Color compensating method of color image and color image generating

Abstract

A color correcting method for a color image generating apparatus for overlapping 3 or 4 color materials according to color image data of 3 separated colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M) and cyan (C) or of 4 separated colors of Y, M, C and black (K) to obtain a multicolor image, wherein the apparatus includes a color detector, a test pattern is printed in a vertical/horizontal stripe form of 2-color combinations of 2 of the 3 or 4 colors and is measured by the color detector to find a hue value, a relative overlap deviation of the colors Y, M, C or Y, M, C, K is calculated from the found hue value, and an irradiation start position of a semiconductor laser in a main-scan direction and an irradiation start position of the semiconductor laser in a feed direction are controlled to correct the relative overlap deviation. Or a color correcting method and apparatus in which a color correction coefficient or one of a plurality of color correction tables previously prepared for overlap deviations corresponding to the color drift is selected and set in color correcting means for color correction, or color drifts in a continuous print mode and in a non-continuous print mode are corrected.