PRINTING INSPECTION METHOD AND DEVICE THEREFOR

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing inspection device which can inspect the whole surface of a printed matter in detail at a high speed. SOLUTION: A reference picture inputted from a picture inputting section 101 is stored in a reference picture storing section 103 and an area deciding section 104 divides the reference picture into a plurality of areas. A reference value deciding section 108 extracts characteristic amounts at every divided area and stores the extracted amounts in a reference value storing section 109. The inputting section 101 inputs a picture to be inspected and the picture is stored in the storing section 102. An area selecting section 105 divides the picture to be inspected into areas of the same number as that of the areas divided by the deciding section 108, extracts feature amounts at every divided areas, and stores the extracted amounts in an accumulating section 106. A general situation comparing section 107 discriminates the areas where the difference between both feature amounts exceeds an allowable amount, by comparing the feature amounts in the storing section 109 with those in the accumulating section and a detail comparing section 111 inspects the areas discriminated by means of the comparing section 111 for printing defects based on the reference picture in the reference picture storing section 103 and the picture to be inspected in the picture storing section 102.