JP7512704B2 - COLOR MANAGEMENT DEVICE AND COLOR MANAGEMENT METHOD - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a color management device and a color management method.

Before printing a printed material with a printer, a printing company prints on paper a chart (or wedge) that is an original with color adjustment patches arranged in a matrix, and measures the colors of the printed chart with a colorimeter. The printing company then manages the output quality of the multiple printers it owns by checking whether the colors measured with the colorimeter meet the color management target values that serve as predetermined standards. Color management target values include those defined by standards organizations such as Japan Color, IDEAliance, FORGA, and ISO, as well as those defined by printing companies themselves, and are expressed in Lab values, etc.

When managing printer color based on color management target values, first the color management person at the printing company sets the color management target values. The color management target values are often set as the allowable range of difference between the color measurement values or the calculated color measurement values and the target values (prescribed values). The color management target values are then changed for each type of paper or depending on the print content. This is because the color tone of the colors printed on the printed matter will also change depending on the quality of the paper, etc.

After setting the color management target values, the printer manager prints a chart using the printer he or she manages and measures (measures) the color of the printed chart using a colorimeter. The color management manager or printer manager then checks whether the color measurement results from the colorimeter meet the color management target values, by performing calculations as necessary.

Patent document 1 describes an information processing device that includes a grasping means for grasping evaluation items of a plurality of evaluation items for a formed image that have a high degree of interest to a user, and an adjustment means for setting a standard (color management target value) for the grasped evaluation item of a high degree of interest from among the plurality of evaluation items, and performing an adjustment process so that the standard is satisfied.

JP 2015-95776 A

As mentioned above, the color management target values change depending on the type of paper and the printing content, and need to be managed appropriately. In addition, the accuracy of color management can be improved by reviewing and improving the color management target values themselves as necessary. However, while Patent Document 1 describes a technique for improving user satisfaction, it does not disclose a method for helping color management personnel review and improve the color management target values themselves.

The present invention was made in light of these circumstances, and its purpose is to provide technology that makes it easier for color management personnel to review and improve the color management target values themselves.

In order to solve the above problem, a color management device according to one aspect of the present invention is a color management device that performs color management by associating color management target values, which are standards that color measurement results by a colorimeter should satisfy, with at least one image forming device. The color management device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a color management job correspondence setting unit that acquires information on color management target values used in a print job of the image forming device and associates the print job with a color measurement job, which is a job of color measurement by a colorimeter performed before the print job, and the color management target values, a color management target value usage status analysis unit that analyzes the usage status of the color management target values in the print job and/or the color management job based on the information on the association by the color management job correspondence setting unit, and a color management target value usage status information generation unit that generates color management target value usage status information using the usage status of the color management target values analyzed by the color management target value usage status analysis unit and notifies a user of the color management target value usage status information. The color management target value usage analysis unit analyzes the usage of the color management target value in the print job based on the number of sheets printed based on the print job associated with the color management target value, or the number of times the print job associated with the color management target value is executed, and analyzes the usage of the color management target value in the color measurement job based on the number of times the color measurement job associated with the color management target value is executed, or the number of sheets of paper read by the colorimeter in the color measurement job associated with the color management target value.

A color management method embodying one aspect of the present invention is a color management method by a color management device that performs color management by associating color management target values, which are standards that color measurement results by a colorimeter should satisfy, with at least one image forming device. The color management method embodying one aspect of the present invention includes the steps of acquiring information on the color management target values used in a print job of the image forming device, and associating the print job with a color measurement job, which is a job of color measurement by a colorimeter performed before the print job, and the color management target values, analyzing a usage status of the color management target values in the print job and/or the color measurement job based on the association information, and generating color management target value usage status information using the analyzed usage status of the color management target values, and notifying a user of the color management target value usage status information. In the color management target value usage analysis procedure, the usage of the color management target value in a print job is analyzed based on the number of sheets printed based on the print job associated with the color management target value, or the number of times the print job associated with the color management target value is executed, and the usage of the color management target value in a color measurement job is analyzed based on the number of times the color measurement job associated with the color management target value is executed, or the number of sheets of paper read by the colorimeter in the color measurement job associated with the color management target value.

The present invention provides a technology that makes it easier for color management personnel to review and improve color management target values themselves. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become clear from the description of the embodiments below.

1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a color management system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a control system of a color management server according to an embodiment of the present invention; 5 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a printer information table according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a color management target value table according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of color measurement history data according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of job history data according to an embodiment of the present invention. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of job history-colorimetry history correspondence data according to an embodiment of the present invention; 11 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of color management target value usage status data according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating an example of display of color management target value usage status information according to an embodiment of the present invention. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for color management processing by a color management server according to an embodiment of the present invention. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a procedure for acquiring information on color management target values used in a print job of each image forming apparatus by a color measurement job corresponding setting unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for determining whether or not a color management target value is set for a print job by a color measurement job corresponding setting unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure for determining the usage status of color management target values by a color management target value usage status analysis unit of a color management server according to an embodiment of the present invention. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for analyzing the usage status of a colorimetry job by a color management target value usage status analysis unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for analyzing the usage status of a print job by a color management target value usage status analysis unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure for generating and notifying color management target value usage status information by a color management target value usage status information generating unit of a color management server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, examples of embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this specification and drawings, components having substantially the same functions or configurations are given the same reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions of the components will be omitted.

<Overall configuration of color management system>
First, an example of the configuration of a color management system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a color management system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Note that Fig. 1 shows elements that are considered necessary for explaining the present invention or related elements, and the color management system of the present invention is not limited to the example shown in Fig. 1.

The color management system 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes image forming devices 1A to 1E, a client PC (Personal Computer) 12, a color management server 2 (an example of a color management device), and a printer job management server 3. The image forming devices 1A to 1E, the client PC 12, the color management server 2, and the printer job management server 3 are connected to each other via a network N.

Image forming devices 1A to 1E are installed within printing company C. Image forming devices 1A to 1E print based on print jobs sent from printer job management server 3. Image forming devices 1A to 1E are color image forming devices that employ an electrophotographic method of forming images using static electricity, and form images in a tandem format in which toner images of four colors, for example, yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K), are superimposed. In the following description, when it is not necessary to distinguish between image forming devices 1A to 1C, they will be collectively referred to as image forming device 1.

Image forming apparatus 1A is equipped with an inline colorimeter 11A, and image forming apparatus 1C is equipped with an inline colorimeter 11C. In addition, a colorimeter 11 that performs color measurement in image forming apparatus 1 that does not have an inline colorimeter is connected to client PC 12. For example, a colorimeter with an automatic feeder function can be applied to colorimeter 11, and the colorimeter operation is controlled by color management server 2.

The color measurement results from the inline colorimeters 11A and 11C and the colorimeter 11 are sent to the color management server 2. Also, while FIG. 1 shows an example in which five image forming devices 1 are used within printing company C, the present invention is not limited to this. The number of image forming devices 1 may be four or less, or six or more. In the following description, when there is no need to distinguish between the inline colorimeters 11A, 11C, and the colorimeter 11, they will be collectively referred to as the colorimeter 11.

The color management server 2 creates and manages color management target values, which are standards that the color measurement results obtained by the colorimeter 11 must meet, sets and manages the correspondence between the color management target values and each image forming device 1, and manages the color measurement history. The color measurement history is the execution history of a job in which the colorimeter 11 measures the color of a color measurement chart printed on paper (hereinafter referred to as a "color measurement job").

The color management server 2 also collects information on the execution history of print jobs (hereinafter simply referred to as "jobs") in each image forming device 1 and printing operation status data of each image forming device 1 from the printer job management server 3 at predetermined times, such as once a month. The color management server 2 then uses the collected information to tally up the usage status of color management target values. Examples of the usage status of color management target values include the usage status of color measurement jobs and the usage status of print jobs.

The usage status of a color measurement job is indicated by information such as the color measurement results (Pass or Fail) in color measurement using each color management target value. The usage status of a print job is indicated by information such as the percentage of the number of prints using each color management target value out of the total number of prints by each image forming device 1. Furthermore, the color management server 2 notifies the color management person (the creator of the color management target values) of the usage status of the collected color management target values via the screen of a client PC 12 in printing company C, etc.

The printer job management server 3 distributes jobs to each image forming device 1 in the printing company C, manages the history information of the distributed jobs, and manages the printing operation status of each image forming device 1. Note that, although an example in which the printer job management server 3 is provided is given in this embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. The functions of the printer job management server 3 may be provided in a client PC 12 in the printing company C.

<Color management server configuration>
Next, an example of the configuration of a control system of the color management server 2 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the control system of the color management server 2 according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 2, the color management server 2 includes a color management unit 20, a control unit 21, an operation display unit 22, a network I/F (Interface) unit 23, and a memory unit 24. The color management unit 20 is a functional unit that is realized by the CPU (Central Processing Unit) 211 reading out a program stored in the RAM (Random Access Memory) 212 or the memory unit 24 of the color management server 2.

The color management unit 20 includes a colorimetry data management unit 201, a chart generation unit 202, a custom color management target value generation unit 203, a colorimetry result determination unit 204, a colorimetry job correspondence setting unit 205, a color management target value usage status analysis unit 206, a color management target value usage status information generation unit 207, a client collaboration unit 208, a colorimetry result data generation unit 209, and a printer job management server collaboration unit 210.

The color measurement data management unit 201 manages the correspondence between each of the image forming devices 1A to 1E and the color management target values using the printer information table T1 (see FIG. 3). The printer information table T1 will be described later with reference to the following FIG. 3.

The chart generation unit 202 generates a color measurement chart based on the contents of the printer information table T1 managed by the color measurement data management unit 201. The custom color management target value generation unit 203 generates color management target values (hereinafter also referred to as "custom color management target values") when printing company C generates color management target values independently. Information on the standard color management target values established by each standards organization and the custom color management target values is managed in the color management target value table T2 shown in FIG. 4. The color management target value table T2 will be described later with reference to FIG. 4.

The color measurement result determination unit 204 determines whether the measurement result of the chart by the measuring device falls within the allowable range of error from the target value specified in the color management target value. The determination result by the color measurement result determination unit 204 is recorded in the color measurement history data D1 shown in FIG. 5. The color measurement history data D1 will be described later with reference to FIG. 5.

The colorimetry job correspondence setting unit 205 matches the print job with the colorimetry job by comparing the colorimetry history information recorded in the colorimetry history data D1 with the job history data Dj (see FIG. 6) acquired from the printer job management server 3. The colorimetry job correspondence setting unit 205 registers the result of the correspondence determination in the job history-colorimetry history correspondence data D2 (see FIG. 7). The job history data Dj will be described later with reference to FIG. 6, and the job history-colorimetry history correspondence data D2 is registered with reference to FIG. 7.

The color management target value usage analysis unit 206 analyzes the usage status of the color management target value in the color measurement job and the usage status in the print job based on the information on the correspondence between the print job and the color measurement job by the color measurement job correspondence setting unit 205. The results of the aggregation of the usage status of the color management target value by the color management target value usage analysis unit 206 are recorded in the color management target value usage status data D3 shown in FIG. 8. The color management target value usage status data D3 will be described later with reference to FIG. 8. Hereinafter, when there is no need to individually distinguish between the usage status of the color management target value in the color measurement job and the usage status of the color management target value in the print job, these will be collectively referred to as the "color management target value usage status."

The color management target value usage status information generation unit 207 identifies the creator of each color management target value based on the color management target value usage status data D3 generated by the color management target value usage status analysis unit 206 and the color management target value table T2 managed by the color measurement data management unit 201. The color management target value usage status information generation unit 207 then generates color management target value usage status data (an example of color management target value usage status information) that associates the creator of each color management target value with the color management target value usage status generated by the color management target value usage status analysis unit 206.

Furthermore, the color management target value usage status information generating unit 207 outputs the generated color management target value usage status information to the client linking unit 208 and controls the display of the information on the screen of the client PC 12 (see FIG. 1).

The client collaboration unit 208 performs processing related to collaboration with the client PC 12 of printing company C, which is connected via the network I/F unit 23. The client collaboration unit 208 includes a UI (User Interface) control unit 208a and a colorimeter control unit 208b. The UI control unit 208a performs control to display, for example, the color measurement results obtained by the colorimeter and the usage status of the color management target values on a browser, which is the UI of the client PC 12.

The colorimeter control unit 208b controls the operation of the colorimeter 11 connected to the client PC 12. Specifically, it transmits control signals to instruct the start and end of color measurement, and acquires the color measurement results from the colorimeter 11 and outputs them to the storage unit 24. The colorimeter result data generation unit 209 uses the determination result from the colorimeter result determination unit 204 to generate display data that the UI control unit 208a displays on the browser of the client PC 12.

The printer job management server linking unit 210 performs processing related to linking with the printer job management server 3, which is connected via the network I/F unit 23. Specifically, the printer job management server linking unit 210 acquires information about jobs from the printer job management server 3, and outputs it to the colorimetry result determination unit 204 and the colorimetry job compatible setting unit 205.

The control unit 21 includes a CPU 211, a RAM 212, and a ROM (Read Only Memory) 213. The CPU 211 reads various processing programs such as a system program and a color management program stored in the ROM 213, expands them in the RAM 212, and controls the operation of each part of the color management server 2 according to the expanded programs.

RAM 212 forms a work area that temporarily stores various programs executed by CPU 211 and data related to these programs, and stores settings for various operations related to color management.

The ROM 213 is composed of non-volatile memory such as a semiconductor memory, and stores a system program corresponding to the color management server 2, a color management program that can be executed on the system program, and the like. These programs are stored in the form of computer-readable program code, and the CPU 211 sequentially executes operations in accordance with the program code.

The operation display unit 22 is configured as a touch panel in which a display unit made of, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL (Electroluminescence) display, etc., and an operation input unit made of a touch sensor, etc., are integrally formed. Note that, in the present embodiment, an example has been given in which the display unit and the operation input unit are integrally formed as the operation display unit 22, but the present invention is not limited to this. The display unit and the operation input unit made of a keyboard, mouse, etc. may be configured separately. Alternatively, in addition to the operation display unit 22 configured as a touch panel, an operation input unit made of a keyboard, mouse, etc. may be provided.

The network I/F unit 23 controls the sending and receiving of various data between each image forming device 1 and client PC 12 of printing company C, which are connected via network N (see Figure 1).

The storage unit 24 is configured, for example, with a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD). The storage unit 24 stores a printer information table T1, a color management target value table T2, color measurement history data D1, job history-color measurement history correspondence data D2, color management target value usage status data D3, etc.

<Printer Information Table Configuration>
Next, the configuration of the printer information table T1 managed by the colorimetry data management unit 201 (see FIG. 2) of the color management server 2 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the printer information table T1. In the printer information table T1, the image forming devices 1A to 1E and the color management target values set for each of them are associated and managed.

As shown in FIG. 3, the printer information table T1 has the fields "Printer," "Model," "Color management target value," "Latest colorimetry date," "Latest colorimetry job ID," and "Automatic colorimetry function."

The "Printer" field stores the name of the image forming device 1 owned by printing company C. In printer information table T1, image forming devices 1A to 1E are indicated as PrinterA to PrinterE. The "Model" field stores the model name of each image forming device 1.

The "Color management target value" field stores the name of the color management target value. The "Latest color measurement date" field stores, in the format "YYYY-MM-DD", the date and time of the most recent execution of the color measurement job for which the color management target value stored in "Color management target value" was set. The "Latest color measurement job ID" field stores the ID of the color measurement job at the time of the color measurement indicated in "Latest color measurement date".

The "Automatic Color Measurement Function" field stores a value of "0" (Not Supported) or "1 (Supported)" indicating whether each image forming device 1 stored in the "Printer" field has an automatic color measurement function. A "0" in the "Automatic Color Measurement Function" field indicates that the image forming device 1 does not have an automatic color measurement function, and a "1" indicates that the image forming device 1 has an automatic color measurement function. Specifically, a "1" is stored in the "Automatic Color Measurement Function" field for image forming devices 1A (Printer A) and 1C (Printer C) that have an in-line colorimeter 11A with an automatic color measurement function. On the other hand, a "0" is stored in the "Automatic Color Measurement Function" field for image forming devices 1B (Printer B), 1D (Printer D), and 1E (Printer E) that do not have an automatic color measurement function.

For example, the first row of the printer information table T1 indicates that the model of the image forming device 1A (Printer A) is "C6000", the set color management target value is "Customer Target 1", the most recent color measurement date is "July 9, 2020", the most recent color measurement job ID is "100", and the automatic color measurement function is "1".

<Configuration of Color Management Target Value Table>
Next, the configuration of the color management target value table T2 managed by the color measurement data management unit 201 of the color management server 2 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the color management target value table T2. In the color management target value table T2, the setting contents of the color management target values are managed.

As shown in FIG. 4, color management target value table T2 has the fields "Color management target value," "Creation date," "Chart (Preset/Custom name)," "Tolerance," "Creator (0:Preset)," and "Target value." The name of the color management target value is stored in "Color management target value." The "Creation date" field stores information on the creation date in the "YYYY-MM-DD" format when the color management target value is a custom color management target value created by printing company C.

The "Chart (Preset/Custom name)" field stores the name of the chart used to check whether colors that meet the color management target values are being reproduced. The chart name stores the name of a preset color management target value established by a standards organization such as Japan Color or IDEAliance, or the name of a custom color management target value created by printing company C.

In "Tolerance", a value indicating the allowable range of deviation from the target value (prescribed value) indicated by Lab values, etc. is stored. For example, the tolerance d associated with the color management target value "Customer Target 1" is "dE:3", which indicates that the allowable deviation from the Lab value calculated by the CIE DE2000 color difference formula is "3" or less, and "dEavg:2" indicates that the allowable deviation from the average value (avg) of the Lab values calculated by the CIE DE2000 color difference formula is "2" or less. In addition, "dEmax:6" indicates that the maximum allowable deviation from the Lab value calculated by the CIE DE2000 color difference formula is "6" or less.

The "Creator" field stores the name of the creator of the custom color management target value in the case where the color management target value is a custom color management target value generated by printing company C. "0" is stored for preset color management target values.

The "Target value" field stores the target value (prescribed value) represented by the three values "L", "a", and "b" in Lab values. The three values "L", "a", and "b" are set for each patch that makes up the chart.

For example, the first row of color management target value table T2 indicates that the creation date of color management target value "Customer Target 1" is "July 1, 2020", the chart name is "IDEAliance2013-custom", and the tolerance values are "dE: 3, dEavg: 2, dEmax: 6, dCavgCMYgray: 2". It also indicates that the creator of the color management target value is "John Smith", and the target values are "94 (L), -0.02 (a), -1.96 (b)".

<Color measurement history data configuration>
Next, the configuration of the colorimetry history data D1 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the colorimetry history data D1. In the colorimetry history data D1, information on the image forming device 1 that executed printing, the colorimetry results, information on the colorimeter 11, etc. are managed in association with a colorimetry ID assigned to each colorimetry job.

As shown in FIG. 5, the colorimetry history data D1 has fields for "Colorimetry ID," "Colorimetry Execution Date," "Printer," "Color Management Target Value," "Colorimetry Result," "Colorimeter," and "Colorimetry Value." The "Colorimetry ID" field stores an ID assigned to each colorimetry job. The "Colorimetry Execution Date" field stores the date and time when colorimetry was performed by the colorimeter 11 in the format "YYYY-MM-DD." The "Printer" field stores the name of the image forming device 1 that printed the printed material on which colorimetry was performed by the colorimeter 11.

The "Color management target value" field stores the name of the color management target value. The "Colorimetry result" field stores a value of "Pass" or "Fail" indicating the colorimetry result determined by the colorimetry result determination unit 204. "Pass" indicates that the colorimetry value is within the tolerance range of the target value, and "Fail" indicates that the colorimetry value exceeds the tolerance range of the target value. The "Colorimetry device" field stores the name of the colorimetry device. The "Colorimetry value" stores the colorimetry value acquired by the colorimetry device 11.

For example, the first line of the color measurement history data D1 indicates that the execution date and time of the color measurement job with color measurement ID "100" is "July 9, 2020," and that the image forming device 1 that printed the printout on which color measurement was performed by the colorimeter 11 is "Printer A" (image forming device 1A). It also indicates that the name of the color management target value used during printing is "Custom Target 1," the name of the colorimeter 11 that performed the color measurement is "AB Printer Inline Type 001," and the color measurement values are "93, -0.05, -2.96...".

<Job History Data Configuration>
Next, the configuration of the job history data Dj managed in the printer job management server 3 (see FIG. 2) will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the job history data Dj.

As shown in FIG. 6, the job history data Dj has fields for "job ID," "user name," "file name," "execution result," "number of pages," "number of copies printed," "number of sheets printed," "job reception date and time," "printing start date and time," "printing end date and time," "paper size," and "paper type."

The "Job ID" field stores the job ID assigned to each print job that the printer job management server 3 distributes to each image forming device 1. The "User name" field stores the name of the user who executed the printing. The "File name" field stores the name of the file used in the print job. The "Execution result" field stores the value "Successful completion", which indicates that printing was completed successfully, or "Abnormal completion", which indicates that an abnormality was detected.

The "Number of pages" field stores the number of pages of the printed material. The "Number of copies printed" field stores the number of copies of paper that have been printed. The "Number of sheets printed" field stores the number of sheets of paper that have been printed. The "Job acceptance date/time" field stores the date/time when the print job was accepted in the format "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS". The "Print start date/time" field stores the date/time when printing started in the format "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS". The "Print end date/time" field stores the date/time when printing ended in the format "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS". The "Paper size" field stores the size of the paper. The "Paper type" field stores the type of paper.

For example, the first line of the job history data Dj indicates that the name of the user who printed the job with job ID "1000" was "Operator1", the file name of the file used for printing was "IDEAliance 2013_custom.pdf", and the printing result was successful. It also indicates that the number of pages in the file to be printed is "2", the number of copies printed is "1", and the number of sheets printed is "2".

It is also managed that the date and time the job was received was "August 9, 2020, 12:00:00", the date and time printing started was "August 9, 2020, 12:00:05", and the date and time printing ended was "August 9, 2020, 12:01:40". Furthermore, it is shown that the size of the paper printed on was "A3", and the paper type was "coated paper".

<Job history - Color measurement history corresponding data>
Next, the configuration of the job history-colorimetry history correspondence data D2 will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the job history-colorimetry history correspondence data D2. The job history-colorimetry history correspondence data D2 is data generated by the color management target value usage status analysis unit 206, and in the job history-colorimetry history correspondence data D2, correspondence information between print jobs and colorimetry jobs is managed.

As shown in FIG. 7, the job history-colorimetry history correspondence data D2 has the fields "Job ID", "Number of printed sheets", "Job acceptance date/time", "Printing start date/time", "Printing end date/time", "Paper size", "Paper type", "Job type", "Associated colorimetry ID", and "Colorimetry result". The fields "Job ID", "Number of printed sheets", "Job acceptance date/time", "Printing start date/time", "Printing end date/time", "Paper size", and "Paper type" are extracted from the job history data Dj shown in FIG. 6. The contents of each of these fields have already been explained with reference to FIG. 6, so their explanation will be omitted here.

The "Job Type" field stores information about whether the job type is a color measurement job or a print job. If the job type is a color measurement job, the word "Color Measurement" is stored, and if it is a print job, the word "Document" is stored. The "Related Color Measurement ID" field stores the color measurement ID of a color measurement job that corresponds to the print job, if there is one. The "Color Measurement Result" field stores a value of "Pass" or "Fail" that indicates the color measurement result by the colorimeter 11.

For example, the first line of the job history-colorimetry history correspondence data D2 indicates that the number of printed sheets by the print job with job ID "1000" is "2 sheets," the job acceptance date and time is "July 9, 2020, 12:00:00," the printing start date and time is "July 9, 2020, 12:05," and the printing end date and time is "July 9, 2020, 12:01:40."

It also shows that the size of the paper used for printing is "A3", the paper type is "coated paper", the job type is "colorimetry job", the associated colorimetry ID is "100", and the colorimetry result is "Pass".

<Configuration of Color Management Target Value Usage Status Data>
Next, the configuration of the color management target value usage status data D3 generated by the color management target value usage status analysis unit 206 will be described with reference to Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the color management target value usage status data D3. In the color management target value usage status data D3, information on color management target values is managed in association with information on the correspondence between print jobs and colorimetry jobs shown in the job history-colorimetry history correspondence data D2 shown in Fig. 7.

As shown in FIG. 8, color management target value usage data D3 has fields for "Job ID," "Number of printed sheets," "Paper size," "Paper type," "Job type," "Related colorimetry ID," "Colorimetry result," and "Color management target value." "Job ID," "Number of printed sheets," "Paper size," "Paper type," "Job type," "Related colorimetry ID," and "Colorimetry result" are extracted from the job history-colorimetry history correspondence data D2 shown in FIG. 7. The contents of each of these fields have been explained with reference to FIG. 7, so their explanation will be omitted here. The "Color management target value" field stores the name of the color management target value.

For example, the first line of the color management target value usage status data D3 indicates that the number of printed sheets by the print job with job ID "2020" is "1 sheet", the paper size is "A3", the paper type is "coated paper", and the job type is "colorimetry job". It also indicates that the ID (colorimetry ID) of the colorimetry job related to the print job managed by job ID "2020" is "200", the colorimetry result by the colorimeter 11 is "Fail", and the name of the color management target value used by job ID "2020" is "Custom Target 1".

<Example of color management target value usage information display>
Next, with reference to Fig. 9, a display example of color management target value usage status information will be described when the color management target value usage status data D3 generated by the color management target value usage status analysis unit 206 is displayed on the screen of the client PC 12. Fig. 9 is a diagram showing a display example of color management target value usage status information.

In the example shown in FIG. 9, information on "Document printing utilization rate" and "Colorimetry pass rate" is shown in association with each of Printer A (image forming device 1A) through Printer C (image forming device 1C) under the heading "Usage status of Customer Target 1 created by you."

"Document printing utilization rate" indicates the utilization status of color management target values in print jobs. The utilization status of color management target values in print jobs indicates the percentage (%) of the number of printed sheets printed using color management target values out of the total number of printed sheets by each image forming device 1. "Colorimetry pass rate" indicates the utilization status of color management target values in colorimetry jobs. The utilization status of color management target values in colorimetry jobs indicates the percentage (%) of the number of times jobs with a colorimetry result of "Pass" out of the number of times colorimetry jobs were performed by each image forming device 1.

In the example shown in FIG. 9, the document printing utilization rate of "Customer Target 1" on Printer A (image forming device 1A) is "95.7%" and the colorimetry pass rate is "28.6%". In addition, the document printing utilization rate and colorimetry pass rate of "Customer Target 1" on Printer B (image forming device 1B) are both "0.0%". Furthermore, the document printing utilization rate of "Customer Target 1" on Printer C (image forming device 1C) is "70.0%" and the colorimetry pass rate is "60.0%".

The color management target value usage status information as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed on the screen of the client PC 12 viewed by the creator of the color management target values (such as "John Smith", the creator of "Customer Target 1").

<Color management method by color management server>
Next, a color management method by the color management server 2 will be described with reference to Fig. 10. Fig. 10 is a flow chart showing an example of the procedure of color management processing by the color management server 2. First, the colorimetry job corresponding setting unit 205 (see Fig. 2) of the color management server 2 performs a process of acquiring information on color management target values used in the print job of each image forming device 1 (step S1). The contents of the process of step S1 will be described in detail with reference to the next Fig. 11.

Then, the color management target value usage analysis unit 206 of the color management server 2 performs a process of determining the usage status of the color management target value (step S2). Details of the process of step S2 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 13 described later. Next, the color management target value usage information generation unit 207 of the color management server 2 performs a process of generating and notifying usage status information of the color management target value (step S3). Details of the process of step S3 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 16 described later.

Next, the contents of the process of step S1 in FIG. 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 11. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the procedure for the process of acquiring information on the color management target values used in the print job of each image forming device 1 by the color measurement job corresponding setting unit 205.

First, the colorimetry job correspondence setting unit 205 acquires print history information from the printer job management server 3 (step S11). The print history information includes the contents indicated by the job history data Dj and print instruction information sent from the printer job management server 3 to each image forming device 1. Next, the colorimetry job correspondence setting unit 205 determines whether the color management target value (association with the) for each print job is clear based on the print history information acquired in step S1 (step S12).

For example, when a print instruction is given from the printer job management server 3 to the image forming device 1, a print profile is specified for the image forming device 1. A color management target value is usually associated with the print profile. In this way, when a print profile is specified in the print instruction, the color measurement job compatible setting unit 205 makes a YES determination in step S12.

If it is determined in step S12 that the correspondence between the color management target values and each print job is clear (if step S12 is determined to be YES), the process of acquiring information on the color management target values used in the print jobs of each image forming device 1 ends.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S12 that the correspondence between the color management target values and each print job is not clear (if step S12 is determined to be NO), the colorimetry job correspondence setting unit 205 performs processing to determine whether or not the color management target values are set for the print job (step S13). The processing of step S13 will be described in detail with reference to the following FIG. 12.

Next, the content of the processing of step S13 in FIG. 11 will be described with reference to FIG. 12. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure for processing by the colorimetry job corresponding setting unit 205 to determine whether or not a color management target value is set for a print job.

First, the colorimetry job correspondence setting unit 205 determines (the type of) job file used for each print managed by the job ID based on the colorimetry job history information indicated by the colorimetry history data D1, etc., and the print history information (step S21). The job file can be determined, for example, by comparing the information on the colorimetry execution date in the colorimetry history data D1 with the print start date and time or end date and time in the job history data Dj. Specifically, if the information on the colorimetry execution date in the colorimetry history data D1 corresponds to the print start date and time or end date and time in the job history data Dj, the type of the job file can be determined to be a file of a colorimetry chart.

Furthermore, if the print job is executed by the image forming device 1A, 1C having the inline colorimeter 11, the job and the colorimetric ID are associated and managed in the printer job management server 3. Therefore, the colorimetric job correspondence setting unit 205 can determine that the type of the job file is a file of a colorimetric chart by acquiring the correspondence information between the print job and the colorimetric ID from the printer job management server 3 as print history information.

Then, the colorimetry job corresponding setting unit 205 judges whether the job file judged in step S21 is a file of a chart for colorimetry (step S22). If it is judged in step S22 that the job file is a file of a chart for colorimetry (if step S22 is judged YES), the colorimetry job corresponding setting unit 205 judges that the job executed by each image forming device 1 is a colorimetry job, and links it to the colorimetry job (step S23). The linking to the colorimetry job is performed, for example, by the colorimetry job corresponding setting unit 205 recording information on the colorimetry ID of the colorimetry job in the "Related Colorimetry ID" field of the job history-colorimetry history correspondence data D2 (see FIG. 7) and recording information on the colorimetry result in the "Colorimetry result" field.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S22 that the job file is not a file of a colorimetry chart (if step S22 is determined to be NO), the colorimetry job correspondence setting unit 205 determines that the job is a print job, and records in the job history-colorimetry history correspondence data D2 that the job type is a print job (step S24).

Next, the colorimetry job compatible setting unit 205 checks the job executed immediately before the job determined to be a print job in step S24 (step S25). The immediately previous job is the job with the previous job ID. Next, the colorimetry job compatible setting unit 205 determines whether the type of paper used in the immediately previous job matches the type of paper used in the job being determined (step S26).

If it is determined in step S26 that the paper types match (if step S26 returns a YES judgment), the colorimetry job corresponding setting unit 205 associates the print job being judged with the colorimetry job and identifies the color management target value used (step S27). The color management target value can be identified by referring to the color management target value table T2 (see FIG. 4) based on information such as the file name of the file used in the job executed immediately before.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S26 that the paper types do not match (if step S26 is determined to be NO), the colorimetry job correspondence setting unit 205 determines that there is no colorimetry job associated with the print job, and records the job type as a print job ("document") in the job history-colorimetry history correspondence data D2 (step S28). After processing in step S27 or after processing in step S28, the colorimetry job correspondence setting unit 205 ends the process of determining whether or not the color management target value is set for the print job.

Next, the content of the process of step S2 in FIG. 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 13. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure for determining the usage status of the color management target value by the color management target value usage status analysis unit 206 of the color management server 2.

First, the color management target value usage status analysis unit 206 identifies jobs linked to color management target values for each image forming device 1 (step S31). Next, the color management target value usage status analysis unit 206 performs a usage status analysis process for color measurement jobs (step S32). The content of the process in step S32 will be described in detail with reference to the following FIG. 14.

Next, the color management target value usage status analysis unit 206 performs usage status analysis processing for the print job (step S33). The processing content of step S33 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 15. Next, the color management target value usage status analysis unit 206 determines whether there are any color management target values for which usage status analysis processing has not been performed (step S34).

If it is determined in step S34 that there is a color management target value for which usage analysis processing has not been performed (if step S34 is judged as YES), the color management target value usage analysis unit 206 returns to step S31 and continues processing. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S34 that there is no color management target value for which usage analysis processing has not been performed (if step S34 is judged as NO), the color management target value usage analysis unit 206 ends the color management target value usage determination processing.

Next, the content of the processing of step S32 in FIG. 13 will be described with reference to FIG. 14. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure for analyzing the usage status of a color measurement job by the color management target value usage status analysis unit 206.

First, the color management target value usage analysis unit 206 acquires history information of color measurement jobs for which color management target values are set, which were executed within a predetermined period of time on the image forming device 1 (step S41). Here, the color measurement job corresponding setting unit 205 generates the color management target value usage data D3 shown in FIG. 8 as history information of color measurement jobs executed by the image forming device 1A within a period of time, such as one month.

Next, the color management target value usage status analysis unit 206 calculates the pass rate of the color measurement result by comparing the color measurement result with the number of times the color measurement job was executed (step S42). The pass rate of the color measurement result can be calculated by (the number of times the color measurement result is "Pass" / the total number of times the color measurement job was executed).

For example, suppose the pass rate of the color management target value "Custom Target 1" is sought. According to the color management target value usage data D3 shown in FIG. 8, the color measurement jobs using the color management target value "Custom Target 1" are jobs with job IDs "2020" to "2023" and "2060" to "2062", and the color measurement jobs have been performed a total of seven times. Furthermore, of these color measurement jobs, the number of times the color measurement job resulted in a "Pass" result is two. Therefore, the pass rate of the color management target value "Custom Target 1" can be calculated as (2/7 = approximately 66.7%).

After processing step S42, the color management target value usage analysis unit 206 ends the usage analysis process for the color measurement job. Note that FIG. 7 shows an example in which the color management target value usage analysis unit 206 determines the percentage (%) of the total number of executions of color measurement jobs linked to a color management target value in the total number of executions of color measurement jobs of a certain image forming device 1, but the present invention is not limited to this. The color management target value usage analysis unit 206 may determine the number of executions of color measurement jobs that satisfy the tolerance value associated with the color management target value (color measurement result is Pass) relative to the total number of executions of color measurement jobs executed in the image forming device 1, or the number of sheets of paper read by the colorimeter 11 in color measurement jobs that satisfy the tolerance value associated with the color management target value relative to the total number of sheets of paper read by the colorimeter 11 based on the color measurement jobs executed in the image forming device 1.

Alternatively, the color management target value usage analysis unit 206 may determine the percentage of the number of sheets of paper read by the colorimeter 11 in a colorimeter job that meets the tolerance value associated with the color management target value, out of the total number of sheets of paper read by the colorimeter 11 based on a colorimeter job executed in the image forming device 1.

Next, the content of the process of step S33 in FIG. 13 will be described with reference to FIG. 15. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure for print job usage analysis processing by the color management target value usage analysis unit 206.

First, the color management target value usage analysis unit 206 acquires history information of print jobs executed within a predetermined period on the image forming device 1 (step S51). Next, the color management target value usage analysis unit 206 acquires the total number of printed sheets for all print jobs executed within the certain period on the image forming device 1 (step S52). For example, according to the color management target value usage data D3 shown in FIG. 8, the total number of printed sheets for all print jobs by the image forming device 1A can be calculated by adding up the number of printed sheets shown in "Number of printed sheets", which is "4,700 sheets".

Next, the color management target value usage analysis unit 206 acquires the total number of printed sheets for the jobs associated with each color management target value (step S53). According to the color management target value usage data D3 shown in FIG. 8, the total number of printed sheets for the print jobs associated with "Custom Target 1" by the image forming device 1A is "4,500 sheets," and the total number of printed sheets for the print jobs associated with "Custom Target 2" is "200 sheets."

Next, the color management target value usage status analysis unit 206 compares the total number of printed sheets for all print jobs calculated in step S52 with the total number of printed sheets for print jobs linked to the color management target values calculated in step S52, and calculates the utilization rate (%) of the print jobs linked to the color management target values (step S54).

According to the color management target value usage status data D3 shown in FIG. 8, the usage rate of the print job associated with "Custom Target 1" can be calculated as (4,500 sheets/4,700 sheets = approximately 95.7%). Also, the usage rate of the print job associated with "Custom Target 2" can be calculated as (200 sheets/4,700 sheets = approximately 4.3%). After processing in step S54, the color management target value usage status analysis unit 206 ends the print job usage status analysis process.

Note that FIG. 8 shows an example in which the color management target value usage analysis unit 206 determines the percentage (%) of the total number of prints of print jobs linked to a color management target value out of the total number of prints of a certain image forming device 1, but the present invention is not limited to this. The color management target value usage analysis unit 206 may also determine the total number of prints of print jobs linked to a color management target value out of the total number of prints of a certain image forming device 1, the percentage of the number of times a print job linked to a color management target value has been executed out of the total number of times a print job has been executed out of a certain image forming device 1, the number of times a print job linked to a color management target value has been executed out of the total number of times a print job has been executed out of the certain image forming device 1, etc.

In addition, although Figs. 7 and 8 show an example in which the utilization rate of a colorimetry job or the utilization status of a print job is calculated based on the number of prints or the number of times a job is executed by the image forming device 1, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the utilization rate of a colorimetry job and the utilization status of a print job can also be calculated by using data correlated with printing, such as the utilization rate of each color of toner used by the image forming device 1.

In addition, in this embodiment, an example has been given in which the color management target value usage analysis unit 206 performs both print job usage analysis and colorimetry job usage analysis, but the present invention is not limited to this. The color management target value usage analysis unit 206 may perform only one of the print job usage analysis and the colorimetry job usage analysis.

Next, the content of the process of step S3 in FIG. 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 16. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure for generating and notifying color management target value usage status information by the color management target value usage status information generating unit 207 of the color management server 2.

First, the color management target value usage information generating unit 207 of the color management server 2 identifies the creator of the color management target value (step S61). The creator of the color management target value can be identified by referring to the color management target value table T2 shown in FIG. 4. The color management target value table T2 shows that the creator of the color management target value "Custom Target 1" is "John Smith" and the creator of the color management target value "Custom Target 2" is "Yamada Taro".

Next, the color management target value usage status information generating unit 207 organizes the usage status of the color management target values for each creator and generates color management target value usage status information (step S62). Next, the color management target value usage status information generating unit 207 determines whether there are any color management target values whose creators have not yet been identified (step S63). If it is determined in step S63 that there are any color management target values whose creators have not yet been identified (if the determination in step S63 is YES), the color management target value usage status information generating unit 207 returns to step S61 and performs processing.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S63 that there are no color management target values whose creators have not yet been identified (if step S63 is determined to be NO), the color management target value usage information generation unit 207 controls the color management target value usage information generated in step S62 to be displayed on the screen of the client PC 12 (see FIG. 1) viewed by the creator of the color management target values via the network I/F unit 23 (see FIG. 2) (step S64). After processing in step S64, the color management target value usage information generation unit 207 ends the generation and notification process of the color management target value usage information.

By carrying out the processing of step S64, as shown in FIG. 9, color management target value usage information is displayed on the screen of client PC 12. This allows the creator of the color management target values to investigate the reason for the poor color measurement pass rate of Printer B (image forming device 1B) or to improve the efficiency of color measurement work by recreating the profile of "Customer Target 1" itself. In other words, according to this embodiment, a technology is provided that makes it easier for color management personnel to review and improve the color management target values themselves.

<Various modified examples>
It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various other applications and modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention as set forth in the claims.

For example, in the above embodiment, the color management server 2 performs color management of the image forming devices 1A-1E within printing company C, but the present invention is not limited to this. The color management server 2 according to the present invention may share information on color management target values between different companies, such as a printing company (an example of a first organization) and a printing company that is a subcontractor of that printing company (an example of a second organization), and may provide information on the usage status of color management target values to each company.

1, 1A to 1E... image forming device, 2... color management server, 3... printer job management server, 11... colorimeter, 12... client PC, 20... color management section, 100... color management system, 205... color measurement job corresponding setting section, 206... color management target value usage status analysis section, 207... color management target value usage status information generation section

Claims (8)

A color management device that performs color management by associating a color management target value, which is a standard that a color measurement result by a colorimeter should satisfy, with at least one image forming device,
a colorimetry job correspondence setting unit that acquires information on the color management target value used in a print job of the image forming apparatus, and associates the print job, a colorimetry job that is a job of colorimetry using the colorimeter that is performed before the print job, and the color management target value;
a color management target value usage status analysis unit that analyzes the usage status of the color management target value in the print job and/or the color measurement job based on the correspondence information by the color measurement job correspondence setting unit;
a color management target value utilization status information generating unit that generates color management target value utilization status information using the utilization status of the color management target value analyzed by the color management target value utilization status analysis unit and notifies a user of the color management target value utilization status information,
The color management target value usage analysis unit analyzes the usage of the color management target value in the print job based on the number of sheets printed based on the print job associated with the color management target value, or the number of times the print job associated with the color management target value is executed, and analyzes the usage of the color management target value in the color measurement job based on the number of times the color measurement job associated with the color management target value is executed, or the number of sheets of paper read by the colorimeter in the color measurement job associated with the color management target value. The color management device according to claim 1 , wherein there are a plurality of the color management target values, and the color management target value use status information generating unit generates the color management target value use status information for each of the plurality of color management target values. The color management device according to claim 2 , wherein the color management target values are associated with information on creators of the color management target values, and the color management target value usage status information generating unit generates the color management target value usage status information for each of the creators. 4. The color management device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the usage status of the color management target value in the print job analyzed by the color management target value usage analysis unit is at least one of the following: the number of times the print job associated with the color management target value has been executed relative to the total number of times the print job has been executed in the image forming device; the proportion of the number of times the print job has been executed relative to the total number of times the print job has been executed in the image forming device; the number of sheets printed based on the print job associated with the color management target value relative to the total number of sheets printed in the image forming device; and the ratio of the number of sheets printed based on the print job associated with the color management target value to the total number of sheets printed in the image forming device. the color management target value includes a target value and an allowable value for a difference from the target value,
5. The color management device according to claim 2, wherein the usage status of the color management target value in the color measurement job analyzed by the color management target value usage status analysis unit is at least one of the following: the number of times the color measurement job is executed that satisfies the tolerance value associated with the color management target value with respect to a total number of times the color measurement job is executed in the image forming device; a ratio of the number of times the color measurement job is executed that satisfies the tolerance value associated with the color management target value with respect to the total number of times the color measurement job is executed in the image forming device; the number of sheets of paper read by the colorimeter in the color measurement job that satisfies the tolerance value associated with the color management target value with respect to a total number of sheets of paper read by the colorimeter based on the color measurement job executed in the image forming device; and a ratio of the number of sheets of paper read by the colorimeter in the color measurement job that satisfies the tolerance value associated with the color management target value with respect to a total number of sheets of paper read by the colorimeter based on the color measurement job executed in the image forming device. 6. The color management device according to claim 1, wherein the color management target value is shared by a plurality of the image forming devices. The color management device according to claim 6 , wherein the image forming devices are a plurality of devices, and the plurality of image forming devices are used in a first organization and a second organization different from the first organization. A color management method by a color management device that performs color management by associating a color management target value, which is a standard that a color measurement result by a colorimeter should satisfy, with at least one image forming device, comprising:
a step of acquiring information on the color management target value used in a print job of the image forming apparatus, and associating the print job with a color measurement job, which is a job of color measurement by the colorimeter performed before the print job, and the color management target value;
a color management target value usage status analysis step of analyzing a usage status of the color management target value in the print job and/or the color measurement job based on the correspondence information;
generating color management target value usage status information using the analyzed usage status of the color management target value, and notifying a user of the color management target value usage status information;
The color management method includes analyzing the usage status of the color management target value in the print job based on the number of sheets printed based on the print job associated with the color management target value, or the number of times the print job associated with the color management target value is executed, and analyzing the usage status of the color management target value in the color measurement job based on the number of times the color measurement job associated with the color management target value is executed, or the number of sheets of paper read by the colorimeter in the color measurement job associated with the color management target value.

Images