An image forming apparatus performs printing of only a special color area by extracting an area to which a special color ink is to be applied or an area to which a decorative printing, such as a texture, is to be performed and not applying ink on an area other than the extracted area.

A system and method are described for the production of color selection swatch cards for point of purchase displays of custom blended paints, textiles or plastics using a digital inkjet printer and custom blended inkjet inks based on a set of base inks that can be blended using commercial match prediction software. The base inks are matched spectrally to the base paints, dyes or plastics.

An image processing apparatus includes a processor including a setting unit to assign a correction control point to a first color-space value dependent on a first output device and a color chart generator to convert the first color-space value to which the correction control point is assigned into a second color-space value dependent on a second output device, displace the second color-space value, convert a displaced second color-space value into a displaced first color-space value, and generate a color chart including a patch generated based on the displaced first color-space value; an image forming device to output the color chart; and a colorimeter to perform colorimetry of the color chart. The processor further includes a correction parameter generator to generate a correction parameter to correct an output profile with a colorimetric value by the colorimeter, and an output profile correction unit to correct the output profile using the correction parameter.

A profile adjustment system displays, in a display device 115, an input field of a coordinate of an adjustment point P0 disposed on a color space, and includes an adjustment coordinate reception unit U1, an adjustment influence range reception unit U3, a linking configuration reception unit U4, a linking configuration display processing unit UA, an adjustment coordinate configuration unit U5, an adjustment influence range configuration unit U6, a whole adjustment influence range display processing unit UB configured to display, in the display device 115, a whole adjustment influence range including U3, U4, U5, and U6, and a profile adjustment unit U7 configured to adjust a profile based on all adjustment points P0 configured in the adjustment coordinate reception unit U1 and an adjustment point Qx added by the adjustment coordinate configuration unit U5.

Methods for configuring and calibrating a printing system are described. Configuring a printing system involves obtaining data for determining a reference print element in the printing system. The reference print element is then used to determine calibration data for a given print element. The calibration data is applied for the given print element to generate a print output.

A profile adjustment system adjusts a profile to be used for converting a coordinate value in a color space, based on an adjustment target at an adjustment point indicating a color to be adjusted. The profile adjustment system includes a coordinate receiving unit configured to display on a display unit an input field for coordinates of the adjustment point, and to receive an input of the coordinates of the adjustment point, and a color display processing unit configured to display on the display unit a color corresponding to the coordinates, the input of which has been received, in association with displaying of the coordinates.

Examples herein provide a method. The method includes printing first color patches at a first location on a first side of a print medium. The method includes generating an international color consortium (ICC) profile of the first side by characterizing the first color patches using a spectrophotometer. The method includes printing, using the ICC profile of the first side, second color patches at a second location on the first side of the print medium. The method includes printing third color patches on a second side of the print medium, the third patches being a registered mirrored copy of the second patches. The method includes generating an ICC profile of the second side by characterizing the registered second and third patches using the spectrophotometer.

A color conversion LUT creation apparatus includes a derivation unit that derives an output value corresponding to a signal value in an input image for a plurality of virtual color materials whose number is smaller than a number of actual color materials used in an image forming apparatus; a setting unit that sets a target number of dots printed per unit area of the actual color material; and a conversion unit that converts an output value of the plurality of virtual color materials into an output value of the actual color material and creates a color conversion LUT in which the input value and the output value of the actual color material are associated with each other. The setting unit sets the target number of dots based on dispersibility of a dot pattern corresponding to each tone level of a dither matrix used for halftone processing.

Methods for configuring and calibrating a printing system are described. Configuring a printing system involves obtaining data for determining a reference print element in the printing system. The reference print element is then used to determine calibration data for a given print element. The calibration data is applied for the given print element to generate a print output.

An image forming apparatus of the present invention acquires first correction characteristics representing an output density for an input gradation value at a reference position in a main scanning direction and second correction characteristics representing a relative relationship of an output density at a predetermined position in the main scanning direction with the output density at the reference position in the main scanning direction. Then, the image forming apparatus corrects image data corresponding to the predetermined position in the main scanning direction based on the first correction characteristics and the second correction characteristics.