A method for image inspection on printed products in a printing material processing machine. Printed products are recorded and digitizing and the recorded images are compared with a digital reference image to find image areas with distorted regions. Suitable rectification factors are calculated and the digital reference image is rectified with suitable rectification factors for the distorted image areas. The modified digital reference image is then compared to images recorded during the production run. If deviations are found, the printed products are found defective and removed. The computer also identifies image areas in the reference image that do not have enough edges for calculating suitable rectification factors and inserts anchors into the image areas. The anchors are printed, recorded and digitized, as they become part of the recorded digital printed image. In that case, the computer calculates the local rectification factors by way of the anchors.

An apparatus, a recording medium, and a method for generating a control parameter of a screen printer are disclosed. The apparatus includes a memory that stores a simulation model configured to derive predictive inspection information on a printed state of solder paste based on a plurality of control parameters of the screen printer; a communication circuit configured to receive first inspection information on a plurality of solder pastes printed by the screen printer based on a first control parameter, and a processor electrically connected to the memory and the communication circuit. The processor obtains first predictive inspection information by applying the first control parameter to the simulation model, generates a plurality of candidate control parameters based on the first predictive inspection information, determines a plurality of second control parameters among the candidate control parameters, and transmits the plurality of second control parameters to the screen printer via the communication circuit.

An image inspection apparatus includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry sets abnormality detection conditions excluding specific conditions specified from at least one of input image information related to input image data and print medium information related to a print medium. The processing circuitry acquires an image formed on the print medium based on the input image data. The processing circuitry detects whether an abnormality satisfying the abnormality detection conditions excluding the specific conditions has occurred in the acquired image.

A substrate is printed with front side and back side markings. The front side when viewed with reflected light includes: a first marking printed with a first gradient of two colors; a second marking printed with a second gradient of two colors; a first symbol printed with a third gradient of two colors; a second symbol printed with a fourth gradient of two colors; a third symbol printed with a fifth gradient of two colors; and a fourth symbol printed with a sixth gradient of two colors. The back side when viewed with reflected light includes: a third marking printed with the fourth gradient; a fourth marking printed with the third gradient; a fifth symbol printed with the second gradient; a sixth symbol printed with the first gradient; a seventh symbol printed with the sixth gradient; and an eighth symbol printed with the fifth gradient.

A verification apparatus includes a controller to display a screen in which a reference image as a verification target image is user selectable, to set, based on user input and. on the displayed reference image, a feature point of the reference image, and a reference region of a predetermined pattern formed in advance on a recording medium on which the verification target image is to be formed, to extract the set feature point from a read image, to specify, based on a positional relationship between the feature point and the screen set reference region, from an image position of the extracted feature point, a first region on the read image, indicating a region where the predetermined pattern should have been formed, and a second region other than the first, and to perform verification for the first region by a first algorithm, and for the second region by a second algorithm.

A method controls the color in a printing press, which includes at least one printing station printing a respective color design. The method includes the procedures of determining a control factor to color model, printing a design on a web and acquiring color characteristics corresponding to the printed design on the web. The method further includes the procedures of determining the color quality of the printed color design and determining a required change to at least one control factor when a correction to the color characteristics of the printed design is required. The change to at least one control factor is determined by determining the at least one control factor with respective color related information, which results in a reference color characteristic, according to the control factor to color model. The method returns to the procedure of printing when a correction is not required.

A method for image inspection of printed products in a printing material processing machine includes using an image sensor to capture and digitize printed products during image inspection by an image capture system, using a computer to carry out a comparison of captured digital printed images with a digital reference image, examining a result of the comparison for image regions with blurry regions in the captured digital printed image, calculating suitable smoothing factors for the blurry image regions, and then carry out smoothing of the digital reference image with the calculated, suitable smoothing factors for the blurry image regions, causing the digital reference image to have a blurriness comparable to the captured digital printed image in the image regions. Printed products detected as faulty are removed upon an occurrence of deviations of the captured digital printed image from the digital reference image.

The present invention is a method for measuring the varnish film thickness of a printed article by obtaining the film thickness of varnish on a sheet (1) on which a pattern is printed on a base thereof with ink and the pattern is coated with the varnish, wherein a metal foil (1c) having a smooth surface is attached to the base of the sheet (1), and the film thickness of the varnish coated directly over the metal foil (1c) is detected with a spectral interference-type film thickness meter (81) so as to determine whether the film thickness of the varnish is acceptable or not on the basis of the results detected by the spectral interference-type film thickness meter (81).

A print quality examination device is provided in a printing machine (1) provided with a printing unit (3) that performs printing on a mirror-reflection member (5a) of a sheet (5) to which the mirror-reflection member (5a) is added. The print quality examination device of the printing machine is provided with an examination camera (18a) that images a picture printed on the sheet (5), a light source (18h) that irradiates the sheet (5) with light, and a print quality examination unit (18g) that examines the quality of the picture printed by the printing unit (3) based on image data imaged by the examination camera (18a). The examination camera (18a) or the light source (18h) is configured to be movably supported on an arc about a detection point (P) imaged by the examination camera (18a) for the sheet (5).

The present invention relates to a print quality inspection apparatus comprising: an illuminator (35 or 35A-35C) for irradiating light onto a printout (1) provided with a motion thread (1b); a camera (34 or 34A) for capturing an image of the printout; and a print quality inspection unit (10) for inspecting the print quality of the printout (1) on the basis of image data captured by the camera (34 or 34A). The camera (34) captures images of printouts (1) for each RGB color, and the print quality inspection unit (10) performs a print quality inspection having a scope that includes the motion thread (1b) on the basis of image data of a color of the same hue as the color of the motion thread (1b), or the illuminator (35A-35C) emits a color of the same hue as the color of the motion thread (1b), and the monochrome camera (34A) captures a monochrome image.