Patent ID: 8848257

Claim:
A color prediction method comprising: a coloring material use limit setting step of setting a provisional use limit value for coloring material in a multi-dimensional color space corresponding to a plurality of colors; a patch group creating step of creating a group of patches including a plurality of patches based on a previously determined combination of coloring material use values, in respect of a region where a sum total of coloring material use values for a previously determined combination of coloring materials is not more than the set use limit value; a patch group outputting step of outputting the created group of patches to a medium; a color measurement step of performing color measurement of the group of patches; a color measurement value inferring step of inferring a color measurement value for a virtual patch in a region exceeding the coloring material use limit, by extrapolation on the basis of the color measurement values of patches on which color measurement has been performed; and a color predicting step of predicting a color corresponding to a combination of coloring material use values in the color space, by interpolation on the basis of color measurement values obtained in the color measurement step and the color measurement value inferring step; wherein the patch group creating step includes an extrapolation calculation patch group creating step of creating a group of patches for extrapolation calculation of mixed colors, which have color measurement values at the coloring material use limit or in the vicinity of but not exceeding the coloring material use limit, and which are used as learning data in an extrapolation calculation in the color measurement value inferring step.