JP4470745B2 - Color processing method, color matching characteristic acquisition device, color processing device, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a color processing method for generating an output image by performing color processing on an input image.

  Currently, a display device such as a CRT display or a liquid crystal display is generally used as a device for displaying a color image. In addition, a color image displayed on such a display device is often recorded on a recording medium such as paper by an electrophotographic or inkjet printing device. In recent years, color appearance matches between the color image displayed on the display device and the color image printed on the printing device, for example, because there are more opportunities to print photographs taken with digital cameras. Is strongly demanded.

  Thus, conventionally, a number of color correction methods have been proposed for the purpose of matching the color reproduction between these different media. In particular, when different output devices are used, many attempts have been made to match the appearances of the two by associating device-specific color gamuts (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-228688 proposes a method for calculating a color conversion parameter so that the appearance of colors matches between object color image data and light source color image data.

JP-A-9-98300 (pages 3-5, FIGS. 5 and 6)

However, even if the XYZ tristimulus values calculated using the visual sensitivity of the standard observer determined by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) are matched, the color appearances do not always match. That is, even if colorimetric matching is realized, matching of color appearance cannot always be realized.
In Patent Document 1, it is pointed out that the same color may not be seen even if the tristimulus values are the same due to differences in spectral waveforms caused by differences in modes such as light source color and object color.
However, the cause of the fact that the same color does not appear even if the tristimulus values are the same may be due to differences in visual characteristics among individuals. The idea that the colors match if the tristimulus values match is based on the assumption of a virtual person called “standard observer” who has visual characteristics that are the average value based on the experimental results of many subjects. In other words, it should be said that it is a means of quantitative expression aimed at obtaining the maximum happiness of the largest number.

FIG. 9 schematically shows on the a ^* b ^* plane the result of a plurality of subjects performing equal color between different media. In the figure, the coordinates corresponding to the reference color chart are indicated by “◯”. This corresponds to the tristimulus value calculated using the visual sensitivity of the standard observer. On the other hand, the color of the display device that the subject A perceived as the same color as the color of the reference color chart is “Δ”, and the color of the display device that the subject B perceived as the same color as the color of the reference color chart The coordinates of are indicated by “◇”. From FIG. 9, it can be seen that (1) the reference color chart does not completely match the actual color matching result, and (2) the difference between the reference color chart and the actual color matching result varies depending on the subject.

However, it is still unclear as to how much difference there is between general human sensitivity and standard observer sensitivity and whether it is negligible. Therefore, for faithful color reproduction, it is necessary to consider the realization of a color processing system that takes into account personal characteristics.
In Patent Document 1, only the difference in spectral waveform caused by the difference in mode such as the light source color and the object color is taken into consideration, so that the color conversion cannot be performed in consideration of the characteristics related to the appearance of the user's color. There was a point.

The present invention has been made to solve the technical problems as described above, and an object of the present invention is to enable color conversion in consideration of characteristics relating to the color appearance of the user.
Another object of the present invention is to easily obtain characteristics relating to the color appearance of a specific user, reflect the characteristics, and display the colors on the display device and the colors finally recorded on the recording medium. It is to match.

  For this purpose, in the present invention, the user information and the user's color matching characteristics are stored in association with each other, and color conversion from the input image to the output image is performed by reflecting the color matching characteristics. . In other words, the color processing method of the present invention is a method of generating an output image by performing color conversion on an input image, and associates a color matching characteristic, which is a characteristic related to a user's color appearance, with the identification information of the user. Storing in the storage device, selecting a color matching characteristic of a specific user from the color matching characteristics stored in the storage device based on the identification information of the specific user, and the specific user selected Performing color conversion based on the color matching characteristics.

  The present invention can also be understood as a color matching characteristic acquisition device that acquires and registers the color matching characteristics of such a user. In that case, the color matching characteristic acquisition apparatus of the present invention determines whether the acquisition means for acquiring user information and the color recorded on the recording medium and the color displayed on the display device look the same. Instruction means for instructing the user to perform the experiment, and storage means for storing the user information acquired by the acquisition means and the user's color matching characteristics obtained from the result of the color matching experiment in association with each other. .

  Furthermore, the present invention can also be understood as a color processing apparatus that performs such color conversion. In that case, the color processing apparatus of the present invention is an apparatus that generates an output image by performing color conversion on the input image, and a storage unit that stores a color matching characteristic that is a characteristic related to the color appearance of each user; A selection unit that selects a color matching characteristic of a specific user from among the color matching characteristics of each user stored in the storage unit, and a conversion that performs color conversion based on the color matching characteristics of the specific user selected by the selection unit Means.

  On the other hand, the present invention can also be understood as a program for realizing a predetermined function in a computer. In that case, the program of the present invention first determines whether or not the function of acquiring user information and the color recorded on the recording medium and the color displayed on the display device look the same for the computer. A function for instructing the user to perform a color matching experiment, a function for associating the user information with the user's color matching characteristics obtained from the result of the color matching experiment, and storing the function in a predetermined storage device It is. Second, the computer has a function of selecting a color matching characteristic of a specific user from the color matching characteristics that are characteristics related to the color appearance of each user stored in a predetermined storage device. A function of performing color conversion on a predetermined image based on the color matching characteristics of a specific user is realized.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to perform color conversion in consideration of the characteristics relating to the color appearance of the user.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiment”) will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a color processing system according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the color processing system according to the present embodiment includes a user information reception unit 10, an environment information reception unit 20, a color matching characteristic storage unit 30, a color matching characteristic selection unit 40, and a color matching result. An acquisition unit 50, a color matching characteristic generation unit 60, an input image reception unit 70, a display signal calculation unit 80, and an input image display unit 90 are provided.

Among these, the portion including the user information receiving unit 10, the environment information receiving unit 20, the color matching characteristic storage unit 30, the color matching characteristic selection unit 40, the input image receiving unit 70, the display signal calculation unit 80, and the input image display unit 90 is as follows. The color processing apparatus can generate an output image by performing color conversion on the input image. Further, the part including the color matching result acquisition unit 50, the color matching characteristic generation unit 60, and the color matching characteristic storage unit 30 can be regarded as a color matching characteristic acquisition device that acquires and registers the color matching characteristics of the user.
The color matching characteristic is a characteristic related to the appearance of the user's color, and what information is obtained by what color matching experiment will be described later.

The user information receiving unit 10 receives information about the user (hereinafter referred to as “user information”), and the environment information receiving unit 20 receives information about the environment (hereinafter referred to as “environment information”).
The color matching characteristic storage unit 30 is a storage unit that stores the user's color matching characteristics, and the color matching characteristic selection unit 40 selects user information and environment from the color matching characteristics stored in the color matching characteristic storage unit 30. It is a selection means for selecting a color matching characteristic in a specific environment of a specific user based on the information.

The color matching result acquisition unit 50 acquires user information and environment information, and instructs the user to perform a color matching experiment and acquires the result. That is, it is a part that can be grasped as acquisition means from the viewpoint of obtaining user information, environmental information, and results of color matching experiments, and a part that can be grasped as instruction means from the viewpoint of instructing color matching experiments.
The color matching characteristic generation unit 60 generates a user color matching characteristic from the result of the color matching experiment.
The input image receiving unit 70 receives the input image, the display signal calculating unit 80 calculates a signal for displaying the input image on the display device in consideration of the color matching characteristics, and the input image displaying unit 90 The input image is displayed based on the. These can be grasped as conversion means from the viewpoint of color conversion of the input image.

  Each of these functions can be realized only by hardware, but can also be realized by a combination of hardware and software. In the latter case, each functional unit is realized by a CPU (not shown) of the color processing system reading and executing a program stored in a memory (not shown), for example.

By the way, the color processing system according to the present embodiment includes a standard color chart (colored paper) used when a user performs a color matching experiment. It is assumed that the coordinates of this standard color chart are known in the device-independent color space.
The more standard color charts, the higher the accuracy. If 10 to 12 colors are prepared with different brightness values, color conversion that is almost satisfactory can be performed. However, since color matching experiments using many standard color charts may impose an excessive burden on the user, the number of standard color charts corresponding to the level of color reproduction accuracy required by the user should be used. That's fine.
Ideally, a standard color chart should be prepared for representative colors. For example, for each color of red, blue, green, pink, orange, brown, purple, and yellow, two standard color charts having slightly different colors are prepared, and one color chart is prepared for gray.

Next, the correspondence between the standard color chart and the coordinates in the device-independent color space when the standard color chart is prepared in this way will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, only the portions related to the red, blue, and green standard color charts are shown, and the portions related to the standard color charts of other colors are omitted. Further, in the present embodiment, an explanation will be given assuming an L ^* a ^* b ^* color space as a device-independent color space.
In FIG. 2, the standard color chart No. that uniquely identifies the standard color chart is associated with the coordinates in the L ^* a ^* b ^* color space. For example, a standard color chart No1 ^is L ^* a * ^{b *} is associated with the coordinates (50,50,0) in the color space, the standard color chart No2 ^the coordinates (50 in the L ^* a * ^{b *} color space , 40, 20). Also, the number of colors of each standard color chart and which of the two prepared for that color is not managed in this correspondence information, but for easy understanding. Shown in the margin. That is, the standard color chart No1 is the first standard color chart of red, and the standard color chart No4 is the second standard color chart of blue.
In this embodiment, L ^* is set to 50 for all the standard color charts in order to simplify the following description.

Next, an example of the operation of the color processing system in the present embodiment will be described.
First, a user who actually performs color processing inputs the user information, and the user information receiving unit 10 receives the user information. Here, the user information includes at least information for identifying the user, whereby the user is specified. In addition, the environment information receiving unit 20 acquires environment information around the display device. The environmental information includes, for example, lighting conditions of a place where the display device is placed. The illumination condition may be acquired by a sensor provided in the display device, or may be acquired by causing the user to select from a plurality of registered illumination conditions.

The user information and environment information acquired in this way are transferred to the color matching characteristic selection unit 40. Then, the color matching characteristic selection unit 40 searches the color matching characteristics corresponding to the received user information and environment information from the color matching characteristics for each user environment stored in the color matching characteristic storage unit 30. .
Here, when the corresponding color matching characteristic is not held in the color matching characteristic storage unit 30, the search fails, and processing for acquiring and registering the color matching characteristic in the environment of the user is started. .

The acquisition of the color matching characteristics of the user is basically performed by allowing the user to adjust the color appearance between the standard color chart and the display device to match. Prior to performing the color adjustment work, the user adapts in the work environment for several minutes and waits for the sensitivity of the visual system to stabilize.
Thereafter, when the user informs the color processing system that the sensitivity of the visual system is stable, the color processing system performs an operation according to the flowchart of FIG.

First, the color matching result acquisition unit 50 acquires user information (step 101) and environmental information (step 102). The user information and the environment information are transferred from the user information receiving unit 10 and the environment information receiving unit 20 to the color matching characteristic selecting unit 40, respectively, and may be acquired from there.
Next, the user is instructed to perform color matching by designating one standard color chart from a plurality of standard color charts provided in advance in the color processing system (step 103). In accordance with this instruction, the user adjusts the designated standard color chart so that the color appearance of the display device matches. A specific image of the adjustment work is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 4A shows an example of color adjustment. In this example, a standard color chart having an opening at the center is used. When the standard color chart is superimposed on the display device, the color displayed on the display device can be seen from the opening of the standard color chart. Thus, the color signal to the display device is changed so that the color displayed in the opening is the same color as the standard color chart placed in the vicinity. The method of changing the color signal may be a method of directly changing the signal to the display device such as RGB, hue (color) such as redness / greenness, and saturation (brightness). Alternatively, a method of changing the brightness (brightness) may be used.

FIG. 4B shows another example of color adjustment. In this example, the standard color chart is not provided with an opening, but the standard color chart and the color on the display device that performs the same color are juxtaposed.
However, the color matching method is not limited to these, and any other method may be used. For example, in addition to the above-described method in which the user directly adjusts the hue, saturation, and lightness, there is also a method in which the user selects the most likely color from among a plurality of candidate patches. Conceivable.

  Next, the color matching result acquisition unit 50 acquires the color matching result (step 104). Then, it is determined whether or not the same color has been performed for all the standard color charts (step 105). As a result, if it is determined that the same color is not performed for all the standard color charts, the process returns to Step 103, and if it is determined that the same color is performed for all the standard color charts, the process proceeds to Step 106.

Here, with reference to FIG. 5, the color matching results at the time when it is determined that the color matching is performed for all the standard color charts will be described.
As shown in FIG. 5, the color matching result is held in association with the user information acquired in step 101 and the environment information acquired in step 102. Specifically, in FIG. 5, the user ID “U01” is associated as the user information, and the lighting condition “D50” is associated as the environment information. The illumination condition “D50” is one of the CIE standard light sources.

Further, a color signal for displaying on the display device a color that looks the same as the color of the standard color chart is associated with the standard color chart No. For example, a color signal for displaying on the display device a color that looks the same as the color of the standard color chart No1 can be expressed by coordinates in the L ^* a ^* b ^* color space (50 + ΔL ₁ , 50 + Δa ₁ , 0 + Δb ₁ ). In addition, a color signal for displaying on the display device a color that appears to be the same as the color of the standard color chart No. 2 is expressed as (50 + ΔL ₂ , 40 + Δa ₂ , 20 + Δ) in coordinates in the L ^* a ^* b ^* color space. It has become a b _2). Here, in the case of the standard color chart No1, the deviation of the coordinates obtained by the same color from the coordinates corresponding to the standard color chart is (ΔL ₁ , Δa ₁ , Δb ₁ ), and the standard color chart No2 In this case, (ΔL ₂ , Δa ₂ , Δb ₂ ). Hereinafter, this deviation is referred to as difference data.

  When such a color matching result is obtained, control is passed to the color matching characteristic generation unit 60, and the color matching characteristic generation unit 60 generates a user color matching characteristic by performing an interpolation process on the color matching result. (Step 106). Standard color charts can be prepared only to the extent that the user can withstand color matching experiments. Therefore, in order to extend the user's color matching characteristics obtained for the limited colors to the color matching characteristics applicable to all colors, it is necessary to perform special interpolation processing. This interpolation process will be described later in detail.

Thereafter, the color matching characteristic generation unit 60 causes the user to confirm the color matching characteristics (step 107). In this case, it is desirable to check by extracting arbitrary data from the color matching characteristics newly generated by the interpolation processing in step 106 and presenting it to the user. Then, the color matching characteristic generating unit 60 determines whether or not there is an input indicating that registration is allowed (step 108).
As a result, if it is determined that there is no input indicating that registration is allowed, the process returns to step 103.
On the other hand, if it is determined that there is an input indicating that registration is allowed, the user information acquired in step 101, the environment information acquired in step 102, and the color matching characteristics obtained in steps 103 to 106 are associated with each other. Then, it is registered in the color matching characteristic storage unit 30 (step 109).

Here, the interpolation processing in step 106 of FIG. 3 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the interpolation processing by the color matching characteristic generation unit 60.
First, the color matching characteristic generation unit 60 pays attention to one color signal that is not associated with the user color matching characteristics among the color signals represented by L ^* a ^* b ^* (step 201).
Based on the focused color signal, a color signal for displaying on the display device a color perceived by the user as being the same as the color recorded on the recording medium is obtained by interpolation.

Specifically, first, a standard color chart to be used for interpolation is specified from among the colors of the standard color chart that have already obtained uniform color characteristics (step 202).
Next, difference data for the specified standard color chart is extracted (step 203).
Further, the color matching characteristic generation unit 60 obtains the correction amount of the color signal of interest based on the difference data (step 204), and outputs the correspondence between the color signal of interest and the color signal after correction to the memory. (Step 205).
Finally, the color matching characteristic generation unit 60 determines whether there is another color signal to be processed (step 206). That is, it is determined whether or not the corrected color signal is associated with all of the lattice points at predetermined intervals in the L ^* a ^* b ^* color space. As a result, when it is determined that there is still a color signal to be processed, the processes of steps 201 to 205 are repeated. On the other hand, if it is determined that there are no more color signals to be processed, the process ends.

The above interpolation processing will be specifically described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 7 schematically shows a method for obtaining the correction amount of the target color P on the a ^* b ^* plane. That is, the processing in steps 202 to 205 when the color signal focused in step 201 is the focused color P will be specifically described.
The specification of the standard color chart in step 202 is performed as follows. That is, among the hue angles of the colors of all the standard color charts, the smallest hue angle among the hue angles larger than the hue angle of the target color P and the largest among the hue angles smaller than the hue angle of the target color P. And the colors corresponding to the two obtained hue angles are used as interpolation colors. In FIG. 7, the standard color chart “red 1” and the standard color chart “red 2” are colors used for interpolation. That is, since the target color P is between “red 1” and “red 2”, these are used in the interpolation process.

The difference data extracted in step 203 is (Δa ₁ , Δb ₁ ) for the standard color chart “red 1” and (Δa ₂ , Δ for the standard color chart “red 2”, as shown in the figure. b ₂ ).
Using these difference data, P is corrected.
As a correction method, it can be considered that these difference data are weighted and added. That is, the hue angle of the color to be corrected is obtained, and how it is divided internally between “red 1” and “red 2”. In FIG. 7, it is divided internally into d ₁ : d ₂ . Accordingly, the correction amount Δa for the a component of P and the correction amount Δb for the b component can be obtained by the following equations.
Δa = d ₂ × Δa ₁ + d ₁ × Δa ₂
Δb = d ₂ × Δb ₁ + d ₁ × Δb ₂
Note that the saturation (c ^* ) usually differs between P ′ after correction using these correction amounts and P before correction. Therefore, an adjustment that maintains the saturation of P before correction may be further added to P ′ after correction.

In addition, when the correction amount is calculated using standard color charts belonging to different color categories, it is possible to change the weighting according to the color category, which is preferable. For the difference data for the standard color chart belonging to the same color category as the color to be corrected, for example, the weight is tripled. Note that it is possible to determine to which color category an arbitrary color belongs by using a known method, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted here.
In the example of FIG. 7, the weighting is determined based on the hue angle ratio, but the weighting may be determined based on the distance ratio on the a ^* b ^* plane.
Further, in FIG. 7, the difference in brightness is not considered, but the weight may be changed in the brightness direction.

Here, the color matching characteristics registered in step 109 of FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8, the color matching characteristics are associated with the user ID “U01” and the illumination condition “D50”.
The color matching characteristics are L ^* (U01), a ^* (U01), b ^* (U01) which are color signals obtained from the color matching result by the user “U01” with respect to L ^* , a ^* , b ^*. ). That is, the color recorded on the recording medium based on L ^* , a ^* , b ^* and the color displayed on the display device based on L ^* (U01), a ^* (U01), b ^* (U01) Is a lookup table that associates them when they look the same.

In this way, when the user's color matching characteristics are stored in the color matching characteristic storage unit 30, the color matching characteristic search by the color matching characteristic selection unit 40 is successful. Then, color processing is performed on the input image based on the selected color matching characteristics of the user. Here, based on the color characteristics of the user, the input image is processed so that the color appearance for the user is obtained using the standard color chart.
Specifically, the input image receiving unit 70 receives an input image. Then, the display signal calculation unit 80 calculates the display signal by reflecting the user's color matching characteristics passed from the color matching characteristic selection unit 40. For example, if the color matching characteristic as shown in FIG 8 is obtained, for the input of _{(L 1, a 1, b} 1) of the signal, a signal that _{(L 1 ', a 1'} , b 1 ') Will be output.

Then, the input image display unit 90 displays an image based on the display signal calculated by the display signal calculation unit 80. The color of the displayed image indicates the color recorded on the recording medium when the input image is printed by the printing apparatus. Therefore, if the user is satisfied with this color, the user instructs printing by the printing apparatus.
On the other hand, if the user is not satisfied with this color, printing may be instructed after color adjustment. Further, the image after color adjustment may be converted again to reflect the color matching characteristics.

In this embodiment, L ^* a ^* b ^* lattice points in the color space, the look-up table that associates grid point in reflecting the color matching properties L ^* a ^* b ^* color space Although it was created as a color matching characteristic, any type of color matching characteristic having the same action may be created. Further, only correspondence between L ^* , a ^* , b ^* obtained from the result of the color matching experiment and L ^* (U01), a ^* (U01), b ^* (U01) is held as the color matching characteristic, and conversion is performed. When a color signal to be given is given, an interpolation process like steps 201 to 205 may be dynamically performed to calculate a corresponding color signal.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, when color conversion based on the color matching characteristics of a specific user is performed, if the corresponding color matching characteristics are not stored in the color matching characteristics storage unit 30, the color matching characteristics are acquired and registered. The operation to start was started. However, the registration of the color matching characteristics may be performed completely asynchronously with the color conversion process.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, user information, environment information, and color matching characteristics in a certain user's environment are stored in association with each other. However, it is not always necessary to associate environment information. That is, it may be configured to store only correspondence between user information and color matching characteristics regardless of the environment.

In the present embodiment, hardware for performing color processing is not particularly limited, but a portion of the color processing system that can be regarded as a color matching characteristic acquisition device is a computer such as a personal computer. It is possible to realize.
In addition, a portion that can be understood as a color processing device that generates an output image by performing color conversion on an input image may be realized by a computer such as a personal computer, or an image of an image forming device. You may make it implement | achieve in a process part (IPS).
In the case where it is assumed that a plurality of display devices are used, it is desirable to provide color matching characteristics for each of the plurality of display devices.

As described above, in this embodiment, at least user information and the user's color matching characteristics are stored in association with each other, and color conversion from the input image to the output image is reflected in the color matching characteristics. I did it. Thereby, it is possible to construct a color processing system that realizes faithful color reproduction while absorbing individual differences among users. In addition, since the color matching characteristics are associated with not only user information but also environment information, for example, a degree of freedom regarding illumination conditions can be increased.
Further, when there is an input that the color recorded on the recording medium based on one color signal and the color displayed on the display device based on another color signal are equivalent to the user, these The correspondence information of the color signals is stored, and as a pre-process of printing based on the input image, an image color-converted based on the correspondence information is displayed on the display device. This makes it possible to match the color on the display device and the color finally recorded on the recording medium by reflecting the characteristics related to the color appearance of a specific user.

It is the figure which showed the function structure of the color processing system in embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the example of a response | compatibility with the standard color chart with which the color processing system of embodiment of this invention is equipped, and L ^* a ^* b ^* . 6 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of registering the uniform color characteristics in the color processing system according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is the figure which showed the example of the color matching experiment performed in embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the result of the color matching experiment acquired with the color processing system of embodiment of this invention. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of generating color matching characteristics in the color processing system according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure for demonstrating concretely the production | generation of a color matching characteristic in the color processing system of embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the example of the color matching characteristic memorize | stored in the color processing system of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the difference between individuals of the colorimetric point when a color matching is materialized.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... User information reception part, 20 ... Environment information reception part, 30 ... Color matching characteristic storage part, 40 ... Color matching characteristic selection part, 50 ... Color matching result acquisition part, 60 ... Color matching characteristic generation part, 70 ... Input image Reception unit, 80 ... display signal calculation unit, 90 ... input image display unit

Claims (8)

A color processing method for generating an output image by performing color conversion on an input image,
On condition that the user inputs that the color recorded on the recording medium based on the first color signal and the color displayed on the display device based on the second color signal are equivalent to the user. Associating the first color signal with the second color signal to generate a color matching characteristic that is a characteristic related to the color appearance of the user;
Storing the generated color matching characteristics in a storage device in association with the identification information of the user;
Selecting the color matching characteristics of a specific user from the color matching characteristics stored in the storage device based on the identification information of the specific user;
Performing the color conversion based on the color matching characteristics of the selected specific user,
The generating step includes
Paying attention to a specific color signal other than the first color signal;
From a plurality of the first color signals, a hue angle based on a hue angle of the specific color signal , or a distance on a plane expressing the hue and saturation in a color space from the specific color signal. Using to identify at least two of the first color signals;
Retrieving the difference between the identified at least two first color signals and the corresponding second color signals, respectively;
Correcting the specific color signal based on the extracted difference;
Including a correspondence between the specific color signal and the corrected specific color signal in the color matching characteristics. Displaying the output image on the display device;
The color processing method according to claim 1, further comprising: recording an output image displayed on the display device on the recording medium in accordance with an instruction from the specific user. In the storing step, the color matching characteristics are further stored in association with environment identification information;
The color processing method according to claim 1, wherein in the selecting step, a color matching characteristic in a specific environment is selected based on identification information of the specific environment. Acquisition means for acquiring user information;
Performing a color matching experiment for the user to determine whether the color recorded on the recording medium based on the first color signal and the color displayed on the display device based on the second color signal look the same. Instruction means for instructing;
Generating means for associating the first color signal with the second color signal and generating a color matching characteristic that is a characteristic related to the color appearance of the user from the result of the color matching experiment;
Storage means for associating and storing the user information acquired by the acquisition means and the color matching characteristics of the user generated by the generation means;
The generating means includes
Means for paying attention to a specific color signal other than the first color signal;
From a plurality of the first color signals, a hue angle based on a hue angle of the specific color signal , or a distance on a plane expressing the hue and saturation in a color space from the specific color signal. A specifying means for specifying at least two of the first color signals;
Extraction means for respectively extracting the difference between the specified at least two first color signals and the corresponding second color signal;
Correction means for correcting the specific color signal based on the extracted difference;
An apparatus for acquiring color matching characteristics, comprising: output means for outputting the correspondence between the specific color signal and the corrected specific color signal to the color matching characteristics.   5. The instructing unit instructs execution of the color matching experiment using a plurality of recording media on which colors are recorded based on the first color signal which is a known color signal. Color matching characteristic acquisition device. A color processing device that generates an output image by performing color conversion on an input image,
On condition that the user inputs that the color recorded on the recording medium based on the first color signal and the color displayed on the display device based on the second color signal are equivalent to the user. Generating means for associating the first color signal with the second color signal to generate a color matching characteristic that is a characteristic related to the appearance of the color of the user;
Storage means for storing color matching characteristics of each user generated by the generation means;
Selecting means for selecting the color matching characteristics of a specific user from the color matching characteristics of each user stored in the storage means;
Conversion means for performing the color conversion based on the color matching characteristics of the specific user selected by the selection means,
The generating means includes
Means for paying attention to a specific color signal other than the first color signal;
From a plurality of the first color signals, a hue angle based on a hue angle of the specific color signal , or a distance on a plane expressing the hue and saturation in a color space from the specific color signal. A specifying means for specifying at least two of the first color signals;
Extraction means for respectively extracting the difference between the specified at least two first color signals and the corresponding second color signal;
Correction means for correcting the specific color signal based on the extracted difference;
A color processing apparatus comprising: output means for outputting the correspondence between the specific color signal and the corrected specific color signal to the color matching characteristics. On the computer,
The ability to retrieve user information;
Performing a color matching experiment for the user to determine whether the color recorded on the recording medium based on the first color signal and the color displayed on the display device based on the second color signal look the same. A function to direct,
A function of associating the first color signal with the second color signal and generating a color matching characteristic that is a characteristic related to the color appearance of the user, from the result of the color matching experiment;
A function of associating the user information with the generated color matching characteristics of the user and storing the information in a predetermined storage device;
The function to generate is
A function focusing on a specific color signal other than the first color signal;
From a plurality of the first color signals, a hue angle based on a hue angle of the specific color signal , or a distance on a plane expressing the hue and saturation in a color space from the specific color signal. And a function of identifying at least two of the first color signals;
A function of respectively extracting a difference between the specified at least two first color signals and the corresponding second color signal;
A function of correcting the specific color signal based on the extracted difference;
A program having a function of outputting a correspondence between the specific color signal and the corrected specific color signal to the color matching characteristics. A function of selecting a color matching characteristic of a specific user from the color matching characteristics stored in the predetermined storage device;
The program according to claim 7, further causing the computer to realize a function of performing color conversion on a predetermined image based on the selected color matching characteristics of the specific user.

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