Modeling of screened color prints through singular value decomposition

To model the complex printing process and to be able to study the behavior of the ink together with the paper is of vital importance for improving printing quality. The properties of the total printing transfer function are studied using test prints and signal analysis of the scanned data. Analyzing the color distribution of the different screen cell densities makes it possible to characterize the printing configuration. Mechanical dotgain is studied with a normalized screen cell color distribution. The normalization is based on the colorimetrical center of gravity for the tint and the paper of each sampled density. The dot area of each screen cell is determined by assigning a transition area between the tint and the paper background. The transition area is dependent on ink type, properties of the paper, and the printing process. The model of the colorimetric variation of the screen cell is made through dyadic decomposition of the calculated singular value decomposition (SVD) and the model is used to determine the mechanical dotgain for densities not available in the test ensemble. The results are then used to take the mechanical dotgain into account prior to printing.