Color gamut displaying method, an image processing method, and apparatus utilizing these methods

A color image processing method comprising:

• a storing step of storing color gamut table for a device;
• a determination step of determining whether color image data has a value within or outside of a color gamut of the device, by using the color gamut table,
• wherein the color gamut table contains a plurality of lattice data, each of the plurality of lattice data having either a value indicating the color image data is within the color gamut, or a different value indicating the color image data is outside the color gamut, and if it is determined in said determination step that the color image data is within the color gamut, a flag is turned on, and if it is determined in said determination step that the color image data is outside the color gamut, the flag is turned off;
• and
• a notification step of notifying a user of a result of a determination in said determination step, wherein in said notifying step, an input image is displayed based on the result of the determination in said determination step.

A color image processing apparatus for determining whether color image data has a value within or outside of a color gamut of a device, the apparatus comprising:

• referring means for referring to a color gamut table for the device according to input color image data, the color gamut table containing a plurality of lattice data, with each of the plurality of lattice data having either a value indicating the color image data is within the color gamut, or a value indicating the color image data is outside the color gamut;
• interpolation means for performing interpolation upon the lattice data;
• determination means for determining whether the input color image data has a value within or outside of the color gamut of the device;
• and
• notification means for notifying a user of a result of the determination by said determination means and displaying an input color image based on the result of the determination by said determination means.

A color image processing apparatus comprising:

• storage means for storing a color gamut table for a device;
• determination means for determining whether color image data has a value within or outside of a color gamut of the device, by using the color gamut table,
• wherein the color gamut table contains a plurality of lattice data each of the plurality of lattice data having either a value indicating the color image data is within the color gamut, or a different value indicating the color image data is outside the color gamut, and if said determination means determines that the color image data is within the color gamut, said determination means turns a flag on, and if said determination means determines that the color image data is outside the color gamut, said determination means turns the flag off;
• and
• notification means for notifying a user of a result of a determination by said determination means.

A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium, said product including:

• determination process procedure code means for determining whether color image data has a value within or outside of a color gamut of a device, by referring to a color gamut table for the device;
• interpolation process procedure code means for performing interpolation in accordance with a determination in said determination process,
• wherein the color gamut table contains a plurality of lattice data, each of the plurality of lattice data having either a value indicating the color image data is within the color gamut, or a different value indicating the color image data is outside the color gamut;
• and
• notification process procedure code means for notifying a user of a result of the determination in said determination process.

A color image processing method comprising the steps of:

• storing a color gamut table representing colors which can be reproduced by a color reproduction device arranged to produce a color reproduction of color image data input to the device;
• determining whether a color can be reproduced by the color reproduction device by using the stored color gamut table, characterized by carrying out the storing step by storing the color gamut table so that each address within the table is associated with a respective different color of the color input image data, the data stored at each address having either a first value indicating that the associated color falls within the color gamut or a second value indicating that the associated color falls outside the color gamut, and carrying out the determining step by using the color image data to be input to the color reproduction device to address the color gamut table to determine whether the first or second value is stored at the address corresponding to that color so as to determine whether or not the color represented by the color data falls within the color gamut of the color reproduction device;
• and
• notifying a user of a result of a determination in said determination step, wherein in said notifying step, an input image is displayed based on the result of the determination in said determination step.

A color image processing apparatus comprising:

• storage means for storing a color gamut table representing colors which can be reproduced by a color reproduction device arranged to produce a color reproduction of color image data input to the device;
• determination means for determining whether a color can be reproduced by the color reproduction device by using the stored color gamut table, characterized in that each address within the color gamut table is associated with a respective different color of the color input image data, the data stored at each address having either a first value indicating that the associated color falls within the color gamut or a second value indicating that the associated color falls outside the color gamut, and in that the determination means is arranged to determine whether a color can be reproduced by the color reproduction device, to address the color gamut table to determine whether the first or second value is stored at the address corresponding to that color so as to determine whether or not the color represented by the color data falls within the color gamut of the color reproduction device;
• and
• notification means for notifying a user of a result of a determination by said determination means.