JP2001083685A - Developing machine for photographic paper md drying method as well as method for drying belt-like material subjected to wet process treatment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a developing machine for color paper and drying method which are capable of freely sufficiently dealing with the difference in the sizes of color paper to be processed, the difference as to whether single shot drying or continuous drying, the difference in a fluctuation range of various levels of the outdoor air temperature and humidity of the installation environment, etc., and are capable of executing always stable and rapid drying as well as a method for drying belt-like materials, such as paper, synthetic paper, cloth and nonwoven fabrics, subjected to a wet process treatment like printing or dyeing. SOLUTION: This developing machine for photographic paper, such as silver halide color paper, is constituted by arranging a means for circulating air within a shielding space and spraying this circulating air to the photographic paper, such as the silver halide color paper 10, a means 64 for heating the circulating air and a means 66 for humidifying the circulating air in a drying processing section 60 for the photographic papers, such as silver halide color paper 10, subjected to the processing, such as developing, by a processing liquid.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a developing machine for developing and processing photographic materials (hereinafter abbreviated as "color paper") such as silver halide color paper, and more particularly, to performing a drying step stably and quickly. The present invention relates to a developing machine and a drying method which are improved so as to obtain, and a method for drying a belt-like material such as paper, synthetic paper, cloth and non-woven fabric which has been subjected to wet processing such as ink jet recording, printing or dyeing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a color paper is developed with a processing liquid, a drying process is performed as a final step. In the conventional drying process, low humidity air is heated to a high temperature (for example, 60 to 90).
80.degree. C.) and spraying color paper being conveyed in a drying tank. The time required for drying is usually 25 to 40 seconds, but in order to further speed this up, powerful blowing using a nozzle, direct heating with a far infrared heater or heat roller, dehumidification of the blowing air, Spraying of high-temperature hot air, etc. is devised.

[0003] The same method as described above is also used for drying a web such as paper, synthetic paper, cloth, non-woven fabric, etc., which has been subjected to wet processing such as ink jet recording, printing or dyeing.

[0004]

In the drying method in which low-humidity air is heated and blown, the optimum drying area is narrow, and if it is over-dried, problems such as shrinkage of a photographic constituent layer (for example, a photographic emulsion layer) occur. . Also, the difference in the size of the color paper to be processed, the difference between single drying and continuous drying,
Differences in the fluctuation range of the outside temperature and humidity of the installation environment,
There is a problem that it is difficult to sufficiently respond to the above.

[0005] In the case of rapid drying by direct heating using a far-infrared heater or a heat roller, an increase in the temperature of the heat source cannot be avoided. Therefore, when the conveyance of the color paper is stopped during the drying process due to a jam or the like, there is a possibility that smoke or fire may occur.

[0006] Drying a web such as paper, synthetic paper, cloth, non-woven fabric, etc., which has been subjected to wet processing such as ink jet recording, printing or dyeing, has the same disadvantages as described above.

[0007] In view of the above, the present invention sufficiently responds to differences in the size of color paper to be treated, differences between single-shot drying and continuous drying, differences in the outside air temperature and humidity range of the installation environment, and the like. A color paper developing machine and a drying method capable of always performing stable and quick drying, and a method of drying a belt-like material such as paper, synthetic paper, cloth, and non-woven fabric which has been subjected to wet processing such as printing or dyeing processing; The purpose is to clarify.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a color paper developing machine comprising: (1) a photographic material, such as a silver halide color paper, which has been developed by a processing solution; Means for circulating air and blowing this circulated air onto photographic material such as halogenated color paper,
Means for heating the circulating air and means for humidifying the circulating air are arranged;
(3) circulating air is humidified at a wet bulb temperature of 60 to 80 ° C.,
(4) The exchange between the circulating air in the shielded space and the external air is 0.5 m ³ / min. What is done below,
(5) A step in which the means for humidifying the circulating air is operated in a state where no photographic material such as silver halide color paper is present in the drying processing section, and the photographic material such as silver halide color paper is present in the drying processing section. (6) The temperature and humidity of the circulating air are different from each other.
Or, the heating means and the humidifying means for the circulating air are controlled so as to satisfy the requirement of (3). (7) The means for humidifying the circulating air is configured to use steam evaporated from the treatment waste liquid, 8) Means for heating the photographic material such as silver halide color paper and / or the transport roller for transporting the photographic material such as silver halide color paper in the drying processing section by the radiant heat of a far-infrared heater is incorporated. , Respectively.

In the method for drying color paper according to the present invention, (9) a fixing processing agent for a photographic material such as silver halide color paper contains sodium thiosulfate as a main component, and substantially comprises an ammonium salt such as ammonium thiosulfate. Processing a photographic material such as a silver halide color paper by the developing machine according to any one of the above 1 to 8, using a fixing processing agent not contained in (1), (10) halogen processed by a processing solution and the like. Drying of photographic material such as silver halide color paper is circulated in a shielded space and is performed by blowing air heated and humidified by a heating unit and a humidifying unit. (11) The circulating air is heated to 100 to 150 ° C. (12) The circulating air has a wet bulb temperature of 6
Humidified in the range of 0 to 80 ° C.

The method for drying a wet-processed strip according to the present invention is as follows: (13) Drying of a wet-processed strip of paper, synthetic paper, cloth, non-woven fabric, etc., such as printing or dyeing, is performed in a shielded space. Is performed by blowing air heated and humidified by the heating means and the humidifying means.
4) Circulating air is heated in a range of 100 to 150 ° C, and (15) Circulating air is humidified in a wet bulb temperature range of 60 to 80 ° C.

In the present invention, "the color paper is present in the drying section" means that at least a part of the leading end or the rear end of the color paper is located in the drying section.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a color paper stocked in a roll, reference numeral 20 denotes an exposure unit, reference numeral 30 denotes a color development processing unit, reference numeral 40 denotes a bleach-fixing processing unit.
0 is a stabilization processing unit (an alternative processing unit for stabilization by anhydrous washing),
Reference numeral 60 denotes a drying unit. The color paper 10 is guided to the exposure unit 20 by a transport system (not shown) and is exposed. The exposed color paper 10 is cut from an unexposed portion into a belt shape, and after a predetermined process using each processing solution is performed in the color developing unit 30, the bleach-fixing unit 40, and the stabilizing unit 50, After being introduced into the drying processing section 60, the drying step according to the present invention is performed.

The structure of the drying section 60 is as follows.
The drying section 60 is partitioned from the outside by a housing 61, and is guided by an inlet roller 62 and introduced into the drying section 60.
While being conveyed along the arrangement of the conveying rollers 63, the air is dried by blowing heated and humidified air by the heating means 64, the circulating means 65 and the humidifying means 66, and is discharged to the outside via the outlet rollers 67.

In the embodiment shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 4 denotes a heater, a circulating unit 65 is a fan, and a humidifying unit 66 is configured to heat water by a heater to generate steam. The temperature and humidity in the drying section 60 and the temperature of a predetermined device are detected by a sensor 68, and the temperature and humidity information includes various information in the transport system, that is, the color paper 1
It is sent to a control device (not shown) together with information on the existence or non-existence of 0, transport speed information, drying time information and the like, and is subjected to arithmetic processing to perform various controls described later.

In another embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the color paper 10 is moved from the inlet roller 62 to the outlet roller 67.
This is a mode in which drying is performed in the middle of being conveyed in the horizontal direction up to.

Further, in this embodiment, a configuration is shown in which the humidifying water is heated and evaporated by the circulating heated air.

FIG. 4 shows still another embodiment in which the drying is performed while the color paper 10 is conveyed upward from the inlet roller 62 to the outlet roller 67.

In this embodiment, for example, a waste liquid generated from the bleach-fix processing unit 40 is introduced into the evaporating dish 69 from a waste liquid supply port, and the water evaporated from the waste liquid is used as humidifying water. Have been. Evaporating dishes 6 arranged in multiple stages
The excess waste liquid introduced into the uppermost stage of No. 9 and sequentially dropped on the lower evaporating dish 69 is absorbed by an absorbent formed of a highly water-absorbent resin, paper, zeolite, ceramics, etc., and is disposed as a concentrated waste liquid. It is.

As the heating means 64 in this embodiment, a far-infrared heater is used. In addition to the drying of the color paper 10 by the heated air circulated by the circulating means 65 composed of, for example, a cross flow fan or the like. Then, drying by the radiant heat of the far-infrared heater is performed. The heating by the radiant heat is performed by the transport roller 63.
The color paper 10 is heated so that the drying efficiency of the color paper 10 which is heat-transferred and brought into surface contact therewith is improved. The fixing agent used in this embodiment is
It is preferable to use a fixing agent containing sodium thiosulfate as a main component and substantially not containing an ammonium salt such as ammonium thiosulfate.

In each of the embodiments described above, the circulating air is heated at a temperature of 100 to 150 ° C., preferably 110 to 130 ° C., and humidified at a wet bulb temperature of 60 to 80 ° C. Further, the air circulated in the housing 61 of the drying unit 60 varies in humidity and the like depending on the amount of the drying process. Therefore, in order to maintain appropriate humidity, the circulating air and the external air are appropriately replaced. . In this case, the replacement amount is 0 to 0.5 m ³ / min. , More preferably 0.3 m ³ / min. Hereinafter, in particular, 0.1 m ³ / min. It is preferably performed in the following.

The drying section is almost completely sealed, and there is almost no exchange with external air.
When it is difficult to maintain the temperature at 0 to 150 ° C and the wet bulb temperature at 60 to 80 ° C, a dehumidifier or a dehumidifier may be used.

These conditions of temperature, humidity and air exchange rate both achieve the trade-off objectives of lowering the cost of the equipment, including energy saving in the drying process, and ensuring the stability of the drying in carrying out the present invention. It is derived from a request to do so. That is, in order to save energy or reduce the cost of equipment, for example, it is conceivable to reduce the heat capacity of the heater or to reduce the amount of air exchange. However, if the setting is made for one purpose, the humidity rises due to the evaporation of water from the color paper in the drying process, and unless the heating is performed at a high temperature (100 to 150 ° C.), drying unevenness and paper curl may occur. This causes a problem in the stability of the device.

The means for humidifying the circulating air is operated in a state where the color paper 10 is not present in the drying section 60 and is deactivated when the color paper 10 is introduced into the drying section 60. Is preferred.

Further, in the present invention, the temperature and humidity of the circulating air are set so as to satisfy the relationship of claims 2 and / or 4, 11 and / or 12, 14 and / or 15 of the present invention. The heating means and the humidifying means are controlled.

Each of the embodiments described above is applied to a dryer or a drying method for drying a belt-like material such as paper, synthetic paper, cloth, non-woven fabric, etc., which has been subjected to wet processing such as ink jet recording, printing or dyeing. You. In this case, processing such as color development using a processing liquid performed in the preceding stage of the drying step of a photographic material such as color paper is a recording step by ink jet, a printing step or a dyeing step, and a processing waste liquid or a fixing processing liquid is a washing step following the dyeing step. It is to be read as drainage generated in

The photographic materials to which the present invention is applied include black-and-white paper photosensitive materials and the like, and also include direct positive papers and the like.

[0027]

According to the present invention, it is possible to dry energy-saving and stable color paper or a wet-processed strip, and the above-mentioned problems are solved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing one embodiment of a developing machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing another embodiment of the drying section according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic front view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 of the drying processing unit according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing still another embodiment of the drying section according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10-Color paper 20-Exposure part 30-Color development processing part 40-Bleaching and fixing processing part 50-Stabilization processing part 60-Drying processing part 61-Housing 62-Inlet roller 63-Transport roller 64-Heating means 65-Circulation means 66-humidifying means 67-outlet roller 68-sensor 69-evaporating dish

Claims (15)

[Claims] An air is circulated in a shielded space in a drying section of a photographic material such as a silver halide color paper which has been developed by a processing solution and the circulated air is converted into a photographic material such as a halogenated color paper. A developing machine for a photographic material such as silver halide color paper, comprising: means for spraying, means for heating the circulating air, and means for humidifying the circulating air. 2. The developing machine according to claim 1, wherein the circulating air is heated in the range of 100 to 150 ° C. 3. A developing machine for a photographic material such as silver halide color paper according to claim 1, wherein the circulating air is humidified at a wet bulb temperature of 60 to 80 ° C. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the circulating air in the shielded space is replaced with external air at a rate of 0.5 m ³ / min. A developing machine for a photographic material such as a silver halide color paper according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the developing is performed as follows. 5. A means for humidifying the circulating air is operated in a state where no photographic material such as silver halide color paper is present in the drying processing section, and a photographic material such as silver halide color paper is present in the drying processing section. 5. A developing machine for a photographic material such as a silver halide color paper according to claim 1, wherein the developing device is made inoperative at the stage of performing the operation. 6. The temperature and humidity of the circulating air are as defined in claim 2 or 3.
A developing machine for photographic materials such as silver halide color paper according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the heating means and the humidifying means for circulating air are controlled so as to satisfy the requirements of (1). 7. A photographic material such as a silver halide color paper according to claim 1, wherein the means for humidifying the circulating air uses water vapor evaporated from a processing waste liquid. Developing machine. 8. A means for heating a photographic material such as a silver halide color paper and / or a transport roller for transporting the photographic material such as the silver halide color paper in the drying processing section by radiant heat of a far-infrared heater. A developing machine for a photographic material such as a silver halide color paper according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which is incorporated therein. 9. A fixing processing agent for a photographic material such as silver halide color paper, which contains sodium thiosulfate as a main component and uses a fixing processing agent substantially free of an ammonium salt such as ammonium thiosulfate. Item 10. A method for drying a photographic material such as a silver halide color paper, wherein the photographic material such as a silver halide color paper is processed by the developing machine according to any one of Items 1 to 8. 10. Drying of a photographic material, such as silver halide color paper, which has been processed by a processing solution, is performed by blowing air heated and humidified by a heating means and a humidifying means, circulating in a shielded space. A method for drying photographic materials such as silver halide color paper. 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the circulating air is heated in the range of 100 to 150 ° C. 12. The method for drying a photographic material such as silver halide color paper according to claim 10, wherein the circulating air is humidified at a wet bulb temperature of 60 to 80 ° C. 13. Drying of a web such as paper, synthetic paper, cloth, non-woven fabric, etc., which has been subjected to wet processing such as printing or dyeing processing, is circulated in a shielded space and heated and humidified by heating means and humidifying means. A method for drying a wet-processed band, which is performed by spraying. 14. The method for drying a wet-processed strip according to claim 13, wherein the circulating air is heated in a range of 100 to 150 ° C. 15. The method for drying a wet-processed strip according to claim 13, wherein the circulating air is humidified at a wet bulb temperature of 60 to 80 ° C.