An image forming apparatus includes a recording head that ejects inks of different colors on a recording medium to form an image based on image data, a storage device that stores a plurality of different dot patterns for flushing, and a control device that functions as: a controller that allows the recording head to make flushing; an image area detector that detects an image area in the image data; an overlapping dot counter that counts a number of overlapping dots for each of the plurality of dot patterns according to which flushing is to be made on the image area, the number of overlapping dots being a number of dots in the dot pattern of the ink ejected on the image area; and a dot pattern assignor that assigns, according to the number of overlapping dots, the respective dot patterns for use in flushing with the inks of different colors.

In some examples, a print cartridge includes a memory device comprising quantized coefficients derived from a lossy compression, at a selected step size, of a difference color table including a plurality of difference nodes in which each difference node represents a difference value that is a difference of a value of a node of a color table and a value of a corresponding node of a reference table, the quantized coefficients useable to produce a reconstructed difference color table including a first set of difference nodes each representing a difference value that is within an error threshold at the selected step size, and a second set of difference nodes each representing a difference value that is outside an error threshold at the selected step size. The memory device further comprises corrective information to correct the second set of difference nodes of the reconstructed difference color table.

In some examples, a print cartridge includes a memory device comprising quantized coefficients derived from a compression of a difference table including a plurality of difference nodes in which each difference node represents a value that is a difference of a value of a node of a color table and a value of a corresponding node of a reference table, the quantized coefficients useable to produce a reconstructed difference table, and a plurality of residue nodes in which each residue node represents a value that is a difference of a value of a node of the color table and a value of a corresponding node of the reconstructed difference table.

A color conversion apparatus includes a hardware processor that obtains a scanner profile created on the basis of measured RGB values and corresponding measured colorimetric values of patches in a first color chart, and creates a table including correction amounts of RGB values, each according to the level of flare estimated for a patch and each associated with an RGB-value difference and a patch-size difference, on the basis of RGB values of patches in the first color chart and RGB values of patches in a specific chart. The specific chart is created by using a part of the patches in the first color chart with the RGB value or patch size being changed. The hardware processor further corrects measured RGB values of patches in a second color chart with the table, and convers the corrected RGB values into colorimetric values with the scanner profile.

Certain examples described herein relate to the control of colorants and treatments for printing. In certain examples image data, a colorant color mapping and one or more treatment color mappings is obtained. The colorant color mapping may be used to map the image data to colorant application values. The one or more treatment color mappings may be used to map the image data to treatment application values. The colorant application values and treatment application values may be used to generate discrete print control instructions to apply the set of colorants and set of treatments to a printing substrate.

System and methods for matching color and appearance of a target coating are provided herein. The system includes an electronic imaging device configured to receive a target image data of the target coating. The target image data includes target coating features. The system further includes one or more feature extraction algorithms that extracts the target image features from the target image data. The system further includes a machine-learning model that identifies a calculated match sample image from a plurality of sample images utilizing the target image features. The machine-learning model includes pre-specified matching criteria representing the plurality of sample images for identifying the calculated match sample image from the plurality of sample images. The calculated match sample image is utilized for matching color and appearance of the target coating.

In a color printing environment, functions for printing color management are dissociated. An abstraction layer is also provided to facilitate setting and evaluation of all factors relating to color print and prediction.

A redundantly printed security-enhanced document, printing method, and system for better ensuring that the meaning of the information imparted by variable indicia printed by redundant printing indicia on a document protected by a removable Scratch-Off Coating (SOC). By printing the variable indicia with multiple colors, redundancy and integrity of the intended indicia is achieved relative to the perception of human eye photoreceptor cones. The redundantly printed document, methods, and systems enhance the overall appearance of the redundantly printed document, and reduce possible consequences resulting from misprinted variable indicia.

Systems and methods manage information relating to paper media to enhance the quality of printing by printers. Systems and methods efficiently maintain color management profiles for different papers and ensure that the most appropriate (e.g., optimal) color management profile is employed for color conversion on a specific paper. In particular, embodiments may employ dynamic management of data stored in paper catalogs of printing systems. As such, a paper catalog of a printer device can effectively associate a paper with a color management profile that provides the best possible color reproduction on that paper.

An article of manufacture may include a matrix barcode on a physical medium and associated with an environment. The matrix barcode may include a plurality of colors, where at least one of the plurality of colors is a least prevalent color, of a plurality of prevalent colors in the environment.