INK FLOW PATTERNS IN MULTI COLOR INKJET IMAGES AND THEIR IMPACT ON GRAININESS NOISE

Graininess noise is a common artifact in inkjet printing. While current inkjet printing technologies attempt to control graininess in single color images, the results are often less than optimal for multi-color images. This is due to fluidic interactions between inks of different colors. This paper will describe a color decomposition methodology that can be used to study ink flow patterns in multi-color inkjet printed images at a microscopic scale. This technique is used to decompose multi-color images into several independent color components. The ink patterns in these components are analyzed to relate them to visually perceptible graininess noise.