In the Deshpande et al. method, a color chart as schematically shown in FIG. 20 is used, for example. This color chart is called a “C×F chart”. In the example shown in FIG. 20, the C×F chart is composed of twenty-two patches. The eleven patches in the upper part are patches obtained by printing an ink of a target spot color on a base material such as paper at a dot percentage in increments of 10%. The eleven patches in the lower part are patches obtained by printing an ink of a target spot color on black (black solid) at a dot percentage in increments of 10%. As above, the C×F chart includes a plurality of patches corresponding to ink densities of a plurality of levels. The overprint prediction value is calculated using the value (colorimetry value) obtained by the colorimetry of the patches in the CHF chart described above.
Hereinafter, the Deshpande et al. method will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 21, taking, as an example, calculation of an overprint prediction value in the case where a background color is a spot color at a dot percentage of 40% (referred to as a “spot color 1” for convenience) and a foreground color is another spot color at a dot percentage of 60% (referred to as a “spot color 2” for convenience).
First, the C×F chart is printed using the ink of spot color 1, and further, the C×F chart is printed using the ink of spot color 2 (step S900).