JPH08202014A - Plate inspecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To surely prevent erroneous checking and the omission of checking in a plate inspecting operation. CONSTITUTION: The patterns of the first proof and the second proof being an inspected object 10 are read by a scanner 14 so as to prepare binary image data, and the coordinate values of a corrected part with respect to the first proof are inputted from a corrected proof sheet 12 by a digitizer 16 so as to prepare corrected part data. A host computer 20 detects a different part between the first proof and the second proof for every block of specified size, and then detects the corrected part where a different block does not exist in the vicinity and the different block where the corrected part does not exist in the vicinity as a critical part by using the data. The pictures of the patterns of the first proof and the second proof, the different block and a corrected part mark are displayed in different colors from each other on a CRT monitor 24, and the critical part is flickeringly displayed. A plate inspecting operator confirms the presence or absence of the erroneous correction by viewing the picture displayed on the CRT monitor 24.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plate inspection device used in a proofreading stage of a printing process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At the proofreading stage of a printing process, a proof or a plate-making film is compared with a first school and a second school to detect a difference, and whether or not a correction-instructed portion is correctly corrected or not. There are no changes other than the above,
The plate inspection work is done to confirm. As a plate inspection device for performing such work, the images obtained by shooting the film of the first school and the re-school with a TV camera are stored in the memory, and the stored images of the first school and the re-school are compared and collated. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-74548 discloses that a difference between the two is displayed on the monitor screen in a flashing manner at the actual size. In the plate inspection work with this plate inspection device, the re-school film is superimposed on the monitor screen in which the different part is blinking in full size, and it is confirmed at the re-school whether the correction is made according to the instruction of the school completion paper. It

[0003]

According to the plate inspection apparatus described above, since the re-check film can be placed on the monitor screen to directly inspect the different portion, the plate inspection operator can perform the inspection between the monitor screen and the re-check. Does not have to move his eyes frequently. However, in order to perform the plate inspection work with the plate inspection device, a school paper is placed nearby, a blinking difference portion is found on the monitor screen, and the content of the difference portion is corrected on the school paper. It is necessary to check with the instruction content. For this reason, the plate inspection operator must frequently move his or her line of sight between the monitor screen and the school certificate, and check errors and check omissions are likely to occur.

In addition, when the school is not corrected in the re-school even though there is a correction instruction on the school completion paper, there is no difference between the first school and the re-school, so the monitor screen does not blink and the check omission occurs. Is likely to occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a plate inspection apparatus which solves such a problem and can reliably prevent a check error and a check omission in the plate inspection work.

[0006]

In the first plate inspection apparatus according to the present invention made to solve the above problems, the patterns of the first school and the re-school are created in the proofreading stage of the printing process. In a plate inspection device for displaying whether the pattern is different or not on the display means together with the correction instruction for the first school and checking whether or not it has been corrected at the re-school, as follows: Input means for inputting the coordinate values of the correction points corresponding to the correction instructions written on the end sheet, and b) based on the coordinate values, overlapping the display of the first school and re-school patterns and the different portion. A first control means for displaying a correction portion corresponding to the correction instruction on the display means.

A second plate inspection apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the first plate inspection apparatus, it is provided with a detecting means for detecting the different portion in units of a block of a predetermined size composed of a plurality of pixels. .

In a third plate inspection apparatus according to the present invention, in the above-mentioned first or second plate inspection apparatus, within the predetermined range which is in the vicinity of the correction portion corresponding to the correction instruction on the display of the display means, First determining means for determining whether or not there is a different portion, and when the first determining means determines that the different portion does not exist within the predetermined range, a warning display for the corrected portion is displayed by the display means. And a second control means for performing the operation.

In a fourth plate inspection apparatus according to the present invention, in the above-mentioned first or second plate inspection apparatus, the correction instruction is provided within a predetermined range near the different portion in the display of the display means. Second determining means for determining whether or not a corrected portion exists, and when the second determined means determines that the corrected portion does not exist within the predetermined range, a warning display for the different portion is displayed by the display means. And a third control means for performing the operation.

In the fifth plate inspection apparatus according to the present invention, the first-school and re-school patterns created in the proofreading stage of the printing process are displayed on the display means together with the difference between the two patterns.
In the plate inspection device for checking whether or not the correction is made at the re-school according to the content of the school finish sheet in which the correction instruction for the first school is described, a) read the pattern of the school finish sheet and generate image data Image inputting means for: b) extracting means for extracting a correction instruction pattern described on the school finish sheet based on the image data; and c) displaying the first and second school patterns and the different portion. Fourth control means for displaying the correction instruction pattern on the display means in an overlapping manner.

A sixth plate inspecting apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the fifth plate inspecting apparatus, it is provided with a detecting means for detecting the different portion in units of blocks of a predetermined size composed of a plurality of pixels. .

[0012]

According to the first plate inspection apparatus of the present invention, the patterns of the first school and the re-school and the difference between these patterns are displayed on the display means, and are superimposed on this display and described on the school certificate. The correction point corresponding to the correction instruction is displayed. That is, the coordinate value of the corrected portion is input from the school certificate by the input means, and the corrected portion is displayed on the display means based on the coordinate value so as to be superimposed on the display. The plate inspection operator sees such a display and checks whether the contents of the difference portion are as instructed by the correction instruction or not.
Confirm whether there is any correction error in the re-school, such as whether there is any part that has not been corrected despite the correction instruction.

According to the second plate inspection apparatus of the present invention, the difference between the first school and the re-school is detected in units of blocks of a predetermined size, and the difference between the blocks is the pattern of the first school and the re-school. It is displayed together with the display means. Then, as in the case of the first plate inspection apparatus, the corrected portion is also displayed by being superimposed on this display. By appropriately selecting the block size in the detection of the above-mentioned difference, for example, the size of the smallest character in the first school and the re-school, the size corresponding to the unit of the correction instruction is selected. This makes it easy to check whether there are any correction errors.

According to the third plate inspection apparatus of the present invention, the first determining means determines whether or not there is a difference between the first school and the re-school near the correction point corresponding to the correction instruction. It If it is determined that there is no difference in the vicinity of the corrected portion, it is highly likely that the correction has been forgotten. Therefore, in this case, a warning is displayed for the corrected portion.

According to the fourth plate inspection apparatus of the present invention, the second determining means determines whether or not a correction portion corresponding to the correction instruction exists near the difference between the first school and the re-school. It If it is determined that there is no correction location near the different portion, there is a high possibility that it has been erroneously changed despite no correction instruction. Therefore, in this case, a warning is displayed for the difference.

According to the fifth plate inspection apparatus of the present invention, the patterns of the first school and the re-school and the difference between these patterns are displayed on the display means, and are superimposed on this display and described on the school certificate. A pattern of correction instructions is displayed. That is, the pattern of the correction instruction is extracted by the extraction unit based on the image data obtained by reading the pattern of the school closing paper by the image input unit, and the correction instruction pattern is displayed on the display unit so as to be superimposed on the display. The plate inspection worker
By displaying the correction instruction pattern, it is possible to know not only the position of the correction location but also the content of the correction instruction. By using such information as well, it is confirmed whether or not there is a correction error in the re-school.

According to the sixth plate inspection apparatus of the present invention, the difference between the first school and the re-school is detected in units of blocks of a predetermined size, and the difference in block units is the pattern of the first school and the re-school. It is displayed together with the display means. Then, similarly to the fifth plate inspection device, the correction instruction pattern is also displayed on the display. By appropriately selecting the block size in the detection of the different portion, it becomes easy for the plate inspection operator to confirm whether or not there is a correction error, as in the second plate inspection apparatus.

[0018]

【Example】

[Structure of Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the structure of a plate inspection processing system which is an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "embodiment 1"). This plate inspection processing system is composed of a scanner 14, a digitizer 16, a host computer 20, and a printer 30, and uses a proof or a plate-making film as a first object and a second object as an inspection object. It is used for plate inspection work at the proofreading stage.

In this plate inspection processing system, the scanner 1
Reference numeral 4 reads the patterns of the first school and the second school, which are the inspection object 10, and generates their image data. This image data is transferred to the host computer 20. The image data may be generated by reading the pattern of the inspection object 10 with a television camera instead of the scanner 14.

The digitizer 16 is used to generate the coordinate value of the correction location from the school certificate 12 in which the correction instruction for the first school is written. That is, when the operator places the school finish sheet 12 on the digitizer 16 and picks the correction point indicated by the correction instruction pattern, the coordinate value of the correction point is output from the digitizer 16. The data indicating the coordinate value of the correction point (hereinafter referred to as "correction point data") is
It is transferred to the host computer 20.

The host computer 20 has a structure in which a CRT monitor 24 as a display unit and a mouse 26 as a pointing device are connected to a main body 22 having a CPU, a memory, an I / O port and the like. The host computer 20 receives the image data sent from the scanner 14 and the correction point data sent from the digitizer 16 via the I / O port, and uses these data to perform the processing described later. Then, the result of the processing (hereinafter referred to as “inspection result”) is displayed as a color image on the CRT monitor 24, and the data indicating the inspection result is transferred to the printer 30 via the I / O port.

The printer 30 is a host computer 20.
A color image is output based on the inspection result data transferred from the. Instead of the printer 30, the plotter may output a color image of the inspection result.

[Process Flow in Plate Inspection Work] In this embodiment, a color image as an inspection result is generated by the plate inspection processing system having the above-described configuration, and a plate inspection operator looks at this color image and It is determined whether or not the correction is made at the re-school according to the contents of the school certificate 12 in which the correction instruction for the first school is described. The details of the plate inspection work of this embodiment will be described below.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the flow of processing in the plate inspection work of this embodiment. In this plate inspection work, first, the patterns of the first school and the re-school which are the inspection object 10 are the scanner 1
4 and two image data corresponding to the first school and the second school are generated. These image data are transferred to the host computer 20, binarized, and then stored in the memory in the host computer 20 (steps S10 and S12). Along with such scanner input for the first school and re-school, the digitizer 16 inputs the coordinate value of the correction point from the school finish sheet 12 as described above, and the correction point data indicating the coordinate value is transferred to the host computer 20. And stored in the internal memory (step S1
4).

Next, in the host computer 20,
Using the binary image data stored in the internal memory, the patterns of the first school and the re-school are compared and collated for each block consisting of a plurality of pixels, and it is determined whether or not there is a certain difference between both patterns. To be done. Here, the size of the block, which is the unit of comparison and collation, is selected to be the size corresponding to the unit of the correction instruction on the school finish sheet, for example, the size of the smallest character in the first school and the second school. As a result of comparing and collating the patterns of the first school and the re-school, it is determined that there is a certain difference (hereinafter referred to as "difference block"), the entire block is a different part, and the position of the different block is indicated. The data is stored in the internal memory as difference data (step S20). In this way, all the differences between the patterns of the first school and the re-school are detected in block units.

When the detection of the difference between the first-school and the second-school patterns is completed as described above, the host computer 20 stores the binary image data of the first-school and the second-school stored in the internal memory, and the different portion. Based on the data and the correction point data, a mark (hereinafter referred to as a “correction point mark”) indicating the pattern of the first school, the pattern of the re-correction, the different block, and the position of the correction point is a CRT monitor 2
4 are displayed in different colors (step S22).
For example, if the re-school shown in FIG. 3C is obtained as a result of the correction of the first school shown in FIG. 3A based on the school closing sheet shown in FIG. 3B, the CRT monitor 24 An image as shown in FIG. 3D is displayed on the screen as the inspection result. Then, for example, the first school is red, the re-school is green, the difference block (the shaded area in FIG. 3 (d)) has a low density, and the correction point mark (“▽” in FIG. 3 (d)) is They are displayed in different colors, such as dark blue.

When the image of the inspection result as described above is displayed on the CRT monitor 24, the plate inspection operator looks at the monitor screen to determine which of the following is the display of the different block and the correction point mark. The presence or absence of a correction error is checked based on the result of the check (step S24). (1) There is a correction instruction and there is a difference between the first school and the re-school. (2) There is no difference between the first school and the re-school because there is a correction instruction. (3) There is a difference between the first school and the re-school without correction instructions.

In the case of the above (1), it can be usually judged that the correction is correct, and for example, the cases of FIGS. 3 (a) to 3 (c) correspond to this. On the other hand, in the case of the above (2), it is highly likely that the correction was forgotten, and for example, the initial school and the completion paper shown in FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b) are shown in FIG. 4 (a). This is the case when the indicated re-school is obtained. In addition, in the case of the above (3), there is a high possibility that a part that should not be modified has been changed. For example, as shown in FIG.
This is the case when the re-school shown in (a) is obtained. Therefore, in the case of the above (2) or (3), it is usually not corrected according to the correction instruction on the school completion sheet at the re-school, and it can be determined that the correction is incorrect.

At the time of the confirmation work in step S24 described above, regarding the corrected portion corresponding to the above (2) and the different block corresponding to the above (3), as a warning display, a color different from other portions (for example, white or It is preferable to perform display in black or the like or blinking display. Therefore, in this embodiment,
Such a warning is displayed as follows.

First, on the basis of the difference portion data obtained by the comparison and collation between the patterns of the first school and the re-school, and the correction point data obtained by the digitizer 16, the host computer 20 executes the above (2). The corresponding correction location and the different block corresponding to (3) above are detected as a critical portion (step S20). That is,
It is checked whether or not there is a different block in a predetermined range centered on the correction point (for example, a range including a block including the correction point and a block adjacent to the block), and if there is no different block, the correction point is regarded as a critical portion. If there is a different block, it is determined that the modified part is not a critical part. Also, it is checked whether or not there is a correction point in a predetermined range centered on the different block (for example, a range consisting of the different block and blocks adjacent thereto), and if there is no correction point, the different block is determined to be a critical part. However, if there is a corrected portion, it is determined that the different block is not a critical portion.

Next, the host computer 20 displays a correction point mark "corresponding to the critical portion" as a warning display for the critical portion detected as described above.
"" And a different block are displayed in a blinking manner on the monitor screen (step S22). By performing such a warning display, it is possible to reliably prevent the correction error from being overlooked by the plate inspection operator.

By the way, when the screen of the CRT monitor 24 is small, it may not be possible to sufficiently confirm the presence or absence of a correction error in step S24. However, in that case, it is sufficient to partially enlarge the display and sequentially move the display portion. As a result, the presence or absence of the correction error can be sufficiently confirmed by the 17-inch or 19-inch CRT monitor. Further, when the confirmation work is difficult because there is too much display content on the CRT monitor 24, the first school and the re-school, or the different block and the correction point mark "▽" are alternately operated by operating the mouse 26. It may be displayed. Further, the presence / absence of the display of the correction point mark “∇” may be controlled based on the ON / OFF instruction from the plate inspection operator.

After the plate inspection operator confirms the presence or absence of a correction error on the display of the CRT monitor 24, the color image data indicating the inspection result obtained by the above processing (step S20) in the host computer 20 is transferred to the printer 30. To be done. The printer 30 outputs an image of the inspection result based on this color image data (step S2).
6). The plate inspection operator again confirms the presence or absence of a correction error by performing the same work as in step S24 described above using such a color print output (step S28).

In the first embodiment, the plate inspection operator is
Whether or not there is a correction error is confirmed by both the display on the T monitor 24 and the color print output (step S2).
4, S28), the confirmation work may be performed only by one of the display on the CRT monitor 24 and the color print output.

[Effect of Embodiment] According to Embodiment 1 above,
Since not only the first school, the re-school, and the difference block that is the difference between them but also the correction point mark indicating the position of the correction point is displayed as the image of the inspection result (see FIG. 3D),
The plate inspection operator can concentrate on the confirmation work for the presence or absence of correction errors without keeping an eye on the image of the inspection result. As a result, it is possible to prevent check mistakes and check omissions during the plate inspection work.

Further, a warning is displayed for a correction point mark and a different block corresponding to a critical portion having a high possibility of a correction error, so that it is possible to prevent the inspection operator from overlooking the correction error more reliably. You can
In particular, it is effective in that it is possible to surely prevent the forgetting of the correction, which was often overlooked in the past, by displaying the warning about the correction point mark corresponding to the critical portion.

[Other Embodiments] Next, a plate inspection processing system which is another embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "Embodiment 2") will be described. In the first embodiment, the digitizer 16 inputs the coordinate value of the corrected portion from the school finish sheet 12, but in the present embodiment, the pattern of the school finish sheet 12 is read by the scanner 14 (step S16) and read. The correction instruction pattern is extracted from the pattern (step S
18).

That is, in the present embodiment, a color scanner is used as the scanner 14, and the completion sheet 12
Pattern is read by the scanner 14 to generate color image data. This color image data is transferred to the host computer 20, and in the host computer 20, the certificate 12 represented by the color image data is printed.
The correction instruction pattern is extracted from the pattern. At this time, generally, only the image data showing the red pattern is extracted from the color image data showing the pattern of the finish sheet 12 by utilizing the fact that the correction instruction is written in red on the finish sheet. The image data showing the red pattern is binarized and then stored in the memory in the host computer 20 as image data showing the correction instruction pattern (hereinafter referred to as “correction instruction data”). When the proof sheet 12 has only the correction instruction written on the tracing paper, the image data indicating the correction instruction pattern can be obtained only by reading the pattern of the proof sheet 12 with the scanner 14. This image data may be stored in the memory as correction instruction data. The correction instruction data stored in the memory is used in the subsequent processes instead of the correction point data in the first embodiment.

Except for the above, the same processing as in the first embodiment (see steps S10, S12, S20 to S28) is performed. However, since the correction instruction data is used instead of the correction point data, the above (1) to
Corresponding to (3), for example, FIG. 3 (e), FIG. 4 (c), and FIG.
An image of the inspection result as shown in (c) is obtained, and in this image, the correction instruction pattern is shown in place of the correction point mark "▽". An image of such an inspection result is displayed on the CRT monitor 24 and / or output to the printer 30, and a plate inspection operator checks the display on the monitor screen and / or the color print output to check whether there is a correction error. .

According to the second embodiment, the plate inspection operator can know not only the position of the correction portion but also the correction instruction content by observing the correction instruction pattern displayed on the image of the inspection result. it can. As a result, the plate inspection operator
Even without referring to the school certificate 12, it is possible to accurately confirm the presence or absence of the correction error only by the image of the inspection result.

[0041]

According to the present invention, since the correction means or the correction instruction pattern is displayed on the display means in addition to the first school and re-school patterns and their different parts, that is, the information necessary for the plate inspection work is displayed. Since everything is displayed on the display means, the plate inspection operator does not have to take his eyes off the display means, and can concentrate on the confirmation work of the correction error. As a result, it is possible to prevent check mistakes and check omissions during the plate inspection work.

In particular, according to the third plate inspection apparatus of the present invention, a warning is displayed for a portion which has been instructed to be corrected but not corrected at the re-school. , It is possible to surely find the correction forgetting that was often overlooked in the past.

Further, according to the fourth plate inspection apparatus of the present invention, a warning is displayed for a portion which has been changed in the re-school even though the correction instruction is not given on the school closing paper. It is possible to reliably find the mistakenly corrected part in the re-school.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a plate inspection processing system that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a flow of processing of plate inspection work in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of images of inspection results by a first school, a re-school, a school completion paper, and a plate inspection processing system.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of images of a re-school and an inspection result when there is a correction forgetting.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of images of re-calibration and inspection results when a part that should not be modified is changed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 ... Object to be inspected (first school and re-school) 12 ... Completion paper 14 ... Scanner 16 ... Digitizer 20 ... Host computer 24 ... CRT monitor 30 ... Printer

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location G06F 15/62 410 A

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. The first school and re-school patterns created in the proofreading stage of the printing process are displayed on the display means together with the differences between the two patterns, and according to the contents of the school grading paper in which correction instructions for the first school are described. In a plate inspection device for checking whether or not a correction has been made at the re-school, a) input means for inputting coordinate values of a correction location corresponding to a correction instruction described on the school certificate; ) Based on the coordinate values, a first control unit that causes the display unit to display a correction portion corresponding to the correction instruction, overlapping the display of the first school and the re-school pattern and the different portion. And a plate inspection device. 2. The plate inspection apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising detection means for detecting the different portion in units of a block of a predetermined size including a plurality of pixels. 3. The plate inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein whether or not the different portion exists within a predetermined range near a correction portion corresponding to the correction instruction on the display of the display unit. First determining means for determining whether or not the second controlling means causes the display means to display a warning for the corrected portion when the first determining means determines that the different portion does not exist within the predetermined range. When,
A plate inspection apparatus further comprising: 4. The plate inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein whether or not there is a correction portion corresponding to the correction instruction within a predetermined range near the different portion on the display of the display unit. Second determining means for determining whether or not the third control means causes the display means to display a warning for the different portion when the second determining means determines that the corrected portion does not exist within the predetermined range. When,
A plate inspection device comprising: 5. The first school and re-school patterns created in the proofreading stage of the printing process are displayed on the display means together with the difference between the two patterns, and according to the contents of the school grading paper in which correction instructions for the first school are described. In a plate inspection device for checking whether or not correction has been made in the re-school, a) image input means for reading the pattern on the school finish sheet to generate image data, and b) based on the image data, Extracting means for extracting a pattern of the correction instruction written on the school certificate, and c) displaying the pattern of the correction instruction on the display means so as to be superimposed on the display of the first school and re-school patterns and the different portion. 4 control means, The plate inspection apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 6. The plate inspection apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a detection unit that detects the different portion in units of blocks of a predetermined size including a plurality of pixels.