237

JOURNAL OF IMAGING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Volume 46, Number 3, May/June 2002

Or igina l ma nuscr ipt r eceived December 12, 2000
v I S&T Member
Tel: +41 61 469 6187 ; Fa x: +41 61 469 6597;
ema il: Pa t r ick.Emmel@cla r ia nt .com RD.Her sch@epfl.ch
2002, I S&TThe Societ y for I ma ging Science a nd Technology
der t he micr oscope. This a ppr oa ch lea d t o a ccur a t e color
pr edict ions but it ha s t wo ma jor dr a wba cks: fir st ly, t he
simula t ed dot sha pes a r e not r ea list ic; secondly, t he
number of differ ent configur a t ions a nd t he number of
enlar gement coefficient s incr eases dr amat ically wit h t he
number of ink la yer s.
Ther efor e, a new invest iga t ion met hod is pr oposed. I t
is ba sed on a n impa ct model whose sha pe cha nges a s a
funct ion of t he configur a t ion of t he neighbor ing impa ct s
a nd of t he st a t e of t he sur fa ce. Beca use t he number of
configur a t ions is high, Plya s count ing t heor y is used
t o find a r educed set of ca ses whose a na lysis a llows us
t o deduce t he spr ea ding in a ll ot her configur a t ions. By
building sa mples wit h t his r educed set , st a nda r d mea -
su r in g in st r u men t s ca n be u sed t o est ima t e t h e in k
spr ea ding. This infor ma t ion will be used by our color
pr edict ion model in or der t o comput e a ccur a t ely t he
spect r a of pr int ed sa mples.
The Impact Model
I n our color pr edict ion soft wa r e,
2
high r esolut ion gr ids
model t he pr int ed sur fa ce. One gr id is used for ea ch ink.
The value of a gr id point cor r esponds t o t he local amount
of a given dye (see Fig. 2). The densit y pr ofile of a n iso-
la t ed ink impa ct wa s mea sur ed under a micr oscope a nd
appr oximat ed by a par abolic funct ion.
4
The r esult ing ink
impa ct model (see Fig. 2) is used a s a st a mp. Wher ever
a n ink dr op hit s t he sur fa ce of t he pr int ed media , t he
impa ct model is st a mped a t t he sa me loca t ion on t he
high r esolut ion gr id. St a mp over la pping is a ddit ive.
I n a color pr int using n inks, t he ink combina t ion
cover ing a sur fa ce element a t posit ion (x, y) is given by
t he set of n va lues of t he gr id point s (x, y) in t he n
super posed high r esolut ion gr ids. The a r ea cover ed by
Modeling Ink Spreading for Color Prediction
Patrick Emmel
v
Clariant International, Masterbatches Division, Muttenz, Switzerland
Roger David Hersch
v
Ecole Polytechnique Fdrale de Lausanne (EPFL), Dpartement dInformatique, Laboratoire de Systmes Priphriques, Lausanne, Switzerland
This st udy a ims a t modeling ink spr ea ding in or der t o impr ove t he pr edict ion of t he r eflect ion spect r a of t hr ee ink color pr int s.
I nk spr ea ding is a kind of dot ga in which ca uses significa nt color devia t ions in ink jet pr int ing. We ha ve developed a n ink
spr ea ding model which r equir es t he consider a t ion of only a limit ed number of ca ses. Using a combina t or ia l a ppr oa ch ba sed on
Plya s count ing t heor y, we det er mine a sma ll set of ink dr op configur a t ions which a llows us t o deduce t he ink spr ea ding in a ll
ot her ca ses. This impr oves t he est ima t ion of t he a r ea cover ed by ea ch ink combina t ion t ha t is cr ucia l in color pr edict ion models.
I n a pr evious st udy, we developed a unified color pr edict ion model. This model, a ugment ed by t he ink spr ea ding model, pr edict s
a ccur a t ely t he r eflect ion spect r a of ha lft oned sa mples pr int ed on va r ious ink jet pr int er s. For ea ch pr int er, t he r eflect ion spect r a
of 125 sa mples unifor mly dist r ibut ed in t he CMY color cube wer e comput ed. The a ver a ge pr edict ion er r or bet ween mea sur ed a nd
pr edict ed spect r a is a bout 2.5 in CI ELAB. Such a model simplifies t he ca libr a t ion of ink jet pr int er s, a s well a s t heir
r eca libr a t ions when ink or pa per is cha nged.
Journal of Imaging Science and Technology 46: 237246 (2002)
Introduction
I n pr evious publica t ions,
1,2
we pr esent ed a color pr edic-
t ion model for ha lft oned sa mples which is ba sed on a
new ma t hema t ica l for mula t ion of t he Kubelka Munk
equa t ions. This new model r equir es, like Neugeba uer -
ba sed met hods,
3
a n est ima t ion of t he a r ea cover ed by
ea ch ink densit y combina t ion. This est ima t ion needs t o
be comput ed by simula t ing t he pr int ing pr ocess.
In ink jet pr int ing, t he super posit ion of ink dr ops causes
a significant dot gain, i.e., a change of t he cover ed ar ea
(see Fig. 1). When ink dr ops ar e pr int ed one over anot her
or just par t ially over lap, an ink spr eading pr ocess t akes
place. This phenomenon r esult s fr om a complex physical
int er act ion bet ween t he ink dr ops and t he sur face of t he
pr int ed media. Changing t he inks or t he paper modifies
t he magnit ude of t he spr eading and induces color pr e-
dict ion er r or s r anging up t o 20 in CIELAB.
Accor ding t o obser vat ions made under t he micr oscope,
t he spr ea ding depends on t he st a t e of t he sur fa ce (wet
or dr y) a nd t he configur a t ion of t he neighbor ing im-
pact s. In our pr evious st udy,
2
we analyzed samples made
of t wo ink la yer s, a nd deduced a set of empir ica l r ules
descr ibing t he enla r gement of t he impa ct of a n ink dr op.
For ea ch inkpa per combina t ion t welve enla r gement
coefficient s wer e est ima t ed by obser ving sa mples un-
238 J our na l of I ma ging Science a nd Technology

Emmel and Hersch

a given combina t ion of n inks is est ima t ed by count ing
t he number of sur fa ce element s ha ving t he sa me set of
n va lues.
I n ink jet pr int ing, t he sha pe of a n impa ct highly de-
pends on t he configur a t ion of t he neighbor ing ink dr op
impa ct s a nd on t he st a t e of t he sur fa ce. Ther efor e we
need t o ext end t he t r a dit iona l cir cula r or ellipt ic im-
pa ct model
5
t o mor e sophist ica t ed sha pes.
Most ink jet pr int er s use a hexa gona l gr id when pr int -
i n g i n col or. Hen ce, ea ch i mpa ct ha s s i x n ei gh bor s .
Ther efor e, t he cir cumfer ence of a n impa ct is pa r a m-
et er ized by six vect or s ha ving a common or igin a t t he
impa ct cent er. Ea ch vect or is or ient ed t o t he dir ect ion
of t he midpoint bet ween t wo neighbor ing impa ct s (see
Fig. 3). Let us denot e r
i
(1 i 6) t he lengt h of t he vec-
t or which is or ient ed in t he dir ect ion given by t he a ngle

i
= /6 + (i 1) /3. The sha pe of t he impa ct is a p-
pr oxima t ed by a pa r a met r ic cur ve t ha t joins t he ver t i-
ces defined by t he six vect or s.
Let us denot e = r() t he equa t ion in pola r coor di-
na t es of t his pa r a met r ic cur ve. Beca use we a ssume t ha t
a neighbor influences only loca lly t he sha pe of t he im-
pa ct , t he pa r a met r ic cur ve depends only on r
i
a nd r
i+1
when
i

i+1
. I n or der t o get r ea list ic impa ct sha pes,
we int er pola t e t he va lues of t he r a dius bet ween r
i
a nd
r
i+1
by using a polynomia l of degr ee t hr ee:
= r() = 2(r
i
r
i+1
)t
3
3(r
i
r
i+1
)t
2
+ r
i
(1)
wher e

t i
|
(
'
`
J
J
3
6


a nd

6
1
3 6 3
+ + ( ) . i i
Not e t ha t

r i r
i

6 3
+
|
(
'
`
J
J ,
a nd t ha t t he der iva t ive

dr
d
i

6 3
0 +
|
(
'
`
J
J .
These pr oper t ies gua r a nt ee t he cont inuit y of r() a nd of
it s fir st der iva t ive.
We a ssume t ha t t he densit y D a t t he loca t ion defined
by t he pola r coor dina t es (, ) (0 r()) is given by:

D D
r
M
( , )
( )

|
(
'
`
J
J

]
]
]
]
1
2
(2)
wher e D
M
is t he densit y a t t he cent er of t he impa ct . Not e
t ha t a cir cula r impa ct (r() const a nt ) ha s a pa r a bolic
densit y pr ofile a s obser ved in our pr evious st udy.
4
Th e a mou n t of dye r ema i n s con s t a n t du r i n g t h e
s pr ea di n g pr oces s , on l y t h e s pa t i a l di s t r i bu t i on i s
cha nged. Ther efor e, t he ma xima l densit y D
M
a t t he cen-
t er of t he impa ct must decr ea se when t he impa ct is en-
la r ged. By int egr a t ing Eq. (2) over t he a r ea occupied by
t he impa ct , we get t he t ot a l a mount of dye wit hin t he
impa ct (see Appendix). Beca use t his a mount must r e-
ma in const a nt , we get t he following equa t ion for D
M
:

D D
r
r r r r
M
i
i i i i

+

]
]
]
|
(
'
'
'
'
`
J
J
J
J
J

+ +
0
0
2
1
6
1 1
2
6
13
140
( )
(3)
(a ) (b)
Figure 1. Micr oscopic views of a ha lft oned cya n sa mple (a ) a nd of a gr een ha lft oned sa mple (b). The gr een sa mple (b) is ma de of
t he sa me cya n la yer a s (a ) a nd cover ed wit h a unifor m yellow la yer. Not e t he enla r gement of t he cya n clust er s in (b).
Cyan clust er Paper Gr een clust er Yellow ink
Modeling Ink S preading for Color Prediction Vol. 46, No. 3, May/J une 2002 239
each impact has six neighbor s whose cent er s ar e t he cor -
ner s of a r egular hexagon. In a t hr ee-ink color pr int , each
pixel of t he pr int ed sur face is in one of t he following four
st at es: no ink, cover ed wit h one ink dr op, cover ed wit h
t wo ink dr ops or cover ed wit h t hr ee ink dr ops. Because
an impact has six neighbor s, t her e ar e 4
6
= 4096 possible
neighbor configur at ions. On t he consider ed cent er point ,
a new ink dr op is pr int ed on a sur face t hat is in one of
t he following t hr ee st at es: dr y (no ink), cover ed wit h one
ink dr op or cover ed wit h t wo ink dr ops. Ther efor e, t her e
ar e 3 4
6
= 12288 configur at ions t o consider.
Among t hese 12288 configur a t ions, ma ny a r e equiva -
lent by r eflect ion or by r ot a t ion. Not e t ha t t her e a r e
Figure 2. High r esolut ion gr id modeling t he pr int ed sur fa ce.
The va lue of a gr id point cor r esponds t o t he loca l a mount of
dye. The densit y pr ofile of a n isola t ed ink impa ct is pa r a bolic.
Figure 3. Six vect or s define t he cir cumfer ence of t he impact .
The dashed cir cles indicat e t he locat ions of neighbor ing impact s.
wher e r
0
and D
0
ar e r espect ively t he r adius and t he maxi-
ma l densit y a t t he cent er of a n isola t ed cir cula r impa ct
which did not spr ea d.
Th is n ew impa ct model a llows u s t o s imu la t e t h e
spr ea ding by cha nging t he six r
i
coefficient s a ccor ding
t o t he configur a t ion of t he neighbor s a nd t he st a t e of
t he sur fa ce.
Plya Counting
I n t his sect ion, we der ive t he number of non-equiva -
lent ink-dr op configur a t ions wit h t he help of Plya s
count ing t heor y. (Rea der s int er est ed ma inly in t he fi-
na l ink spr ea ding model ma y skip over t his sect ion.)
Plya s count ing r equir es t hr ee st eps: fir st , defining t he
gr oup of symmet r ies a ct ing on t he set of cor ner s, sec-
ond, fa ct or izing ea ch per mut a t ion int o cycles, a nd t hir d,
ca lcula t ing t he cycle index polynomia l.
As we point ed out in t he pr evious sect ion, most ink jet
pr int er s use a hexagonal gr id when pr int ing in color. So
Figure 4. Ther e a r e six r ot a t ions a nd six r eflect ions t ha t br ing
a r egula r hexa gon ont o it self.
240 J our na l of I ma ging Science a nd Technology

Emmel and Hersch

t welve symmet r ies t ha t br ing a r egula r hexa gon ont o
it self: six r ot a t ions a nd six r eflect ions (see Fig. 4). By
con s i der i n g on l y n on -equ i va l en t con fi gu r a t i on s , t h e
number of ca ses t o a na lyze ca n be r educed.
At t he beginning of t he cent ur y, t he ma t hema t icia n
Geor ge Plya developed a t heor y for t his kind of count -
ing pr oblem.
6
La t er, his wor k wa s t r a nsla t ed int o En-
glish
7
and became known in t he mat hemat ical lit er at ur e
a s Plya s count ing t heor y. I n t he for t hcoming discus-
sion, we pr esent only how t o a pply t his t heor y t o our
pr oblem. Good pr esent a t ions of Plya s count ing t heor y
ca n be found in t ext books.
8
As ment ioned a bove, t her e a r e t welve geomet r ic mo-
t ions, six r ot a t ions a nd six r eflect ions, which a ct a s per -
mut a t ions of t he cor ner s of t he r egula r hexa gon. Let us
denot e
0
6
,
1
6
,
2
6
,
3
6
,
4
6
and
5
6
t he r ot at ions by an angle
of = 0, = /3, = 2/3, = , = 4/3 and = 5/3
r espect ively. Fur t her mor e, we denot e
ad
,
be
,
cf
, t he r e-
flect ions whose a xes a r e t he lines (ad), (be), (cf) r espec-
t ively, a nd
ab
,
bc
,
cd
, t he r eflect ions whose a xes a r e t he
media t or s of t he segment s [ab], [bc], [cd] r espect ively.
This set of t welve symmet r ies wit h t he composit ion op-
er a t ion ha s a gr oup st r uct ur e:
9
t he unit element is
0
6
,
ea ch symmet r y ha s a n inver se, a nd t he composit ion of
t wo symmet r ies is st ill a symmet r y. Let us denot e t his
gr oup D
6
. The gr oup is a ct ing on t he set of cor ner s of
t he hexa gon.
By applying t he same oper at ion, one of t he symmet r ies
list ed in Table I, it er at ively t o t he hexagon, t he cor ner s
follow cyclic t r aject or ies. Aft er a finit e number of it er a-
t ions, each cor ner get s back t o t he st ar t ing point . For
inst ance, by applying it er at ively t he r ot at ion
2
6
t o t he
cor ner (a) of Fig. 4, we get t he cycle [a, c, e]: a is fir st
moved t o c, t hen t o e, and finally comes back t o a. Not e
t hat for a given symmet r y, an individual cor ner belongs
only t o one cycle. A classical r esult fr om gr oup t heor y
shows t hat each element of D
6
act ing on t he set of cor -
ner s of t he hexagon can be fact or ized int o disjoint cycles.
10
The fact or izat ions of t he element s of D
6
ar e list ed in t he
second column of Table I. The r eflect ion
cf
, for example,
is fact or ized int o t wo cycles of one cor ner ([c] and [f]) and
t wo cycles of t wo cor ner s ([a, e] and [b, d]).
Let t he va r ia ble z
i
cor r espond t o a cycle ha ving i cor -
ner s. To ea ch symmet r y we a ssocia t e a monomia l t ha t
is t he pr oduct of t he (z
i
)s a ccor ding t o t he cycle fa ct or -
iza t ion a s shown in t he t hir d column of Ta ble I . The
r eflect ion
cf
is a ssocia t ed wit h z
1
z
1
z
2
z
2
= z
2
1
z
2
2
.
The sum of t he monomia ls divided by t he number of
t he symmet r ies of t he gr oup D
6
is ca lled t he cycle index:

P z z z z z z z z z z
1 2 3 6 1
6
6 3
2
2
3
1
2
2
2
1
12
2 2 4 3 , , , ( ) + + + +
( )
(4)
Let us denot e k be t he number of st a t es in which a
cor ner ca n be. Accor ding t o Plya s t heor y,
11
t he number
of non-equiva lent hexa gons is:

P k k k k k k k k k , , , ( ) + + + +
( )
1
12
2 2 4 3
6 2 3 4
(5)
Ther efor e, t he number of non-equiva lent configur a -
t ions of six neighbor ing ink dr op impa ct s being in one
of k st a t es is given by P(k , k , k , k ). Fur t her mor e, a new
dr op is pr int ed on a sur fa ce which is in one of (k 1)
st a t es. So fina lly, t he t ot a l number of non-equiva lent
configur a t ions is:

N k P k k k k ( ) ( , , , ) 1 (6)
I n color pr int s using t hr ee inks, we ha ve k = 4 st a t es
(no ink, one ink dr op, t wo ink dr ops, t hr ee ink dr ops).
Hence t he number of non-equiva lent configur a t ions is
N = 1290. I n four -ink pr int ing (k = 5), N r ises t o 6020.
Not e t ha t for t wo inks k = 3 a nd N dr ops t o 184.
Ot her geomet r ic sha pes, a s for inst a nce non-r egula r
hexa gons, a r e ma pped ont o t hemselves by ot her gr oups
of symmet r ies. But t he sa me pr ocedur e ca n be a pplied
t o find t he number of non-equiva lent configur a t ions.
A Simplified Model of Ink Spreading
The spr ea ding pr ocess is a complex int er a ct ion bet ween
t he inks a nd t he pr int ed sur fa ce. I t is st r ongly r ela t ed
t o physica l pr oper t ies like wet t a bilit y a nd solvent a b-
sor pt ion. Ther efor e t he inks beha ve differ ent ly on ev-
er y s u r fa ce. F u r t h er mor e, t h e n u mber of ca s es i n
t hr ee-ink-pr int ing (N = 1290) is t oo la r ge for per for m-
ing exha ust ive mea sur ement s.
We pr opose a simplified model of ink spr ea ding. Fir st ,
t he geomet r y of t he pr oblem is simplified.
12,13
The hexa -
gon is subdivided int o six t r ia ngles which sha r e t he cen-
t er O of t he hexa gon a s a common ver t ex (see Fig. 5).
Second, t he spr ea ding in t he dir ect ion of t he media t or
of t he segment [a, b] is supposed t o depend only on t he
st a t e of t he neighbor s loca t ed in a a nd b, a nd t he st a t e
of t he sur fa ce a t t he cent er O of t he hexa gon. This sim-
plified geomet r y a llows t o define a gr oup S of symme-
t r ies a ct ing on t he segment [a, b], beca use only a a nd b
pla y equiva lent r oles in t he t r ia ngle (a, O, b). The gr oup
S ha s t wo element s:
0
t he r ot a t ion by t he null a ngle,
a nd t he r eflect ion
ab
whose a xis is t he media t or of t he
segment [a, b]. The cycle fa ct or iza t ions a nd t he mono-
mia ls of t he gr oup S a r e list ed in Ta ble I I . The cycle
index is:

P z z z z
1 2 1
2
2
1
2
, ( ) +
( )
(7)
Fina lly, t he t ot a l number of non-equiva lent configu-
r a t ions is given by combining Eq. (6) a nd Eq. (7):

N k P k k
k k k

+
( ) ( , )
( ) ( )
1
1 1
2
(8)
wher e k is t he number of st a t es of a neighbor.
Accor ding t o Eq. (8), in t wo-ink-pr int ing (k = 3) we must
consider N = 12 cases; in t hr ee-ink-pr int ing (k = 4), we
must consider N = 30 ca ses; a nd in four -ink-pr int ing
(k = 5), we must consider N = 60 cases.
TABLE I. Cycle Factorizations and Monomials of the Group
D
6
Acting on the Corners of the Hexagon
Symmetry Cycle factorization Monomial

0
6
[a], [b], [c], [d], [e], [f], z
6
1

1
6
[a,b,c,d,e,f] z
6

2
6
[a,c,e], [b,d,f] z
2
3

3
6
[a,d], [b,e], [c,f] z
3
2

4
6
[a,e,c], [b,f,d] z
2
3

5
6
[a,f,e,d,c,b] z
6

ad
[a], [d], [b,f], [c,e] z
2
1
z
2
2

be
[b], [e], [a,c], [d,f] z
2
1
z
2
2

cf
[c], [f], [a,e], [b,d] z
2
1
z
2
2

ab
[a,b], [c,f], [d,e] z
3
2

bc
[b,c], [a,d], [e,f] z
3
2

cd
[c,d], [a,f], [b,e] z
3
2
Modeling Ink S preading for Color Prediction Vol. 46, No. 3, May/J une 2002 241
These set s of ca ses a r e sma ll enough for per for ming
exha ust ive mea sur ement s in or der t o ca libr a t e t he ink
spr ea ding model. Fr om ea ch ca se, we ca n deduce t he
va lue of a coefficient r
i
, which is used by our pr eviously
defined impa ct model. The sha pe of a simula t ed impa ct
depends on six r
i
coefficient s which a r e r ela t ed t o t he
configur a t ion of t he neighbor ing impa ct s a nd t he st a t e
of t he sur fa ce.
Enumerating the Configurations
Plya s count ing t heor y gives t he number of configur a -
t ions t ha t must be consider ed in or der t o ca libr a t e t he
ink spr ea ding model. The configur a t ions t hemselves a r e
comput ed by ot her mea ns. Power ful gener a t ing a lgo-
r it hms exist ,
14
but for t he sake of simplicit y, a naive sieve
met hod is used. A comput er gener a t es t he list of a ll con-
fi gu r a t i on s . Con s i der i n g t h e fi r s t con fi gu r a t i on , a l l
equivalent configur at ions ar e r emoved fr om t he list . The
comput er a pplies t his pr ocedur e t o t he next configur a -
t ion of t he list unt il t he end of t he list is r ea ched. The
30 non-equiva lent configur a t ions for t hr ee-ink-pr int ing
a r e list ed in Fig. 6.
Prediction Results and Discussion
The new ink spr ea ding model wa s combined wit h our
color pr edict ion met hod
2
in or der t o pr edict t he spect r a
of t wo ser ies of 125 sa mples unifor mly dist r ibut ed in
t h e CMY color spa ce. Ea ch ser ies is a set of 5 25
sa mples pr int ed on five sheet s of pa per. The a r ea cover -
a ge of t he yellow ink is const a nt for a ll sa mples pr int ed
on t he sa me sheet , a nd va r ies fr om sheet t o sheet . The
fir st ser ies wa s pr int ed on Epson Glossy Phot o Qua lit y
Pa per using a n Epson St ylus-Color pr int er which is
ba sed on a piezo elect r ic t echnology,
15
a nd t he second
ser ies wa s pr int ed on HP Phot o Pa per, using a n HP-
DJ 560C pr int er which is ba sed on convent iona l t her -
mal ink jet t echniques.
16
All samples wer e pr oduced wit h
a clust er ed dit her a lgor it hm wit h 33 t one levels.
For bot h ser ies, t he r a dius r
0
of a n isola t ed cir cula r
impa ct wa s mea sur ed a ccur a t ely under t he micr oscope.
In t he HP ser ies, t he super posed cya n, ma gent a a nd yel-
low ink dr op impact s have almost t he same size, wher eas
in t he Epson ser ies, t he r a dius of t he yellow dr op im-
pa ct is 20% la r ger t ha n t he r a dius of t he cya n dr op im-
pa ct , which is, in t ur n, is 30% la r ger t ha n t he r a dius of
t he ma gent a dr op impa ct .
Figure 5. A simplified geomet r y: t he hexa gon is subdivided
int o six t r ia ngles t ha t sha r e t he cent er of t he hexa gon a s a
common ver t ex. The spr ea ding of t he ink dr op impa ct in t he
dir ect ion of t he media t or of [a, b] depends only on t he st a t e of
O, a, a nd b.
TABLE II. Cycle Factorizations and Monomials of the Group
S of Symmetries Acting on the Segment [a,b]
Symmetry Cycle factorization Monomial

0
[a], [b]

z
1
2

ab
[a,b]

z
2
Figure 6. List of t he 30 non-equiva lent configur a t ions in a
t hr ee-ink pr int . The da shed cir cles indica t e t he loca t ions of
neighbor s t ha t a r e not cover ed wit h ink. The whit e disks cor -
r espond t o one ink dr op, t he gr a y disks cor r espond t o t wo ink
dr ops, a nd t he bla ck disks cor r espond t o t hr ee ink dr ops. The
vect or s indica t e t he or ient a t ion of t he spr ea ding. The t hir d
a nd sixt h columns indica t e which t est -sa mple is used t o det er -
mine t he spr ea ding coefficient .
242 J our na l of I ma ging Science a nd Technology

Emmel and Hersch

For ea ch ink dr op configur a t ion, t he cor r esponding
r a dius vect or lengt h r
i
is est ima t ed by indir ect mea ns.
We obser ved t ha t a given ink dr op spr ea ds only if t he
loca l a mount of solvent is higher t ha n t he a mount of
solvent a t t he neighbor s loca t ion. Ther efor e we a ssume
t ha t t her e is no spr ea ding in t he following configur a -
t ions: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, a nd 30 (see
Fig. 6). Consider ing t he ot her configur a t ions we define
t en t est samples, each of which being a mosaic composed
of a single pa t t er n a s shown in Fig. 7. Not e t ha t t he dot
geomet r y of t he t est sa mples ha s been chosen t o cor r e-
spond t o t he dot geomet r y of t he clust er ed ha lft oning
a lgor it hm being used. For exa mple, t est sa mples (a ) a nd
(c) given in Fig. 7 cor r espond t o t he sa mples shown in
Fig. 1a a nd in Fig. 1b r espect ively. Ea ch t est sa mple is
used t o det er mine one or t wo ink spr ea ding coefficient s
r = r
i
/r
0
. I n ot her wor ds, a given t est sa mple cont a ins
s ever a l occu r en ces of on e or t wo dot con fi gu r a t i on s
wh os e s pr ea di n g coeffi ci en t s a r e u n kn own . Al l t es t
samples ar e pr int ed and measur ed. For each t est sample
sever a l simula t ion it er a t ions a r e r equir ed t o fit t he pr e-
dict ed a nd t he mea sur ed r eflect ion spect r um by va r y-
ing t he va lues of t he r a dius vect or s lengt hs r
i
. The ink
spr ea ding coefficient s r = r
i
/r
0
comput ed for ea ch ser ies
a r e given in Fig. 8. Not e t ha t t he ink spr ea ding coeffi-
cient s for t he Epson ser ies a r e given for t he ma gent a
dr op impa ct .
Using our pr edict ion model a nd it s ext ension for fluo-
r escent subst a nces
17
(t he ma gent a ink of t he Hewlet t -
Pa cka r d pr int er being fluor escent ), we comput ed t he
spect r a of 250 sa mples, a nd compa r ed t hem wit h t he
spect r a mea sur ed under a t ungst en light sour ce whose
r el a t i ve r a di a n ce s pect r u m i s gi ven i n F i g. 9. Th e
CI ELAB va lues of a ll sa mples wer e comput ed for t he 2
st a nda r d obser ver. The a ver a ge color imet r ic devia t ion
bet ween mea sur ed a nd pr edict ed spect r a of t he Epson
ser ies a nd of t he HP ser ies a r e given in Ta ble I I I a nd
Table IV r espect ively. The r esult s obt ained for t he Epson
ser ies a r e a lit t le bet t er t ha n t he r esult s for t he HP se-
Figure 7. List of t he t en t est pa t t er ns used t o det er mine t he
spr ea ding coefficient s. The da shed cir cles indica t e t he loca -
t ions of neighbor s t ha t a r e not cover ed wit h ink. The whit e
disks cor r espond t o one ink dr op, t he gr a y disks cor r espond t o
t wo ink dr ops, a nd t he bla ck disks cor r espond t o t hr ee ink
dr ops. Each t est -sample is used t o det er mine one or t wo spr ead-
ing coefficient s whose number s a r e given in t he t hir d column.
Not e t ha t t he spr ea ding coefficient s of t he configur a t ions 1, 2,
11, 13, 14, 15 must be det er mined pr ior t o 12, a nd t ha t t he
spr ea ding coefficient s of t he configur a t ions 21, 23, 26, 27, 28,
29 must be det er mina t ed pr ior t o 22, 24, 25.
TABLE III. Prediction Results in CIELAB E and E
94
for the
Epson Series
Series of
constant
yellow ink Maximal Maximal
percentage E

E
n
2

E E
94

E
n
94
2

E
94
0% 1.67 1.97 3.58 0.95 1.14 2.49
25% 1.81 1.96 3.11 1.10 1.22 2.37
50% 1.95 2.14 4.13 1.24 1.34 2.46
75% 2.91 3.02 5.59 1.85 1.97 3.56
100% 2.85 3.11 5.75 1.96 2.16 3.93
TABLE IV. Prediction Results in CIELAB E and E
94
for the
HP Series
Series of
constant
yellow ink Maximal Maximal
percentage E

E
n
2

E E
94

E
n
94
2

E
94
0% 2.07 2.34 4.70 0.96 1.06 1.89
25% 2.57 2.85 4.85 1.19 1.28 2.64
50% 2.59 2.90 5.48 1.34 1.52 3.65
75% 3.27 3.49 6.85 1.97 2.13 4.13
100% 3.92 4.28 6.89 2.45 2.68 4.14
Modeling Ink S preading for Color Prediction Vol. 46, No. 3, May/J une 2002 243
r ies. This could be due t o t he st r onger spr ea ding of t he
HP inks.
I n or der t o show how our ink spr ea ding model im-
pr oves color pr edict ion, we consider t he 25 sa mples of
t he ser ies ha ving a 100% cover a ge of yellow ink a nd
wh i ch a r e pr i n t ed on HP Ph ot o Pa per wi t h a n HP
DJ 560C pr int er. The pr edict ion r esult s cor r esponding
t o t his ser ies a r e given in t he la st r ow of Ta ble I I I . The
mea sur ed a nd comput ed spect r a of t he 25 sa mples a r e
con ver t ed in t o CI E-XYZ va lu es t h a t a r e sh own in a
gr a phica l for m in Fig. 10. Figur e 10a shows t he devia -
t ion bet ween mea sur ed a nd comput ed color s t a king ink
spr ea ding int o a ccount ; a nd Fig. 10b shows t he devia -
t ion bet ween mea sur ed a nd comput ed color s wit hout
t a king ink spr ea ding int o a ccount . Wit hout t a king ink
Figure 8. Spr ea ding of HP inks pr int ed on HP pa per a nd spr ea ding of Epson inks pr int ed on Epson pa per. For ea ch of t he 30 non-
equiva lent configur a t ions in a t hr ee-ink pr int , t he spr ea ding coefficient s r = r
i
/r
0
a r e r espect ively given in t he columns ent it led
HP a nd Epson. The second a nd sixt h columns show t he dot configur a t ions. The da shed cir cles indica t e t he loca t ions of neighbor s
t ha t a r e not cover ed wit h ink. The whit e disks cor r espond t o one ink dr op, t he gr ey disks cor r espond t o t wo ink dr ops, a nd t he
bla ck disks cor r espond t o t hr ee ink dr ops. The vect or s indica t e t he or ient a t ion of t he spr ea ding.
spr ea ding int o a ccount , t he pr edict ion er r or is higher
t ha n E = 10 in CI ELAB for sa mples ma de of mor e t ha n
t wo inks, beca use pr int ing ink dr ops one over a not her
significa nt ly incr ea ses ink spr ea ding. The spect r a of
sa mples ma de wit h only one ink a r e well pr edict ed be-
ca use a lmost no ink spr ea ding occur s.
The mea sur ed a nd pr edict ed spect r a of t he cya n a nd
gr een sa mples shown r espect ively in Fig. 1a a nd Fig.
1b a r e given in Fig. 11a a nd Fig. 11b. Sa mple (b) is ma de
of t he sa me cya n la yer a s sa mple (a ) a nd cover ed wit h a
unifor m yellow la yer. I n spit e of t he a bsence of a bsor p-
t ion of t he yellow ink a t 630 nm, t he mea sur ed r eflec-
t ion coefficient of sample (b) is lower t han t hat of sample
(a ) a t t his wa velengt h (compa r e Fig. 11b a nd Fig. 11a ).
This differ ence is expla ined by ink spr ea ding. The cya n
244 J our na l of I ma ging Science a nd Technology

Emmel and Hersch

ink cover s a la r ger a r ea wit h a lower densit y, a nd t her e-
for e pr oduces a higher light a bsor pt ion. Not e t ha t in
t he ca se of sa mple (b), t he pr edict ion er r or is E = 9.2
in CI ELAB if ink spr ea ding is not t a ken int o a ccount .
Conclusions
We i n t r odu ce a n ew met h od for i n ves t i ga t i n g i n k
spr ea ding. The spr ea ding pr ocess is modeled by enla r g-
ing t he dr op impa ct a ccor ding t o t he configur a t ion of
it s neighbor s a nd t he st a t e of t he sur fa ce. The number
of ca ses t ha t must be a na lyzed is r educed t o a sma ll
set by using Plya s count ing t heor y. I n a t hr ee-ink-
pr int ing pr ocess, only 30 ca ses must be consider ed in-
st ea d of 3 4
6
= 12288.
The pr int ing pr ocess is simulat ed by st amping impact s
of differ ent shapes on high r esolut ion gr ids. Each shape
is det er mined by 6 r adii. The value of each r adius is est i-
mat ed by fit t ing t he r eflect ion spect r a of t en t est samples
in sever al simulat ion it er at ions. This allows us t o com-
put e t he r elat ive ar eas occupied by t he var ious ink com-
binat ions in a t hr ee-ink pr ocess. We pr edict accur at ely
t he spect r a of 250 sa mples pr oduced by t wo differ ent
pr int er s. The aver age pr edict ion er r or is about E = 2.5
and t he maximal er r or is less t han E = 7 in CIELAB.
Figure 9. Rela t ive r a dia nce spect r um of t he t ungst en light sour ce.
0 20 40 60 80
X
0
20
40
60
80
Y
Yellow
Red
Green
(a ) (b)
Figure 10. Pr oject ion ont o t he XY pla ne wit hin t he CI E-XYZ color spa ce of t he devia t ions bet ween comput ed a nd mea sur ed
color s of 25 sa mples ha ving a 100% cover a ge of yellow ink, a nd which a r e pr int ed on HP phot o pa per using a n HP DJ 560C
pr int er. Ea ch dot indica t es t he mea sur ed color, a nd t he ot her end of t he segment indica t es t he comput ed color : (a ) shows t he color
devia t ion when ink spr ea ding is t a ken int o a ccount ;, (b) shows t he color devia t ion when ink spr ea ding is not t a ken int o a ccount .
1.75
0.25
550 650 600 700
Modeling Ink S preading for Color Prediction Vol. 46, No. 3, May/J une 2002 245
(a )
(b)
Figure 11. Mea sur ed spect r a (cont inuous lines) a nd pr edict ed spect r a (da shed lines): (a ) of t he ha lft oned cya n sa mple shown in
Fig. 1a (25% cya n ink cover a ge), a nd (b) of t he gr een sa mple shown in Fig. 1b (super posit ion of a cya n la yer a t 25% ink cover a ge
a nd a yellow la yer a t 100% ink cover a ge). Not e t ha t t he r eflect ion coefficient of sa mple (b) is lower t ha n t ha t of sa mple (a ) a t 630
nm in spit e of t he a bsence of a bsor pt ion of t he yellow ink a t t his wa velengt h.
I n our view t he pr oposed ink spr ea ding model ma y
consider a bly incr ea se t he a ccur a cy of exist ing a dva nced
color pr edict ion models.
18
I t ma y a lso be used for im-
pr oved Neu geba u er -ba s ed color pr edict ion met h ods
3
beca use t hey r equir e a n a ccur a t e est ima t ion of t he a r ea
cover ed by ea ch ink combina t ion.
Appendix: Total Amount of Dye Within an Ink Drop
Impact
The densit y pr ofile of a n ink dr op impa ct is given by
Eq. (2). The t ot a l a mount T of dye wit hin a n ink dr op
impa ct is obt a ined by int egr a t ing Eq. (2) over t he a r ea
cover ed by t he impa ct :

T D
r
d d
r
M

|
(
'
`
J
J

]
]
]
]
|
(
'
'
`
J
J
J
0 0
2
2
1
( )
( )

(9)
Dur ing t he spr ea ding pr ocess, t he a mount of dye T
r ema ins const a nt . We ca n est a blish a r ela t ionship be-
t ween t he ma xima l densit y D
0
a t t he cent er of a dr op
t ha t did not spr ea d, a nd t he densit y D
M
a t t he cent er of
a dr op t ha t spr ea d, by ca lcula t ing T in bot h ca ses.
Wit hin a n isola t ed cir cula r impa ct (r() = r
0
) which
did not spr ea d (D
M
= D
0
), t he t ot a l a mount of dye is:

T D r

2
0 0
2
(10)
Let us now consider a n ink dr op t ha t spr ea d. I n t his
ca se, r() is defined piecewise a s shown in Eq. (1). The
int egr a l in Eq. (9) ca n be wr it t en:

T D
r
d d
i
r
M
i
i

|
(
'
`
J
J

]
]
]
]
|
(
'
'
`
J
J
J

+
1
6
0
2
1
1
( )
( )

(11)
wher e

i
i +
6
1
3
( ) .
nm
nm
246 J our na l of I ma ging Science a nd Technology

Emmel and Hersch

By int egr a t ing in Eq. (11) wit h r espect t o va r ia ble , we
get :

T D
r
d
M
i
i
i

+
1
6 2
1
4

[ ( )]
.
(12)
I n t he next st ep, t he following cha nge of va r ia ble is
per for med: t = (3/) ( /6) i. The int egr a l (12) ca n be
wr it t en:

T
D
r r t r r t r dt
M
i
i i i i i

+
[ ]

+ +

12
2 3
1
6
0
1
1
3
1
2
2
( ) ( )
. (13)
By int egr a t ing Eq. (13) wit h r espect t o t he va r ia ble t ,
we get :

T
D
r r r r
M
i
i i i i

+
|
(
'
`
J
J

+ +

12
13
140
1
6
1 1
2
( )
(14)
Fina lly, by combining Eqs. (10) a nd (14) we obt a in
Eq. (3).
Acknowledgment. We would like t o t ha nk Dr. Rit a
Hofma nn fr om I lfor d I ma ging for pr oviding useful in-
for ma t ion on ink jet pa per, a nd t he Swiss Na t iona l Sci-
ence Founda t ion (gr a nt No. 21-54127.98) for suppor t ing
t he pr oject .
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