Abstract: A four color printing system wherein tone dependent color reduction is to be utilized and the color components for the chromatic printing inks yellow (Y), magenta (M) and cyan (C) are reduced and the amount of black printing ink (K) is increased so as to compensate for the reduction in the chromatic printing inks wherein a nearly total achromatic synthesis is utilized to a gray tone value which corresponds to the full tone of the black printing ink utilized. The color components of the color printing inks are then from this tone value increased from this gray tone up to the greatest image depth. So as to avoid breaks or steps in the light tone area, the color components of the chromatic printing inks are also increased in a subtonal area, particularly in the light tone area wherein reproductions can be made with or without gray tone balance.

Abstract: A method for smoothing retouch in electronic color image reproduction employs a coordinate pen used by the retoucher as a retouch brush, to identify image point coordinates within an image point area. The color values associated with the image point coordinates are changed as a function of the color values of the nearby image point coordinates. The size of the areas which have their color values changed is operator-selectable. The color values of the areas which are changed can be matched to the marginal values of the area, or may be replaced by a mean value of the color values within the area. By this means image contours may be flattened, and the effective noise in the image surfaces may be minimized.

Abstract: A method for producing half-tone reproductions such as printing blocks or color separators of an original on a recording medium by means of a recording element using rotated screens having any screen angle and any screen line spacing and being formed of periodically repeated, adjacent screen grid elements comprising screen dots varying in size with the tone values of the original.The recording medium has co-ordinated with it an UV co-ordinate system directed in the line direction and an XY co-ordinate system turned through the screen angle, both co-ordinate systems being subdivided into areal elements from which picture half-tone dots to be produced are collated. Notwithstanding the screen angle, screen threshold values are associated with areal elements of a matrix of limited scanning pattern range which corresponds to at least one screen grid element of the screen which is to be recorded.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for improving the delineation in color image reproduction by means of a partial, electronic retouch. The color values of the individual color separations gained by means of image point-wise, trichromatic color image scanning and digitization are deposited in a storage medium (1). In order to improve the delineation, the color values of a color separation are altered image point-wise by means of selectable quotas of the image point-wise allocated color values of at least one other color separation. The quotas of the color values respectively represent the smallest amount of change for the color values of the color separation to be partially retouched. A retouch factor is determined for each color value of an image point to be retouched which is marked by the retoucher by means of the coordinate pen (51) of a coordinate identifier device (50; 51; 52), said retouch factor specifying the degree of retouch as a plurality of the change amounts to be added per image point.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for partial electronic retouch in color image reproduction. The color values of the individual color components gained by means of image point-wise, trichromatic color image scanning and digitization are deposited in a storage medium (1). The image point coordinates of the color values to be retouched in a correction area (brush surface) displaceable across the color image and the plurality of correction steps per image point are simultaneously determined with the coordinate pen (51) of a coordinate identification device (50; 51; 52) which is employed by the retoucher like a retouch brush. Image point-wise allocated correction values are calculated for the marked correction area. The color values of the color image or of a color separation are read out of the storage medium (1) and are changed by the correction values under visual control on a monitor (2) in accord with the desired retouch effect.

Abstract: Refined recording of line contours in electronic reproduction technology, whereby the recording takes place by means of several selectively drivable recording beams within a raster point with finer resolution than the scanning. The control signals for the individual beams are obtained from the density values of the surroundings of the raster point to be recorded which are stored during the scanning.

Abstract: An apparatus and a method for the recognition of colors on a colored image illuminated with a light source of a known spectrum composition, wherein the intensities of three primary colors are measured opto-electronically as color components, which represent the spatial co-ordinates of the color locations in a color space. Prior to color recognition the color components of at least one characteristic test point in each color or color region, which is to be recognized, are measured and noted. The test color components represent the corresponding test color locations in the color space. An identification symbol is assigned to each color component triplet of the test points and noted too.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for electronically retouching color images reproductions in which the color signals are generated by means of scanning image point by image point and by trichromatic master scanning and then the signals are digitized and the digital color values of the individual color components are stored in a storage medium and the stored color values are then changed by identifying the coordinates of the image points to be changed in the color image and simultaneously determining the coordinate identification and the locally dependent correction values for the digital color values of the color components and then changing the digital color values by applying correction values at the correction locations so as to obtain the retouched color values.

Abstract: A color correction technique is disclosed in which standardized color correction signals are stored in an addressable memory which emits a plurality of digitalized trichromatic picture scanning values as input values in a corresponding plurality of corrected picture recording signals as output values. An assignment of memory input to memory output is fed into the memory as standardized color correction data before reproduction. For a location to be specially corrected, the color signals thereof are measured and compared with predetermined values and a difference formation is provided between the memory output signals and the predetermined values, the difference values being stored and utilized, in connection with distance calculations of neighboring points, to input re-corrected color correction values into the addressable memory.

Abstract: The invention is applicable in the sphere of the preparation of printing blocks or forms by means of electronic color scanners. The recording of line elements (lettering, signals, edge spike, etc.) by such scanners is concomitantly performed by selective energization of separate recording beams with greater line resolution than half-tone recording. Without losing time during recording, a stair-shaped distortion of smooth line contours is reduced in such degree that it no longer makes itself felt in troublesome manner in practice.

Abstract: Apparatus for electro-optically recording picture information comprising a scanning a picture with a head having multiple electrical optical scanning devices which can be simultaneously moved across the picture and wherein the output of the scanning devices are applied to two storage devices and the scanning device is passed laterally across a picture and then advanced at right angles to the scanning motion and then the scanning head is scanned back across the picture in the opposite direction to the first scan during which time the information from the scanning head is stored in a second plurality of memories. Means for transmitting and recording the information are also provided.

Abstract: The method of electro-optically scanning a picture with a multiple electrical optical scanning head which can be laterally moved across the picture and the outputs of the multiple scanning head are supplied to a first group of shift registers so that individual lines of scanned information will be stored in individual shift registers. After the k lines of information have been scanned and stored in the first group of shift registers the scanning element is shifted to scan additional lines and the output of the multiple scanning device is supplied to a second plurality of shift registers to store information in this group of lines. When information is being written in the second group of shift registers the first group of shift registers are connected to a transmitter to serially transmit line by line the stored information.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for producing image combinations in which the image to be copied are digitally stored and a mask is produced for manually superimposing the images with each other with one of the images and the mask being scanned and wherein the coordinates of the image which is to be transferred into the other image are measured as x and y values and the two images are combined by utilizing the x and y values to form a composite total image.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for color correction in the manufacture of printing forms which uses a correction circuit to determine correction parameters that are stored and then used in a correcting circuit for the color correction process and wherein the determination and correction are separate processes and in which in the correction circuits there are arranged a regulating unit controlled by digital values in the path of each the signal to be corrected and that the regulating units can be adjusted for determination of the correction parameters to digital values so as to obtain the desired correction and which are then stored in a storage medium from which they can be transferred in at least one correction circuit for a subsequent color correction process.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for electro-optically scanning a picture with a head having multiple electrical optical scanning devices which can be simultaneously moved across the picture and wherein the output of such scanning devices are alternately supplied to storage or memory devices which convert the information from the scanning devices into series arranged information corresponding to each scanning device and wherein during the time that the scanning devices are scanning certain portions of the picture and supplying information to a first set of storage or memory devices, information from a second group of storage or memory devices is being read out to a transmitter for transferring the data to a second location. The invention and method further include a receiver for receiving such information and includes a pair of plurality of storage devices one of which is receiving the incoming information and the other is supplying previously stored information to scanning writing heads.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for electro-optically recording picture information comprising scanning a picture with a head having multiple electrical optical scanning devices which can be simultaneously moved across the picture and wherein the output of such scanning devices are in a time sequential manner applied to storage devices as, for example, shift registers wherein such information can be converted into series information associated with each of the scanning devices in the head and further including a second plurality of storage devices in the form of shift registers in which information can be stored at a time when information is being read out of the first plurality of shift registers.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for reproducing half-tone pictures utilizing rastered scanning in which the change in the picture element units occur during the transfer from the original to the reproduction with the use of an electronically stored recording data and where the date can be changed in a selectable manner to increase or decrease the raster and or the scale of the reproduction.