Patent ID: 7777916

Claim:
A method for predicting a color value producible by a printer on a substrate when the printer is operable under a predetermined target set of operating conditions, the printer having a predetermined set of colorants available for deposition on the substrate, the method including the steps of: i) operating a printer under a predetermined first set of operating conditions to create a first set of M number of samples, each sample being produced using a predetermined colorant or combination of colorants; ii) operating the printer under a predetermined target set of operating conditions to create a second set of K number of samples, each sample in the second set being produced using the same predetermined colorant or combination of colorants used to produce one of the samples in the first set; iii) measuring actual spectral reflectances for each sample in the first and second sets, wherein the improvement comprises the steps of: a) using the actual spectral reflectance for each sample in the second set and the actual spectral reflectance for each corresponding sample in the first set, creating a cross-validated, partial-least-squares transform that maps a reflectance from a sample produced under the first set of operating conditions to a reflectance from a sample produced under the target set of operating conditions; b) using the cross-validated, partial-least-squares transform and the actual spectral reflectance measured from the M number of samples in the first set, generating a set of M number of predicted reflectances, each predicted reflectance representing a sample producible by the printer under the target set of operating conditions using one of the M predetermined colorants or combinations of colorants; and, c) using the set of M number of predicted reflectances and the M number of colorants or combinations of colorants used to produce the samples in the first set, generating a table able to predict a color value producible by the printer on a substrate using a predetermined colorant or combination of colorants when the printer is operable under the target set of operating conditions.