The described herein is a method for identifying a best match to a metal deco target color and distributing the best match to interested parties for ongoing validation. The method creates a digital proofing database that matches, for example, PantoneLIVE™ target colors and sets a defined digital inkjet standard to within desired tolerances. Also described is a system that implements the method.

An image forming apparatus includes a first ejection destination, a second ejection destination, and a controller. The first ejection destination is a destination to which sheets having an image formed thereon by using rendered data are to be ejected. The second ejection destination is a destination to which a sheet serving as a sample print among the sheets is to be ejected. The controller sets the sheet serving as the sample print by using at least one of pixel density, number of colored pixels, number of extra colors, number of objects, object size, and object color information that are included in the rendered data.

A color image processing apparatus includes an image forming unit configured to form a color image using recording materials of plural colors, an image processing unit configured to implement plural image processing methods that achieve plural types of pseudo-halftone representations, a color measurement unit configured to perform color measurement of the color image formed by the image forming unit, and a control unit configured to control execution of multi-color calibration in which the color measurement unit performs color measurement of a pattern image including plural multi-color patch images formed using recording materials of plural colors by using a smaller number of image processing methods than plural image processing methods used in single-color calibration for correcting reproduction characteristics of single-color images formed by the image forming unit and in which reproduction characteristics of a multi-color image formed by the image forming unit are corrected using a result of the color measurement.

An image reading apparatus and an image forming system are provided which can reduce the influence of magnification error, detect patches in correct positions, and save the sheets required for adjusting an image. The image reading apparatus makes use of an image scanner which reads patches printed on a sheet P, a spectral colorimeter which colorimetrically measures the patches read by the image scanner, and is provided with a timing compensation unit which compensates the colorimetric measurement timing with which colorimetric operation of the spectral colorimeter is triggered based on the positional information of the patches read by the image scanner, and an image correction unit which corrects the color information of the patches read by the image scanner based on the colorimetric values of the patches colorimetrically measured by the spectral colorimeter.

A print control apparatus for controlling a printing apparatus that calculates the amount of change between a designated color and a color measured, and is capable of executing a color accuracy verification, and a color correction includes: a job management unit that analyzes a print job and acquires a required color accuracy level, and calculates and manages a required time of the print job; an apparatus management unit that acquires a result of the color accuracy verification, predicts the degradation of the color accuracy, and calculates and manages a color correction effective time; and an output management unit that sets the output order of print jobs waiting to be output and the execution timing of the color correction, the required time of the print job, and the color correction effective time, and instructs the printing apparatus to execute the processing of the print job and the color correction.

Techniques for interactively determining/visualizing the color content of a source image and how the corresponding image data is mapped to device colors are described herein. For example, the color content of a digital image can be converted between different color spaces to identify gamut limitations of an output device (e.g., a printing assembly), discover color(s) that cannot be accurately reproduced, etc. Color space conversions enable the transformation of the color content of the digital image from device-specific colorants to a device-independent representation (and vice versa). In some embodiments, these transformations are facilitated using lookup tables that are implemented in graphical processing unit-resident memory.

A lighting device (23) irradiates a web under conveyance with light. The lighting device includes a light source (43), and an irradiation port (61) configured to open linearly in a widthwise direction of the web at an end portion facing the web. The irradiation port (61) is formed between first and second parallel portions (62b, 63b) where a first plate member (62) and a second plate member (63) parallelly face each other. The web under conveyance is irradiated with linear light. It is possible to provide a lighting device capable of irradiating only an inspection region of a sheet or a web with light.

An image forming apparatus includes a table generating unit. The table generating unit determines whether a target-value Voronoi region and a measured-value Voronoi region are identical or not. The table generating unit sets an output color value associated with a print position where the target-value Voronoi region and the measured-value Voronoi region are identical in the second color conversion table as the output color value associated with a specific input color value in the first color conversion table. The table generating unit sets the output color value associated with the print position where the target-value Voronoi region and the measured-value Voronoi region are different in the second color conversion table as a color value that is a color value in the hue plane and is different from the output color value associated with the specific input color value in the first color conversion table.

An image processing apparatus includes a processor configured to calculate color data for inspection by converting printing data that is data as a base of an image to be printed and includes a normal color which is a normally used color and a spot color which is a color other than the normal color, into color data of another color space in which the number of colors is decreased, for each of the printing data of the normal color and the printing data of the spot color and then, combining the color data after the conversion, and output the calculated color data for inspection.

A method is provided for printing color images using a color workflow. This workflow results in equal output colors from two print systems. For a first print system an existing color output profile for converting colors is used. An actual output color profile for the first print system is obtained from color measurement data that relate device colorant coordinates of the first print system to device independent color data. The existing output color profile does not correspond to the color measurement data. For a second print system, an additional output color profile is obtained from color measurement data. The color workflow that is applied in the second print system for converting colors of an input image is made by combining the existing output color profile, the actual output color profile and the additional color output profile, wherein the actual output color profile is applied in an inverse direction (A2B).