*b* values and minimum L*a*b* values, on the a*−b* plane which is a two-dimensional plane showing hue in an L*a*b* color space.

InFIG. 8, noting that maximum L*a*b* values are L*a*b* =(60, −30, 40) and minimum L*a*b* values are L*a*b*=(100, 0, 0), the respective a*b* values are shown in point A′ and point B′ on the a*−b* plane, as inFIG. 5. The first calculating unit23calculates a*b* values (point M′) in the L*a*b* values of the spot color with 50% dot percentage to be a*b*=(−15, 20), on the assumption that the L*a*b* values of the spot color vary by equal ratio on the straight line connecting point A′ and point B′ on the a*−b* plane in the L*a*b* color space in response to variations in the dot percentage of the spot color.

As described hereinbefore with reference toFIGS. 7 and 10, it is an ideal form in time of excellent color reproduction that hue variations on the a*−b* plane are linear with respect to variations in dot percentage; in other words, the hue variations have a certain constant direction. In the example ofFIG. 8, with attention directed particularly to the relationship between variations of dot percentage and variations of hue, the halftone a*b* values are sought on the straight line connecting point A′ and point B′ on the a*−b* plane. Note that L* value may be obtained as a value variable, with dot percentage, between L* value of maximum L*a*b* values and L* value of minimum L*a*b* values on the L* axis of the L*a*b* color space.

In this way, halftone L*a*b* values can be obtained by separately calculating a*b* values representing chromaticity and L* value representing lightness. It is also possible to use different normalization techniques for calculating a*b* values and for calculating L* value.

In the color conversion of this invention, as described above, halftone L*a*b* values after being calculated are converted into CMYK values. It is therefore possible to reproduce halftone color sense of a spot color with increased accuracy by the colors of color materials used in the printing machine3.

The foregoing embodiment has been described to exemplify a four process color printing in which the colors of color materials used in the printing machine3are CMYK. This invention is applicable also to a case where, for example, to print in bright orange color, a five process color printing is done by adding an orange color ink. Further, while conversion is made to CMYK data by way of example in the color conversion in the foregoing embodiment, this invention is applicable also to conversion to RGB data.

This application claims priority benefit under 35 U.S.C. Section 119 of Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-148625 filed in the Japanese Patent Office on Jul. 22, 2014, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.