Method for improved characterization of single-pass bi-directional printers

Abstract

The method of the present invention involves first estimating the common gamut of the colors that this printer is expected to reproduce. A left-to-right test target is printed in single-pass, uni-directional print mode, (printing on left-to-right scans only) and a color calibration table for left-to-right printing is generated. A right-to-left test pattern is printed in single-pass, uni-directional print mode, (printing on right-to-left scans only) and a color calibration table specific for right-to-left printing is generated. The next step of the present invention involves determining the mathematical intersection of the gamuts produced by printing in left-to-right mode only and by printing in right-to-left mode only. This is done by, first printing the left-to-right test target processed by the color calibration table associated with the primary print direction. Colors which are within the gamut of both left-to-right only and right-to-left only printing are identified by their similarity or distance from each other in color space. Thereafter new calibration tables are generated for each printing direction with the starting gamut (range of achievable colors) based on a slightly smaller gamut than the gamut intersection identified.