JP2000227638A - Image forming method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming method in which the blot of the contour of the image of a black character is improved even in the case of small number of calibration times. SOLUTION: In this image forming method, color developing processing is performed after performing scanning exposure by a light beam set so that exposing time per pixel may be equal to or under 10-3 seconds to silver halide photographic sensitive material having a yellow color image forming layer, a magenta color image forming layer and a cyan color image forming layer constituted by incorporating at least photosensitive silver halide on a supporting body by one, respectively. In such a case, the maximum exposure(Emax) at the time of forming an image is adjusted according to the output of a calibration patch, and point gamma in the Emax at the time of gray scale output is >=2.5 in yellow, magenta and cyan, respectively.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming method in which the blur of the outline of a black character image is improved even when the number of calibrations is small.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the number of opportunities for handling images as digital data has been rapidly increasing in accordance with the improvement in the computing power of computers and advances in network technology. Image information digitized using a scanner or the like can be edited and processed on a computer, and data such as characters and illustrations can be added relatively easily. Hard copy materials for producing a hard copy based on such digitized image information include, for example, sublimation type thermal transfer print, melt type thermal transfer print, inkjet print, electrostatic transfer type print, thermo auto chrome print, halogenated A silver photographic light-sensitive material and the like can be mentioned, and among them, a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a light-sensitive material) has high sensitivity, excellent gradation, and excellent image storability. For this reason, it has very excellent characteristics as compared with other printing materials, and is therefore widely used today especially for producing high-quality hard copies.

In order to reproduce digitized image data as a silver halide photograph, it is necessary to perform exposure while changing an exposure amount according to the image data. At this time, it is known that a calibration operation is performed such that the density of the image reproduced on the print based on the image data matches the target density. Specifically, an operation of outputting a certain calibration pattern, correcting the exposure based on the density measurement result of the image, and outputting the calibration pattern again is performed by changing the output result of the test pattern to the target density value. A method of repeating until almost coincident is often used.

[0004] Ideally, it is preferable to repeat the calibration operation until the density measurement value and the target density value completely match in all the patches. It is difficult to make them completely coincide with each other due to density fluctuations, and in many cases, an allowable range is set, and calibration is ended when it falls within a certain range. Conventionally, the calibration operation has to be repeated a considerable number of times before the end of the calibration, which hinders an improvement in work efficiency. For example, when outputting an image or the like (hereinafter, referred to as a “scene image”) based on photographing data of a person, a landscape, a still life, or the like (hereinafter, referred to as a “scene image”), the calibration operation is terminated when the image falls within an allowable range and the image is output. If so, a beautiful hard copy could be obtained with almost no problem. However, when a character image (especially a thin and small black character image) is output, the edge of the thin line looks different from the original character color even though the calibration is within the allowable range (hereinafter referred to as “color image”). (Referred to as “bleeding”), and often required a plurality of calibration operations.
In addition, even if the number of times of calibration is simply increased, the degree of color bleeding may change each time calibration is performed, and these improvements have been desired.

In the case of performing exposure on a photosensitive material based on digital image data, the target maximum density value is set at an original value at which the photosensitive material can be reproduced from the viewpoint of limiting the dynamic range of the exposure apparatus and obtaining stable image reproducibility. Maximum concentration (Dm
The value is often set slightly lower than ax), and little attention has been paid to the characteristics of the photosensitive material in an exposure amount range that is not used in exposure based on digital image data. The present inventors have also paid attention to the characteristics of the photosensitive material in an exposure amount range that is not used in exposure based on digital image data, and as a result of intensive studies, as a result, when performing exposure based on digital image data, The present inventors have found that the above-mentioned problems can be improved when the characteristics satisfy certain conditions with respect to the characteristics of the photosensitive material including the exposure amount range not used in the exposure based on the digital image data, and led to the present invention. It is.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for performing a calibration even when the number of calibrations is small.
An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming method in which the blur of the outline of a black character image is improved.

[0007]

The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following constitution.

(1) A silver halide photographic material having at least one yellow image forming layer, magenta image forming layer, and cyan image forming layer each containing at least a photosensitive silver halide on a support. In an image forming method for performing color development processing after scanning exposure with a light beam such that the exposure time per pixel is 10 ^-3 seconds or less, the maximum exposure amount (Emax) at the time of image formation is determined by outputting a calibration patch. ), And the point gamma in Emax at the time of gray scale output is 2.5 or more for each of yellow, magenta, and cyan.

(2) A silver halide photographic light-sensitive material having at least one yellow image forming layer, at least one magenta image forming layer, and at least one cyan image forming layer containing at least a photosensitive silver halide on a support. In an image forming method for performing color development processing after scanning exposure with a light beam such that the exposure time per pixel is 10 ^-3 seconds or less, the maximum exposure amount (Emax) at the time of image formation is determined by outputting a calibration patch. ) And Emax at the time of monochromatic scale output of yellow, magenta, and cyan
Wherein the point gamma is 2.0 or more.

(3) A silver halide photographic light-sensitive material having at least one yellow image forming layer, magenta image forming layer, and cyan image forming layer each containing at least a photosensitive silver halide on a support. In an image forming method for performing color development processing after scanning exposure with a light beam such that the exposure time per pixel is 10 ^-3 seconds or less, the maximum exposure amount (Emax) at the time of image formation is determined by outputting a calibration patch. ), And the exposure amount (Erm) and Emax that give the maximum point gamma at the time of monochromatic scale output in at least one color image forming layer.
Satisfies the relationship of equation (1).

Erm ≧ Emax (1) (4) The average silver chloride content of the photosensitive silver halide contained in the yellow image forming layer, the magenta image forming layer, and the cyan image forming layer is 95 mol%, respectively. 4. The image forming method according to any one of the above items 1 to 3, wherein

(5) The silver halide photographic light-sensitive material has one spectral sensitivity maximum at 630 nm to 730 nm, and the amount of reflected light at 670 nm is 10% or less of the amount of incident light. The image forming method according to any one of the above.

(6) The image forming method as described in any one of (1) to (5) above, wherein the time from the end of scanning exposure to the start of color development processing is within 30 seconds.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail. According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming method in which a color development process is performed after scanning exposure with a light beam such that an exposure time per pixel is 10 ^-3 seconds or less.
The point gamma at x (maximum exposure during image formation) is 2.5 or more for each of yellow, magenta, and cyan.

The upper limit of the point gamma is not particularly limited, but is preferably 6.0 or less in order to reduce the possibility of occurrence of discontinuity in density in exposure based on digitized data.

Usually, when image information is digitized and handled, it is common to divide the original image into fine squares and digitize and handle the density information for each square. In the present invention, the minimum unit is one pixel when the original image is divided into squares and handled. Therefore, the exposure time per pixel can be considered as the time during which the intensity or irradiation time of the light beam is controlled based on the digital data for one pixel.

Scanning exposure with a light beam is usually performed by linear exposure with a light beam (raster exposure: main scanning) and relative movement of a photosensitive material in a direction perpendicular to the linear exposure direction (sub-scanning). In general, the combination is performed in the following manner. For example, fixing the photosensitive material on the outer or inner circumference of a cylindrical drum, rotating the drum while irradiating a light beam, and performing main scanning, and simultaneously moving the light source perpendicular to the rotation direction of the drum A method of performing sub-scanning (drum method) or irradiating a rotated polygon mirror with a light beam to scan the reflected beam horizontally (main scanning) in the direction of rotation of the polygon mirror and rotate the photosensitive material to rotate the polygon A method of performing sub-scanning by transporting in a direction perpendicular to the direction (polygon method) or the like is often used. In addition, when using an exposure apparatus in which light sources are arranged in an array beyond the width of the photosensitive material to be exposed, a portion corresponding to main scanning can be regarded as being substituted by an array light source. It can be considered including.

The types of light sources that can be used in the present invention include a light emitting diode (LED), a gas laser, a semiconductor laser (LD), an LD or a solid laser using the LD as an excitation light source and a second harmonic change element ( Any known light source, such as a combination with a so-called SHG element, can be used.

Here, Emax means data representing the maximum density on image data (for example, Adobe Pho) when exposure is performed based on digitized image data.
Exposure when exposure is performed on the basis of (R, G, B) = (0, 0, 0) is image data representing the maximum density in image data having an 8-bit gradation processed on toShop It is defined as a quantity.

The point gamma in Emax is determined by using a scanning exposure apparatus adjusted so that the overlap between light beam rasters is in the range of 5 to 30%, and changing a 1 cm square patch on the photosensitive material while changing the exposure amount. And using the following color developer (CD-1)
The reflection density of each of the yellow, magenta, cyan and gray patch portions of a sample obtained by performing color development at 0.5 ° C. for 45 seconds (normal bleach-fixing and washing or stabilization after color development) is performed. Measurement, a plot (characteristic curve) of the reflection density with respect to the exposure amount is prepared, an exposure amount (Emax) required to obtain a maximum density set by a calibration operation at the time of image formation is obtained, and a point gamma at the exposure amount is obtained. Can be obtained as The time from the end of exposure to the start of development is between 20 and 30 seconds.

Color developer (CD-1) Pure water 800 ml Triethylenediamine 2 g Diethylene glycol 10 g Potassium bromide 0.02 g Potassium chloride 4.5 g Potassium sulfite 0.25 g N-ethyl-N- (β-methanesulfonamidoethyl) -3 -Methyl-4-aminoaniline sulfate 4.0 g N, N-diethylhydroxylamine 5.6 g Triethanolamine 10.0 g Sodium salt of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid 2.0 g Potassium carbonate 30 g Water was added to bring the total volume to 1 liter. Alternatively, the pH is adjusted to 10.1 with potassium hydroxide.

Although the value of Dmax set during the calibration operation is arbitrary, the case where each of the red reflection density, the green reflection density, and the blue reflection density in the gray patch is 2.1 or more is considered as a shadow in the scene image. This is preferable because the tightness of the portion is good, and even in a fine and fine image such as a character, the outline is clearly seen and the sharpness is well reproduced.

The point gamma is described in T.S.
H. James eds, "The Theory of t
As described in “He Photographic Process”, 4th edition, page 502, it is defined as a differential value at an arbitrary point on a characteristic curve.

In the present invention, the diameter of the light beam (beam diameter) is defined as the width of the raster. The light beam diameter referred to here is the diameter of the light beam when the light beam intensity becomes e ^-2, and can be obtained by, for example, a beam monitor combining a slit and a power meter.

In the present invention, the point gamma in Emax at the time of gray scale output is set to 2.5 or more for each of yellow, magenta, and cyan, so that even when the number of calibrations is small, the bleeding of the outline of the black character image is achieved. Can be obtained, among which point gammas of yellow, magenta, and cyan (hereinafter referred to as PG (Y), PG (M), and PG (C), respectively)
Satisfy the condition of the following formula (2) or formula (3), the effect of the present invention is particularly remarkable and is preferable.

PG (Y) <PG (M) ≦ PG (C) Equation (2) | PG (C) −PG (Y) | <0.5 Equation (3) It is presumed that the sharpness at the time of observation is greatly affected by the cyan component. With respect to Expression (3), when the difference in the point gamma of each color is reduced, a thin line such as a black character is blurred by exposure. It is presumed that the color balance does not significantly collapse.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming method for performing color development after scanning exposure with a light beam such that the exposure time per pixel is 10 ^-3 seconds or less. The point gamma at the maximum exposure amount during formation) is 2.0 or more for each of yellow, magenta, and cyan. The point gamma in Emax can be obtained in the same manner as in the first embodiment described above, except that the exposure is made of monochromatic light.

The upper limit of the point gamma in the monochromatic scale is not particularly limited, but is preferably 6.0 or less in order to reduce the possibility of discontinuity in density as described above.

Here, the monochromatic scale means that only one image forming layer is exposed so that only one of the yellow image forming layer, the magenta image forming layer and the cyan image forming layer develops a color stepwise. The resulting image,
In the present invention, a very slight color development caused by the diffusion of a part of the oxidized form of the color developing agent generated in the target image forming layer into the unexposed adjacent layer, or a strong exposure to the target image forming layer In the case where a latent image is formed on the silver halide of the image forming layer which is not originally intended to form a color by performing the step (a), unnecessary color formation (so-called color turbidity) is slightly ignored. And treat it as a single color scale.

The third invention is characterized in that the exposure amount (Erm) that gives the maximum point gamma at the time of monochromatic scale output in at least one color image forming layer and Emax satisfy the relationship of equation (1).

Erm ≧ Emax (1) The method of obtaining Erm is to output a single-color scale image in the same manner as in the above-described second aspect of the invention, and to determine the exposure- It can be obtained by plotting the relationship of the point gamma. By satisfying the expression (1), even when the number of calibrations is small, it is possible to obtain an image in which the blur of the outline of the black character image is improved. Makes it easy to reproduce a clear black character image with a value close to the maximum density that can be reproduced originally,
This is a preferred embodiment in which the effects of the present invention are particularly remarkable.

0.95 × Erm ≧ Emax (4) Further, when at least the cyan image forming layer satisfies the general formula (1), the effect of the present invention is remarkable, which is a particularly preferred embodiment.

The means for satisfying the requirements of the present invention is not particularly limited. For example, the characteristics of the photosensitive silver halide contained in the light-sensitive material can be appropriately controlled, or the characteristics of the photosensitive silver halide or coupler to be coated can be controlled. A method to control the amount properly or to set by calibration, a method to appropriately control the target value of the reproduction density on the print of the data representing the maximum density on the digitized image data, etc. alone or in combination Can be used.

The composition of the silver halide emulsion used in the light-sensitive material according to the present invention may be any of silver chloride, silver bromide, silver chlorobromide, silver iodobromide, silver chloroiodobromide, silver chloroiodide and the like. The silver halide may have a halogen composition.
When substantially no silver iodide is contained, the effects of the present invention become remarkable, and this is preferable. Further, from the viewpoint of rapid processing and processing stability, a silver halide emulsion containing preferably 97 mol% or more, more preferably 98 to 99.9 mol% of silver chloride is preferable.

In the light-sensitive material according to the present invention, a silver halide emulsion having a portion containing silver bromide at a high concentration from the viewpoint of reducing softening of a characteristic curve in a high-density region in high-intensity short-time exposure. Can also be preferably used. In this case, the portion containing silver bromide at a high concentration has a so-called core structure even if it is epitaxy bonded to silver halide grains.
The emulsion may be a shell emulsion, or a region having a partially different composition may be present without forming a complete layer. Further, the composition may change continuously or discontinuously. The portion where silver bromide exists at a high concentration is particularly preferably at the surface of silver halide grains or at the top of crystal grains.

In the light-sensitive material according to the present invention, it is preferable to use silver halide grains containing heavy metal ions from the viewpoint of reducing softening during high-illuminance, short-time scanning exposure. Examples of heavy metal ions that can be used for such purposes include Group 8 to 10 metals such as iron, iridium, platinum, palladium, nickel, rhodium, osmium, ruthenium, and cobalt; and twelfth metals such as cadmium, zinc, and mercury. Group ions and ions of lead, rhenium, molybdenum, tungsten, gallium, and chromium. Among them, iron, iridium, platinum, ruthenium,
Gallium and osmium metal ions are preferred. These metal ions can be added to the silver halide emulsion in the form of a salt or a complex salt.

When the heavy metal ion forms a complex, the ligand or ion may be cyanide ion, thiocyanate ion, isothiocyanate ion, cyanate ion, chloride ion, bromide ion, iodide ion, or the like. Examples include nitrate ion, carbonyl, ammonia and the like. Among them, cyanide ion, thiocyanate ion, isothiocyanate ion, chloride ion, bromide ion and the like are preferable.

In order to make the silver halide grains contain the above-mentioned heavy metal ions, the heavy metal compound is physically ripened before the formation of the silver halide grains, during the formation of the silver halide grains, after the formation of the silver halide grains, and the like. It may be added at any place in each of the steps. In addition, the solution of the heavy metal compound can be continuously added over the whole or a part of the particle forming step.

When the heavy metal ion is added to the silver halide emulsion, the amount is 1 × 10 ^-9 per mol of silver halide.
Mol or more and 1 × 10 ^-2 mol or less, particularly 1 mol
It is preferably at least 10 ^-8 mol and not more than 5 10 ^-5 mol.

In the light-sensitive material according to the present invention, any shape of silver halide grains can be used. One preferable example is a cube having a (100) plane as a crystal surface. No. 4,183,756.
No. 4,225,666, JP-A-55-26589.
No. 55-42737 and the Journal of Photographic Science (J. Photo
gr. Sci. ) Particles having shapes such as octahedron, tetrahedron, and dodecahedron can be prepared and used by methods described in documents such as 21, 39 (1973). Further, particles having a twin plane may be used.

In the light-sensitive material according to the present invention, silver halide grains having a single shape are preferably used, but it is particularly preferable to add two or more monodispersed silver halide emulsions to the same layer.

The grain size of the silver halide grains according to the present invention is not particularly limited, but is preferably 0.1 to 1.2 μm in consideration of other photographic properties such as rapid processing property and sensitivity.
m, more preferably in the range of 0.2 to 1.0 μm.

The particle size can be measured using the projected area of the particle or the approximate diameter. If the particles are substantially uniform in shape, the particle size distribution can represent this quite accurately as diameter or projected area.

The particle size distribution of the silver halide grains used in the light-sensitive material according to the present invention preferably has a coefficient of variation of 0.2.
Monodispersed silver halide grains having a variation coefficient of 0.15 or less, more preferably 0.15 or less, and particularly preferably 0.15 or less are added to the same layer. Here, the coefficient of variation is a coefficient representing the width of the particle size distribution, and is defined by the following equation.

Coefficient of variation = S / R (where, S is the standard deviation of the particle size distribution, and R is the average particle size.) The particle size here is the diameter of a spherical silver halide particle. In addition, for particles having a shape other than a cube or a sphere, the diameter represents a diameter when the projected image is converted into a circular image having the same area.

As the apparatus and method for preparing a silver halide emulsion, various methods known in the art can be used.

The silver halide emulsion used in the light-sensitive material according to the present invention may be obtained by any of an acidic method, a neutral method, and an ammonia method. The particles may be grown at one time or may be grown after seed particles have been made. The method of producing the seed particles and the method of growing them may be the same or different.

The form in which the soluble silver salt and the soluble halide salt are reacted may be any of a forward mixing method, a reverse mixing method, a simultaneous mixing method, a combination thereof, and the like. Is preferred. Further, as one type of the double jet method, a pAg controlled double jet method described in JP-A-54-48521 can be used.

Also, JP-A-57-92523, JP-A-57-92523.
No.-92524, etc., a device for supplying an aqueous solution of a water-soluble silver salt and a water-soluble halide salt from an addition device arranged in a reaction mother liquor, and a water-soluble silver salt and a water-soluble solution described in German Patent Publication No. 292,164. Apparatus for continuously changing the concentration of an aqueous halide salt solution, JP-B-56-50
The reaction mother liquor was taken out of the reactor described in No. 1776, etc.
An apparatus that forms grains while keeping the distance between silver halide grains constant by concentrating by ultrafiltration may be used.

If necessary, a silver halide solvent such as thioether may be used. Further, a compound having a mercapto group, a nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compound or a compound such as a sensitizing dye may be added at the time of forming silver halide grains or after the completion of grain formation.

The silver halide emulsion used in the light-sensitive material of the present invention can be used in combination with a sensitization method using a gold compound and a sensitization method using a chalcogen sensitizer. As the chalcogen sensitizer applied to the silver halide emulsion, a sulfur sensitizer, a selenium sensitizer, a tellurium sensitizer, and the like can be used, and a sulfur sensitizer is preferable. As the sulfur sensitizer, thiosulfate, allyl thiocarbamide thiourea, allyl isothiocyanate, cystine, p-
Toluene thiosulfonate, rhodanine, inorganic sulfur and the like can be mentioned. The addition amount of the sulfur sensitizer is preferably changed depending on the kind of the silver halide emulsion to be applied, the expected effect size, and the like, but 5 × 10 ^{−10 to} 5 × 10 ⁻ per mol of silver halide. A range of ⁵ mol, preferably 5 × 10 ^{−8 to} 3 × 10 ⁻⁵ mol is preferred.

As the gold sensitizer, various gold complexes such as chloroauric acid and gold sulfide can be added. Examples of the ligand compound used include dimethyl rhodanine, thiocyanic acid, mercaptotetrazole, and mercaptotriazole. The amount of the gold compound used is not uniform depending on the type of the silver halide emulsion, the type of the compound used, the ripening conditions and the like.
It is preferably from 1 × 10 ⁻⁴ mol to 1 × 10 ⁻⁸ mol per mol. More preferably, 1 × 10 ⁻⁵ mol to 1 × 10
^-8 mol.

The chemical sensitization of the silver halide emulsion according to the present invention may be a reduction sensitization.

The purpose of the silver halide emulsion used in the light-sensitive material of the present invention is to prevent fog during the preparation of the light-sensitive material, to reduce fluctuations in performance during storage, and to prevent fog during development. A known antifoggant,
Stabilizers can be used. Examples of preferred compounds that can be used for such a purpose are described in JP-A No. 2-14 / 1990.
The compound represented by the general formula (II) described in the lower column of page 7 of JP-A-6036 can be mentioned, and a more preferred specific compound is (IIa-1) described on page 8 of the same publication. )-(IIa-8), (IIb-1)-(II
b-7) or 1- (3-methoxyphenyl)-
Compounds such as 5-mercaptotetrazole and 1- (4-ethoxyphenyl) -5-mercaptotetrazole can be mentioned. These compounds may be used, depending on the purpose, in a step of preparing silver halide emulsion grains, a step of chemical sensitization,
At the end of the chemical sensitization step, it is added in a step such as a coating liquid preparation step. When chemical sensitization is performed in the presence of these compounds, 1 × 10 ⁻⁵ mol to 5 ×
It is preferably used in an amount of about 10 ^-4 mol. When added at the end of chemical sensitization, 1 × per mole of silver halide
An amount of about 10 ⁻⁶ mol to 1 × 10 ⁻² mol is preferable, and 1 ×
The amount is more preferably from 10 ⁻⁵ mol to 5 × 10 ⁻³ mol. In the step of preparing a coating solution, when added to the silver halide emulsion layer, 1 × 10 ⁻⁶ mol to 1 × 10 ⁶ mol per mol of silver halide is used.
An amount of about ^-1 mol is preferred, and 1 × 10 ^-5 mol to 1 × 10
^-2 mol is more preferred. When added to a layer other than the silver halide emulsion layer, the amount in the coating film is preferably about 1 × 10 ^-9 mol to 1 × 10 ^-3 mol per 1 m ² .

In the light-sensitive material according to the present invention, dyes having absorption in various wavelength ranges can be used for the purpose of preventing irradiation and halation. For this purpose, any of the known compounds can be used. In particular, dyes having absorption in the visible region include those described in JP-A-3-2518.
The dyes of AI-1 to 11 described on page 308 of JP-A-40 and the dyes described in JP-A-6-3770 are preferably used, and as the infrared absorbing dye, page 2 of JP-A-1-280750 is used. The compounds represented by the general formulas (I), (II) and (III) described in the lower left column have preferable spectral characteristics, do not affect the photographic characteristics of the silver halide photographic emulsion, and are contaminated by residual color. Not preferred. Specific examples of preferred compounds include the lower left column of page 3 of the publication,
Exemplary compounds (1) to (4) listed in the lower left column of page 5
5).

The amount of these dyes to be added is as follows: sharpness in both ultra-high illuminance exposure in a very short time, such as exposure with laser light, and exposure in a short illuminance, such as exposure using an LED. In order to improve the sensitivity, it is preferable to use an embodiment in which the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material has one spectral sensitivity maximum at 630 nm to 730 nm, and the amount of reflected light at 670 nm is 10% or less of the amount of incident light.

It is preferable to add a fluorescent whitening agent to the light-sensitive material according to the present invention because the whiteness can be improved. Preferred examples of the compound include a compound represented by the general formula II described in JP-A-2-232652.

When the light-sensitive material according to the present invention is used as a color photographic light-sensitive material, 400 to 90 in combination with a yellow coupler, a magenta coupler and a cyan coupler.
It has a layer containing a silver halide emulsion spectrally sensitized to a specific region in a wavelength range of 0 nm. The silver halide emulsion contains one kind or a combination of two or more kinds of sensitizing dyes.

The spectral sensitizing dye used for spectral sensitization of the silver halide emulsion used in the light-sensitive material according to the present invention includes:
Any known compounds can be used, and examples of the blue-sensitive sensitizing dye include JP-A-3-251840.
BS-1 to 8 described on page 8 can be preferably used alone or in combination. As the green photosensitive sensitizing dye, GS-1 to GS-5 described on page 28 of the same publication are preferably used. As the red-sensitive sensitizing dye, the same publication 29
RS-1 to 8 described on the page are preferably used. In the case of performing image exposure using infrared light using a semiconductor laser or the like, an infrared-sensitive sensitizing dye must be used.
No. 85950, IRS-1 to 1 described on pages 6 to 8
One dye is preferably used. In addition, these infrared,
Supersensitive sensitizers SS-1 to SS- described in JP-A-4-285950, pages 8 to 9 are used as red, green and blue photosensitive sensitizing dyes.
9 and compounds S-1 to S-17 described in JP-A-5-66515, pages 15 to 17, are preferably used in combination.

The sensitizing dye may be added at any time from the formation of silver halide grains to the end of chemical sensitization.

As a method for adding the sensitizing dye, the sensitizing dye may be dissolved in water or a water-miscible organic solvent such as methanol, ethanol, fluorinated alcohol, acetone, dimethylformamide or the like and added as a solution, or may be added as a solid dispersion. It may be added.

As the coupler used in the light-sensitive material of the present invention, any compound capable of forming a coupling product having a spectral absorption maximum wavelength in a wavelength range longer than 340 nm by coupling reaction with an oxidized form of a color developing agent is used. Although it is also possible to use, particularly typical examples include a yellow dye-forming coupler having a spectral absorption maximum wavelength in a wavelength range of 350 to 500 nm, a magenta dye-forming coupler having a spectral absorption maximum wavelength in a wavelength range of 500 to 600 nm, A typical example is a cyan dye-forming coupler having a spectral absorption maximum wavelength in a wavelength range of 600 to 750 nm.

The cyan coupler which can be preferably used in the light-sensitive material according to the present invention is described in JP-A-4-114.
The general formula (C) described in the lower left column on page 5 of JP-A-154-154
-I) and couplers represented by (C-II). Specific compounds include those described as CC-1 to CC-9 in page 5, lower right column to page 6, lower left column in the same specification.

The magenta coupler which can be preferably used in the light-sensitive material according to the present invention is described in JP-A No. 4-11.
Couplers represented by general formulas (MI) and (M-II) described in the upper right column of page 4 of JP-A-4154 are described. Specific compounds include those described as MC-1 to MC-11 in the lower left column of page 4 to the upper right column of page 5 of the same specification. Among the above-mentioned magenta couplers, the more preferable is the same as the specification 4
A coupler represented by the general formula described on pages right upper column (M-I), of which, the coupler R _M of the formula (M-I) is a tertiary alkyl group are specifically preferred. MC described in the upper column of page 5 of the specification
-8 to MC-11 are preferable because they are excellent in reproducing colors from blue to purple and red, and are also excellent in detail description power.

The yellow couplers which can be preferably used in the light-sensitive material according to the present invention include those described in JP-A-4-11.
The coupler represented by the general formula (Y-I) described in the upper right column of page 3 of JP-A-4154 can be exemplified.
Specific compounds include those described as YC-1 to YC-9 in the lower left column of page 3 of the same publication. Among them, the general formula [Y-1]
Or a coupler wherein RY1 is an alkoxy group
The coupler represented by the general formula [I] described in JP-A-67388 can reproduce yellow having a preferable color tone, and is therefore preferable.
Among these, particularly preferred examples of the compounds are described in JP-A No. 4-11.
YC-8 and YC-9 described in the lower left column of page 4 of JP-A-4154, and Nos. (1) to (4) described in pages 13 to 14 of JP-A-6-67388.
The compound represented by 7) can be mentioned. The most preferred compounds are those represented by the general formula [Y-1] described in JP-A-4-81847, page 1 and JP-A-4-81847.

When the oil-in-water emulsion dispersion method is used to add the coupler or other organic compound used in the light-sensitive material according to the present invention, it is usually added to a water-insoluble high-boiling organic solvent having a boiling point of 150 ° C. or more. If necessary, a low-boiling point and / or water-soluble organic solvent is used in combination to dissolve, and emulsified and dispersed in a hydrophilic binder such as an aqueous gelatin solution using a surfactant. As a dispersing means, a stirrer, a homogenizer,
A colloid mill, a flow jet mixer, an ultrasonic disperser or the like can be used. After or simultaneously with the dispersion, a step of removing the low boiling organic solvent may be added. Examples of high boiling organic solvents that can be used to dissolve and disperse the coupler include dioctyl phthalate, diisodecyl phthalate, phthalic acid esters such as dibutyl phthalate, tricresyl phosphate, and phosphoric acid esters such as trioctyl phthalate; Is preferably used.
The high-boiling organic solvent preferably has a dielectric constant of 3.5 to 7.0. Further, two or more kinds of high-boiling organic solvents can be used in combination.

In place of or in combination with the method using a high-boiling organic solvent, a water-insoluble and organic solvent-soluble polymer compound may be added, if necessary, to a low-boiling and / or water-soluble organic solvent. In a hydrophilic binder such as an aqueous gelatin solution by using a surfactant and emulsifying and dispersing by various dispersing means.
Examples of the water-insoluble and organic solvent-soluble polymer used at this time include poly (Nt-butylacrylamide).

As a preferred compound used as a surfactant for dispersing a photographic additive or adjusting a surface tension at the time of coating, a hydrophobic group having 8 to 30 carbon atoms and a sulfonic acid group or a salt thereof in one molecule. Containing. Specifically, A- described in JP-A-64-26854 is described.
1 to A-11. Also, a surfactant in which a fluorine atom is substituted for an alkyl group is preferably used. These dispersions are usually added to a coating solution containing a silver halide emulsion, and the time until the addition to the coating solution after the dispersion and the time from the addition to the coating solution to the coating are preferably as short as 10 hours each. Preferably within 3 hours, more preferably within 20 minutes.

It is preferable to use an anti-fading agent in combination with each of the above couplers in order to prevent fading of the formed dye image due to light, heat, humidity and the like. Particularly preferred compounds include phenyl ether compounds represented by general formulas I and II described on page 3 of JP-A-2-66541, phenolic compounds represented by general formula IIIB described in JP-A-3-174150, and Amine compounds represented by the general formula A described in JP-A-64-90445;
General formulas XII, XIII, XIV, XV described in -182741
Are particularly preferred for magenta dyes. Further, compounds represented by the general formula I 'described in JP-A-1-19649 and compounds represented by the general formula II described in JP-A-5-11417 are particularly preferable for yellow and cyan dyes.

For the purpose of shifting the absorption wavelength of the coloring dye, the compound (d-11) described in the lower left column of page 9 of JP-A-4-114154 and the compound described in the lower left column of page 10 of the same specification are disclosed. Compounds such as (A'-1) can be used. In addition, U.S. Pat.
No. 74,187 can also be used.

In the light-sensitive material according to the present invention, a compound which reacts with an oxidized developing agent is added to a layer between the light-sensitive layers to prevent color turbidity, or added to a silver halide emulsion layer. It is preferable to improve fog and the like. The compound for this purpose is preferably a hydroquinone derivative, more preferably a dialkylhydroquinone such as 2,5-di-t-octylhydroquinone. Particularly preferred compounds are those represented by the general formula II described in JP-A-4-133,056, and compounds II-1 to II-14 described on pages 13 to 14 and compound 1 described on page 17 of the same publication are described. No.

It is preferable to add an ultraviolet absorber to the light-sensitive material of the present invention to prevent static fog or to improve the light fastness of a dye image. Preferable ultraviolet absorbers include benzotriazoles. Particularly preferred compounds are compounds represented by the formula III-3 described in JP-A-1-250944, and JP-A-64-6664.
6, a compound represented by the general formula III,
UV-1L to UV-27 described in 3-187240
L, compounds represented by the general formula I described in JP-A-4-1633, and compounds represented by the general formulas (I) and (II) described in JP-A-5-165144.

It is advantageous to use gelatin as a binder in the light-sensitive material according to the present invention. If necessary, other gelatin, gelatin derivatives, graft polymers of gelatin and other polymers, proteins other than gelatin, A hydrophilic colloid such as a sugar derivative, a cellulose derivative, or a synthetic hydrophilic polymer such as a homopolymer or a copolymer can also be used.

As the hardener of these binders, it is preferable to use a vinyl sulfone hardener or a chlorotriazine hardener alone or in combination. JP-A-61-24
It is preferable to use the compounds described in JP-A Nos. 9054 and 61-245153. Further, it is preferable to add a preservative and an antifungal agent as described in JP-A-3-157646 to the colloid layer in order to prevent the growth of mold and bacteria which adversely affect photographic performance and image storability. Further, in order to improve the surface physical properties of the photosensitive material before or after processing, a protective layer is disclosed in JP-A-6-118543 or JP-A-2-73250.
It is preferable to add a slipping agent or a matting agent described in the specification of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H11-209,036.

As the support used in the light-sensitive material according to the present invention, any material may be used, such as paper coated with polyethylene or polyethylene terephthalate, a paper support made of natural pulp or synthetic pulp, a vinyl chloride sheet, For example, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate support, baryta paper, etc. which may contain a white pigment can be used. Among them, a support having a water-resistant resin coating layer on both sides of the base paper is preferable. As the water-resistant resin, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate or a copolymer thereof is preferable.

As the white pigment used for the support, inorganic and / or organic white pigments can be used, and preferably, inorganic white pigments are used. For example, alkaline earth metal sulfates such as barium sulfate, alkaline earth metal carbonates such as calcium carbonate, finely divided silica, silica such as synthetic silicate, calcium silicate, alumina, alumina hydrate, oxidation Examples include titanium, zinc oxide, talc, and clay. Among the white pigments, barium sulfate and titanium oxide are preferred.

The amount of the white pigment contained in the water-resistant resin layer on the surface of the support was 13% by weight for improving sharpness.
The above is preferred, and more preferably 15% by weight.

In the paper support used for the light-sensitive material according to the present invention, the degree of dispersion of the white pigment in the water-resistant resin layer can be measured by the method described in JP-A-2-28640. When measured by this method, the degree of dispersion of the white pigment is preferably 0.20 or less, more preferably 0.15 or less, as the coefficient of variation described in the above-mentioned publication.

Further, when the value of the center surface average roughness (SRa) of the support is 0.15 μm or less, more preferably 0.12 μm or less, it is more preferable to obtain the effect of good gloss. In addition, trace amounts of ultramarine, oil-soluble dyes, etc. to adjust the spectral reflection density balance of the white background after treatment in the white pigment-containing water-resistant resin of the reflective support or in the applied hydrophilic colloid layer to improve whiteness It is preferable to add a bluing agent or a reddish agent.

The light-sensitive material according to the present invention may be subjected to corona discharge, ultraviolet irradiation, flame treatment, etc. on the surface of the support, if necessary, and then directly or undercoating (adhesion, antistatic properties of the support surface, It may be applied via one or more undercoat layers for improving dimensional stability, friction resistance, hardness, antihalation properties, friction properties and / or other properties.

In coating a photographic light-sensitive material using a silver halide emulsion, a thickener may be used to improve coatability. Extrusion coating and curtain coating, in which two or more layers can be applied simultaneously, are particularly useful as a coating method.

The present invention is preferably applied to a light-sensitive material in which a developing agent is not incorporated in the light-sensitive material, and particularly preferably to a light-sensitive material which directly forms an image for viewing.
For example, color paper, color reversal paper, a photosensitive material for forming a positive image, a photosensitive material for a display, and a photosensitive material for a color proof can be used.

As the aromatic primary amine developing agent used in the image forming method of the present invention, known compounds can be used. The following compounds can be mentioned as examples of these compounds.

Cd-1) N, N-diethyl-p-phenylenediamine cd-2) 2-amino-5-diethylaminotoluene cd-3) 2-amino-5- (N-ethyl-N-laurylamino) toluene cd-4) 4- (N-ethyl-N- (β-hydroxyethyl) amino) aniline cd-5) 2-methyl-4- (N-ethyl-N- (β
-Hydroxyethyl) amino) aniline cd-6) 4-amino-3-methyl-N-ethyl-N
-(Β- (methanesulfonamido) ethyl) -aniline cd-7) N- (2-amino-5-diethylaminophenylethyl) methanesulfonamide cd-8) N, N-dimethyl-p-phenylenediamine cd-9 ) 4-Amino-3-methyl-N-ethyl-N
-Methoxyethylaniline cd-10) 4-Amino-3-methyl-N-ethyl-
N- (β-ethoxyethyl) aniline cd-11) 4-amino-3-methyl-N-ethyl-
N- (γ-hydroxypropyl) aniline In the present invention, the above color developer can be used in an arbitrary pH range, but from the viewpoint of rapid processing, the pH is 9.5 to 13.0.
And more preferably pH 9.8-1.
It is used in the range of 2.0.

The processing temperature for color development according to the present invention is 35
The temperature is preferably from 70 ° C to 70 ° C. The higher the temperature, the shorter the processing time is possible, which is preferable. However, from the viewpoint of the stability of the processing solution, the higher the temperature, the more preferable.

Conventionally, the color development time is generally about 45 seconds, but is preferably 35 seconds or less in the present invention.
It is more preferable to perform the treatment within 25 seconds.

From the viewpoint of improving the productivity, it is preferable that the time from the end of the scanning exposure to the start of the color development processing is shorter. When a silver halide having a high silver chloride content was used, the latent image generated particularly by high-illuminance short-time exposure was likely to be unstable, and the character quality of the resulting print was also likely to vary. In this case, even if the time from the end of scanning exposure to the start of color development is short, relatively stable character quality can be reproduced, which is a preferable embodiment. In particular, the time from the end of exposure to the start of development is 30
The time is preferably within seconds, more preferably 15 seconds or less.

To the color developing solution, known developing component compounds can be added in addition to the above color developing agents. Usually, alkaline agents having a pH buffering action, chloride ions, development inhibitors such as benzotriazoles, preservatives,
A chelating agent or the like is used.

The light-sensitive material of the present invention is subjected to bleaching and fixing after color development. The bleaching process may be performed simultaneously with the fixing process. After the fixing process, a water washing process is usually performed. Further, as an alternative to the water washing treatment, a stabilization treatment may be performed. The developing apparatus used for the development of the photosensitive material of the present invention may be a roller transport type in which the photosensitive material is transported between rollers arranged in a processing tank, or may be transported by fixing the photosensitive material to a belt. An endless belt method may be used, but a processing tank is formed in a slit shape, and a processing liquid is supplied to the processing tank and the photosensitive material is conveyed. A web system by contact with a carrier impregnated with, a system using a viscous treatment liquid, and the like can also be used. When processing in large quantities, it is usual to perform a running process using an automatic developing machine. At this time, the replenishment amount of the replenisher is preferably as small as possible. This is to add the treating agent in the form, and the method described in JP-A-94-16935 is most preferable.

[0090]

Next, the present invention will be described based on examples, but embodiments of the present invention are not limited to these examples.

Example 1 (Preparation of Blue-Sensitive Silver Halide Emulsion (Em-B1))
In 1 liter of a 2% aqueous gelatin solution kept at 0 ° C., the following (solution A1) and (solution B1) were pAg = 7.3, pH =
The solution was added simultaneously while controlling to 3.0, and the following (solution C1) and (solution D1) were simultaneously added while controlling to pAg = 8.0 and pH = 5.5. At this time, the control of pAg is described in
The control of pH was performed using sulfuric acid or an aqueous sodium hydroxide solution.

(Solution A1) 3.42 g of sodium chloride 0.03 g of potassium bromide 200 ml with addition of water (Solution B1) 10 g of silver nitrate 200 ml with addition of water 200 ml (Solution C1) 102.7 g of sodium chloride Potassium hexachloroiridium (IV) ate 4 × 10 ⁻⁸ mol Potassium hexacyanoferrate (II) 2 × 10 ⁻⁵ mol Potassium bromide 1.0 g Add water 600 ml (Solution D1) Silver nitrate 300 g Add water 600 ml after completion of addition, Kao Atlas Demol After desalting was performed using a 5% aqueous solution of N and a 20% aqueous solution of magnesium sulfate, the mixture was mixed with an aqueous gelatin solution to obtain an average particle size of 0.55 μm.
m, coefficient of variation of particle size distribution 0.07, silver chloride content 99.
A 5 mol% monodispersed cubic emulsion EMP-1A was obtained.

Next, in the preparation of EMP-1A, (A
(Solution 1) and (solution B1) and (C1) and (D1
Liquid monodisperse cubic emulsion EMP-1B having an average particle size of 0.50 μm, a coefficient of variation in particle size distribution of 0.07, and a silver chloride content of 99.5 mol% was obtained in the same manner except that the addition time of the liquid was changed. Was.

The above-mentioned EMP-1A was optimally subjected to chemical sensitization at 60 ° C. using the following compounds. Also, EMP-1
Similarly, after optimally chemical sensitizing B, the sensitized EMP-1A and EMP-1B were mixed at a silver amount of 1: 1 to obtain a blue-sensitive silver halide emulsion (Em-B1). I got

Sodium thiosulfate 0.8 mg / mol AgX Chloroauric acid 0.5 mg / mol AgX Stabilizer STAB-1 3 × 10 ⁻⁴ mol / mol AgX Stabilizer STAB-2 3 × 10 ⁻⁴ mol / mol AgX Stable Agent STAB-3 3 × 10 ⁻⁴ mol / mol AgX sensitizing dye BS-1 4 × 10 ⁻⁴ mol / mol AgX sensitizing dye BS-2 1 × 10 ⁻⁴ mol / mol AgX STAB-1: 1- ( 3-acetamidophenyl) -5-mercaptotetrazole STAB-2: 1-phenyl-5-mercaptotetrazole STAB-3: 1- (4-ethoxyphenyl) -5-mercaptotetrazole (green-sensitive silver halide emulsion ( Preparation of Em-G1) In the above-mentioned preparation of the silver halide emulsion EMP-1A,
The average particle diameter was 0.40 μm, and the silver chloride content was 99.5 mol%, except that the addition times of (A1 solution) and (B1 solution) and (C1 solution) and (D1 solution) were changed. Cubic emulsion EMP-11A and an average particle size of 0.45
A monodispersed cubic emulsion EMP-11B having a thickness of 9 μm and a silver chloride content of 99.5 mol% was obtained.

The above-mentioned EMP-11A was optimally subjected to chemical sensitization at 60 ° C. using the following compounds. Also, EMP-
Similarly, after optimally sensitizing EMP-11B, the sensitized EMP-11A and EMP-11B were mixed at a silver ratio of 1: 1 to obtain a green-sensitive silver halide emulsion (Em-G
1) was obtained.

Sodium thiosulfate 1.5 mg / mol AgX Chloroauric acid 1.0 mg / mol AgX Sensitizing dye GS-1 4 × 10 ⁻⁴ mol / mol AgX Stabilizer STAB-1 3 × 10 ⁻⁴ mol / mol AgX Stabilizer STAB-2 3 × 10 ^-4 mol / mol AgX Stabilizer STAB-3 3 × 10 ^-4 mol / mol AgX (Preparation of red-sensitive silver halide emulsion (Em-R1)) The above-mentioned silver halide emulsion In preparing EMP-1A,
The average particle size was 0.38 μm, and the silver chloride content was 99.5 mol%, except that the addition times of (A1 solution) and (B1 solution) and (C1 solution) and (D1 solution) were changed. Cubic emulsion EMP-21A and an average particle size of 0.42
A monodispersed cubic emulsion EMP-21B having a thickness of 9 μm and a silver chloride content of 99.5 mol% was obtained.

The above-mentioned EMP-21A was optimally subjected to chemical sensitization at 60 ° C. using the following compounds. Also, EMP-
Similarly, after optimally chemical sensitizing 21B, the sensitized EMP-21A and EMP-21B were mixed at a silver amount of 1: 1 to obtain a red-sensitive silver halide emulsion (Em-R
1) was obtained.

Sodium thiosulfate 1.8 mg / mol AgX chloroauric acid 2.0 mg / mol AgX sensitizing dye RS-1 1 × 10 ⁻⁴ mol / mol AgX sensitizing dye RS-2 1 × 10 ⁻⁴ mol / mol AgX supersensitizer SS-1 2 × 10 ⁻³ mol / mol AgX stabilizer STAB-1 3 × 10 ⁻⁴ mol / mol AgX stabilizer STAB-2 3 × 10 ⁻⁴ mol / mol AgX stabilizer STAB- 33 × 10 ⁻⁴ mol / mol AgX emulsions (Em-B1), (Em-G1) and (Em-R)
The structure of the additive used in the preparation of 1) is shown.

[0100]

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(Preparation of photosensitive materials 101 to 112) Basis weight 1
High-density polyethylene was laminated on both sides of 80 g / m ² paper pulp to prepare a paper support. However, on the side to which the emulsion layer was applied, a molten polyethylene containing anatase-type titanium oxide having a surface treatment dispersed therein at a content of 15% by weight was laminated. After subjecting this reflective support to a corona discharge treatment, a gelatin undercoat layer was provided, and further, each layer having the following constitution was provided thereon to prepare a multilayer photosensitive material 101.

In the preparation of the photosensitive material, the coating solution for each layer was prepared so as to have the following coating amount, and (H
-1) and (H-2). Surfactants (SU-2) and (SU-3) were added as coating aids to adjust the surface tension. Further, an antifungal agent (F-1) was added to each layer so that the total amount was 0.04 g / m ² . The silver halide emulsion is shown by a value converted to silver. The structure of each layer is shown below.

Layer composition Addition amount (g / m ² ) Seventh layer Gelatin 1.00 (Protective layer) High boiling solvent (DIDP) 0.002 High boiling solvent (DBP) 0.002 Silicon dioxide 0.003 Sixth Layer Gelatin 0.40 (UV absorbing layer) Anti-irradiation dye (AI-1) 0.01 UV absorbing agent (UV-1) 0.12 UV absorbing agent (UV-2) 0.04 UV absorbing agent (UV- 3) 0.16 Stain inhibitor (HQ-5) 0.04 PVP 0.03 Fifth layer Gelatin 1.30 (Red-sensitive layer) Red-sensitive emulsion (Em-R1) 0.17 Cyan coupler (C- 1) 0.28 Cyan coupler (C-2) 0.08 Dye image stabilizer (ST-1) 0.10 Stain inhibitor (HQ-1) 0.004 High boiling point solvent (DBP) 0.10 High boiling point Solvent (DOP) 0 4th layer Gelatin 0.94 (ultraviolet absorbing layer) Ultraviolet absorber (UV-1) 0.28 Ultraviolet absorber (UV-2) 0.09 Ultraviolet absorber (UV-3) 0.38 Anti-irradiation dye (AI-1) 0.02 Anti-stain (HQ-5) 0.10 Third layer Gelatin 1.30 (Green photosensitive layer) Anti-irradiation dye (AI-2) 0.01 Green photosensitive emulsion (Em) -G1) 0.15 Magenta coupler (M-1) 0.20 Dye image stabilizer (ST-3) 0.20 Dye image stabilizer (ST-4) 0.17 High boiling solvent (DIDP) 13 High boiling point solvent (DBP) 0.13 Second layer Gelatin 1.20 (Intermediate layer) Anti-irradiation dye (AI-3) 0.01 Stain inhibitor (HQ-2) 0.03 Stain inhibitor (HQ-) 3) 0.03 Anti-thein (HQ-4) 0.05 Anti-stain (HQ-5) 0.23 High boiling solvent (DIDP) 0.04 High boiling solvent (DBP) 0.02 Optical brightener (W-1) 0 .10 first layer gelatin 1.20 (blue-sensitive layer) blue-sensitive emulsion (Em-B1) 0.28 yellow coupler (Y-1) 0.70 dye image stabilizer (ST-1) 0.10 Dye image stabilizer (ST-2) 0.10 Dye image stabilizer (ST-5) 0.10 Stain inhibitor (HQ-1) 0.01 Image stabilizer A 0.15 High boiling solvent (DBP) 0.10 High boiling point solvent (DNP) 0.05 Support Polyethylene laminated paper The structure of the additive used for producing the photosensitive material is shown below.

SU-2: Di (2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate sodium salt SU-3: Di (2,2,3,3,4,4, sulfosuccinate)
5,5-octafluoropentyl) sodium salt H-1: tetrakis (vinylsulfonylmethyl) methane H-2: 2,4-dichloro-6-hydroxy-s-triazine sodium DBP: dibutyl phthalate DIDP: diisodecyl phthalate DOP : Dioctyl phthalate DNP: dinonyl phthalate PVP: polyvinylpyrrolidone HQ-1: 2,5-di-t-octylhydroquinone HQ-2: 2,5-di-sec-dodecylhydroquinone HQ-3: 2,5-di- sec-tetradecylhydroquinone HQ-4: 2-sec-dodecyl-5-sec-tetradecylhydroquinone HQ-5: 2,5-di (1,1-dimethyl-4-hexyloxycarbonyl) butylhydroquinone Image stabilizer A : Pt-octylphenol

[0105]

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[0106]

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[0107]

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[0108]

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In the preparation of the light-sensitive material 101, the same procedure was carried out except that the amounts of the silver halide emulsion and the coupler of the first, third and fifth layers were changed to 1.15 times and 1.3 times, respectively. Thus, photosensitive materials 102 and 103 were produced.

The light-sensitive materials 101 to 101 thus prepared
103 was subjected to the following scanning exposure and processing. In the scanning exposure, a semiconductor laser (oscillation wavelength 650 nm) and a He-Ne gas laser (oscillation wavelength 54) are used as light sources.
4 nm), using an Ar gas laser (oscillation wavelength: 458 nm), modulating the amount of light for each laser beam based on the image data with the AOM, reflecting the light on a polygon, and performing main scanning on the photosensitive material. This was performed by transporting the photosensitive material in a direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction (sub-scanning). At this time, the beam diameter was 100 μm for each of the BGRs.
m was confirmed using a beam monitor. Using this apparatus, scanning exposure was performed while adjusting the exposure amount of each color so that a gray image could be almost reproduced in a 1 cm × 1 cm patch image. went. The densitometer PDA-65 is applied to each step of the gray patch image thus obtained.
The reflection density was measured using Konica Corporation, and plots of red light reflection density against red laser exposure (characteristic curve), green light reflection density versus green laser exposure, and blue laser exposure A plot of blue light reflection density was made.

(Development Step 1) Processing Temperature Time Color Developer (CD-1) 37.0 ± 0.5 ° C. 45 seconds Bleach-fixer (BF-1) 35.0 ± 2.5 ° C. 45 Second Stabilizing solution 35-39 ° C 45 seconds Drying 60-80 ° C 30 seconds Color developing solution (CD-1) Pure water 800 ml Triethylenediamine 2 g Diethylene glycol 10 g Potassium bromide 0.02 g Potassium chloride 4.5 g Potassium sulfite 0.25 g 1. N-ethyl-N- (β methanesulfonamidoethyl) -3-methyl-4-aminoaniline sulfate 4.0 g N, N-diethylhydroxylamine 5.6 g triethanolamine 10.0 g diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid sodium salt 0 g Potassium carbonate 30 g Water was added to make the total volume 1 liter, and the pH was adjusted to 1 with sulfuric acid or potassium hydroxide. Adjust to 0.1.

Bleach-fixing solution (BF-1) Pure water 700 ml Diethylenetriaminepentaacetate ammonium ferric dihydrate 65 g Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid 3 g Ammonium thiosulfate (70% aqueous solution) 100 ml 2-amino-5-mercapto-1,3,4 -Thiadiazole 2.0 g Ammonium sulfite (40% aqueous solution) 27.5 ml Add water to make the total volume 1 liter, and adjust the pH to 5.0 with potassium carbonate or glacial acetic acid.

Stabilizing liquid Pure water 800 ml o-phenylphenol 1.0 g 5-chloro-2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one 0.02 g 2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one 0.02 g diethylene glycol 1 0.0 g Optical brightener (Tinopearl SFP) 2.0 g 1-hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid 1.8 g Magnesium sulfate heptahydrate 0.2 g Polyvinylpyrrolidone 1.0 g Nitrilotriacetic acid trisodium salt 1. Add 5 g of water to make the total volume 1 liter, and adjust the pH to 7.5 with sulfuric acid or potassium hydroxide.

Next, the target maximum density value is set as shown in Table 1, a gray patch is output, and from the gray patch density measurement result, a control conversion table (corresponding to the image data and the exposure control value) The operation of rewriting (C-LUT) (calibration) was repeated three times. In any case after the completion of the three calibration operations, the difference between the target density preset in the conversion table (D-LUT) that associates the image data with the target density and the gray patch density actually printed is determined. , 5 on average to target concentration
%. In this way,
After the setting of the target maximum density and the calibration have been completed for each photosensitive material, scanning exposure is performed based on the image data prepared on PhotoShop 5.0 (manufactured by Adobe), and the processing in the developing process 1 described above is performed. went. The image data used was produced at a resolution of 300 dpi, and a black line ((R, G, B) = (0,
0,0)) and the white line ((R, G, B) = (255,25)
5, 255)) and three types of black ((R, G, B) = (0, 0, 0), (13, 13, 1)
3), consisting of two-point and four-point text characters drawn in (26, 26, 26)).

The print image obtained in this manner was compared with 20 subjects, and the reproducibility of fine lines (black tightness, cut edges, etc.) and the reproducibility of characters (color deviation of character outlines, white spots, etc.) And the like). The higher the image quality, the higher the score (up to 100 points)
This indicates that the effect of the present invention that the blur of the outline of the black character image is improved is higher even when the number of calibrations is smaller as the average score of the 20 persons is higher.

The point gamma at the maximum exposure amount (Emax) at each set target maximum density was read from a characteristic curve prepared in advance. Table 1 shows the results
Are shown together.

[0117]

[Table 1]

From the results shown in Table 1, N satisfying the conditions of the present invention is obtained.
o. In 106 to 112, N which does not satisfy the condition
o. As compared with 101 to 105, the balance between the white and black line thicknesses in the fine line repetition pattern portion and the sharpness of the black character portion edge were obtained, and a high evaluation point was obtained, indicating that this is a preferable image forming method. No. 10
6, 107, 109 to 111, the target maximum densities of R, G, and B were 2.1 or more, there was almost no bleeding of the outline of fine lines and black characters, and higher evaluation points were obtained. 109, the point gamma difference between the cyan image and the yellow image at the time of outputting the gray patch is 0.
5 or less, and a particularly high evaluation score was obtained, indicating that this is a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Example 2 In the light-sensitive materials 102 to 103 of Example 1, potassium hexachlororhodate (III) was added to the photosensitive silver halide emulsion at a rate of 1.2 × / mol of silver halide when silver halide grains were formed. In the same manner, except that a photosensitive silver halide emulsion prepared by adding so as to be 10 ^-8 mol was used.
Photosensitive materials 202 to 203 were produced.

The light-sensitive material 202 produced in this manner,
203 and the photosensitive material 101 were scanned and exposed in the same exposure apparatus as in Example 1 while gradually adjusting the exposure amount for each of the R, G, and B color lights, and then within 20 to 30 seconds. The processing was performed in the aforementioned development processing step 1. A densitometer PDA is applied to each step of the yellow, magenta, and cyan patch images (1 cm × 1 cm) thus obtained.
-65 (manufactured by Konica Corporation) was used to measure the reflection density, plotting the red light reflection density against the red laser exposure (characteristic curve), plotting the green light reflection density against the green laser exposure, and exposing the blue laser A plot of blue light reflection density versus quantity was made.

Next, the target maximum density value was set as shown in Table 2, a gray patch was output, and the same calibration operation as in Example 1 was repeated three times. In the state where the setting of the target maximum density and the calibration have been completed for each photosensitive material in this manner, scanning exposure is performed based on the image data used in the first embodiment, and the developing process 1 described above is performed.
Was performed.

The print image thus obtained was evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1. The results are summarized in Table 2.

[0123]

[Table 2]

From the results shown in Table 2, N satisfying the conditions of the present invention is obtained.
o. In 206 to 212, N that does not satisfy the condition
o. Compared to 201 to 205, the balance between the white and black line thicknesses in the fine line repetition pattern portion and the sharpness of the black character portion edge were obtained, and a high evaluation point was obtained, indicating that this is a preferable image forming method.

Example 3 In the photosensitive materials 102 and 103 of Example 1, potassium hexabromorhodate (III) was replaced with silver halide 1 at the time of forming silver halide grains of the photosensitive silver halide emulsion.
Photosensitive materials 302 and 303 were prepared in the same manner except that a photosensitive silver halide emulsion prepared by adding 1.5 × 10 ⁻⁸ mol per mol was used.

The light-sensitive material 302 manufactured in this manner,
After performing scanning exposure on the exposure material 303 and the photosensitive material 101 with the same exposure apparatus as in the first embodiment while adjusting the exposure amounts of R, G, and B color lights stepwise, the developing process is performed within 30 seconds. The treatment was performed in Step 1. Each of the yellow, magenta, and cyan patch images (1 cm ×
For each step of 1 cm), the reflection density was measured using a densitometer PDA-65 (manufactured by Konica Corporation), and plots (characteristic curves) of red light reflection density against red laser exposure and green laser exposure were performed. A plot of the green light reflection density and a plot of the blue light reflection density with respect to the exposure amount of the blue laser were prepared. From this plot, the exposure amount (Erm) giving the maximum point gamma at the time of monochromatic scale output was read. Next, the target maximum density value is shown in Table 3.
, The gray patch was output, and the same calibration operation as in Example 1 was repeated three times. In the state where the setting of the target maximum density and the calibration have been completed for each photosensitive material in this manner, the first embodiment
Scanning exposure was performed based on the image data used in the above, and the processing in the development processing step 1 described above was performed.

The print image thus obtained was evaluated in the same manner as in Example 1. Table 3 collectively shows the relative values of Emax and the evaluation results when Erm in each of R, G, and B is 1.

[0128]

[Table 3]

According to the results shown in Table 3, in at least one of the color image forming layers, No. 3 satisfying the condition of Erm ≧ Emax was satisfied. 305, 306, 308, and 309 denote the balance between the white and black line thicknesses in the fine line repeating pattern portion;
Also, the black character portion edge was sharp, a high evaluation point was obtained, and it was found that this was a preferable image forming method. Especially in the cyan image forming layer, 0.95 × Erm ≧ Emax
No. satisfying the condition In 306 and 309, particularly high evaluation points were obtained, and it is understood that this is a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Example 4 Photosensitive material 401 was prepared in the same manner as in the preparation of photosensitive materials 101 and 102 prepared in Example 1, except that the addition amount of AI-1 in the sixth and fourth layers was 1.25 times. And 402 were produced. 670 of photosensitive materials 101 and 102
The reflected light amount at 670 nm was 11.2% of the incident light amount, whereas the reflected light amount at 670 nm of the photosensitive materials 401 and 402 was 8.9% of the incident light amount. For the photosensitive materials 101, 102, 401, and 402, the time from the end of scanning exposure to the start of color development processing is 10 seconds, 25
The same evaluation as in Example 1 was performed except that the time was changed to seconds and 45 seconds. Note that the target maximum density set at the time of calibration is (R, G, B) = (2.
10, 2.10, 2.10). Table 4 shows the results.

[0131]

[Table 4]

From the results shown in Table 4, it is found that No. 3 does not satisfy the conditions of the present invention. 401 to 403 and No. 4; In 407 to 409, as the time from the end of the scanning exposure to the start of the development becomes shorter, the color shift at the edge portion of the black character becomes larger and the evaluation point is remarkably lowered.
o. In 404-406 and 410-412,
Even when the time from the end of scanning exposure to the start of development was short, the occurrence of color shift at the edge of a black character was relatively small, and the evaluation score was not significantly lowered. This indicates that the present invention is a particularly effective image forming method when the time from the end of scanning exposure to the start of development is as short as 30 seconds or less. Also, from the comparison between the photosensitive materials 102 and 402, when the amount of reflected light at 670 nm of the photosensitive material is 10% or less of the amount of incident light, a light beam is used such that the exposure time per pixel is ^10-3 seconds or less. It can be seen that, in the image forming method in which the color development process is performed after the scanning exposure, blurring of the outline of the black character is further reduced, and a more beautiful character image can be reproduced. For the photosensitive materials 102 and 402, when the photosensitive material was subjected to surface exposure (exposure time 0.5 seconds) through a negative film of characters and fine line images made of a lith film using tungsten light as a light source, the photosensitive material 402 The characters and fine line images were reproduced sharper. From this, 670n of the photosensitive material
In the case where the reflected light amount at m is 10% or less of the incident light amount, both the scanning exposure based on the digitized data and the analog exposure have small bleeding of characters and fine lines, and are particularly preferable image forming methods of the present invention. It can be seen that it is.

[0133]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming method in which the blur of the outline of a black character image is improved even when the number of calibrations is small.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A silver halide photographic material having at least one yellow image forming layer, magenta image forming layer, and cyan image forming layer each containing at least a photosensitive silver halide on a support. In an image forming method for performing color development processing after scanning exposure with a light beam such that the exposure time per pixel is 10 ^-3 seconds or less, the maximum exposure amount (Emax) at the time of image formation by outputting a calibration patch And a point gamma in Emax at the time of gray scale output is 2.5 or more for each of yellow, magenta, and cyan. 2. A silver halide photographic light-sensitive material having at least one yellow image forming layer, at least one magenta image forming layer, and at least one cyan image forming layer containing at least a photosensitive silver halide on a support. In an image forming method for performing color development processing after scanning exposure with a light beam such that the exposure time per pixel is 10 ^-3 seconds or less, the maximum exposure amount (Emax) at the time of image formation by outputting a calibration patch And a point gamma in Emax at the time of monochromatic scale output of yellow, magenta, and cyan is 2.0 or more, respectively. 3. A silver halide photographic material having at least one yellow image forming layer, magenta image forming layer, and cyan image forming layer containing at least a photosensitive silver halide on a support. In an image forming method for performing color development processing after scanning exposure with a light beam such that the exposure time per pixel is 10 ^-3 seconds or less, the maximum exposure amount (Emax) at the time of image formation by outputting a calibration patch And an exposure amount (Erm) that gives the maximum point gamma at the time of monochromatic scale output in at least one color image forming layer and Emax satisfy the relationship of Expression (1). Erm ≧ Emax (1) 4. The photosensitive silver halide contained in each of the yellow image forming layer, the magenta image forming layer and the cyan image forming layer has an average silver chloride content of 95 mol% or more. The image forming method according to claim 1. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the silver halide photographic material is 630.
having one spectral sensitivity maximum in the range of nm to 730 nm;
The image forming method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the amount of reflected light at 0 nm is 10% or less of the amount of incident light. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the time from the end of the scanning exposure to the start of the color development processing is within 30 seconds.
6. The image forming method according to any one of 5.