Spectral prediction model for color prints on paper with fluorescent additives

R.D. Hersch

Applied Optics, Vol. 47, No. 36, 2008, pp. 6710-6722

We propose a model for predicting the total reflectance of color halftones printed on paper incorporating fluorescent brighteners. The total reflectance is modeled as the additive superposition of the relative fluorescent emission and the pure reflectance of the color print. The fluorescent emission prediction model accounts for both the attenuation of light by the halftone within the excitation wavelength range and for the attenuation of the fluorescent emission by the same halftone, within the emission wavelength range. The model's calibration relies on reflectance measurements of the optically brightened paper and of the solid colorant patches with two illuminants, one including and one excluding the UV components. The part of the model predicting the pure reflectance relies on an ink spreading extended Clapper-Yule model. On uniformly distributed surface coverages of cyan, magenta and yellow halftone patches, the proposed model predicts the relative fluorescent emission with a high accuracy (mean DE94=0.42, under a D65 standard illuminant). For optically brightened paper exhibiting a moderate fluorescence, the total reflectance prediction improves the spectral reflectance prediction mainly for highlight color halfltones, comprising a proportion of paper white above 12%. Applications include the creation of improved printer characterization tables for color management purposes and the prediction of color gamuts for new combinations of optically brightened papers and inks.

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