An image forming apparatus outputs a tone chart for calibration by a printer, reads the output tone chart by a scanner, determines whether data on a sheet is affected by a surface shape of the sheet based on the read tone chart, corrects data on a white area of the read chart based on a result of the determination, and executes calibration using the corrected data.

A processor identifies a specific part composed of a plurality of significant pixels in a mixed-color test image. Furthermore, the processor identifies a color vector. The color vector represents a vector in a color space from one of a color of the specific part in the mixed-color test image and a color of a reference area including a periphery of the specific part to the other. Furthermore, the processor determines which of a plurality of image creating portions of an image forming device corresponding to a plurality of developing colors, is a cause of an image defect, based on the color vector identified from the mixed-color test image.

There are provided a printing system, a method of generating a halftone processing rule, a method of acquiring a characteristic parameter, image processing device and method, a halftone processing rule, a halftone image, a method of manufacturing a printed material, an ink jet printing system, and a program which are capable of reducing an operation load of a user and acquiring a halftone processing rule appropriate for the printing system. A characteristic parameter acquisition chart including a pattern for acquiring characteristic parameters related to characteristics of the printing system is output, and the output characteristic parameter acquisition chart is read by image reading means. The characteristic parameters are acquired by analyzing the read image of the characteristic parameter acquisition chart, and halftone processing rules that define the processing contents of halftone processes used in the printing system are generated based on the acquired characteristic parameters.

A method of calibrating a printing device, wherein the method comprises: associating a weighted printing value to each of a plurality of pixels, wherein associating a weighted printing value to each pixel comprises: obtaining, from a first calibration table, a first calibration value; obtaining, from a second calibration table, a second calibration value; obtaining first and second weighting factors, wherein the first weighting factor is obtained from a weighting table, generating the weighted printing value as the sum of the first calibration value weighted with the first weighting factor and the second calibration value weighted with the second weighting factor.

The present disclosure provides processing for performing highly-accurate density nonuniformity correction while saving the number of patches. A chart generation unit obtains measurement data of the latest test chart. A patch tone calculation unit obtains an output characteristic expressing measurement values for input tone values based on the obtained measurement data and calculates selected tone values to be used as the input tone values for a test chart from the obtained output characteristic. A chart image generation unit generates the test chart by using the calculated selected tone values as the input tone values and not using at least one initial tone value as the input tone value.

A printing apparatus includes a printing unit, a colorimetry unit, a data generation unit configured to generate color chart data, and a printing colorimetry control unit configured to control printing performed by the printing unit and colorimetry performed by the colorimetry unit, where the data generation unit acquires, from a first image represented by a first print job, a position of a first spot color contained in the first image and generates the color chart data having the first spot color patch disposed at a position corresponding to a position of the first spot color in the first image, and the printing colorimetry control unit causes the printing unit to print the color chart that is based on the color chart data and causes the colorimetry unit to measure the color of the color chart printed on the printing medium by the printing unit.

A nail polish application apparatus, comprising a mounting element comprising a capsule compartment adapted to receive one or more capsules containing a nail polish fluid wherein the mounting element is moveable by actuator(s) in longitudinal axis crossing a nail polish applying space and in lateral axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis and is rotatable by the actuator(s) around the longitudinal axis, a pressure applying element adapted to apply pressure on a body portion of the capsule(s) installed in the capsule compartment wherein the body portion defines a reservoir containing a nail polish fluid, the pressure builds an internal pressure in the reservoir forcing extrusion of the nail polish fluid to a nail polish applying element integrated with the capsule(s), sensor(s) adapted to generate sensory data depicting the nail polish applying space and a control unit adapted to operate the actuator(s) and the pressure according to analysis of the sensory data.

A method for correcting tone-level non-uniformities in a digital printing system includes printing a test target having a set of uniform test patches. The printed test target is automatically analyzed to determine tone-level errors as a function of cross-track position for each of the test patches. A tone-level correction function is determined and represented using a set of one-dimensional feature vectors which specifies tone-level corrections as a function of cross-track position, pixel value and time. Corrected image data is determined by using the tone-level correction function to determine a tone-level correction value for each image pixel responsive to the input pixel value, cross-track position and time. The corrected image data is printed using the digital printing system to provide a printed image with reduced tone-level errors.

In a device and a method for improving the print image uniformity, at least one print image is printed by a printer with at least one print bar that has at least one print head with a plurality of print nozzles. An image detector having a plurality of dot/image detection regions detects at least one value profile of measured inking intensities. A comparator compares the value profile with at least one reference value, and generates correction values dependent thereon.

A method of printing improved printed products using defect-free printing machine nozzles and compensated defective nozzles includes printing products and a test chart with test fields onto a transported substrate, the test fields having tonal values, every test field including an unprinted line from a nonactivated, nonprinting nozzle compensated by a neighboring nozzle having a compensation value, pairs of tonal value and compensation value being specified and used for the chart, recording an image of the chart, computer-analyzing the image and determining the compensation value. Every pair of tonal value and compensation value is used multiple times in the chart and a corresponding number of spaced apart test fields is created. A characteristic value representing test field homogeneity and determining compensation value quality is assigned to every measuring field. The best characteristic value regarding a specified criterion and the compensation value is determined for every tonal value.