JPH0261839B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a method for setting color separation conditions in the printing process, checking the quality of color separation plates, etc. in color printing by displaying an image similar to the image of the final printed matter on a color monitor. The present invention relates to an image simulation device.

When color printing a color original such as a color photograph, the process generally proceeds as follows.

(1) "Paper submission" which conveys the intentions of the print requester, such as the designer, to the printer. (In this case, instructions such as ``Make the colors more vivid than the color original'' or ``Make the sky bluer than the original'' are given.) "Separation instructions" that instruct the color separation method etc. for reflection.

(3) ``Separation'' involves creating color-coded plates of a color original using a device such as a scanner, and converting the shading into dot sizes if necessary.

(4) ``Correction'' involves imagining and correcting the colors of color printed matter printed from ``separated'' black and white film.

(5) "Proof print" is a test print that is checked by the print requestor before actual printing.

(6) “Main printing” where printing is actually performed.

In the series of steps described above, it has been difficult to judge the final state of the finished printing in the intermediate steps up to the actual printing or proof printing. In many cases, experience was relied upon to determine in an intermediate process whether the final printed matter had the desired color tone. If the final printed matter is contrary to the print requester's intentions, the above steps will have to be repeated.

Recently, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a simulation device has been developed in which an image similar to the image actually printed is displayed on a color monitor in an intermediate step, and the image is checked in each step. As such a device, Hazeltine
Inc.'s U.S. Pat. No. 3,131,252 or the present applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 3,972,066.
Dr.-Ing Rudolf Hell GmbH's German Patent Publication No. 2607623 is disclosed in Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd.'s Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 49-40819, etc.

Even when a simulation device such as the one described above is used, it is difficult to match the print requester's intention with the finished print. This is because it is difficult for the print requester to directly check each process using a simulation device, and therefore the print requester's intentions have to be indicated using text or numerical values. It is. It is difficult to express the sensory expressions of color printing in text, and it is also not easy to convey them.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and provide an image simulation device that allows a print requester to directly check and simulate images.

Before explaining the image simulation apparatus according to the present invention, a conventional simulation apparatus will be explained with reference to FIG. The analog image signal input from the television camera unit 11 is subjected to appropriate processing by the camera curve corrector 12, and then
The A/D converter 13 converts it into a digital image signal. The digitized image signal is stored in the main memory 1
4 and is recorded. The main memory 14
It consists of RAM, and the digital image signals recorded here are read out sequentially and repeatedly.
The signals are simultaneously converted into analog image signals again by the number of D/A converters 15 corresponding to the hue of each color, and a color image is reproduced on a monitor 18 via a control circuit 16 and a matrix 17. Control circuit 1
6 performs color correction of analog image signals and controls reproduction density curves to approximate printed images and monitor images, and matrix 17 performs ink overlay correction and print ink hues (Y, M, The difference between subtractive color mixing and additive color mixing is adjusted by matching the signals corresponding to the colors (B, G, R) of the monitor to the hues (B, G, R) of the monitor. If the printed image reproduced on the simulated monitor 18 in this manner is not appropriate, the processing amount of the control circuit 16 is controlled to make corrections and obtain a desired image. By reading this processing amount, the control amount of the printing process is determined.

The image simulation device according to the present invention is an image simulation device that makes it possible to store or reproduce images by recording images reproduced on a monitor in a file storage device as a secondary memory, and is capable of storing or reproducing images by recording images reproduced on a monitor in a file storage device as a secondary memory. This is an image simulation device that records images on tape or the like and allows them to be played back at any time and place using these file storage devices.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. Regarding the drawings, parts that are the same as those in FIG. 1 are given the same numbers. In this case, the analog image signal input from the television camera unit 11 is subjected to camera curve correction, converted into a digital signal by the A/D converter 13, and recorded in the main memory 14. This digital image signal is converted into an analog signal by the D/A converter 15, passed through the control circuit 16 and the matrix 17, and then reproduced on the monitor 18, as in the conventional case.

The image simulation apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that the image displayed on the monitor is recorded on a file storage device such as a magnetic disk as described above, and for this purpose it is provided with a device for recording the monitor image. That is, matrix 1
7, the analog image signal is sent to the A/D converter 1 again.
3, it is converted into a digital image signal and temporarily stored in the auxiliary memory 20. The digital image signal temporarily stored in the auxiliary memory 20 is arranged into an appropriate data arrangement by a memory controller 21 and recorded in a file storage device 22 such as a magnetic disk or magnetic tape. The auxiliary memory 20 is used because the file storage device 22 operates at a slow speed.

As described above, the digital image signals recorded in the file storage device are recorded on magnetic disks or magnetic tapes, so they can be reproduced at any time and any place simply by storing or transporting them. can. Furthermore, since the recorded data can be freely read out using a general computer, it can be copied as many times as desired without deteriorating the information.

The image simulation apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that the analog image signal from the television camera unit 11 and the analog image signal from the matrix 17 are digitized using the same A/D converter. That is, the A/D is used to store the analog image signal input from the camera unit 11 in the main memory 14 by switching the switch 23 and transmitting the analog image signal through the matrix 17.
The image signal input to the converter 13 and converted into a digital signal by the A/D converter 13 is temporarily stored in the auxiliary memory 20 and recorded in the file storage device 22. When playing, the file storage device 22
The digital image signal in the main memory 14 is converted into an analog image signal by the D/A converter 15 and directly output to the monitor 18 to reproduce the image. At this time, switch 24 is turned on. The image thus obtained is the same as the image modified by the control circuit 16 during recording.

As explained in the above embodiment, in the present invention, the analog image signal output to the monitor is further converted into a digital signal and stored, but noise can be reduced compared to the case where the analog signal is recorded as it is. Can be done. In the experimental results,
For analog signal, 0.7Vp/p image signal
Noise of 50 mV or more was generated, but this was reduced to about 10 mV when using digital signals. Further, the reason why the analog signal that has passed through the matrix is A/D converted again is to enable the analog image signal adjusted by the control circuit to be recorded in the memory.
It is not possible to reproduce an adjusted image by simply recording the digital signal recorded in the main memory into a file storage device as it is.

According to the present invention, it becomes possible for the print requester to reproduce the print requester's intention using the present simulation device, record the result on a floppy disk, etc., and transmit it to the printer. Further, in the printing process, the intention of the print requester can be confirmed at each step, and images can be checked accurately. Furthermore, by using this device to simulate the printed image from the final separated plate and recording it on a floppy disk, this can serve as a substitute for proof printing, eliminating the need for the process of proof printing before starting actual printing. There are also advantages.

As described above, the image simulation device according to the present invention can convey the intention between the printing client and the printing factory and give instructions for each printing process using the image itself. It can also be easily transported. Furthermore, it is advantageous to use non-volatile memory when storing images.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional image simulation device, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. 11... Television camera unit, 12... Color curve corrector, 13... A/D converter, 14...
...Main memory, 15...D/A converter, 16...Control circuit, 17...Matrix, 18...Monitor, 20...Auxiliary memory, 21...Memory controller, 22...File storage device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 An analog image signal obtained by photographing a color original or separated version for printing with a television camera.
In an image simulation device, an analog image signal is digitized by an AD converter and recorded in a main memory, and an analog image signal is obtained from the digital image signal recorded in the main memory by a DA converter and simulated on a monitor. An image simulation device comprising means for digitizing a signal by the AD converter and recording it in an auxiliary memory, and for recording the digital image signal recorded in the auxiliary memory in a file storage device.