Method and device for acquiring information for compensating color drift and medium with program for the same recorded thereon

A printing control device that carries out printing control on a printing device so designed that a print head is filled with a corresponding ink corresponding thereto and the corresponding ink is stuck to a printing medium by the print head to form an image corresponding to printing data, comprising:

• an alternative colorimetry data acquisition unit that acquires alternative colorimetry data obtained by subjecting a printed standard image to colorimetry in a predetermined color space, the standard image being printed on a printing medium with a standard ink recording quantity with the printing device filled with alternative ink different from the corresponding ink, and;
• an error information acquisition unit that converts the acquired alternative colorimetry data into predictive colorimetry data obtained when a standard image is printed on a printing medium with the standard ink recording quantity with the printing device filled with the corresponding ink and the printed standard image is subjected to colorimetry in a predetermined color space, and thereby acquires error information that represents the result of correlation between predictive colorimetry data acquired by the conversion and predetermined reference colorimetry data;
• a color correction data determination unit that determines color correction data for compensating a color drift of the corresponding ink in the printing device according to the value of the error information;
• and
• a printing control unit that, using the color correction data, corrects printing data that represents an image into printing data for compensating a color drift of an image printed with the printing device, and controls the printing device to print an image corresponding to the corrected printing data.

A printing control method for carrying out printing control on a printing device so designed that a print head is filled with a corresponding ink corresponding thereto, and the corresponding ink is stuck to a printing medium by the print head to form an image corresponding to printing data, the method comprising:

• acquiring alternative colorimetry data obtained by subjecting a standard image to colorimetry in a predetermined color space, the standard image being printed on a printing medium with a standard ink recording quantity with the printing device filled with alternative ink different from the corresponding ink,
• converting the acquired alternative colorimetry data into predictive colorimetry data obtained when a standard image is printed on a printing medium with the standard ink recording quantity with the printing device filled with the corresponding ink and subjected to colorimetry in a predetermined color space,
• acquiring error information that represents the result of correlation between the predictive colorimetry data acquired by the conversion and predetermined reference colorimetry data,
• determining color correction data for compensating a color drift of the corresponding ink in the printing device according to the value of the error information,
• correcting, by using the color correction data, printing data that represents an image into printing data for compensating a color drift of an image printed with the printing device, and controlling the printing device to print an image corresponding to the corrected printing data.

A computer-readable medium with a printing control program recorded thereon for causing a computer to execute a function of carrying out printing control on a printing device so designed that a print head is filled with a corresponding ink corresponding thereto and the corresponding ink is stuck to a printing medium by the print head to form an image corresponding to printing data, the program carrying out:

• an alternative colorimetry data acquiring function for acquiring alternative colorimetry data obtained by subjecting a printed standard image to colorimetry in a predetermined color space, the standard image being printed on a printing medium with a standard ink recording quantity with the printing device filled with alternative ink different from the corresponding ink,
• an error information acquiring function for converting the acquired alternative colorimetry data into predictive colorimetry data obtained when a standard image is printed on a printing medium with the standard ink recording quantity with the printing device filled with the corresponding ink and the printed standard image is subjected to colorimetry in a predetermined color space, and acquiring error information that represents the result of correlation between the predictive colorimetry data acquired by the conversion and predetermined reference colorimetry data;
• a color correction data determining function for determining color correction data for compensating a color drift of the corresponding ink in the printing device according to the value of the error information;
• and
• a printing control function for correcting, by using the color correction data, printing data that represents an image into printing data for compensating a color drift of an image printed with the printing device, and controlling the printing device to print an image corresponding to the corrected printing data.