High Resolution Analysis of Halftone Prints - a Colorimetric and Multispectral Study
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Linköping Studies in Science and Technology Dissertations No. 1229 High Resolution Analysis of Halftone Prints - A Colorimetric and Multispectral Study Daniel Nyström Department of Science and Technology Linköping University, SE-601 74 Norrköping, Sweden Norrköping 2008 High Resolution Analysis of Halftone Prints - A Colorimetric and Multispectral Study © Daniel Nyström 2008 Digital Media Division Department of Science and Technology Campus Norrköping, Linköping University SE-601 74 Norrköping, Sweden ISBN 978-91-7393-727-6 ISSN 0345-7524 Printed by LIU-Tryck, Linköping, Sweden, 2008 To Madelein Abstract To reproduce color images in print, the continuous tone image is first transformed into a binary halftone image, producing various colors by discrete dots with varying area coverage. In halftone prints on paper, physical and optical dot gains generally occur, making the print look darker than expected, and making the modeling of halftone color reproduction a challenge. Most available models are based on macroscopic color measurements, averaging the reflectance over an area that is large in relation to the halftone dots. The aim of this study is to go beyond the macroscopic approach, and study halftone color reproduction on a micro-scale level, using high resolution images of halftone prints. An experimental imaging system, combining the accuracy of color measurement instruments with a high spatial resolution, opens up new possibilities to study and analyze halftone color prints. The experimental image acquisition offers a great flexibility in the image acquisition setup. Besides trichromatic RGB filters, the system is also equipped with a set of 7 narrowband filters, for multi-channel images. A thorough calibration and characterization of all the components in the imaging system is described. The spectral sensitivity of the CCD camera, which can not be derived by direct measurements, is estimated using least squares regression. To reconstruct spectral reflectance and colorimetric values from the device response, two conceptually different approaches are used. In the model-based characterization, the physical model describing the image acquisition process is inverted, to reconstruct spectral reflectance from the recorded device response. In the empirical characterization, the characteristics of the individual components are ignored, and the functions are derived by relating the device response for a set of test colors to the corresponding colorimetric and spectral measurements, using linear and polynomial least squares regression techniques. Micro-scale images, referring to images whose resolution is high in relation to the resolution of the halftone, allow for measurements of the individual halftone dots, as well as the paper between them. To capture the characteristics of large populations of halftone dots, reflectance histograms are computed as well as 3D histograms in CIEXYZ color space. The micro-scale measurements reveal that the reflectance for the halftone dots, as well as the paper between the dots, is not constant, but varies with the dot area coverage. By incorporating the varying micro-reflectance in an expanded Murray-Davies model, the nonlinearity caused by optical dot gain can be accounted for without applying the nonphysical exponentiation of the reflectance values, as in the commonly used Yule-Nielsen model. Due to their different intrinsic nature, physical and optical dot gains need to be treated separately when modeling the outcome of halftone prints. However, in measurements of reflection colors, physical and optical dot gains always co-exist, making the separation a difficult task. Different methods to separate the physical and optical dot gain are evaluated, using spectral reflectance measurements, transmission scans and micro-scale images. Further, the relation between the physical dot gain and the halftone dot size is investigated, demonstrated with FM halftones of various print resolutions. The physical dot gain exhibits a clear correlation with the dot size and the dot gain increase is proportional to the increase in print resolution. The experimental observations are followed by discussions and a theoretical explanation. v vi Acknowledgements During the years of work leading to this dissertation, I have been surrounded by a number of people who have contributed to the outcome, directly or indirectly, and should be acknowledged. First, I would like to thank my supervisor Professor Björn Kruse, who has been the most influential person on the direction of my work. He introduced me to research within the fields of color science and graphic arts during my master thesis work; and has ever since supported me in my Ph.D studies with valuable ideas, encouragement and guidance. Associate professor Li Yang, who has acted as my co-supervisor during the later half of my Ph.D. studies, is gratefully acknowledged for all his ideas, suggestions and valuable discussions. Somehow, he has always managed to find his time for discussions and last minute proof readings, even during summer holidays and after leaving academia for work in industry. All my friends and colleagues in the Digital Media group are thanked for enjoyable coffee breaks, and for creating such a friendly and inspiring working atmosphere. This includes both the current members of the group, as well as former members, some of them now spread over the world. I would also like to thank Ivan Rankin for the fast and valuable linguistic reading. The first part of this work, leading up to my Licentiate thesis, has been carried out within the Swedish national research program T2F. The later part has been funded by The Lundberg Foundation for Research and Education, and by Vinnova, through the research program PaperOpt. All financial support is gratefully acknowledged. Besides financing, being part of the research programs T2F and PaperOpt has also provided me with a network of contacts and colleagues, giving me valuable experiences and new acquaintances. On a personal level, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my friends and my family for all their support and encouragement. Especially to my mother, who has always encouraged me and believed in me. Finally, I would like to thank Madelein, the most important person in my life, for all her love and support, and for sharing and enriching my life during these years. From Skiathos to Långkärr. Thank you. Norrköping, December 2008 Daniel Nyström vii viii List of publications D. Nyström, ”Hi-Fi Soft Proofing Using DLP”. Proc. TAGA (Technical Association of the Graphic Arts), Montreal, 2003, pp 137-146. D. Nyström & B. Kruse, “High Resolution Properties of Color Prints”. Proc. CSIST/IS&T Beijing International Conference on Imaging, Beijing, 2005, pp 242- 243. D. Nyström, “Micro-scale Properties of Color Prints”. Proc. Printing Future Days, Chemnitz, 2005, pp 154-158. D. Nyström & B. Kruse, “Colorimetric Device Characterization for Accurate Color Image Acquisition”. In N. Enlund & M. Lovrecek (Eds): Advances in Printing and Media Technology, Vol. 33, 2006, pp 349-360. D. Nyström, Colorimetric and Multispectral Image Acquisition. Licentiate Thesis No. 1289, Linköping University, 2006. D. Nyström, “Micro-Scale Characteristics of Color Prints”. Proc. SSBA Symposium on Image Analysis, Linköping, 2007, pp 33-36. D. Nyström, “Reconstructing Spectral and Colorimetric Data Using Trichromatic and Multi-channel Imaging”. Proc. Ninth International Symposium on Multispectral Color Science and Application, Taipei, 2007, pp 45-52 D. Nyström, “Colorimetric and Multispectral Image Acquisition Using Model-based and Empirical Device Characterization”. In B.K. Ersboll & K.S. Pederson (Eds): SCIA 2007, Lecture Notes in Computer Science 4522, 2007, pp 798-807. D. Nyström, B. Kruse, and L. Yang, “A Micro-Scale View of Optical Dot Gain in Color Halftone”. In N. Enlund & M. Lovrecek (Eds): Advances in Printing and Media Technology, Vol. 34, 2007, pp 171-179. D. Nyström, “A Close-Up Investigation of Halftone Color Prints”. Proc. TAGA (Technical Association of the Graphic Arts), San Francisco, 2008. D. Nyström, “A Micro-scale View on Color Reproduction”. Proc. CGIV 2008 - IS&T’s Fourth European Conference on Colour in Graphics, Imaging, and Vision, Terassa, 2008, pp 542-547. D. Nyström & L. Yang, “Dot Gain and Screen Resolution”. Proc. IMQA 2008 - The Third International Workshop on Image Media Quality and its Applications, Kyoto, 2008, pp 45-50. ix x Contents Abstract v Acknowledgements vii List of publications ix Contents xi 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Introduction 3 1.2 Background 3 1.3 Aim of the study 4 1.4 Method 5 1.5 Structure of the dissertation 5 2 Color fundamentals 7 2.1 Introduction 9 2.2 Colorimetry 9 2.2.1 Light, surfaces and observers 9 2.2.2 CIE Standard observer 11 2.2.3 Chromaticity diagram 13 2.2.4 CIE Standard illuminants 14 2.2.5 Color matching and metamerism 14 2.2.6 CIELAB color space 15 2.2.7 Color difference formulae 17 2.3 Color measurements 18 2.3.1 Instruments 18 2.3.2 Measurement geometry 19 2.3.3 Precision and accuracy in color measurements 20 2.4 Color imaging 20 2.4.1 Color image acquisition 20 xi 2.4.2 Color reproduction 21 2.4.3 Color management 22 2.5 Multispectral imaging 23 2.5.1 Background 23 2.5.2 Terminology 23 2.5.3 The multispectral approach 23 2.5.4 Previous work 24 3 Device characterization 27 3.1 Introduction 29 3.2 Calibration and characterization 29 3.3 Characterization approaches 30 3.4 Input devices 31 3.4.1 Model-based input device characterization 31 3.4.2 Empirical input device characterization