Print quality: Assessment and enhancement

Jang Woon-Young, Purdue University

Abstract

In this thesis, we present three research topics for the assessment and enhancement of the print quality (PQ). The first topic is the simulation of PQ defects in color laser printers such as banding, streaks, ghosting, and repetitive artifacts. We first characterize the common PQ defects in color laser printers. We develop a simulation model for each defect based on its features such as the shape and the spatial distribution of the defect marks, or the tone dependency of the defect. The defects are simulated on RGB color continuous-tone images. The second topic is the print quality test page which is designed for accurate and efficient diagnosis of PQ defects. We develop a set of test pages for the user to check the condition of his or her printer without using any other tools. We design test features which clearly reveal the common PQ defects that occur with color laser printers. We then incorporate the test features into a set of test pages for a specific print architecture. Finally, we describe the design of a set of instruction pages that walk the customer through the process of identifying on the test pages PQ defects that can be remedied by customer-replaceable parts. The third topic is the characterization of printer modulation transfer function (MTF). We propose a methodology to characterize the MTF of an inkjet printer in L*a*b* 3D color space. We measure how much a printer attenuates the input modulation signal shown on a set of color modulation patches. The measurement results show that the MTF depends not only on the frequency but also the bias point and modulation directions in both the color space and spatial domain.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Allebach, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Electrical engineering

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