JP2017007288A - Image processing apparatus and image processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enlarge the control range for the glossiness of an image to be formed.SOLUTION: A data acquisition unit 201 acquires image data indicative of an image to be formed and glossiness data indicative of the glossiness of the image. A scan count setting unit 203 sets a recording scan count to image data pieces corresponding to their respective image data regions, based on the glossiness control range associated with the recording scan count, the image data, and the glossiness data. A recording quantity determination unit 204 determines the recording quantity of a colored color material and the recording quantity of a glossiness control material for each region, based on the recording scan count, the image data, and the glossiness data. A drive data generation unit 207 generates drive data of a recording element, depending on the recording scan count, the recording quantity of the colored color material, and the recording quantity of the gloss control material.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to control of glossiness of an image to be formed.

  In recent years, in the fields of commercial printing such as brochures, publishing printing such as magazines and photo collections, and packaging printing such as cosmetics and paper containers, the trend toward higher grades and individualization has further increased. A technique for locally controlling the glossiness of a printed material is used as an expression method for upgrading and individualizing. For example, a technique for enhancing the presence of an object by increasing the glossiness of an object area to be emphasized more than the surroundings is used.

  In pigment ink jet printers, where the influence of the surface shape of the recording medium and the material is large and it is difficult to control the glossiness, a method for controlling the glossiness by using a contrivance of the printing process or using a gloss adjusting material has been proposed. Patent Document 1 discloses a control method for making glossiness uniform by controlling the number of recording scans in order to reduce the difference in glossiness depending on the color material. Patent Document 2 discloses a method for controlling the gloss by controlling the area where the gloss adjusting material covers the surface of the printed matter.

  However, even if the glossiness can be varied, the range of glossiness that can be controlled by the techniques of Patent Documents 1 and 2 is limited.

JP 2012-035603 JP 2008-213271 A

JIS H 8686-1 "Image clarity test method of anodized film of aluminum and aluminum alloy-Part 1: Visual measurement method"

  An object of the present invention is to expand the control range of glossiness of an image to be formed.

  The present invention has the following configuration as one means for achieving the above object.

  Image processing according to the present invention is image processing for an image forming apparatus capable of recording and scanning the same area of a recording medium a plurality of times with the same recording material using a plurality of recording elements. The image data representing the image to be obtained and the glossiness data representing the glossiness of the image are acquired, and the glossiness corresponding to each of the plurality of areas of the image data is obtained according to the number of times of the recording scan. The number of recording scans is set based on the color control range, the image data, and the glossiness data, and the recording amount of the colored color material is determined for each area based on the number of recording scans, the image data, and the glossiness data. The recording amount of the gloss adjusting material is determined, and the drive data of the recording element is generated according to the set number of times of recording scanning, the determined recording amount of the color material and the determined recording amount of the gloss adjusting material. To.

  According to the present invention, the control range of glossiness of an image to be formed can be expanded.

The figure explaining the relationship between surface unevenness and glossy image clarity. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a multipass recording method. The schematic diagram explaining the function which prevents penetration, absorption, and fixing. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment. 6 is a flowchart for describing image processing executed by the image processing apparatus. The figure which shows an example of the glossiness control range. The figure which shows an example of a recording amount table. The figure which shows the mask pattern example of a glossiness adjusting material, and the mask pattern example of a certain colored material. The figure which shows another example of the mask pattern of a glossiness adjustment material. The figure which shows another example of the mask pattern of a certain colored material. The figure which shows the 2nd another example of the mask pattern of a glossiness adjustment material. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example when an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment is realized by an information processing apparatus.

  Hereinafter, an image processing apparatus and an image processing method according to embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, an Example does not limit this invention concerning a claim, and all the combinations of the structure demonstrated in an Example are not necessarily essential for the solution means of this invention.

[Glossiness]
First, glossiness and a method for controlling glossiness will be described. In the present invention, the gloss image clarity, which is a feature amount indicating the sharpness of an illumination image reflected on a printed matter, is controlled. Note that the definition and measurement method of gloss image clarity are described in Non-Patent Document 1, and thus the description thereof is omitted. It is known that gloss image clarity is related to surface irregularities (surface roughness) of printed matter.

  The relationship between surface irregularities and gloss image clarity will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 shows how the light emitted from the illumination 101 is reflected by the surface of the printed matter 102 and perceived by the observer 103 as gloss. As shown in FIG. 1 (a), in the case of a printed material 102a with small surface irregularities and high smoothness, the reflection direction of the illumination image reflected on the printed material 102a is uniform. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1 (b), in the case of a printed matter 102b with large surface irregularities and low smoothness, the reflection direction of the illumination light reflected on the printed matter 102b is not uniform.

  If the reflection direction of the illumination light is not uniform, the sharpness of the illumination image is lowered and the gloss image clarity is lowered. That is, the surface unevenness of the printed material is increased to reduce the gloss image clarity, and the surface unevenness of the printed material is decreased to increase the gloss image clarity.

In the present invention, the gloss image clarity is controlled by controlling the surface irregularities of the printed material using the number of recording scans and the recording order and recording amount of the gloss adjusting material as control elements. Below, the relationship between a control element and glossy image clarity is demonstrated.

  Inkjet image forming apparatuses that use pigment ink generally employ a multi-pass recording method in which a plurality of recording scans are repeated. The multi-pass recording method will be described with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. FIG. 2 schematically shows a recording head and a recording pattern.

  The recording head 901 has 16 nozzles for simplicity. The nozzles are divided according to the number of times of recording scanning. For example, when the recording scanning is performed four times, the nozzles are divided into first to fourth nozzle groups as shown in FIG.

  A recording pattern (mask pattern) 902 indicates a unit area where each nozzle performs recording. The patterns recorded by the nozzle groups are in an interpolating relationship with each other. When the patterns recorded by the nozzle groups are overlapped, the recording of the unit area corresponding to 4 × 4 pixels is completed. That is, as shown in patterns 903 to 906, the image is completed by overlapping the recording scans.

  At the end of each recording scan, the recording medium is conveyed by the width of the nozzle group in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. Therefore, an image is completed by four recording scans in the same area of the recording medium (area corresponding to the width of each nozzle group). From the above configuration, when the number of recording scans is small, the area to be recorded by one recording scan is large, and conversely, when the number of recording scans is large, the area to be recorded by one recording scan is small.

  On the other hand, in an ink jet type image forming apparatus using pigment ink, it is known that ink dots ejected by the same recording scan are easily combined on a recording medium, and the surface of a printed material approaches a smooth surface. That is, the smoothness of the surface of the printed matter increases when the number of recording scans is reduced, and the smoothness of the surface of the printed matter decreases when the number of recording scans is increased. Using this relationship, gloss image clarity is controlled by the number of recording scans. Details of the method of controlling the number of times of recording scanning according to the gloss image clarity data will be described later.

● Relationship between gloss adjustment material and gloss image clarity Next, the relationship between gloss adjustment material and gloss image clarity will be described. Hereinafter, an example in which a plurality of colored color materials and a colorless (or substantially colorless) gloss adjusting material are used as a recording material will be described. For example, a liquid obtained by the following preparation can be used as a gloss adjusting material, but the gloss adjusting material is not limited to the following preparation as long as the same effect can be obtained.
・ Styrene-acrylic acid copolymer 2 parts ・ Glycerin 7 parts ・ Diethylene glycol 5 parts ・ Water 86 parts

  The functional difference between the gloss adjusting material and the normal colored material is due to the difference in the polymer amount. An example of an ink to which a large amount of polymer having a gloss adjusting function is added is the gloss adjusting material. Therefore, even if a color material is included in the ink, a polymer having the same function is sufficiently added, and an ink having the same function as the gloss adjusting material can be appropriately used in the present invention. it can.

  If there is a difference in the amount of polymer, a difference appears in the surface shape when recorded on a recording medium. When the gloss adjusting material having a large amount of polymer is recorded first, it functions to prevent the color material to be recorded later from penetrating / absorbing / fixing on the recording medium. The function of hindering penetration, absorption and fixation will be described with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG.

  FIG. 3A shows a state where the colored material 1001 is ejected toward the recording medium 1002 and fixed. The colored material 1001 spreads on the surface of the recording medium 1002 and is fixed. On the other hand, when the gloss adjusting material 1003 having a large amount of polymer is recorded first on the recording medium 1002, and the colored color material 1001 is recorded on the gloss adjusting material 1003, as shown in FIG. Unevenly fix. Since unevenness occurs in the fixing of the colored material 1001, irregularities occur in the surface shape of the printed matter, resulting in a decrease in gloss image clarity.

  In other words, the gloss image clarity can be controlled by the recording amount of the gloss adjusting material recorded on the recording medium prior to the colored color material. Note that the above phenomenon occurs when the colored color material is ejected so as to be superimposed on the gloss adjusting material recorded on the recording medium, so the surface shape of the printed matter depends on the area ratio of the gloss adjusting material that is recorded first on the recording medium. Changes. Note that the upper limit of the recording amount of the gloss adjusting material is a recording amount that covers 100% of the surface of the recording medium.

  Further, in order to minimize the influence on the output image, the gloss adjusting material is mainly formed with a composition that does not contain a color material. However, a composition that does not include a color material is an example of a gloss adjusting material, and does not exclude the case where a color material is included. Even if a color material is included, if it is an achromatic color material (for example, white), or if the amount of color material is sufficient to show a very light color, the same function as a gloss adjustment material without color material is achieved. Can fulfill. In short, any recording material that has an appropriate amount of polymer and performs the same function as a gloss adjusting material without a color material when fixed on a recording medium can be used as the gloss adjusting material of the embodiment.

  The present invention uses such a relationship to control the gloss image clarity according to the recording amount of the gloss adjusting material recorded on the recording medium prior to the recording of the color material.

  In addition, image formation in the embodiment is performed using a plurality of color materials and a colorless (or substantially colorless) gloss adjusting material. In the following, the recording material is represented by cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), black (K), clear (CL) for each color. Further, the symbol CMYK may represent data or the recording amount (or its signal value) of the corresponding color material in the CMYK space, and the symbol CL may represent the recording amount (or its signal value) of the gloss adjusting material. .

[Device configuration]
A block diagram of FIG. 4 shows a configuration example of the image processing apparatus of the embodiment. In FIG. 4, the data acquisition unit 201 is a glossy image indicating glossiness of each area of the image data and the image represented by the image data from an information processing apparatus, an image input device, a recording medium such as a memory card, a website, etc. Get the data. These data are data created, edited or processed by various applications, and the image data is, for example, 8-bit sRGB data for each color. The gloss data gs will be described later.

  The color matching (CM) processing unit 202 maps the input image data to a color gamut that can be reproduced by the image forming unit 11, as will be described in detail later. Although described in detail later, the scan count setting unit 203 refers to the input data and the gloss control table 205, and sets the scan count for each unit area of the input data. The recording amount determination unit 204 refers to the gloss control table 205 based on the set number of recording scans, and converts the input data into the recording amount of the recording material for each unit area.

  The gloss control table 205 is a look-up table (LUT) that holds information (hereinafter referred to as gloss control range information) indicating a range in which the image forming unit 11 can perform gloss control (hereinafter referred to as gloss control range). Further, the gloss control table 205 includes a plurality of LUTs (hereinafter, “recording amount tables”) indicating the recording amounts of the recording materials corresponding to the image data RGB and the gloss data gs for each number of recording scans.

  For each unit area, the halftone (HT) processing unit 206 converts, for example, the recording amount of each recording material 8 bits into binary data of each recording material 1 bit, for example, by error diffusion processing or dither processing. The drive data generation unit 207 generates drive data for driving the printing elements by decomposing the binary data of each printing material for each printing scan using a mask pattern held in advance.

  The head driving circuit 208 drives the recording head 209 in which a plurality of recording elements (nozzles) are arranged based on the driving data generated for each recording scan, and forms an image represented by the image data on the recording medium. A printed material 210 in which the glossiness represented by the glossiness data is recorded is generated.

  FIG. 4 shows a configuration example in which a data acquisition unit 201, a CM processing unit 202, a scanning number setting unit 203, a recording amount determination unit 204, and a gloss control table 205 are included in the image processing unit 10. In addition, a configuration example in which the HT processing unit 206, the drive data generation unit 207, the head drive circuit 208, and the recording head 209 are included in the image forming unit 11 is shown. However, the image processing unit 10 may further include an HT processing unit 206 and a drive data generation unit 207, and the image forming unit 11 may include a head drive circuit 208 and a recording head 209.

[Image processing]
Image processing executed by the image processing apparatus will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The data acquisition unit 201 acquires image data indicating the image to be formed on the recording medium and gloss data (S501).

  Hereinafter, the gloss data gs will be described as gloss image clarity data indicating gloss image clarity. The gloss image clarity data is, for example, 8-bit data indicating the level of gloss image clarity. Note that the bit depths of the image data and glossy image clarity data are examples, and the bit depth is not limited. The data acquisition unit 201 can also acquire only image data and generate glossy image clarity data gs based on feature quantities such as brightness information and edge information included in the image data.

  The subsequent processing is performed for each unit area of the image data, and after the processing of the predetermined area is completed, the process proceeds to the image forming process. The unit area is a minimum area that can be expressed with gradation by image data, and in the embodiment, description will be made with a pixel as a unit area. Further, the predetermined area corresponds to a range in which one printing scan can be performed, and in the embodiment, description will be made assuming that one line of the image is the predetermined area. In addition, the gloss image clarity data may have the same resolution (1 data / pixel) as the image data, but for example, image data such as 1 data / (3 × 3 pixels) or 1 data / (10 × 10 pixels). Low resolution is acceptable. When the resolution of the gloss data is low, the data acquisition unit 201 may perform resolution conversion on the gloss data and generate gloss data having the same resolution as the image data.

  The CM processing unit 202 inputs image data for one pixel from the data acquisition unit 201, for example, in raster scan order, and performs color gamut mapping processing on the image data (S502). That is, the RGB image data is converted into RGB data in the color gamut of the image forming unit 11 using a three-dimensional LUT indicating the mapping relationship between the input color and the output color and interpolation calculation. The color gamut mapping process is a process of matching the color displayed on the monitor and the color indicated by the printed material when the color expressed on the monitor such as sRGB is reproduced on the printed material. Therefore, color space compression from the monitor color gamut to the printer color gamut is performed in a color space such as CIEL * a * b *. Color space compression includes a method that gives priority to perceptual matching called Perceptual, a method that gives priority to colorimetric matching called Colorimetric, and a method that gives priority to vividness called Saturation.

  Next, the scan count setting unit 203 sets the print scan count Pn of the target pixel (S503). Based on the gloss control range information held in the gloss control table 205, the scan count setting unit 203 sets the recording scan count Pn from the RGB data after the color gamut mapping of the target pixel and the gloss mapping data gs.

  For example, when the number of recording scans Ns corresponding to the image forming unit 11 is four types of 4, 8, 16, and 32, the scan count setting unit 203 sets the print scan count Pn by performing a maximum of four determination processes. To do. At that time, in order to preferentially select the number of recording scans Ns that can reduce variations peculiar to nozzles, variations in transport accuracy of the recording medium, etc., determination processing is performed in descending order of the number of recording scans Ns. When the number of recording scans Ns is the above four types, the determination process is performed in the order of 32, 16, 8, and 4. Of course, sequential determination processing is not essential, and determination processing may be performed in parallel for the total number of recording scans.

● Acquisition of gloss control range Acquisition of gloss control range is performed as follows. First, a chart containing number of printing scans Ns, the area ratio of the gloss adjusting material CL R _CL, a plurality of patches having a controlled density D of the image data. Then, gloss image clarity for each combination of Ns, R _CL and D is measured. Needless to say, the recording of the gloss adjusting material CL in the chart is performed prior to the recording of the colored material.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the gloss control range. FIG. 6 (a) shows gloss image clarity (vertical axis) for a combination of Ns (horizontal axis) and R CL (parameter) in a high density region of image data. When Ns is the same, the gloss image clarity changes depending on R CL (recording amount of the gloss adjusting material CL), and the change range corresponds to the gloss control range. Further, the gloss control range also changes depending on Ns, and FIG. 6 (a) shows that the gloss control range is wider as Ns is smaller.

FIG. 6 (b) shows gloss image _{clarity for} a combination of Ns and RCL in a certain density region other than the high density region of the image data. In the gloss control range shown in FIG. 6 (b), the change with respect to Ns is smaller than that in FIG. 6 (a).

  The difference in the change in the gloss control range with respect to Ns is caused by the change in the recording amount of the color material in accordance with the density D of the image data. When the amount of recording is large, the amount of solid matter fixed on the surface of the printed matter is large, and the difference in the surface shape of the printed matter due to Ns becomes remarkable. Therefore, the gloss control range varies depending on the image data. In order to cope with this difference, the gloss control range is held for each RGB data.

Setting the recording scan count Pn (S503)
Details of the setting of the number of recording scans Pn (S503) will be described below. The scan count setting unit 203 acquires the gloss control range corresponding to the RGB data of the target pixel from the gloss control table 205 (S5031). Then, it is determined whether or not the gloss control range at the maximum number of Ns includes the value of gloss map data of the target pixel (hereinafter referred to as target gloss map data) (S5032). Is lowered (S5034), and the determination in step S5032 is performed. According to the above example, the determination is performed in the order of Ns = 32, 16, 8, and 4.

  When Ns is found that includes the value of the glossy controllability data of interest in the glossiness control range, the scan count setting unit 203 sets the Ns as the print scan count Ps of the pixel of interest (S5035). On the other hand, if the gloss control range including the value of the glossy image clarity data of interest cannot be obtained even if Ns is lowered to the minimum (Yes in S5033), the scan count setting unit 203 performs glossy mapping data mapping processing (hereinafter, Glossy mapping) is performed (S5036).

  Gloss mapping is a process of setting Ns, which reproduces the gloss image properties closest to the value of the gloss image data of interest, in the gloss control range corresponding to the RGB data of the pixel of interest as the number of scanning scans Ps of the pixel of interest. .

  As the number of recording scans Ps, the maximum Ns that reproduces the value of the glossy image clarity data of interest, or the selection of Ns that reproduces the glossiness of the image closest to the value of the glossy glossiness data of interest (gloss mapping) has been explained. However, it is not limited to these. Minimize the amount of color variation indicated by the RGB data of the pixel of interest from multiple Ns, such as Ns that can reproduce the value of the glossy imagery data of interest and Ns that reproduces the glossiness of the image that is close to the value of the glossy data of interest. Ns to be selected may be selected.

  Further, although an example in which gloss mapping is performed when there is no Ns that reproduces the glossy image clarity data of interest, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the image data and the gloss image data are acquired, it is determined whether or not there is a unit region having a gloss image data value that cannot be reproduced by the image forming unit 11. As a result of the determination, if there is a unit area that cannot reproduce the value of glossy image clarity data, a warning is issued to the user and the subsequent processing is interrupted, or all glossy image clarity data values are any Ns The gloss image clarity data may be modified so as to be included in the gloss control range at.

  In addition, an example in which the number of printing scans Ns is the largest is preferentially selected, but the Ns that can reproduce the glossy image clarity data of interest is close to the number of printing scans Pn ′ set in the immediately preceding unit area. The number Ns of recording scans may be preferentially selected. For example, if Ns that can reproduce the glossy image clarity data of interest is 8 or 16, and Pn ′ = 4 or 8, Ps = 8 is set. By doing so, the change in the number of recording scans Pn becomes gentle, and image quality fluctuations are less likely to occur.

After Step S504 When the recording scan count Pn of the target pixel is determined, the recording amount determination unit 204 refers to the recording amount table held in the gloss control table 205, and records the color CMYK recording amount of the colored material of the target pixel and the gloss The recording amount CL of the adjusting material is determined (S504).

  FIG. 7 shows an example of the recording amount table. The recording amount table indicates, for each Ns, the recording amount CMYK of the color material corresponding to the RGB data and the recording amount CL of the gloss adjusting material corresponding to the gloss image clarity data. That is, the recording amount determination unit 204 performs an interpolation operation with reference to a table corresponding to the recording scan count Pn of the target pixel, and converts RGB data and glossy image clarity data into the recording amount CMYKCL.

  Next, the HT processing unit 206 generates, for example, a 1-bit recording amount C′M′Y′K′CL ′ by quantizing the 8-bit recording amount CMYKCL, for example, by halftone processing (S505). . The drive data generation unit 207 decomposes the recording amount C′M′Y′K′CL ′ of the target pixel into the drive data of the recording element for each recording scan, using the mask pattern corresponding to the number of recording scans Pn of the target pixel. S506).

  The drive data generation unit 207 stores the drive data in a band memory that holds the drive data for one line, and determines whether the preparation of the drive data for one line is completed (S507). When the preparation of the drive data for one line is completed, the drive data generation unit 207 outputs the drive data held in the band memory to the head drive circuit 208 in the order of scanning and recording times and in the order of pixels (S508). When preparation of drive data for one line has not been completed, or when output of drive data is started, the drive data generation unit 207 returns the process to step S502, and the above-described process for the next pixel is executed. Although not shown in FIG. 5, it goes without saying that the processing in steps S502 to S508 is repeated until the processing for one image is completed.

Mask Pattern In the embodiment, drive data is generated with a mask pattern so that the gloss adjusting material CL is recorded prior to recording of the color material. FIG. 8 shows a mask pattern example of a gloss adjusting material and a mask pattern example of a certain color material. FIG. 8 shows a case where the recording head 209 has 96 recording elements (nozzles) for each recording material, and the four continuous recording elements are used as one nozzle group, and the 96 recording elements are divided into 24 nozzle groups. An example of the mask pattern is shown. In this case, one pixel has a 4 × 4 dot configuration.

  In order to record the gloss adjustment material CL in advance, the gloss adjustment material CL is recorded by the lower 12 nozzle groups (48 printing elements), and a certain color is given by the upper 12 nozzle groups (48 printing elements). Color material is recorded. Then, three types of recording scans of Ns = 4, 8, and 12 by the 12 nozzle groups are possible. Mask patterns 402 and 405 correspond to Ns = 4, mask patterns 403 and 406 correspond to Ns = 8, and mask patterns 404 and 407 correspond to Ns = 12.

  For example, when the number of recording scans Pn = 4 for a certain pixel, the first nozzle group forms 4 dots in the first recording scan by the mask pattern 402. Similarly, in the second recording scan, the second nozzle group forms another 4 dots, in the third recording scan, the third nozzle group forms another 4 dots, and in the fourth recording scan, the fourth nozzle group The remaining 4 dots are formed, and the recording of the gloss adjusting material CL of the pixel is completed. Needless to say, the formation of dots includes the case of hitting the material and the case of not hitting the material.

  After that, when the recording medium is transported for 8 nozzle groups in the sub-scanning direction, recording of a colored material having the pixel is started, and the 13th nozzle group forms 4 dots in the first recording scan by the mask pattern 405. To do. Similarly, in the second recording scan, the fourteenth nozzle group forms another four dots, in the third recording scan, the fifteenth nozzle group forms another four dots, and in the fourth recording scan, the sixteenth nozzle group The remaining four dots are formed, and the recording of the colored material having the pixel is completed.

  Since the number Pn of recording scans is set for each pixel, the mask pattern applied to a certain pixel does not always match the mask pattern applied to an adjacent pixel. In other words, the mask patterns 402 and 405 may be applied to a certain pixel, and the mask patterns 404 and 407 may be applied to adjacent pixels. That is, in the case of the image forming unit 11 having the recording head 209 corresponding to FIG. 8, the mechanical control unit (not shown) completes image recording for one line by performing 24 main scans. For main scanning in which no recording material is discharged, the movement of the recording head 209 can be omitted and only the recording medium can be conveyed.

  In addition, when the recording head 209 has a configuration as shown in FIG. 8, the drive data generation unit 207 corresponds to CMYKCL as a band memory that has a memory capacity of 4 bits × the maximum number of dots in the main scanning direction × 24 lines. Have 5 planes to do. The drive data generation unit 207 stores the generated drive data at an appropriate position in the band memory, reads out the drive data at a position corresponding to the recording scan, and outputs it to the head drive circuit 208.

  Thus, the gloss image clarity can be controlled by the recording amount of the gloss adjusting material recorded on the recording medium prior to the recording of the color material, and the gloss control range can be expanded.

  Hereinafter, an image processing apparatus and an image processing method according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that the same reference numerals in the second embodiment denote the same parts as in the first embodiment, and a detailed description thereof may be omitted.

  In the first embodiment, an example in which a plurality of mask patterns corresponding to the number of printing scans Ns is held, the number of printing scans Pn is determined for each unit area according to input data, and a mask pattern corresponding to Pn is applied Explained. In order to obtain a wide gloss control range, it is necessary to increase the number of nozzle scans and the number of recording scans Ns. However, if the number of nozzle groups is large, printing is carried by one printing scan. The distance of the medium (paper feed amount) becomes smaller and the printing time becomes longer. In the second embodiment, a method for changing the number of divisions of a plurality of printing elements (hereinafter, the number of nozzle groups Mn) according to input data will be described.

  As described above, the gloss control range varies depending on the color specified by the RGB data, and the change in the gloss control range with respect to the number of recording scans Ns becomes significant in the high density region (see FIG. 6A). That is, it can be said that the number of recording scans Pn in a series of processes for forming one image is determined by the gloss image reproducibility reproduced in the high density region. When reproducing low gloss image clarity in a high density region, it is necessary to increase the number of nozzle groups Mn in order to increase the number of recording scans Pn. On the other hand, when only high gloss image clarity is reproduced in a high density region, the number of nozzles Mn can be reduced because the number of recording scans may be small.

  Based on the above relationship, the number of nozzle groups Mn is determined by setting the number of recording scans Pn that can reproduce the minimum gloss image clarity value in the high density region from the input data as the minimum number of recording scans Pn (min). The nozzle group number determination unit 211 illustrated in FIG. 4 extracts feature amounts from the input data acquired by the data acquisition unit 201. The feature amount is the minimum value of the gloss image data corresponding to the RGB data in the high density region. Then, the nozzle group number determination unit 211 refers to the gloss control range information, acquires the minimum number of scans Ns (min) that can reproduce the feature amount, and determines the nozzle group number Mn.

  The determination of the number of nozzle groups Mn is executed between steps S501 and S502 shown in FIG. 5, and in step S503, based on the combination of the number of recording scans Ns corresponding to the determined number of nozzle groups Mn, the number of recording scans Pn Settings are made. Although not shown in the drawing, the number of nozzle groups Mn is transmitted to the drive data generation unit 207 together with the number of print scans Pn.

  Thus, the number of nozzle groups Mn can be controlled according to the input data. When the number of nozzle groups Mn is reduced by the control, it is possible to reduce the problem that the paper feed amount of the recording medium increases and the printing time becomes long.

[Modification]
In the above, multi-pass printing has been described as an example of forming an image by a plurality of printing scan times Ns. However, the printing method is not limited to multi-pass printing. Any recording method that can scan the same area a plurality of times to form an image may be used. For example, by using an image forming apparatus that employs serial pass recording, a recording material is recorded on the recording medium, and then a recording material is recorded again on the same surface of the recording medium, so that multiple recording scans are performed. May be performed.

  In the above, a procedure has been described in which color gamut mapping is performed on image data in order to reproduce a monitor expression color such as sRGB with a printer, and then the recording amount is determined. However, the CM processing unit 202 can be omitted by designing the recording amount table for determining the recording amount so as to include color gamut mapping.

  As described above, the present invention extends the lower limit of the gloss image reproducibility range by the recording amount CL of the gloss adjusting material to be recorded prior to the recording of the color material and the number of recording scans Ps. Therefore, the gloss control range can be further expanded by using a recording material or recording medium with high glossiness, such as a colored material having a high refractive index or a recording medium with high surface smoothness.

  In the above description, gloss image clarity has been described as an example of glossiness that can be controlled in a pigment inkjet printer. The surface shape of the printed matter is a factor that affects the gloss strength in the gloss. Therefore, a chart including a plurality of patches in which the number of recording scans Ns, the recording amount of the gloss adjusting material CL, and the density D of the image data is controlled is formed, and the gloss intensity of each patch is measured. Create the relationship of the input recording amount. In this way, the same control as the gloss image clarity can be performed on the gloss intensity.

  In the above description, the example in which the recording amount determination unit 204 determines the recording amount CMYKCL using the recording amount table corresponding to the recording scan count Pn has been described. From the characteristics of each recording material and recording medium, a calculation formula indicating the relationship between the input data and the recording amount can be defined. In this case, the recording amount determination unit 204 calculates the recording amount for each unit area based on the calculation formula.

[Modification of mask pattern]
FIG. 8 shows an example of a mask pattern in which 96 printing elements are divided into 24 sets of nozzle groups. In the case of Ns = 4, an example in which the first to fourth nozzle groups are used has been described. It is not limited.

  FIG. 9 shows another example of the mask pattern of the gloss adjusting material. That is, you may use the mask pattern in which the printing scan which forms a dot, and the printing scan which does not form a dot coexist. In FIG. 9, an example of a colored color material mask pattern is omitted. Similar to FIG. 8, there are colored color material mask patterns corresponding to the thirteenth nozzle group and thereafter.

  FIG. 10 shows another example of a mask pattern of a certain color material. That is, FIG. 8 shows an example in which the recording of the colored material is started from the center of the printing element array in the case of Ns = 4 and 8, but FIG. 10 shows a mask pattern using a later nozzle group. .

  FIG. 11 shows a second alternative example of the mask pattern of the gloss adjusting material. In FIG. 11, an example of a mask pattern of a colored material is omitted, but there is a mask pattern of a colored material corresponding to the 12th to 23rd nozzle groups. That is, FIG. 8-10 shows a mask pattern in which all of the gloss adjusting material is recorded first, while FIG. 11 shows a mask pattern in which a part of the gloss adjusting material is recorded last.

  For example, when controlling the gloss color and gloss intensity, there is a method of changing the refractive index of the outermost surface of the printed material. In order to control the refractive index of the outermost surface of the printed material over a wide range, it is necessary to record not only the colored material but also the gloss adjusting material on the outermost surface of the printed material. In such a case, the mask pattern shown in FIG. 11 is used, and processing is performed so that a part of the gloss adjusting material is recorded on the colored material. The ratio of the recording amount of the gloss adjusting material to be recorded first and the recording amount of the gloss adjusting material to be recorded last can be determined by the mask pattern, but the ratio can be determined according to the input data using the LUT. It can also be controlled.

  Further, when the refractive index in the color material layer is controlled, a mask pattern in which the gloss adjusting material is recorded between the recording of the colored color material and the recording of the colored color material is used.

[Modification of device configuration]
In FIG. 4, the example in which the image processing of the embodiment is executed by a dedicated image processing apparatus has been described. However, a program for realizing the image processing of the embodiment may be supplied to the computer apparatus and the above image processing may be executed. Is possible.

  The block diagram of FIG. 12 shows a configuration example when the image processing apparatus of the embodiment is realized by the information processing apparatus. The CPU 701 controls the entire information processing apparatus 700 by executing an OS and various programs stored in a storage unit 704 including a ROM, HDD, SDD, and the like using a memory 702 such as a RAM as a work memory. The storage unit 704 stores a program for realizing the image processing of the embodiment as a part of a printer driver, for example.

  A general-purpose interface (I / F) 705 is a serial bus interface such as a USB, and is connected to an input device (keyboard or pointing device) (not shown). A monitor 710 or the like is connected to the video I / F 706. A network I / F 703 is a wired or wireless network interface, and performs communication with a server device, the Internet, and the like via the network 720.

  The CPU 701 displays a user interface (UI) on the monitor 710 and executes various programs in accordance with user instructions input via the input device. Then, the image data and gloss data of the image to be formed from an external information processing device, an image input device, a recording medium such as a memory card, a server device, or a website via a general-purpose I / F 705 or a network I / F 703. Enter various data. Further, the recording amount CMYKCL and the recording scan count Ps obtained by the image processing of the first and second embodiments, or the drive data are output to the image forming apparatus 730 via the general-purpose I / F 705. The image forming apparatus 730 is a pigment ink jet printer or the like capable of recording and scanning the same area of a recording medium a plurality of times using a plurality of recording elements.

[Other Examples]
The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or apparatus read and execute the program It can also be realized by processing. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

  201 ... Data acquisition unit, 203 ... Scan number setting unit, 204 ... Recording amount determination unit, 207 ... Drive data generation unit

Claims (12)

An image processing apparatus for performing image processing for an image forming apparatus capable of recording and scanning the same area of a recording medium multiple times with the same recording material using a plurality of recording elements,
Acquisition means for acquiring image data representing an image to be formed and gloss data representing the gloss of the image;
Setting for setting the number of recording scans based on the gloss control range corresponding to the number of times of the recording scan, the image data, and the gloss data for the image data corresponding to each of the plurality of regions of the image data Means,
Determining means for determining the recording amount of the color material and the recording amount of the gloss adjusting material based on the number of times of recording scanning, the image data, and the gloss data for each region;
An image processing apparatus comprising: a generation unit configured to generate drive data of the recording element according to the set number of recording scans, and the determined recording amount of the color material and the recording amount of the gloss adjusting material. The generation unit generates drive data corresponding to the recording amount of the gloss adjusting material for each predetermined region of the image, and generates drive data corresponding to the recording amount of the colored color material,
The gloss adjusting material is recorded on a recording medium based on the driving data corresponding to the recording amount of the gloss adjusting material, and the gloss adjusting material is recorded based on the driving data corresponding to the recording amount of the colored color material. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the colored material is recorded on the recording medium. The generation unit generates drive data corresponding to the recording amount of the gloss adjusting material for each predetermined region of the image, and generates drive data corresponding to the recording amount of the colored color material,
The gloss adjusting material is recorded on a recording medium based on a part of driving data corresponding to the recording amount of the gloss adjusting material, and the gloss adjusting material is determined based on driving data corresponding to the recording amount of the colored color material. The gloss color adjusting material is recorded on the recording medium on which the colored color material is recorded based on the remaining drive data corresponding to the recording amount of the gloss adjusting material. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image is recorded. Information indicating the gloss control range, and a table indicating the number of recording scans and the recording amount of the color material for the image data, and the number of recording scans and the recording amount of the gloss adjusting material for the gloss data are stored. Stored storage means,
The setting means sets the number of times of recording scanning with reference to information indicating the gloss control range,
4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines the recording amount with reference to the table.   The image processing according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the setting unit sets the number of times of recording scanning having a gloss control range in which the value of the gloss data can be reproduced in the unit area. apparatus.   4. The unit according to claim 1, wherein the setting means sets the maximum number of times of recording scanning among the number of times of recording scanning having a gloss control range in which the value of the gloss data can be reproduced in the unit area. An image processing apparatus according to one item.   If the number of recording scans having a gloss control range in which the gloss data value is reproducible does not exist even if the number of print scans is reduced to the minimum, the setting means has a glossiness closest to the gloss data value. 7. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the number of times of recording scanning for reproducing is set in the unit area.   The setting means sets, in the unit area, the number of recording scans close to the number of recording scans set in the immediately preceding unit area among the number of recording scans having a gloss control range in which the value of the gloss data can be reproduced. 4. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein the image processing device is an image processing device. Means for determining the number of divisions of the plurality of recording elements based on a minimum value of the gloss data corresponding to the image data of a high density region;
4. The image according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit sets the number of times of recording scanning based on the gloss control range corresponding to the number of times of recording scanning corresponding to the number of divisions. Processing equipment.   10. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a forming unit that drives the recording element in accordance with the drive data to form an image. An image processing method for an image forming apparatus capable of recording and scanning the same area of a recording medium a plurality of times with the same recording material using a plurality of recording elements,
Obtaining image data representing an image to be formed and gloss data representing the gloss of the image;
The image data corresponding to each of the plurality of regions of the image data is set to the number of recording scans based on the gloss control range corresponding to the number of recording scans, the image data and the gloss data,
For each region, based on the number of times of recording scanning, the image data, and the gloss data, determine the recording amount of the color material and the recording amount of the gloss adjusting material,
An image processing method for generating drive data of the recording element according to the set number of recording scans and the determined recording amount of the color material and gloss recording material.   10. A program for causing a computer to function as each unit of the image processing apparatus according to claim 1.

Images