Process and apparatus for the colorimetric measurement of a two-dimensional original

Abstract

For the colorimetric measurement of a two-dimensional original, the original is photoelectrically scanned pixel by pixel in a first step by way of a color-enabled photoelectric scanning device. A digital color representation of the original is produced from the thereby obtained scanning data. In a second step, suitable measuring positions are determined from the digital color representation of the original by way of a computer using image processing methods. In a third step, the color measuring head is automatically moved under the control of the computer to the so determined measuring positions and the original is colorimetrically measured at those measuring positions. The color data obtained thereby can be further processed, for example for the generation of apparatus profiles for the colorimetric control of output apparatus. The scanning device is preferably a high resolution flatbed or autofeed scanner or a digital camera. The color measuring head is preferably a spectral measuring head. By the comparatively high resolution pixel by pixel scanning of the original, the measuring positions can be very exactly determined without manual input and without time consuming multiple measurements. Furthermore, artifacts caused by dirt can be recognized and corrected.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.