In printing production, there are many metrics that place stringent requirements upon the image location accuracy. Such geometrical metrics (or “geometrics,” as they may be referred to) may include, among other things: Image on Paper (IOP) registration, average magnification, and Side 1-to-Side 2 show-through.
IOP registration quantifies an offset of where an image was actually printed on the sheet from where it was supposed to be printed on the sheet. Typically, measurements are made, usually from one corner of the sheet, to determine the displacement of the image from the lead and side edges with respect to the image. The angular rotation of the image from where it was supposed to be may also be determined. This information may be analyzed to determine how close (or far off) the image was printed from its intended position.
Average magnification quantifies how the size of the image printed compares to what is was supposed to be. This may include measuring the area of the printed image comparing it with the area that was supposed to be printed.
Side 1-to-Side 2 show-through quantifies how images printed on each side of a sheet line up. Essentially, IOP registration is performed on each side of the sheet and the resultant measurements are compared.
These geometries may then be made available for feedback and correction within a print engine. For example, actuators within the image path and/or media path may be altered, and/or input image data may be corrected and/or compensated based on these geometries.
Currently, it is known to collect image geometries data on printed samples using an off-line scanner that has been calibrated for absolute accuracy. However, the workflow for providing feedback to the printing system includes manual aspects, thus requiring extra resources (e.g., labor and time) to accomplish.