JP2001142188A - Development processing device and development processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a development processing device for color photographic sensitive materials which is downsized to deal with a limited floor space of a mini-laboratory as well and maintains the image quality of color prints and processing ability and particularly, to provide the development processing device which is drastically reduced in the volume of the replenishing section of the development processing device. SOLUTION: This development processing device for silver halide color photographic sensitive materials comprises a detecting means for the processing amount of the photosensitive materials, a processing liquid including at least a developing stage, a means for photoelectrically reading a developed image plane to an image information and digitally converting the same, an arithmetic means for correcting the digital image information to the digital image information ought to be obtained when the processing amount is zero and an output means for the corrected digital image information. The device is capable of outputting image characteristics obtained by correction replenishing development in spite of underreplenishing development, more particularly decreased amount replenishing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for developing a silver halide color photographic material. In particular, the present invention relates to a development processing apparatus for general commercial development that has a small size, a low waste liquid amount, and maintains a required processing capacity.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the color photography market, the time required for a photographer to receive a color film that has been photographed by a photographer, develop the film, produce a color print, and deliver the resulting color print to the user has been reduced. In order to meet the demand, the number of over-the-counter development laboratories (called in-store labs or mini labs) capable of producing color prints by developing films accepted by photo shops on the spot is increasing.

[0003] A developing apparatus suitable for use in an over-the-counter development station is desired to be a rapid developing type developing processing having a short developing processing time in order to meet the needs of the user, and to respond to customers. Compact development that requires only a small amount of installation space for developing machines in order to reduce the work burden of operators who perform multi-faceted tasks, to be an advanced automation device with easy development management, and to cope with the constraints of storefronts There is a strong need for a device.

With respect to the shortening of the development processing time, the reduction of the work load of the operator, and the simplification of the development management, improvements and advances have been made in both the processing prescription, the process, and the apparatus. Even if you omit the copy,
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 11-52526, 11-52527, and 11 disclose a development processing apparatus which compensates for the deterioration of image quality by image processing means and maintains image quality.
No.-52528. In these disclosed technologies, the image information obtained by the shortening process or the process omitting process is converted into an electric signal and input to an image processing device, and is converted into image information corresponding to the quality of an image having undergone a standard development process. By incorporating means capable of outputting to the color print production process, a shortening process and a process omission process are enabled.

On the other hand, in order to save the space in the over-the-counter developer, it is necessary to reduce the size of the developing device while maintaining the processing capability of the developing device. Since the main body of the development processing device is substantially occupied by the processing unit and the replenishment unit, both of these components need to be reduced in size in order to reduce the size of the development processing device. Conventionally, the processing unit has been improved in structure and mechanism to achieve a high degree of miniaturization without reducing the processing capacity.
The replenishment unit is mainly composed of a replenishment tank, and the volume of the replenishment tank is determined by the processing capacity of the processing device. Moreover, since the structure of the replenishing unit is simple, there is no room for miniaturization as much as the processing unit, and there is a limit to miniaturization. For this reason, as the size of the developing apparatus is reduced, the proportion of the replenishing section in the entire apparatus is increased, which is a constraint on the further downsizing of the developing apparatus.

In order to reduce the size of the replenishing section, so-called low replenishment, in which the replenisher is made to have a high concentration to reduce the replenishing amount, has been an effective solution (the main purpose is to reduce the amount of waste liquid rather than downsizing). Although it has been pursued from the reduction of industrial waste), since the concentration and replenishment have been already considerably increased at present, the concentration of replenisher must be increased,
Insufficient pumping accuracy of the replenisher pump and high costs for countermeasures are constraints, and if powdered, there are restrictions such as complicated equipment. You are in a difficult situation. Nevertheless, with the spread of over-the-counter developing laboratories in the market, there is still a strong demand for downsizing the developing device and reducing the installation space.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is based on the above-mentioned background. Specifically, the object of the present invention is to reduce the size of a color developing apparatus so as to be able to cope with a limited installation space of an over-the-counter developer, and to provide a color developing apparatus. An object of the present invention is to provide a development processing apparatus for a color photographic light-sensitive material in which print image quality and processing ability are maintained. More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a developing apparatus for color photographic light-sensitive materials in which the capacity of a replenishing section of the developing apparatus is greatly reduced.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present inventor replenishes a photographic process that "manages the developer composition in the developing layer properly by replenishment and maintains photographic quality". The search for other development quality control means that can reduce replenishment without being bound by the basic principle of the repetition has resulted in the idea that even if the replenishment amount is too small, the adverse effect on photographic quality can be compensated by image processing. Based on this, the replenishment amount was extremely reduced, and the object of the invention to save replenishment space was achieved. That is, the present invention is as follows.

1. A development processing apparatus, comprising: a detection unit that detects at least a development processing amount of the photosensitive material; a development processing unit that includes at least a development process of performing development with an undersupplementation; An image processing apparatus, comprising: an image information reading unit for reading image data.

[0010] 2. A development processing apparatus, comprising: a detection unit configured to detect at least a development processing amount of the photosensitive material; a development processing unit including at least a development process of performing development with a small amount of replenishment; Image information reading means for automatically reading, analog / digital converting means for converting the read image information into electric digital information, and processing amount of the electric digital image information based on the processing amount read by the processing amount detecting means. Arithmetic means for correcting the electronic digital image information that should have been obtained when is zero,
2. The developing apparatus according to the above item 1, wherein

3. A development processing apparatus, comprising: a detection unit that detects at least a development processing amount of the photosensitive material; a development processing unit that includes at least a development process of performing development with an undersupplementation; Means for reading image information, analog / digital converting means for converting the read image information into electrical digital information, and processing amount of the electrical digital image information based on the processing amount read by the processing amount detecting means. Wherein the calculating means corrects the electric digital image information to be obtained when is zero, and the output means outputs the corrected electric digital image information. The development processing apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims.

4. It has image processing means for correcting electrical digital image information read from an image obtained by developing the photosensitive material into electrical digital image information to be obtained from an image obtained by standard developing the photosensitive material. An apparatus for developing a silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that:

5. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising means for switching the entire amount of the processing liquid in the developing tank to a new liquid when the processing amount read by the detecting means for detecting the processing amount reaches a predetermined amount. 2. A developing apparatus for a silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material according to item 1.

6. Development using a development processing device having at least a processing amount detection unit, a photoelectric reading unit for image information, an analog / digital conversion unit for the read image information, an arithmetic processing unit for digital image information, and an output unit for digital image information after arithmetic processing. In a processing method, development is performed under undersupplementation, and image information of the developed photosensitive material is photoelectrically read, and the read electrical image information is converted into electrical digital image information by analog / digital conversion means. Converting the electronic digital image information into electrical digital image information that should have been obtained when the development processing amount is zero, based on the development processing amount read by the development processing amount detection unit by the arithmetic unit; A method for developing a silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material, comprising outputting corrected electrical digital image information.

[0015] 7. When the development processing amount read by the processing amount detection means reaches a predetermined amount, the entire amount of the development processing liquid in the developing tank is switched to a new liquid, and the next development processing is performed using the new liquid. 7. The method for developing a silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material as described in 6 above, wherein the amount of development processing is returned to zero and the next development is performed.

Further, the following embodiments are also specific embodiments having the features of the developing apparatus of the present invention. 8. 6. The apparatus for processing a silver halide color photographic material as described in any one of the above items 1 to 5, wherein the processing means comprises two steps including a developing step.

9. 9. The silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material as described in any one of 1 to 5 and 8, wherein the developer supplied to the developing tank is a mother liquor, and the development is performed by a weight-replenishment method. Development processing equipment.

The basic elements of the development processing apparatus of the present invention include a development processing amount detection means described in the above item 1, a development processing means including a development step of performing a development processing under undersupplementation, It comprises an image information reading means for reading photoelectrically, and is provided with an element capable of performing the developing process while monitoring the quality of the image to be developed in the developing process under undersupplementation. Further, the elements of the development processing apparatus of the present invention described in the above item 2 are means for digitally converting the analog image information obtained by the development processing and performing image processing on the image data. This is a development processing apparatus to which a component capable of relieving the image quality obtained when the development processing amount of the quality image is "zero" by image processing, that is, the image quality obtained when the development processing is performed with a fresh developer is added. The color photographic light-sensitive material development processing apparatus of the present invention described in the third item to which the digital image information output means is added, the processing amount can be reduced even if the developer is deteriorated due to the processing under the insufficient replenishment. `` Zero '', that is, a developing processing apparatus capable of obtaining a normal image quality corresponding to a newly prepared normal developing solution in a developing tank and outputting to a hard copy device, as a necessary element of the device, Detecting means for detecting the processing amount of the photosensitive material to be developed, processing means including a developing step under undersupplementation, image information reading means for photoelectrically reading image information from the developed photosensitive material, and the read image Analog / digital conversion means for converting information into electrical / digital information; and an electrical / digital converter which is to be obtained when the processing amount is "zero" based on the processing amount read by the processing amount detecting means. It comprises a calculating means for modifying the digital image information, and output means for outputting the modified electrical digital image information.

In this development processing apparatus, the development of the photosensitive material is performed under a small amount of replenishment, so that the development is performed with the deteriorated developing solution. The image information is read in the form of electrical image information by scanning, and the image information is converted into digital image information so that a computer can perform arithmetic processing. On the other hand, the processing amount detecting means reads the integrated processing amount of the photosensitive material from the start of the development processing (that is, when the developing solution is a new preparation liquid which is not fatigued), and adds the processing amount based on the read information at the time of the integrated processing amount. A power correction value (difference from the read value when the processing amount is “zero”) is given, and this correction value is added to the digital image information. As a result, the electrical image information corresponding to the case where the integrated processing amount is "zero" (that is, should be obtained with a new preparation solution in which the developer is not fatigued) is corrected by the arithmetic means to obtain image information having appropriate photographic characteristics. Output is performed. The relationship between the amount of correction and the amount of processing is obtained, for example, based on experience or actual results, and correction calculation is performed according to this relationship. This calculation is also one of the image processes, but is called a calculation process in order to avoid confusion with the high-performance image processing used in the invention of the fourth aspect. By this correction operation, even if the developer in the developing tank becomes fatigued due to the increase of the integrated processing amount under the under-replenishment, the deterioration of the image quality due to the fatigue can be relieved. Can be adopted. In the case of under-replenishment, the consumption of the replenisher is small, so that the space of the replenishing section can be reduced.

Note that "under-replenishment" refers to replenishment less than "proper replenishment", and "proper replenishment" refers to "replenishment of the entire amount of the developer component consumed by development in the developing tank, At the same time, the accumulated amount of the reaction product is suppressed to a level at which the adverse effect does not appear, and the development can be continuously performed. " Under-replenishment,
As the throughput increases, the concentration of the reaction components in the developer decreases, and the reaction product accumulates. As a result, the performance of the developer gradually deteriorates, and the quality of the obtained image decreases to an unacceptable level. Further, "the processing amount is zero" indicates that the developing solution in the developing tank is a new solution. If the processing amount is zero, the developing solution at that time is, of course, expected from the developing prescription. It has the developing performance as required. Under proper replenishment, the image quality maintains the quality when the throughput is "zero".

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above-described means of the photosensitive material developing apparatus described in the first aspect, the developing apparatus further comprises an electric device which is photoelectrically read from the developed photosensitive material. There is also provided image processing means for correcting the image information into electrical image information of an image to be obtained by standard development of the photosensitive material. That is, the image processing means of this development processing apparatus performs the correction of the above-mentioned item 1 based on the integrated processing amount from the processing amount detecting means and converts it into electrical image information corresponding to the development with the new liquid. Not only
In addition to the corrected image information, image processing such as gradation correction and color correction is performed to correct and output image information to be obtained in standard development (the meaning of standard development will be described later). Also do. Therefore, in addition to the arithmetic correction of the effect of the deterioration of the developer in the developing tank accompanying the processing under low replenishment described in the first to third aspects of the present invention, the fourth aspect of the present invention simplifies the development process and reduces the development temperature. Even when non-standard processing such as changing the time and composition is performed, the deterioration of image quality accompanying the processing is corrected to an image of appropriate quality by image processing and output.

The development processing apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that:
It is one aspect of the specific development of the development processing device of the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, and when the processing amount detecting means reads that the integrated processing amount has reached the limit processing amount, the processing amount in the developing tank is determined based on the read information. This is a development processing apparatus having means for discharging the developing solution and switching to a new solution. The above-mentioned limit processing amount is a processing amount until the deterioration of the developer in the developing tank progresses and the correction can no longer be performed by the arithmetic unit of the image processing unit. Therefore, in the present invention, when this processing amount reaches this limit amount,
Since the entire amount of the developing solution in the developing tank is discharged and replaced with a new solution, the developing cycle can be started from a state where the processing amount is zero.
The developer is renewed even before the replenishment of the developer is excessively deteriorated and the remedy by the image processing described in the items 1 to 4 becomes impossible, so that the image quality can be maintained for a long time.

The development processing apparatus of the present invention described in the above item 8 is a specific embodiment using the function of the apparatus of the above item 4, wherein the processing means is composed of only two steps, and the development step is performed under-replenished. And a development processing apparatus including a simplified processing step. The step combined with the developing step is selected from a bleaching step, a fixing step, a bleach-fixing step, a washing or rinsing step, and a stabilizing bath step, and is preferably selected from a washing or rinsing step and a stabilizing bath step. In a simplified processing step of two steps, for example, only a developing step and a rinsing step, the image has imperfect image quality. However, the image is corrected by the image processing means and rescued, and the image characteristic obtained by the standard processing development is obtained. Can be output. Since the development processing apparatus is further downsized, the installation space can be reduced, and the amount of waste liquid can be further reduced.

The apparatus according to the ninth aspect of the present invention is an apparatus which utilizes the features of the present invention by employing a weight-replenishment method. Weight reduction replenishment is a method of replenishing the developer with a reduced volume that is taken out or evaporated in the next step with development, and from another point of view is to maintain the liquid level in the developing tank. This is a method to replenish the minimum amount of liquid. Under the replenishment of weight loss, the composition of the developer in the developing tank changes along with the processing amount due to the consumption of the developer components and the accumulation of the reaction products, and it becomes fatigued.
If the development processing is continued as it is, the developer will eventually deteriorate until the photographic quality becomes unacceptable, so before reaching the level, stop the development processing, discharge the developer, replace it with new developer, replace the processing amount with "zero" The operation of starting the development of the next photosensitive material from is repeated. When this weight loss replenishment is applied to the development processing apparatus of the present invention, the photographic characteristics that deteriorate with the processing amount under the weight reduction replenishment processing are remedied by the image processing means and corrected to the characteristics as specified. The allowable limit for fatigue is widened, the processing amount that can be developed before replacing with a new solution is increased, and the amount of development waste solution can be reduced. Of course, the replenishment amount can be reduced by the replenishment, so that the capacity of the replenishment section of the developing apparatus can be reduced.

According to the present invention as described in the first to fifth and eighth to ninth aspects, in addition to the space saving of the installation space for the development processing apparatus which is the object of the present invention, the amount of the developing replenisher is reduced, The amount of waste liquid from the process is also reduced, and the secondary effects of reducing the amount of waste liquid discharged from the developing process, simplifying the developing process, and shortening the time of the developing process can be obtained.

In a color development station, during the off-season period, the development processing amount is small, so that the liquid exchange rate in the processing tank is reduced, and the processing solution is deteriorated due to the extension of the residence time, for example, sulfuration. However, there is a problem that precipitation of substances and silver compounds occurs. A secondary advantage of the present invention of the above-mentioned second to fifth and eighth to ninth aspects is that even if the liquid in the processing tank is deteriorated even during the off-season, compensation can be made, so that this problem can also be solved.

A color lab system for obtaining a color print from a photographed photosensitive material is a method for converting image information obtained by development under normal replenishment from light-sensitive material developed under underreplenishment, preferably by standard development. Processing device of the present invention that outputs in the form of dynamic digital image information, and color that performs printing by inputting the output electrical digital image information and modulating printing light on a color print material in accordance with the image information The printer is combined with a color print developing device for developing a color print material on which image information is printed to obtain a color print.

In the present invention, what is referred to as standard development processing refers to development processing which is standard in the photographic market on a daily basis. That is, substantially the same internationally common development processing (specifically, CN16 series (Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.), C41 series (Eastman Kodak Company, USA) and CNK4 series ( (Konica Corporation), etc., although the names are different, they are practically compatible) or are substantially the same even if there are some changes according to the circumstances of the laboratory Refers to the final development process. Regarding the standard development processing, each photosensitive material maker provides information and technical services to development laboratories regarding development specifications, development processing agents, development processing apparatuses, and related development management.

In the above description and the following description, the term "processing" refers to "development" which is performed on a photographed photographic material and which is performed by a computer on an image on the developed photographic material. Since it is used for both sides of "image processing", the latter case is called "image processing" and the former case is called "development processing". However, when it is clear which one to indicate, it may be simply referred to as “processing”. Further, “development processing” may be broadly referred to as a bath treatment throughout the entire process from the development step to the washing or stabilizing bath step, or may be narrowly referred to as a bath treatment in the development step. Unless otherwise apparent, they are used for each meaning without further explanation.

Further, in the present invention, the term "developing apparatus" is used when the apparatus for performing the color image forming method of the present invention is generally referred to, and when the developing apparatus is a specific developing machine. Is sometimes referred to as a developing machine. Also,
Until now, the components of each function of the developing apparatus have been referred to by the term "means" such as "image reading means". However, when the means is described in the specific description of the developing apparatus, May be referred to as an "apparatus" such as an "image reading apparatus". Hereinafter, embodiments of the developing apparatus of the present invention will be further described.

[0031]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The developing apparatus and the developing method of the present invention will be described below in the following order. 1. 1. Configuration of development processing apparatus and flow of photosensitive material and image information 2. Processing amount detection means Developing means 4. 4. Means for reading image information from developed film 5. Image processing means for read image information 6. Other description of development processing 7. Output of image processed image information from main development processor, especially output to printer Supplementary description of the present invention

1. FIG. 1 shows the basic components of the developing apparatus of the present invention, the flow of the photosensitive material (hereinafter represented by a color film) and the flow of image information in the apparatus. It is a conceptual diagram. Before the photographed color film F enters the normal development processing means 0, the film to be processed is detected by the processing amount detecting device, and the processing amount is input and integrated. In this case, when the developing tank is filled with the new liquid and the development is started, the detecting means starts from a processing amount of “zero”, and thereafter, every time the film is developed, it is detected and the processing amount is integrated. The information of the amount is input to the image processing means 5.

Subsequently, in the developing means 0, in the present invention, the film is developed under undersupplementation. There are several processing steps, from a standard processing step consisting of development, bleaching, fixing, washing or stabilizing bath and drying, to a simple processing step consisting of only a stabilizing bath or washing bath followed by a developing step. It can take the form, but details will be described later. The developed color film is conveyed to the image reading means 1, where the image information is photoelectrically read and digitized, and sent to the image processing device 5 as digital image information carried by time-series electrical signals. . On the other hand, the color film is discharged from the developing device. However, the image reading means 2 does not always need to be after the drying step, and it is also possible to select an appropriate reading portion between the end of the developing step and the end of the drying step according to the function to be provided in the developing device. .

In the image processing device 5, image processing is performed on the image information converted into a digital signal, and at least the digital image information of the image developed under undersupplementation is obtained when the image is developed with a new liquid. The arithmetic processing for correcting the digital image information that should be obtained in the above-mentioned process is preferably performed. Image processing for performing "correction to image information to be obtained in step (1)" is also performed at the same time.

In this manner, the electrical digital image information read from the image is corrected to image information corresponding to zero processing amount or standard development (processing amount is also zero), and the image data is processed by the developing processing apparatus of the present invention. The image information is output to an image output unit 8 and subjected to D / A conversion in the unit. The image information is carried by a printing light and image-exposed to a color paper or another color copy material to produce a color print. The function and operation of each component of the development processing apparatus of the present invention have been described above. Next, each component will be further described in accordance with the above flow.

2. Processing amount detection means The processing amount detection device is, specifically, a contact reading method in which a sensor contacts the end of the film sent on the film transport path and detects while recording the length, and a contactless method that detects by infrared An infrared sensor system, a magnetic recording information reading system for reading information on the magnetic recording layer of the film in the APS film, a DX code reading system for knowing the type by a perforation symbol for film identification such as a DX code, This is performed by a method of photoelectrically reading the side print. As the film processing amount, an integrated processing amount is recorded in the form of a processing area obtained from at least the detected length and width of the film. Preferably, an integrated processing area weighted by the type of film to be processed is recorded. The weighting by the type of film is typically performed at an ISO speed of 100
Is 1.0, the weighting factor of the film
When the weight coefficient of a film having an SO speed of 400 is 1.2, the ISO
The weight coefficient of the film having the sensitivity of 800 is 1.4, the weight coefficient of the film having the ISO sensitivity of 1600 is 1.8, and the film of 36 sheets (135-36EX) is 24 sheets (13-36 EX).
5-24EX) The value obtained by multiplying the actual processing area by a weighting factor of 1.4 with respect to the film is integrated to obtain an integrated processing amount. Since the weighting factor is a relative ratio of the amount of silver applied to each photosensitive material, that is, the development load, the above value is a numerical value having a property that changes with the improvement or change of a product that is distributed on the market.

3. Developing processing means The film that has passed through the processing amount detecting means is sent to a developing processing unit (0 in FIG. 1) constituting the developing processing means of the developing processing apparatus of the present invention. The developing section (0 in FIG. 1) is preferably of a roller-conveying type because it is well connected to the preceding and following steps.
It is not limited to that. The development processing methods applicable to the development processing apparatus of the present invention include the most widely used development processing methods of the CN16, C41, and CNK4 systems in the world (hereinafter, this method is abbreviated as method A). A developing method in which at least one of the bleaching, fixing and washing steps is omitted, a developing method in which a desilvering step is omitted, and a residual color reducing agent is added to a stabilizing bath to prevent an increase in residual color, A method in which the bleaching and fixing steps are replaced with bleach-fixing steps,
In addition, JP-A-11-52527 and JP-A-11-5252
Nos. 8 and 11-52526 (hereinafter, these latter methods are collectively referred to as "method B") can also be used. If the arithmetic processing function of the image processing unit of the development processing device is only a function of converting the read image information into image information corresponding to the processing amount “zero”, the method A, that is, CN16
, Bleaching, fixing and washing or stabilizing bath processes represented by C41, C41 and CNK4 systems are preferred. The image processing unit reads the image information and converts it into image information corresponding to standard development. When a conversion function is provided, application to system B, in which one or more steps other than development such as bleaching, fixing and washing or stabilizing bath steps are omitted, is easily performed.

FIG. 2 is a view showing one specific embodiment of the developing section of the developing apparatus 1 of the present invention shown in the above-mentioned item 4, wherein the developing section 112 includes a developing tank 112, a stabilizing bath 113, and a drying section. 1
14 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a processing unit including 14. The processing unit 111 includes a developing tank 112, a stabilizing bath 113, and a drying unit 1.
14, and the developing tank 112 includes an upper jacket member 128.
The developing bath has a slit-shaped photosensitive material transporting path sandwiched between the upper and lower casing members 129, and the developing bath is a bathtub bulk section B surrounded by the transporting path and a lower casing member 129 below the transporting path. The space between the road and the road is freely circulated through a gap between the lower outer cover member 129 and the opposed roller 127.

The transport path is provided with opposing rollers 126 and 127 for transporting the photosensitive material. The photosensitive material F to be developed is inserted into the transport path from the left side of the developing tank 112 in FIG. Is developed along the slit-shaped transport path, and is transported to the stable bath layer via the seal blade 130. The seal blade 130 has a structure in which two flexible blades are in contact with each other directly or with a film interposed therebetween to maintain airtightness. The liquid level L of the developing bath indicated by the dotted line is raised by the liquid level sensor 116 detecting the liquid level, and based on the information, the developing liquid supplied from the replenishing liquid tank (not shown) through the replenishing port 150 causes the liquid level to rise. Be kept constant. The developer near the liquid level of the bath tub that flows in from a circulating liquid inlet 121 provided near the liquid level is passed through a circulating pipe 122 by a circulating pump 123 to a liquid sending pipe 124.
Is conveyed upward, reaches a slit-shaped transport path, and returns to the developing bath. The temperature of the developer is controlled to a predetermined temperature by a developer circulation system in the developer tank, a heater 125, and a temperature controller (not shown). In the present embodiment, the film F having undergone the developing step is supplied with a stable bath 11
In 3, the developer brought in from the developing step is washed out, and the image is stabilized. The stabilizing bath 113 has the same structure and mechanism as the developing tank 112, and the upper outer member 138 and the lower outer member 139 constitute a slit-shaped photosensitive material conveying path, and the stabilizing bath is composed of the conveying path and the lower outer member 139.
Formed by In the transport path, opposing rollers 136 and 137 for transporting the photosensitive material are provided.
Is transported through the transport path of the stabilizing bath, is stabilized, and is sent to the drying unit 114 via the seal blade 140. The liquid level L of the stabilizing bath is maintained at a constant level by a stabilizing liquid supplied through a replenishing port 151 from a stabilizing bath replenishing liquid tank (not shown) when the liquid level sensor 117 detects the liquid level. The circulating fluid intake 131, the circulating pipe 132, the circulating pump 133, and the liquid sending pipe 134 constitute a circulating system in the stable bathtub. The temperature of the stabilizer is adjusted by a stabilizer circulation system, a heater 135 and a temperature controller (not shown).

After the stabilizing solution processing step, the photosensitive material is conveyed to a drying unit, where it is heated by contact with a heat roller 141, further sent upward through a shielding plate 142, and is perpendicularly projected from a blowing nozzle 143 to the photosensitive material surface. It is further dried by warm air blown in the direction, and sent out from the developing unit to the next step.

The replenishment of the developing apparatus of this embodiment is carried out by a reduced amount replenishing method, and the replenisher is a newly prepared developer which is the same as the developer in the developing tank when the processing amount is "zero" (namely, replenishment of mother liquor). Since the photosensitive material is conveyed to the stabilizing bath with the developing solution attached thereto, only an amount for compensating that the liquid level in the developing tank lowers is supplied. It is zero. Therefore, the replenisher volume is kept to a minimum. In the weight loss replenishment method, the developer in the developing tank becomes fatigued and the composition and photographic characteristics change with an increase in the integrated processing amount. Since the corresponding correction value is added to the electrical image information, it is possible to always output image information of stable image quality. On the other hand, when the processing amount detecting means detects that the integrated processing amount has reached the predetermined limit amount, it is transmitted to a control unit (not shown), based on which the introduction of a new film is stopped, and the processing of the film being processed ends. Then, the discharge port 152 is opened, and the developer in the developing tank is discharged at once. Subsequently, a new developer is supplied to the developer via the developer supply port 150, and the supply port is closed when the liquid level sensor 116 detects that the liquid level L has been reached. As for the stabilizing bath, the outlet 153, the stabilizing bath 151, and the liquid level sensor 117 are also provided.
And the same operation is performed.

The film F processed according to the method B in the developing apparatus of this embodiment is omitted in the processing steps such as desilvering and stabilizing bath. It also contains silver, and it is necessary to read out image information by an image processing device mounted on the development processing device of the present invention. From another point of view, by providing an image processing device, photoelectrically reading image information from a screen of a photosensitive material that has been subjected to non-standard development such as not performing desilvering to obtain image information that should be obtained by standard development processing Can be converted.

4. Image information reading means from developed film Measures the image of the developed film and takes it out as electrical image information Reading of the image is performed by a small area unit (hereinafter referred to as a pixel) constituting the image of the developed film
This is performed by measuring the density of each pixel and reading the image information as the density of each pixel. Reading can be done either by transmitted light or by reflected light,
It is preferable from the viewpoint of reading sensitivity that the measurement is performed by transmitted light when the development processing is performed by the method A and by reflected light when the development processing is performed by the method B.

Image reading can be performed mainly by the following three methods. (I) While irradiating a measuring film combined with a color separation filter by wrapping a film around a rotating drum, the drum is rotated, and at the same time, sub-scanning is performed in the direction of the drum, and the reflection density of each pixel is photoelectrically converted by a photomultiplier tube. (Ii) using a line CCD in which light-receiving elements are arranged one-dimensionally to determine the transmission or reflection density while sub-scanning the image on the developed film. A line CCD scanning method in which a line CCD receives and converts it into a time-series electric signal by electric scanning, and (iii) an area CCD which reads pixel density in two dimensions using an area CCD. Any of the area CCD systems in which electric signals are converted into electric signals rearranged in chronological order by electric scanning from the apparatus may be adopted. The area CCD system is particularly preferred, and the following description will be made on the premise of this system. However, the present invention can be implemented without any problem in the other two systems.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a transmission type image reading apparatus 10 which measures the transmission density of an image of a developed film and extracts the transmission density as electrical image information. The transmission image reading apparatus 10 is preferable because the reading sensitivity is high when the processing method is the method A. As shown in FIG. 3, the transmission type image reading apparatus 10 converts a color image recorded on the film F into a color image.
By irradiating light and detecting light transmitted through the film, a color image can be read photoelectrically, and the light source 11 is a light amount adjustment unit capable of adjusting the light amount of the light emitted from the light source 11. 12, a color separation unit 13 for separating light emitted from the light source 11 into three colors of R (red), G (green) and B (blue), and the light emitted from the light source 11 is applied to the film F. A diffusion unit 14 for diffusing light, a CCD area sensor 15 for photoelectrically detecting light transmitted through the film F, and an electric motor for forming an image of the light transmitted through the film F on the CCD area sensor 15 so that the light is uniformly irradiated. A zoom lens 16 is provided. The transmission type image reading apparatus 10 can read various kinds of films such as 135 negative film, 135 positive film, and advanced photo system (APS) film by exchanging a film carrier (not shown).

As the light source 11, a halogen lamp is used.
The light amount adjustment unit 12 moves the two aperture plates,
The amount of light changes exponentially with respect to the moving distance. The color separation unit 13 performs color separation into three colors in a plane sequence by rotating a disk having three filters of R, G, and B. The CCD area sensor 15 has a light receiving element of 920 pixels long and 1380 pixels wide,
Image information on film can be read with high resolution. When reading a color image, the CCD area sensor 15 sequentially converts odd-field image data consisting of odd-line image data and even-field image data consisting of even-line image data of the photoelectrically read image. It is configured to transfer.

The transmission type image reading apparatus 10 further includes a CC
An amplifier 17 amplifies the R, G, B image signals photoelectrically detected and generated by the D area sensor 15, an A / D converter 18 for digitizing the image signals, and digitization by an A / D converter 18. The image processing apparatus includes a CCD correction unit 19 for performing a process of correcting variations in sensitivity and dark current for each pixel with respect to the obtained image signal, and a log converter 20 for converting image data of R, G, and B into density data. Log converter 2
0 is connected to the interface 21.

The film F is held by the carrier 22, and the film F held by the carrier 22 is
The driving roller 24 is driven by the driving roller 24 and is fed to a predetermined position, is pressed and held in a stopped state, and is fed by one frame when reading of one frame of a color image is completed. As an auto carrier for handling negative films, NC135 manufactured by Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.
S or the like used in a conventional minilab is used.
It is possible to read an image in a range corresponding to a print mode, such as a full size, a panorama size, and a powerful size. In addition, when a carrier used in a conventional minilab is used as a trimming carrier, the magnification can be increased by about 1.4 times around the center.

The screen detection sensor 25 detects the density distribution of the color image recorded on the film F, and transmits the detected density signal to the CPU 26 for controlling the transmission type image reading apparatus 10.
The CPU outputs a signal based on the density signal.
26 is configured to calculate the screen position of the color image recorded on the film F, and stop the driving of the motor 23 when determining that the screen position of the color image has reached a predetermined position. The image reading device may be at any location such as an entrance or an exit of a drying unit of the developing machine, an independent reading / image processing device or attached to a printer unit.

On the other hand, when the developing process is carried out according to the method B, a large amount of silver remains in the film. FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the reflection type image reading device 30. The reflection-type image reading device 30 is configured to detect a reflected light image having a high contrast from a silver halide having a high reflectance and a dye image having a large light absorption by a bleaching process, and to be capable of photoelectrically reading the light. A mirror 32 for reflecting light emitted from the light source and reflected on the film surface;
Color balance filter 33 for adjusting G and B sensitivities, light amount adjustment unit 34, CCD for photoelectrically detecting reflected light
It comprises a line sensor 35 and a lens 36 for imaging the reflected light on the licensor.

The CCD line sensor 35 includes R, G, B
The light source 31 and the mirror 32 are moved in the directions of the arrows, and the reflected light is detected by the CCD line sensor 35 to read the image information two-dimensionally.

The reflection type image reading device 30 further includes an amplifier 37 for amplifying the detected R, G, B image signals.
A / D converter 38 for digitizing an image signal, CCD correction means 39 for correcting variations in sensitivity and dark current for each pixel of the digitized image signal, and R, G,
A log converter 40 for converting the image data into density data is provided. The log converter is connected to the interface 41. This reflection type image reading device has a CPU
46.

5. Image processing means of read image information Image information read by a transmission type or reflection type image reading device is sent to the image processing device in the form of a time-series digital electric signal. As described above, although the image quality of the film developed by the method A is inferior due to insufficient replenishment, if the correction according to the density point is performed for each color (gradation correction), the processing amount is almost “ Although the image is restored to a normal image corresponding to "zero", the developed film when the development processing of the method B such as omission of the desilvering step is selected has developed silver and silver halide remaining, and the gradation and color Balance or Dmin
(The density value of the unexposed portion) is deviated from the image quality of the standard development. Therefore, in the image processing for correcting the bias, correction exceeding the gradation correction is performed. In the following description, both the method A and the method B will be described together by taking the apparatus of the present invention capable of coping with the development processing of the method B as an example. The image processing operations shown here are described in JP-A-10-20457 and JP-A-9-146.
247 can be performed by the method and the arithmetic device. The following description is also based on these two examples, but the development processing apparatus of the present invention is not limited to using the apparatuses described therein.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are block diagrams showing the configuration of the image processing apparatus 5 divided into two figures. As shown in these figures, the image processing apparatus 5 is provided with an interface 2 of the transmission type image reading apparatus 10.
1 or an interface 48 connectable to the interface 41 of the reflection type image reading device 30 and the value of two adjacent pixel data of the image data generated by the image reading device 1 and transmitted for each line, Averaging means 49 for averaging and making one pixel data;
A first line buffer 50a and a second line buffer 50b for alternately storing pixel data in each line of image data sent from the averaging means 49.
And the line data stored in the line buffers 50a and 50b are transferred, and the line data recorded on the film F (FIG. 3)
A first frame memory unit 51, a second frame memory unit 52, and a third frame memory for storing image data corresponding to a color image of a frame or a color image recorded on one color print P (FIG. 4). A unit 53 is provided. Here, the first line buffer 50a and the second line buffer 50b alternately store odd-numbered pixel data of each line of image data in one line buffer and even-numbered pixel data in the other line buffer. It is configured as follows.

In this embodiment, first, for one frame of color image recorded on the film F, first reading (hereinafter referred to as pre-reading) by the image reading device 1 and digital image of the read image are performed. Conversion to data is performed. At this time, based on the image data obtained by the pre-reading, the image processing device 5 performs a second
An image reading condition for reading (hereinafter referred to as main reading) is set. Then, based on the set reading conditions, the reading of the color image, that is, the main reading, is executed again, whereby digital image data to be subjected to image processing for reproduction is generated. To perform such processing, the image processing device 5 stores the image data obtained by the pre-reading in the first frame memory unit 51, and stores the image data obtained by the main reading in the second frame memory unit 52, The third frame memory unit 53 is configured to store the information.

Before describing the other components shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, these frame memory units will be described in detail. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing details of the first frame memory unit 51, the second frame memory unit 52, and the third frame memory unit 53. As shown in FIG. 7, the image processing apparatus 5 processes a first frame memory unit 51, a second frame memory unit 52, and a third frame memory 52 for processing image data generated by reading a color image.
Of the frame memory units 53
R data memory 51R, G data memory 51G, B data memory 51B, R data memory 52R, and G for storing image data corresponding to (red), G (green), and B (blue).
A data memory 52G, a B data memory 52B, an R data memory 53R, a G data memory 53G and a B data memory 53B are provided. Note that, as described above, the first frame memory unit 51 stores the image data obtained by prefetching, and stores the second and third image data.
In FIG. 7, the image data obtained by prefetching is input from the input bus 63 to the first frame memory unit 51, and the second frame data is stored in the first frame memory unit 51. The state where the image data stored in the memory unit 52 is output to the output bus 64 is shown.

The configuration of the image processing apparatus 5 will be described again with reference to FIGS. The image processing device 5 includes a CPU 60 that controls the entire image processing device 5. When the image reading device is of a transmission type, the CPU 60 can communicate with a CPU 26 (FIG. 3) for controlling the transmission type image reading device 10 via a communication line (not shown). It is configured to be able to communicate with a controlling CPU via a communication line (not shown). When the image reading device is a reflection type, the CPU 60 can communicate with a CPU 46 (FIG. 4) for controlling the transmission type image reading device 30 via a communication line (not shown), and an image output device described later. It is configured to be able to communicate with a CPU controlling the CPU 8 via a communication line (not shown). With this configuration, the CPU 60 changes the image reading conditions for performing the main reading of the color image based on the image data obtained by the pre-reading stored in the first frame memory unit 51, and further reads as necessary. It is possible to change image processing conditions for image processing to be performed on a subsequent image.

That is, based on the image data obtained by the pre-reading, the CPU 60 sets the image reading conditions for the main reading so that the dynamic range of the CCD area sensor 15 or the CCD line sensor 35 can be used efficiently at the time of the main reading. Is determined, and a reading control signal is output to the CPU 26 of the transmission type image reading device 10 or the CPU 46 of the reflection type image reading device 30. At this time, when the CPU 26 of the transmission type image reading device 10 or the CPU 46 of the reflection type image reading device 30 receives the read control signal, the CPU 26 of the light amount adjustment unit 12 or the light amount adjustment unit 3
Light amount and CCD area sensor 15 adjusted by 4
Alternatively, the storage time of the CCD line sensor 35 is controlled. At the same time, based on the obtained image data, the CPU 60 makes it possible to reproduce a color image having an optimum density, gradation and color tone on a color paper by a first
A control signal for changing image processing conditions such as parameters of image processing by the image processing means and the second image processing means is output to the first image processing means and the second image processing means as necessary. At this time, the image reading conditions or image processing conditions determined by the CPU 60 are stored in the memory 66.
Is stored.

When the CPU 60 performs the above control, if the image reading condition or the image processing condition is held by the instruction of the operator, the CPU 60 does not determine the condition based on the pre-read image data as described above. And outputs various control signals based on the held conditions. When the operator sets various conditions by using an input device such as the keyboard 69, and further instructs to hold them,
These conditions are stored in the memory 66. If the operator subsequently instructs to release the holding of these conditions, the conditions stored in the memory 66 become invalid. Therefore, when performing the above-described control, the CPU 60 first refers to the condition stored in the memory 66, and if the condition is stored, it follows the condition. Determine these conditions based on the data. Therefore, the operator can read from the DX code, instruct the condition setting according to each film type according to a special order of the customer, or automatically set the conditions for each film type in advance and automatically set the conditions. It is also possible to perform processing according to the instruction. It is not always necessary to hold such conditions in large units, such as image reading conditions or image processing conditions. For example, the setting of the saturation may be maintained, and the sharpness may be set using an automatically determined condition.

The configuration of the image processing apparatus 5 in the range shown in FIG. 5 has been described above. Here, the image data generated in the image reading apparatus 1 is input to the image processing apparatus 5 through the interface 48, and the first The processing performed on the image data from the time when the image data is stored in the third frame memory unit to the third frame memory unit has been described in detail. The configuration of the image processing apparatus 5 for performing image processing on the image data stored in the third frame memory unit 53 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a portion that performs image processing on image data stored in the frame memory units 52 and 53 of the image processing device 5.

In the portion of the image processing apparatus 5 shown in FIG.
The look-up table is stored in the image data stored in the second frame memory unit 52 and the third frame memory unit 53 so that a color image can be reproduced on a color paper with a desired density, gradation and color tone. The image data stored in the first image processing means 61 (FIG. 6) and the first frame memory unit 51 for performing image processing such as gradation correction, color conversion, density conversion, and the like by a matrix operation as desired. A second image processing unit 62 that performs image processing such as gradation correction, color conversion, and density conversion by a look-up table or a matrix operation so that a color image can be reproduced on a CRT screen described later with high image quality.
(FIG. 6). The outputs of the second frame memory unit 52 and the third frame memory unit 53 are connected to a selector 55, and the selector 55 stores the output in one of the second frame memory unit 52 and the second frame memory unit 53. The image data is selectively inputted to the first image processing means 61.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing details of the first image processing means 61. As shown in FIG. 8, the first image processing unit 61 includes a color density gradation conversion unit 100 that converts density data, color data, and gradation data of image data, and a color conversion unit that converts saturation data of image data. Digital conversion unit 102 for converting the number of pixel data of image data, frequency processing unit 103 for performing frequency processing on image data, and dynamic range conversion unit 104 for converting the dynamic range of image data. I have. Each of these conversion means,
Since each processing means operates at the same time and the next processing is performed after the operation is completed, as generally called a pipeline processing, high-speed processing is possible.

The image processing means shown in FIG. 8 can perform not only processes such as gradation correction, color conversion, and density conversion, but also suppress the graininess of the film as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-22460. At the same time, processing for improving sharpness can be performed. Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-1
An automatic dodging process that provides good image reproduction can also be performed on an image having a large contrast between light and dark, as shown in Japanese Patent No. 8704.

The image of the film which has been subjected to the development processing other than the standard development processing by the development processing apparatus of the present invention is corrected by the image processing means and converted into the processing amount "zero" or the image quality of the standard development. First, a case where only correction to the processing amount “zero” is performed will be described. In the film which has been subjected to the developing process of the method A under the insufficient replenishment, the gradation is disturbed and the color balance is lost as a result of the development with the developing solution deteriorated by the underreplenishment. The values of the turbulence and collapse are empirically obtained for each density point as a density change value of the cyan, magenta, and yellow colors when the processing amount is "zero" due to under-replenishment. Therefore, in this case, the correction can be performed by a matrix operation that adds a correction coefficient for each density point for each color. Each correction coefficient is 1.0 when the processing amount is “zero”, and changes as the processing amount increases. A set of coefficient matrices obtained empirically is input to the memory 66.
Digital image information obtained by developing with undersupplementation is converted into digital image information corresponding to the processing amount of `` zero '' by matrix operation of multiplying each coefficient by image information read from film and digitized. You.

The calculation means for correcting the digital image information based on the detected development processing amount information will be described in more detail by way of an example, but the present invention is not limited to this correction method. The relationship between development processing amount and photographic properties in color negative development of weight loss replenishment can be obtained either theoretically or empirically, but since there are regional differences in the type ratio of color negative film to be processed and mixed processing, It is practical to ask for it empirically. Further, it is more preferable to experimentally obtain the value in advance. As a method for obtaining it, a standard C light source and a neutral color continuous light wedge (density gradient 0.4 △ D / c) are used in accordance with the method described in International Standard ISO5800 (sensitivity measuring method for color negative film).
m, a color negative film sample that has been subjected to sensitometric exposure through a density range of 0.02 to 4.8) is developed by the developing processor, and the processed sample is subjected to ISO 5-2 and ISO 5-2.
The density is measured using a densitometer conforming to the provisions of 3. From this result, the relationship between the development processing amount and the density is obtained at each exposure level. From this relationship, a conversion coefficient for converting the density at each exposure amount at each development processing amount to a value when the development processing amount is “zero” is obtained.

For example, when the development processing amount is “zero”, the maximum density (Dma) by the green filter light (status A)
x) is 2.5, and the development processing amount is 100 lines (135-24).
Ex), when the maximum density (Dmax) by the green filter light (status A) is 2.0, the development processing amount is 10
The correction coefficient (A _100-Dmax ) for 0 lines is 1.25, and the maximum density (Dmax) due to green filter light for 100 lines of development processing is corrected by the following equation. D _100-Dmax = A _100-Dmax × D ' _100-Dmax = 1.25D'
_100-Dmax Here, D' _100-Dmax is image information (density) read when the development processing amount is 100 lines, and _D100-Dmax is corrected image information (density when the development processing amount is 100 lines). Concentration). Here, the maximum density of the green filter light is described as an example, but the same operation is performed to convert other development values (exposure amount) and other color filter light densities from each development processing amount to zero processing amount. A coefficient is determined. By inputting the processing amount and the conversion coefficient into the calculation unit, it is possible to easily perform the development density correction for each development processing amount. 11 and 1
Characteristic curves 2 and 3 are obtained as a result of such correction.

On the other hand, even in the development processing of the method A, if it is desired to improve the image quality by performing more advanced image processing in addition to the correction by the above matrix operation, the development processing of the method B The same method as the image processing for the processing may be used.

In method B, in which one or more steps of bleaching, fixing, stabilizing bath, washing with water and the like are further omitted on top of the under-replenishment development, (i) the dye image, the silver image and the silver halide overlap. (Ii) a decrease in the readable range and a decrease in saturation due to an increase in Dmin (minimum density value), and (iii) a decrease in the readout accuracy of a high exposure area due to an increase in Dmax (maximum density value). The above three factors differ depending on the type of film. Therefore, this CP
In U, the condition setting of the image processing for correcting the integrated image processing value to the image characteristic value when the integrated processing amount is “zero” or the standard development processing from the read image information digitized with respect to the above three photographic characteristic factors is set. Is being done. As can be seen from the above, the items of the image processing conditions to be set for the development method A or B are as follows.

1) a process of correcting a tone that deviates from the tone of the standard development process, 2) a process of converting the color balance data into a color balance value when processed under the standard process conditions, and 3) a development process of method B. Processing for correcting the resulting non-linearity of the relationship between exposure amount and density to correct the relationship between exposure amount and density when the photographic material is processed under the standard processing conditions (especially high density portion and low density portion), and 4). Dmin is much higher than standard processing
There is a correction process for the effect of the so-called clogs.

The correction of these four characteristic factors by image processing is as follows.
The correction is made in two main ways. One is a method of directly inputting the density value information of the read image to the image processing apparatus described above to perform image reproduction processing, and the other is an operation of converting the read image information into an analysis density. This is a method of performing the above-described image reproduction processing on the analysis density information after performing the processing. It is considered that grasping the image is more accurate if the conversion to the analysis density is performed. However, in the present invention, the former method has been found to be sufficient. A method for directly inputting to the image processing apparatus will be described.

In this series of image processing for image reproduction, the most important image processing for image reproduction is, in particular, the correction of the soft gradation described in (i) to the gradation at the time of reference development. That is, the gradation conversion means 100 has a function of correcting the gradient of the input density value versus the exposure amount to an appropriate value obtained by the standard development processing. At the same time, a large part of the correction of the color balance described in (ii) is performed by adjustment of each color for the high contrast, but is finely adjusted by a combination of the following image processing functions. The further softness of the high-density portion and the elongation of the foot in the low-density portion described in (iii) are set by setting the level of the saturation emphasis of the saturation conversion unit 101 high, and the dynamic range conversion unit 104 and the gradation conversion unit 100 This is performed by modifying the shape of the characteristic curve of the leg and the high-density portion by a combination of changing the density amplification degree according to the spatial frequency described below. In this case, the conditions must be set so that the correction process to the standard value of the saturation (a set of density values corresponding to the processing amount "zero" or a set of density values in the case of standard development) is performed at the same time. Needless to say. The increase in Dmin due to residual silver or the like does not appear in the output image characteristics because it is included in the background level and erased in the so-called clogs during image processing. The operation of the device of the image processing apparatus used for the above image processing is described in JP-A-10-20457.
And Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-146247.

When performing image information processing after conversion to the analysis density, an arithmetic circuit is added to the CPU 60 of FIG. In the present invention, the analysis densities of the yellow, magenta, and cyan dyes are calculated from the light density values of the blue, green, and red filters read from the developed film.

The accuracy of the correction of the image information by the image processing described above may be within 10% of the reference value as the density value as described above, and preferably within 8%. If the color balance and the gradation characteristics are within the above ranges as the density values, it is determined that the image has been reproduced.

The processing amount "zero" obtained by the image processing for removing the influence of the development processing of the method A or the method B from the image information read from the film thus developed.
After the information converted into the characteristic values when the development or the standard development processing is performed is once stored, the process proceeds to the stage of outputting to the printer a positive image.

The conversion to the characteristic value in the development processing of the processing amount "zero" or the standard reference development processing is performed by setting conversion conditions for each type of film and reading the type of film to be processed. Thus, the conditions may be automatically selected, or the operator may specify the conversion processing conditions for each film to be processed.

In addition to the above, the image processing apparatus 5 has a data bus in addition to the input bus 63 and the output bus 64 of the first frame memory unit 51, the second frame memory unit 52, and the third frame memory unit 53. 65
The data bus 65 includes a CPU 60 for controlling the entire color image reproduction system, a memory 66 for storing an operation program of the CPU 60 or data relating to image processing conditions, and a hard disk capable of storing and storing image data. 67, CRT68, keyboard 6
9, a communication port 70 connected to another color image reproduction system via a communication line, and a C of the transmission type image reading apparatus 10.
A communication line with the PU 26 is connected.

6. Other Descriptions of Development Processing Apparatus The development processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with respect to portions other than those described above. In the processing tank and the replenisher tank, the area where the liquid comes into contact with air (opening area) is preferably as small as possible. For example, assuming that the value obtained by dividing the opening area (cm ² ) by the liquid tank (cm ³ ) in the tank is the opening ratio, the opening ratio is preferably 0.01 (cm ⁻¹ ) or less, more preferably 0.001 to ¹ (cm ⁻¹ ). 0.05. As a method of reducing the aperture ratio in this manner, in addition to providing a shield such as a floating lid on the photographic processing liquid surface of the processing tank, a method using a movable lid described in JP-A-1-82033, 63-216050 can be mentioned. The reduction of the aperture ratio is preferably applied to all steps such as color development, bleaching, bleach-fixing, washing, stabilization and the like. Also,
By using means for suppressing the accumulation of bromide ions and chloride ions in the developer, the replenishment rate can be reduced.

In the development processing apparatus of the present invention, in order to perform processing quickly, the air time when the photosensitive material moves between processing solutions, that is, the crossover time, is preferably as short as possible, preferably 20 seconds or less. More preferably, it is 10 seconds or less, further preferably, 5 seconds or less. In order to achieve the short-time crossover as described above, it is preferable to use a cine-type automatic developing machine, and particularly preferable is a leader transport system or a roller transport system. Such a system is available from Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. automatic developing machine FP-560B and PP1820V.
May be modified so that the processing step of the present invention can be performed. Also, it is preferable that the linear velocity of the conveyance is high, but it is 30 cm / min.
３０30 m is common, and preferably 50 cm to 10 m. As a reader and a means for transporting photosensitive material, JP-A-60-191257, JP-A-60-191258, and JP-A-60-191258
The belt conveyance system described in JP-A-191259 is preferred. Further, in order to shorten the crossover time and prevent the treatment liquid from being mixed, a crossover rack structure having a mixing prevention plate is preferable.

It is preferable to perform so-called evaporation correction, in which water corresponding to the amount of evaporation of the processing liquid is supplied to each processing liquid in the present invention. Particularly, it is preferable in a color developing solution.
As a specific method for replenishing such water, an evaporation correction method using a liquid level sensor or an overflow sensor is preferable. The most preferable evaporation correction method is to predict and add water corresponding to the amount of evaporation, and the amount of water calculated by a coefficient obtained in advance based on information on the operation time, stop time, and temperature control time of the automatic developing machine. Is added.

Further, it is necessary to devise a device for reducing the amount of evaporation, and it is required to reduce the opening area and adjust the air volume of the exhaust fan. For example, the preferable aperture ratio of the color developing solution is as described above, but it is preferable to similarly reduce the opening area in other processing solutions. The exhaust fan is installed to prevent condensation during temperature control.
Preferred emissions, per minute 0.1 m ³ to 1 m ^3,
Particularly preferred engine displacement, a 0.2m ³ ~0.4m ^3. The drying conditions of the photosensitive material also affect the evaporation of the processing liquid. The drying method is preferably a ceramic hot air heater is preferably min 4m ³ to 20 m ³ as feed air volume, particularly 6 m ³ through 10m ³ preferred. The heating prevention thermostat of the ceramic hot air heater is preferably operated by heat transfer, and the mounting position is preferably mounted on the leeward or upwind side through a radiation fin or a heat transfer portion. The drying temperature is preferably adjusted depending on the water content of the light-sensitive material to be processed, and most preferably 45 to 55 ° C for a 35 mm wide film and 55 to 65 ° C for a brownie film. A replenishing pump is used for replenishing the processing solution, and a bellows type replenishing pump is preferable. Also,
As a method of improving the replenishment accuracy, it is effective to reduce the diameter of the liquid feeding tube to the replenishment nozzle in order to prevent backflow when the pump is stopped. A preferred inner diameter is 1 to 8 mm, and a particularly preferred inner diameter is 2 to 5 mm.

In the automatic developing machine, various component materials are used in addition to the above-described driving section. Preferred materials are described below. Tank material such as processing tank and temperature control tank is made of denatured PP
O (modified polyphenylene oxide) and modified PPE (modified polyphenylene ether) resins are preferred. Modified PP
O is "Noryl" manufactured by Nippon GE Plastics, and "Modified PPE" is "Zylon" manufactured by Asahi Kasei Kogyo Co., Ltd., "Iupiece" manufactured by Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co., and the like. In addition, these materials are suitable for parts that may come into contact with the processing liquid, such as processing racks and crossovers.

The drying time is preferably from 10 seconds to 2 minutes, more preferably from 20 seconds to 80 seconds. As described above, the continuous processing by the replenishment method has been mainly described. In the present invention, the processing is performed without performing the replenishment with a certain amount of the processing liquid, and then the whole or a part of the processing liquid is replaced with a new liquid and the processing is performed again. A batch processing method to be performed can also be preferably used.

7. Output of Image-Processed Image Signal to Printer Above, the configuration of the image processing device 5 has been described in detail. Next, an image output apparatus that receives time-series digital image information output from the development processing apparatus of the present invention and outputs the digital image information to a color print will be described. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an image output device 8 for a color image reproduction system that reproduces a color image on image data output from an image processing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 9, the image output device 8 includes an interface 78 connectable to the interface 77 of the image processing device 5 and a CPU 79 for controlling the image output device 8.
And an image data memory 80 composed of a plurality of frame memories for storing image data input from the image processing device 5.
A D / A converter 81 for converting image data into an analog signal; a laser light irradiation means 82; and a modulator driving means 83 for outputting a modulation signal for modulating the intensity of the laser light. The CPU 79 is configured to be able to communicate with the CPU 60 of the image processing apparatus 5 via a communication line (not shown).

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of the laser light irradiating means 82 shown in FIG. 9. The laser light irradiating means 82 includes semiconductor laser light sources 84a, 84b and 84c, and emits laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser light source 84b. The light is converted into green laser light having a wavelength of 532 nm by the wavelength conversion means 85, and the laser light emitted by the semiconductor laser light source 84 c is converted by the wavelength conversion means 86 into blue laser light having a wavelength of 473 nm.

6 emitted from the semiconductor laser light source 84a
Red laser light of any wavelength between 70 nm and 690 nm,
The green laser light whose wavelength has been converted by the wavelength converting means 85 and the blue laser light whose wavelength has been converted by the wavelength converting means 86 are respectively converted into an acousto-optic modulator (AO).
M) and the like so as to be incident on the optical modulators 87R, 87G, 87B.
B is configured to receive a modulation signal from the modulator driving unit 83 and to modulate the intensity of the laser light according to the modulation signal. At this time, if the semiconductor laser light source 84a can operate at high speed, the light modulator 87R can be omitted by directly modulating the semiconductor laser light source 84a.

The laser light whose intensity has been modulated by the optical modulators 87R, 87G, 87B is reflected by the reflection mirror 88R,
The polygon mirror 89 is reflected by 88G and 88B.
Incident on. Here, the paper is conveyed at a speed of about 75 mm per second, the scanning line density is 600 lines per inch, and each pixel is modulated every 100 nsec.

The image output device 8 is provided with a magazine 91 in which color paper 90 is stored in a roll form. It is configured to be. A color paper with a width of 89 mm to 210 mm can be used, and it may be a color paper used in ordinary minilabs or the like, or a special color suitable for high-illuminance short-time exposure unique to laser exposure. Paper may be used. As the magazine 91, a magazine used in a normal minilab is used. The transport path of the color paper 90 is provided with perforation means 92 for perforating a reference hole at a side edge of the color paper 90 at intervals corresponding to the length of one color print. In the device 8, according to the reference hole, the color paper 90
Is synchronized with the driving of other means.

The laser light modulated by the light modulators 87 R, 87 G, and 87 B is scanned in the main scanning direction by the polygon mirror 89, and exposes the color paper 90 via the fθ lens 93. Here, color paper 90
Is transported in the sub-scanning direction, so that the entire surface is exposed by laser light. Here, the transport speed of the color paper 90 in the sub-scanning direction is the main scanning speed of the laser light,
That is, it is controlled by the CPU 79 so as to synchronize with the rotation speed of the polygon mirror 89.

The color paper 90 exposed by the laser beam is sent to the developing section 94 at a speed of about 29 mm / sec. A color image is reproduced on the color paper 90 based on the image data subjected to the image processing. The color paper 90 that has been subjected to the color development processing, the bleach-fixing processing, and the water-washing processing by the color developing tank 94, the bleach-fixing tank 95, and the washing tank 96 is sent to the drying unit 97, where the color paper 90 is dried. Based on the reference holes formed in the side edges, the color paper 9
By the cutter 98 driven in synchronization with the conveyance of 0, the cutter 98 is cut into a length corresponding to a color image recorded on one frame of the film F or one color paper P, sent to the sorter 99, and The number of sheets corresponding to the film F of the book or the number of customers is accumulated.

8. 8. Supplementary Description of the Present Invention 8.1 Regarding Development Processing In the present invention, the color developer used for the development processing is preferably an alkaline aqueous solution containing an aromatic primary amine color developing agent as a main component. Aminophenol compounds are also useful as the color developing agent, but p-phenylenediamine compounds are preferably used. Typical examples thereof include 3-methyl-4-amino-N, N-diethylaniline and Methyl-4-amino-N-ethyl-N
-Β-hydroxyethylaniline, 3-methyl-4-amino-N-ethyl-N-β-methanesulfonamidoethylaniline, 3-methyl-4-amino-N-ethyl-β
-Methoxyethylaniline, 4-amino-3-methyl-
N-methyl-N- (3-hydroxypropyl) aniline, 4-amino-3-methyl-N-ethyl-N- (3-
(Hydroxypropyl) aniline, 4-amino-3-methyl-N-ethyl-N- (2-hydroxypropyl) aniline, 4-amino-3-ethyl-N-ethyl-N- (3
-Hydroxypropyl) aniline, 4-amino-3-methyl-N-propyl-N- (3-hydroxypropyl)
Aniline, 4-amino-3-propyl-N-methyl-N
-(3-hydroxypropyl) aniline, 4-amino-
3-methyl-N-methyl-N- (4-hydroxybutyl) aniline, 4-amino-3-methyl-N-ethyl-
N- (4-hydroxybutyl) aniline, 4-amino-
3-methyl-N-propyl-N- (4-hydroxybutyl) aniline, 4-amino-3-ethyl-N-ethyl-
N- (3-hydroxy-2-methylpropyl) aniline, 4-amino-3-methyl-N, N-bis (4-hydroxybutyl) aniline, 4-amino-3-methyl-
N, N-bis (5-hydroxypentyl) aniline, 4
-Amino-3-methyl-N- (5-hydroxypentyl) -N- (4-hydroxybutyl) aniline, 4-amino-3-methoxy-N-ethyl-N- (4-hydroxybutyl) aniline, 4- Amino-3-ethoxy-N,
Examples include N-bis (5-hydroxypentyl) aniline, 4-amino-3-propyl-N- (4-hydroxybutyl) aniline, and sulfates, hydrochlorides, and p-toluenesulfonates thereof. Among these, in particular, 3-methyl-4-amino-N-ethyl-N-β-hydroxyethylaniline, 4-amino-3-methyl-N-
Ethyl-N- (3-hydroxypropyl) aniline, 4
-Amino-3-methyl-N-ethyl-N- (4-hydroxybutyl) aniline, 3-methyl-4-amino-N-
Ethyl-N-β-methanesulfonamidoethylaniline and their hydrochlorides, p-toluenesulfonates or sulfates are preferred. These compounds can be used in combination of two or more depending on the purpose.

The amount of the aromatic primary amine developing agent used is preferably from 0.0002 mol to 0.2 mol, more preferably from 0.001 mol to 1 liter per liter of the color developer.
0.1 mol.

Color developing solutions include pH buffers such as alkali metal carbonates, borates or phosphate 5-sulfosalicylates, chlorides, bromides, iodides, benzimidazoles, It generally contains a development inhibitor such as a thiazole or a mercapto compound or an antifoggant. If necessary, hydroxylamine and diethylhydroxylamine may be used.
Various preservatives such as hydroxylamines, sulfites, hydrazines such as N, N-biscarboxymethylhydrazine, phenylsemicarbazides, triethanolamine and catecholsulfonic acids represented by the general formula (I) of JP-144446. Organic solvents such as ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, development accelerators such as benzyl alcohol, polyethylene glycol, quaternary ammonium salts, amines, dye-forming couplers, competitive couplers,
Auxiliary developing agents such as 1-phenyl-3-pyrazolidone; viscosity-imparting agents; various chelating agents represented by aminopolycarboxylic acids, aminopolyphosphonic acids, alkylphosphonic acids, and phosphonocarboxylic acids; Acetic acid, nitrilotriacetic acid, diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, cyclohexanediaminetetraacetic acid, ethylenediaminedisuccinic acid, methyliminodiacetic acid, hydroxyethyliminodiacetic acid, nitrilo-N, N, N-trimethylenephosphonic acid, ethylenediamine-N, N, N, N-tetramethylene phosphonic acid, ethylenediamine-di (o-hydroxyphenylacetic acid) and salts thereof can be mentioned as typical examples.

Among the above preservatives, preferred are substituted hydroxylamines. Among them, those having, as a substituent, diethylhydroxylamine, monomethylhydroxylamine or an alkyl group substituted by a water-soluble group such as a sulfo group, a carboxy group or a hydroxyl group. Is preferred. The most preferred examples are N, N-bis (2-sulfoethyl) hydroxylamine and its alkali metal salts.

Further, as the chelating agent, a compound having biodegradability is preferable. An example of this is disclosed in JP-A-63-1.
46998, JP-A-63-199295, JP-A-6-199295
JP-A-3-267750, JP-A-63-267751, JP-A-2-229146, JP-A-3-186841,
Chelating agents described in German Patent 3739610, European Patent 468325 and the like can be mentioned. It is preferable that the processing solution in the replenishing tank or processing tank of the color developing solution be shielded with a liquid agent such as a high boiling point organic solvent to reduce the contact area with air. Liquid paraffin is most preferred as the liquid shielding agent. It is particularly preferable to use it as a replenisher. The processing temperature of the color developer in the present invention is 20 to
55 ° C, preferably 30 to 55 ° C. Processing time is 20 seconds to 5 minutes, preferably 30 seconds to
3 minutes and 20 seconds. More preferably, it is 40 seconds to 1 minute 30 seconds.

In the practice of the present invention, for example, a mode in which a washing step, a rinsing step or a stabilizing bath step is followed by a developing step, and the desilvering step is omitted is preferably performed. When the processing is performed in a step including, a desilvering step is performed following the development step using a color developing solution, and processing using a bleaching solution and a bleach-fixing solution is performed.
Alternatively, there is a case where the fixing process starts from the color developing process.
As the bleaching agent used in the bleaching solution or the bleach-fixing solution, any known bleaching agent can be used. Organic acids such as malic acid, persulfates, hydrogen peroxide and the like are preferred.

Of these, organic complex salts of iron (III) are particularly preferred from the viewpoint of rapid processing and prevention of environmental pollution. Iron (III)
Aminopolycarboxylic acids or salts thereof useful for forming an organic complex of the following are biodegradable ethylenediaminedisuccinic acid (SS form), N- (2-carboxylateethyl) -L-aspartic acid , Beta-alanine diacetate, methyl iminodiacetic acid, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, 1,3-diaminopropanetetraacetic acid, propylenediaminetetraacetic acid, nitrilotriacetic acid, cyclohexanediaminetetraacetic acid, iminodiacetic acid, glycoletherdiaminetetraacetic acid Acetic acid, and the like. These compounds may be any of the sodium, potassium, thylium or ammonium salts.
Among these compounds, ethylenediaminedisuccinic acid (S
S-form), N- (2-carboxylateethyl) -L-aspartic acid, β-alanine diacetate, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, 1,3-diaminopropanetetraacetic acid, and methyliminodiacetic acid, whose iron (III) complex salt has photographic properties It is preferable because it is good. These ferric ion complex salts may be used in the form of a complex salt or a ferric salt such as ferric sulfate or ferric chloride.
A ferric ion complex salt may be formed in a solution using iron, ferric nitrate, ammonium ferric sulfate, ferric phosphate and a chelating agent such as aminopolycarboxylic acid. In addition, the chelating agent may be used in excess of forming a ferric ion complex salt. Among the iron complexes, aminopolycarboxylate iron complexes are preferred, and the amount added is 0.01 to 1.0.
Mol / liter, preferably 0.05 to 0.50 mol /
Liter, more preferably 0.10 to 0.50 mol / l, and still more preferably 0.15 to 0.40 mol / l.

The bleaching time is usually 30 seconds to 6 minutes and 30 seconds, preferably 1 to 4 minutes and 30 seconds, and in the case of bleaching for color printing materials, it is 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Various known organic acids (for example, glycolic acid, succinic acid, maleic acid, malonic acid, citric acid,
Compounds such as sulfosuccinic acid and acetic acid), organic bases (for example, imidazole and dimethylimidazole), and compounds described as the general formula (A-a) in JP-A-9-218819, including 2-picolinic acid. Compounds described as the general formula (Bb) in the same gazette such as kojic acid can also be contained. The addition amount of these compounds is 0.005 to 3.
0 mol is preferred, and more preferably 0.05 to 1.5.
Is a mole.

The fixing agents used in the bleach-fixing solution or the fixing solution include known fixing agents, that is, thiosulfates such as sodium thiosulfate and ammonium thiosulfate; thiocyanates such as sodium thiocyanate and ammonium thiocyanate;
Ethylenebisthioglycolic acid, 3,6-dithia-1,
Thioether compounds such as 8-octanediol and water-soluble silver halide dissolving agents such as thioureas;
These can be used alone or in combination of two or more. Also, a special bleach-fixing solution comprising a combination of a fixing agent described in JP-A-55-155354 and a large amount of a halide such as potassium iodide can be used. In the present invention, the use of thiosulfates, particularly ammonium thiosulfates, is preferred. The amount of the fixing agent per liter is preferably from 0.3 to 2 mol, more preferably from 0.5 to 1.0 mol.

The pH range of the bleach-fixing solution or fixing solution used in the development processing apparatus of the present invention is preferably from 3 to 8, more preferably from 4 to 7. When the pH is lower than this, the desilvering property is improved, but the deterioration of the solution and the leuco-formation of the cyan dye are promoted. Conversely, if the pH is higher than this, desilvering will be delayed and stain will easily occur. The pH range of the bleaching solution used in the present invention is 8 or less, preferably 2 to 7, and particularly preferably 2 to 6. If the pH is lower than this, the deterioration of the solution and the leuco-formation of the cyan dye are promoted. To adjust the pH, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, bicarbonate, ammonia, caustic potash, caustic soda, sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate and the like can be added as necessary.

The bleach-fixing solution may contain other various types of fluorescent whitening agents, defoamers or surfactants, and organic solvents such as polyvinylpyrrolidone and methanol. The bleach-fixing solution and the fixing solution include sulfites (for example, sodium sulfite, potassium sulfite, ammonium sulfite, etc.) and bisulfites (for example, ammonium bisulfite, sodium bisulfite, potassium bisulfite, etc.) as preservatives, Sulfite ion releasing compounds such as metabisulfite (for example, potassium metabisulfite, sodium metabisulfite, ammonium metabisulfite, etc.) and arylsulfinic acids such as p-toluenesulfinic acid and m-carboxybenzenesulfinic acid It is preferable to contain the like. These compounds are preferably contained in an amount of about 0.02 to 1.0 mol / liter in terms of sulfite ion or sulfinate ion.

As a preservative, in addition to the above, ascorbic acid, carbonyl bisulfite adduct, carbonyl compound and the like may be added. Further, a buffer, an optical brightener, a chelating agent, an antifoaming agent, a fungicide, and the like may be added as necessary. In the present invention, when bleach-fix processing is performed, the processing time is 5 to 240 seconds, preferably 1 to 240 seconds.
0 to 60 seconds. The processing temperature is from 25C to 60C, preferably from 30C to 50C. The replenishment amount is photosensitive material 1
²⁰ ml to 250 ml, preferably 30 ml per m ²
１００100 ml, particularly preferably 15-60 ml.

The developing system applied to the processing apparatus of the present invention may be either system A or system B. In the case of system A, after the desilvering process such as fixing or bleach-fixing, the system B is used. In most cases, after color development, rinsing,
It is common to perform one or more of the washing and stabilizing treatments.

In the method B, the effect of image quality relief by the image processing apparatus is great. In particular, the application of the present invention to a two-step process of performing a stabilizing bath after color development is a preferred embodiment. Also, since there is little need to preserve the film image, a simple rinsing bath step may be performed following the development step without performing an image stabilizing bath.

In the case of the combination treatment of the developing step with the under-replenishment and the stabilizing bath, the case where the stabilizing bath contains an anti-residual colorant. The main cause of the residual color is a spectral sensitizer that is an additive component of the photosensitive material and dissolves in the processing solution and has a slow rate. May cause.

As the residual color inhibitor, at least 1
Heterocyclic compounds having two thiol groups are preferred, and mercaptoazoles are particularly preferred. Particularly excellent are 5-mercaptotetrazoles having an aminoalkyl group at the 1-position.

The stabilizing bath contains a compound to be added to another ordinary washing bath or an alternative stabilizing bath for washing. These include isothiazolone compounds described in JP-A-57-8542, siabendazoles, and JP-A-61-122014.
Chlorinated isocyanurate described in No. 5;
1-hydroxy-1,1-diphosphonic acid, ethylenediamine-4 that conceals antibacterial agents, bactericides, alkaline earth metals, etc., such as benzotriazoles described in US Pat.
-Water softeners such as methylene phosphonic acid, EDTA, surfactants for draining, etc. are added. The addition amount is desirably as small as possible, and is usually 10 mmol or less, preferably 5 mmol or less. The pH of this bath is between 3 and 10, preferably between 4 and 8, in particular 4
It is often used at about 5 to about 5.

The washing bath or the stabilizing bath may be of a weight-replenishing type or a multi-stage bath treatment. In the latter case, the conditions depend on the characteristics of the photosensitive material (for example, the material used such as a coupler), the application, the liquid temperature, the number of liquid tanks (the number of stages), the replenishment method such as countercurrent, forward flow, and other various conditions. Can be set widely. The relationship between the number of liquid tanks and the replenishment rate in the multi-stage countercurrent method is described in the Journal of the Society of Motion Picture.
and Television Engineers, Vol. 248-2
53 (May 1955) can be determined according to the technical idea of washing by the method described in the method described in May, 1955.

The liquid temperature of the stabilizing bath and the processing time in the development processing apparatus of the present invention can be variously set depending on the characteristics of the photosensitive material, the use, and the like. A range of 30 seconds to 5 minutes at 35-43 ° C is selected. Further, in the treatment of the present invention, the residual color reduction treatment liquid includes:
Any component added to the water-saving type washing bath may be contained, and these components are described in JP-A-57-8543 and JP-A-58-14.
834 and 60-220345.

Further, a treatment with an image stabilizing solution may be performed subsequent to the washing-basis alternative stabilizing bath step. When particularly necessary, such as for storing a developed film, an image stabilizing bath component may be added to the residual color reduction processing bath. Compounds for stabilizing dye images, such as formalin, benzaldehydes such as m-hydroxybenzaldehyde, formaldehyde bisulfite adducts, hexamethylenetetramine and its derivatives, hexahydrotriazine and its derivatives, dimethylol urea in the image stabilizing bath, N-methylol compounds such as N-methylol pyrazole, organic acids, pH buffers and the like are included. The preferred addition amount of these compounds is Stabilizer 1
The concentration is 0.001 to 0.02 mol per liter, and the lower the concentration of free formaldehyde in the stabilizing solution, the more preferable the dispersion of formaldehyde gas is. From these viewpoints, examples of the dye image stabilizer include N-methylolazoles described in JP-A-4-270344 such as m-hydroxybenzaldehyde, hexamethylenetetramine and N-methylolpyrazole, and N, N'-bis (1 ,
Azolylmethylamines such as 2,4-triazol-1-ylmethyl) piperazine described in JP-A-4-331353 are preferred. In particular, the compounds described in JP-A-4-359249 (corresponding to European Patent Publication No. 519190A2)
A combination use of an azole such as 2,4-triazole and an azolylmethylamine such as 1,4-bis (l, 2,4-triazol-1-ylmethyl) piperazine and a derivative thereof has high image stability and A low formaldehyde vapor pressure is preferable. Further, if necessary, ammonium compounds such as ammonium chloride and ammonium sulfite, metal compounds such as Bi and Al, optical brighteners, hardeners, alkanolamines described in US Pat. No. 4,786,583, It is also preferable to include a preservative which can be contained in the fixing solution or the bleach-fixing solution, for example, a sulfinic acid compound described in JP-A 1-231051.

Various surfactants may be contained in the stabilizing bath or the image stabilizing solution instead of the water washing in order to prevent unevenness of water droplets when the processed photosensitive material is dried. Among them, a nonionic surfactant is preferably used, and an alkylphenol ethylene oxide adduct is particularly preferable. As alkylphenols, especially octyl, nonyl, dodecyl,
Dinonylphenol is preferred, and the number of moles of ethylene oxide added is particularly preferably from 8 to 14. It is also preferable to use a silicon-based surfactant having a high defoaming effect.

8.2 Positive Image Material for Output The image information obtained by the development processing apparatus of the present invention and corrected to a value which should be obtained when the standard processing is performed with a processing amount of zero is applied to the positive material. The output is obtained in the form of a positive image.
Output materials for obtaining positive images are inkjet,
Sublimation-type thermal transfer, color diffusion transfer, color electrophotography, thermal development type silver halide color diffusion transfer, thermal development type multilayer color diazo, silver halide color paper, etc. Any material that can be used can be used.

Among these, silver salt color paper is particularly preferred. All of the photosensitive silver halide emulsions in the silver halide color paper have a silver chloride content of at least 95 mol%, the balance being silver bromide, and may be composed of silver halide grains substantially free of silver iodide. preferable. Here, “substantially free of silver iodide” means that the silver iodide content is 1 mol% or less, preferably 0.2 mol% or less, more preferably 0 mol%. From the viewpoint of rapid processing, the above silver halide emulsion is particularly preferably a silver halide emulsion having a silver chloride content of 98 mol% or more. Among such silver halides, those having a silver bromide localized phase on the surface of silver chloride grains are particularly preferable because high sensitivity can be obtained and photographic performance can be stabilized.

The silver halide emulsion contained in at least one photosensitive silver halide emulsion layer has a coefficient of variation in grain size distribution (standard deviation of grain size distribution divided by average grain size) of 15% or less. Some are preferred and 1
Monodispersed emulsions of 0% or less are more preferred. It is preferable to use two or more of the above monodispersed emulsions in the same layer for the purpose of obtaining a wide latitude. At this time, the monodispersed emulsions preferably differ in average grain size by 15% or more, more preferably differ by 20 to 60%, and particularly preferably differ by 25 to 50%. The sensitivity difference between the monodispersed emulsions is preferably from 0.15 to 0.50 logE, more preferably from 0.20 to 0.40 logE, even more preferably from 0.25 to 0.35 logE. .

The silver halide grains are prepared by adding iron and / or ruthenium and / or osmium compounds to silver chlorobromide having a silver chloride content of 95 mol% or more and containing substantially no silver iodide, in an amount of 1 mol per mol of silver halide. × 10 ^-5 to 1 × 10 ^-3
It is effective to use silver halide grains containing the iridium compound in an amount of 1 × 10 ⁻⁷ to 1 × 10 ⁻⁵ mol per mol of silver halide in the silver bromide localized phase. As the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material for output used in the present invention, conventionally known photographic materials and additives can be used.
For example, a transmissive support or a reflective support can be used as a photographic support. Examples of the transparent support include transparent films such as cellulose nitrate film and polyethylene terephthalate, as well as 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid (NDCA) and ethylene glycol (E).
G) with polyester or NDCA, terephthalic acid and EG
A material in which an information recording layer such as a magnetic layer is provided on polyester or the like is preferably used. For the purposes of the present invention,
In particular, a paper-based reflective support is preferable, and a reflective substrate which is laminated with a plurality of polyethylene layers or polyester layers, and contains a white pigment such as titanium oxide in at least one such water-resistant resin layer (laminate layer). Supports are preferred.

It is preferable that the water-resistant resin layer contains a fluorescent whitening agent. The fluorescent whitening agent may be dispersed in the hydrophilic colloid layer of the light-sensitive material. As the fluorescent whitening agent, preferably, benzoxazole type, coumarin type,
A pyrazoline-based fluorescent whitening agent can be used, and a benzoxazolylnaphthalene-based or benzooxazolylstilbene-based fluorescent whitening agent is more preferable. The amount used is not particularly limited, but is preferably 1 to 100 mg / m ² . The mixing ratio when mixed with the water-resistant resin is preferably 0.0005 to 3% by weight, and more preferably 0.1 to 3% by weight.
001 to 0.5% by weight. A body in which a hydrophilic colloid layer containing a white pigment is provided on the body may be used. Also,
The reflective support may be a support having a specular or second-class diffusely reflective metal surface. In order to make the image processing section of the developing apparatus compact and inexpensive, it is preferable to use a second harmonic generation light source (SHG) in which a semiconductor laser or a solid laser is combined with a nonlinear optical crystal. Particularly, in order to design an apparatus that is compact, inexpensive, and has a long life and high stability, it is preferable to use a semiconductor laser, and it is preferable to use a semiconductor laser as at least one of the exposure light sources.

When such a scanning exposure light source is used,
The maximum wavelength of the spectral sensitivity of the output color paper can be arbitrarily set according to the wavelength of the scanning exposure light source to be used. In a solid-state laser using a semiconductor laser as an excitation light source or an SHG light source obtained by combining a semiconductor laser and a nonlinear optical crystal, the laser oscillation wavelength can be halved, so that blue light and green light can be obtained. Therefore, the spectral sensitivity maximum of the photosensitive material can be provided in the usual three wavelength ranges of blue, green and red. If the exposure time in such scanning exposure is defined as the exposure time for the pixel size when the pixel density is 400 dpi, the preferred exposure time is 10 ^-4 seconds or less, more preferably 10 ^-6 seconds or less. Preferred scanning exposure methods applicable to the present invention are described in detail in the patents listed in Table 1 below. To process the output color paper, JP-A-2-207250, page 26, lower right column, line 1 to page 34, upper right column, line 9 and JP-A-4-97355, page 5 upper left column 17 The processing materials and processing methods described in the 20th line to the 20th line in the lower right column on page 18 can be preferably applied. As the preservative used in the developer, compounds described in known materials such as patents listed in Table 1 shown below are preferably used.

8.3 Color Photographic Material Used in the Present Invention Next, the color photographic material (color negative film) used in the present invention will be described. The color negative film developed by the developing apparatus of the present invention has at least one photosensitive layer on a support. As a typical example, the support has at least one photosensitive layer comprising a plurality of silver halide emulsion layers having substantially the same color sensitivity but different sensitivities (referred to as a unit photosensitive layer). It is a silver halide photographic material. This photosensitive layer is a unit photosensitive layer having color sensitivity to any of blue light, green light, and red light, and in a multilayer silver halide color photographic material, the arrangement of the unit photosensitive layers is generally A red-sensitive layer, a green-sensitive layer, and a blue-sensitive layer are provided in this order from the support side. However, even if the above installation order is reversed according to the purpose,
Also, the order of installation may be such that different photosensitive layers are sandwiched between the same color-sensitive layers. A non-light-sensitive layer may be provided between the silver halide light-sensitive layers and as the uppermost layer and the lowermost layer.

These may contain a coupler, a DIR compound, a color mixing inhibitor and the like. The plurality of silver halide emulsion layers constituting each unit photosensitive layer are DE1, 121, 4
It is preferable to arrange two layers of a high-sensitivity emulsion layer and a low-sensitivity emulsion layer such that the sensitivity gradually decreases toward the support as described in No. 70 or GB923,045. Also, JP-A-57-112751, 62-200
As described in JP-A Nos. 350, 62-206541 and 62-206543, a low-speed emulsion layer may be provided on the side farther from the support and a high-speed emulsion layer may be provided on the side closer to the support.
As a specific example, from the farthest side from the support, a low-sensitivity blue-sensitive layer (BL) / a high-sensitivity blue-sensitive layer (BH) / a high-sensitivity green-sensitive layer (GH) / a low-sensitivity green-sensitive layer (GL) / High-sensitivity red-sensitive layer (RH) / low-sensitivity red-sensitive layer (RL), or BH / BL / GL / GH / RH / RL, or BH / BL / GH / GL / RL / RH And so on. Further, as described in JP-B-55-34932, the layers can be arranged in the order of blue-sensitive layer / GH / RH / GL / RL from the side farthest from the support.

As described in JP-B-49-15495, the upper layer is a silver halide emulsion layer having the highest sensitivity, the middle layer is a silver halide emulsion layer having a lower sensitivity, and the lower layer is a layer having a lower sensitivity than the middle layer. An example is an arrangement in which a silver halide emulsion layer having a low sensitivity is arranged, and an arrangement is formed of three layers having different sensitivities in which the sensitivities are sequentially decreased toward the support. For various purposes, color negative films having other layer constitutions are also disclosed in, for example, JP-A-59-202264,
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,663,271; 4,705,744; 4,707,436;
It is described in each specification such as 3-89850.

Preferred silver halides for use in color negative films are silver iodobromide, silver iodochloride, or silver iodochlorobromide containing up to about 30 mole percent silver iodide.
Particularly preferred is silver iodobromide or silver iodochlorobromide containing from about 2 mol% to about 10 mol% silver iodide.
Silver halide grains in photographic emulsions include those having regular crystals such as cubic, octahedral and tetradecahedral, those having irregular crystalline forms such as spheres and plates, twin planes, etc. Or a composite form thereof. The silver halide may be fine grains having a grain size of about 0.2 μm or less or large grains having a projected area diameter of about 10 μm, and may be a polydisperse emulsion or a monodisperse emulsion. The silver halide photographic emulsion usable in the present invention is, for example, Research Disclosure (hereinafter abbreviated as RD) No. 17
No. 643 (December 1978), pp. 22-23, "I. Emulsion preparation and types", and Id. 18716 (November 1979), p. 648,
No. 307105 (11/1989), 863-
865 pages, and Grafkid, "Physics and Chemistry of Photography",
Published by Paul Montell (P. Glafkides, Chemie et Phisiqu
e Photographique, Paul Montel, 1967), "Photographic Emulsion Chemistry" by Duffin, Focal Press (GFDu
ffin, Photographic Emulsion Chemistry, Focal Pres
s, 1966), "Manufacture and Coating of Photographic Emulsion" by Zeligman et al., published by Focal Press (VLZelikman, et al., Mak).
ing and Coating Photographic Emulsion, Focal Pres
s, 1964).

Tabular grains having an aspect ratio of about 3 or more can also be used in the present invention. Tabular grains are written by Gatoff, Photographic Science and Engineering (Gutoff, Photographic Science and Eng).
ineering, Vol. 14, pp. 248-257 (1970)
Years); US 4,434,226, 4,414,31
0, 4,433,048, 4,439,520 and GB 2,112,157. The crystal structure may be uniform, or the inside and outside may be composed of different halogen compositions,
It may have a layered structure. Silver halides having different compositions may be bonded by epitaxial bonding, or may be bonded to a compound other than silver halide such as, for example, silver rhodan or lead oxide. Also, a mixture of particles of various crystal forms may be used. The above emulsion may be either a surface latent image type in which a latent image is mainly formed on the surface, an internal latent image type in which the latent image is formed inside the grains, or a type having a latent image on both the surface and the inside. It is necessary to be. Among the internal latent image type emulsions, core / shell type internal latent image type emulsions described in JP-A-63-264740 may be used.
This preparation method is described in JP-A-59-133542. Although the thickness of the shell of this emulsion varies depending on the development process and the like, it is preferably 3 to 40 nm, particularly preferably 5 to 20 nm.

Photographic additives which can be used in color photographic light-sensitive materials are also described in RD, and the relevant portions are shown in the following table.

[0124]

[Table 1]

Although various dye-forming couplers can be used in the color photographic light-sensitive material, the following couplers are particularly preferred. Yellow coupler: Formula (I) of EP502,424A,
A coupler represented by formula (1) or (2) of EP513,496A (particularly Y
-28); couplers of the formula (I) in claim 1 of EP 568,037A; US 5,066,576
A coupler represented by the general formula (I) in the column 1 of the line 45 to 55; a coupler represented by the general formula (I) in paragraph 0008 of JP-A-4-274425; EP 498,381
The couplers described in claim 1 on page 40 of A1 (especially 18
D-35 on page 4); Couplers represented by formula (Y) on page 4 of EP447,969A1 (especially Y-1 (page 17),
Y-54 (p. 41)); couplers represented by formulas (II) to (IV) in columns 36 to 58 of column 7 of US Pat. No. 4,476,219 (particularly II-17, 19 (column 17), II-24).
(Column 19)). Magenta coupler: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-39737 (L-57)
(Page 11, lower right), L-68 (page 12, lower right), L-77
(Page 13, lower right); A-4-63 of EP456,257
(Page 134), A-4-73, -75 (page 139); E
P486,965, M-4, -6 (p. 26), M-7
(Page 27); M-45 of EP 571,959A (19
(M-1) of JP-A-5-204106 (page 6); M-22 of paragraph 0237 of JP-A-4-32631.

Cyan coupler: JP-A-4-208443
CX-1,3,4,5,11,12,14,15 (1
4 to 16); JP-A-4-43345, C-7,10
(P. 35), 34, 35 (p. 37), (I-1), (I-1)
7) (pages 42 to 43): a coupler represented by the formula (Ia) or (Ib) according to claim 1 of JP-A-6-67385. Polymer coupler: P-1, P of JP-A-2-44345
-5 (page 11).

In addition, a coupler having a known color-forming dye having an appropriate diffusibility, a coupler for correcting unnecessary absorption of the color-forming dye, a colorless masking coupler, a compound which is photographically useful upon reacting with an oxidized developing agent. A compound that releases a residue (including a coupler) can be added to the light-sensitive material. In addition, a known bleaching accelerator releasing compound, a leuco dye releasing compound, a fluorescent dye releasing compound, a development accelerator or a fogging agent releasing compound, and a compound which releases a group which becomes a dye only after being released may be added to the photosensitive material. it can.

Examples of additives other than couplers include a dispersion medium of an oil-soluble organic compound, a latex for impregnation of an oil-soluble organic compound, an oxidized developing agent scavenger, a stain inhibitor,
Materials that reduce the amount of anti-fading agents, color development enhancers or color mixture inhibitors, formalin scavengers, hardeners, precursors for development inhibitors, preservatives, fungicides, chemical sensitizers,
Dyes, UV absorbers and the like are also added as appropriate.

The developing apparatus of the present invention can be applied to general-purpose or movie general-purpose color negative films. In addition, Tokuhei 2-32615, Tokuhei 3-3978
4 can also be applied to a film unit with a lens. Suitable supports that can be used in the present invention are described, for example, in RD. No. No. 17643, page 28; 1
8716 page 647 right column to 648 page left column, and N
o. As described on page 879 of 307105, it is preferred to use a polyester support.

Color negative film used in the present invention
Preferably has a magnetic recording layer. Used in the present invention
The magnetic recording layer obtained will be described. Used in the present invention
A magnetic recording layer is a layer in which magnetic particles are dispersed in a binder.
Aqueous or organic solvent-based coating liquid was applied on the support
Things. The magnetic particles used in the present invention are γFe
_TwoO_ThreeSuch as ferromagnetic iron oxide, Co-coated γFe_TwoO_Three, Co
Magnetite, Co-containing magnetite, ferromagnetic dioxide
Chromium, ferromagnetic metal, ferromagnetic alloy, hexagonal BaFe
Light, Sr ferrite, Pb ferrite, Ca ferrite
Can be used. Co deposited γFe_TwoO_ThreeSuch as Co
Deposited ferromagnetic iron oxide is preferred. Needle shape, rice grain
Shape, spherical shape, cubic shape, plate shape, etc. Specific surface area
Then S_BETAt 20m^Two/ g or more, preferably 30 m^Two/ g or more
Particularly preferred. The saturation magnetization (σs) of the ferromagnetic material is preferable.
Or 3.0 × 10^Four~ 3.0 × 10^FiveA / m, especially
Preferably 4.0 × 10^Four~ 2.5 × 10^FiveA / m
You. Ferromagnetic particles, such as silica and / or alumina
Surface treatment with an organic material may be performed. In addition, magnetic
The body particles are formed as described in JP-A-6-160332.
Silane coupling agent or titanium coupling agent on the surface
May be processed. JP-A-4-259911, 5
No. 81652 coated with inorganic or organic material
Magnetic particles can also be used.

The binder used for the magnetic particles may be a thermoplastic resin, a thermosetting resin, a radiation-curable resin, a reactive resin, an acid, an alkali or a biodegradable polymer, or a natural material described in JP-A-4-219569. Combinations (cellulose derivatives, sugar derivatives, etc.) and mixtures thereof can be used. Tg of the above resin is −40 ° C. to 300 ° C.,
The weight average molecular weight is from 2,000 to 1,000,000. Examples thereof include vinyl copolymers, cellulose derivatives such as cellulose diacetate, cellulose triacetate, cellulose acetate propionate, cellulose acetate butyrate, and cellulose tripropionate, acrylic resins, and polyvinyl acetal resins, and gelatin is also preferable. Particularly, cellulose di (tri) acetate is preferable. The binder can be cured by adding an epoxy-based, aziridine-based, or isocyanate-based crosslinking agent.

In the magnetic recording layer, lubricity improvement, curl control,
It may have functions such as antistatic, antiadhesion, and head polishing, or may provide another functional layer to provide these functions. At least one of the particles has a Mohs hardness of 5 or more. Abrasives of the above non-spherical inorganic particles are preferred. As the composition of the non-spherical inorganic particles, oxides such as aluminum oxide, chromium oxide, silicon dioxide, titanium dioxide, silicon carbide, carbides such as silicon carbide and titanium carbide, and fine powders such as diamond are preferable. These abrasives may have their surfaces treated with a silane coupling agent or a titanium coupling agent. These particles may be added to the magnetic recording layer, or may be overcoated (for example, a protective layer, a lubricant layer, etc.) on the magnetic recording layer. As the binder used at this time, the above-mentioned binders can be used, and the same binder as the binder for the magnetic recording layer is preferable. US Pat. Nos. 5,336,589 and 5,25 for photosensitive materials having a magnetic recording layer
0,404, 5,229,259, 5,215,8
74, EP 466,130.

For details of the photosensitive material according to the present invention including the polyester support, the photosensitive material, the processing, the cartridge, and the working examples, refer to Published Technical Report, Official Technical Publication No. 94-6023.
(Invention Association; 1994. 3.15.). Polyester is formed with a diol and an aromatic dicarboxylic acid as essential components.
6-, 1,5-, 1,4-, and 2,7-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid, terephthalic acid, isophthalic acid, phthalic acid,
Examples of the diol include diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, cyclohexane dimethanol, bisphenol A, and bisphenol. Examples of the polymer include homopolymers such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, and polycyclohexanedimethanol terephthalate. Particularly preferred is a polyester containing 50 to 100 mol% of 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid. Among them, polyethylene 2,6-naphthalate is particularly preferred. The average molecular weight ranges from about 5,000 to 200,0
00. The Tg of the polyester of the present invention is 50 ° C. or higher, preferably 90 ° C. or higher.

In the present invention, an antistatic agent is preferably used. Examples of such antistatic agents include polymers containing carboxylic acid and carboxylate and sulfonate, cationic polymers, and ionic surfactant compounds. The most preferred antistatic agent is Zn
O, TiO ₂ , SnO ₂ , Al ₂ O ₃ , In ₂ O ₃ , Si
Particle size of at least one selected from O ₂ , MgO, BaO, MoO ₃ and V ₂ O ₅ having a volume resistivity of 10 ⁷ Ω · cm or less, more preferably 10 ⁵ Ω · cm or less. .00
Fine particles of crystalline metal oxides or composite oxides thereof (Sb, P, B, In, S, Si, C, etc.), furthermore, sol-like metal oxides or composite oxides thereof Particles. 5 to 5%
500 mg / m ² is preferred, particularly preferably 10 to 350 mg / m ²
a m ^2. The ratio of the amount of the conductive crystalline oxide or its composite oxide to the binder is preferably from 1/300 to 100/1, more preferably from 1/100 to 100/5.

The light-sensitive material of the present invention preferably has a slip property. The slip agent-containing layer is preferably used on both the photosensitive layer surface and the back surface. A preferable slip property is a dynamic friction coefficient of 0.25 or less and 0.01 or more. The measurement at this time represents the value when the stainless steel ball having a diameter of 5 mm was conveyed at 60 cm / min (25 ° C., 60% PH). In this evaluation, even when the surface of the photosensitive layer is replaced as the partner material, the values are almost the same level. Examples of the slipping agent usable in the present invention include polyorganosiloxanes, higher fatty acid amides, higher fatty acid metal salts, esters of higher fatty acids and higher alcohols, and polyorganosiloxanes such as polydimethylsiloxane, polydiethylsiloxane, and polystyrylmethyl. Siloxane, polymethylphenylsiloxane, or the like can be used. The additional layer is preferably the outermost layer of the emulsion layer or the back layer. Particularly, polydimethylsiloxane or an ester having a long-chain alkyl group is preferable.

The light-sensitive material of the present invention preferably contains a matting agent. The matting agent may be on either the emulsion side or the back side, but is particularly preferably added to the outermost layer on the emulsion side. The matting agent may be soluble in the processing solution or insoluble in the processing solution, and preferably both are used in combination. For example, polymethyl methacrylate, poly (methyl methacrylate /
Methacrylic acid = 9/1 or 5/5 (molar ratio)), polystyrene particles, and the like are preferable. 0.8 to 10 as particle size
μm is preferable, and the particle size distribution is preferably narrow,
It is preferable that 90% or more of the total number of particles is contained between 0.9 and 1.1 times the average particle size. It is also preferable to simultaneously add fine particles having a size of 0.8 μm or less in order to enhance the matting property.
m), poly (methyl methacrylate / methacrylic acid = 9)
/ 1 (molar ratio), 0.3 µm)), polystyrene particles (0.25 µm), colloidal silica (0.03 µm)
Is mentioned.

[0137]

[Example 1]

1. Tested Color Negative Film Commercially available films (all manufactured by Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.) were used in the following ratios.・ Film A: FUJICOLOR SUPER100 (24 shots) serial number V09140 ・ Film B: FUJICOLOR SUPER400 (24 shots) serial number N24112 ・ Film C: FUJICOLOR SUPER G ACE800 (24 shots)
Serial No. M74128 ・ Film D: FUJICOLOR nexia H400 (40 shots) Serial No. CA56-303 These photographic materials were processed at the following ratio. Film A: Film B: Film C: Film D =
4: 4: 1: 1

[0138] 2. Method of photographic property test (sample for image quality judgment)
800 (a method for measuring the sensitivity of a color negative film) and a standard C light source and a continuous light wedge with a neutral color (density gradient 0.4
Sensitometric exposure was carried out through ΔD / cm, density range 0.02 to 4.8). The exposed sample is subjected to a development process according to the following description, the obtained sensitometric exposure image is used as an image, the image information is subjected to image processing, and the image is output to a color print of the sensitometric exposure image. Was obtained, and a positive-type characteristic curve was obtained from the printed exposure image and used for evaluation of photographic characteristics. Of course, the image quality is determined in this test by the photographic characteristics indicated by the characteristic curves. (Running Processing Test Sample) The above four types of test films were exposed to 25%, and processed at the above-mentioned ratio by a developing apparatus. The exposure of 25% is an average exposure in an average usage of a color negative film. Therefore, a test for continuously developing a film having this exposure amount is a running development test that approximates the normal operating state of a commercial lab.

[0139] 3. Developing machine and processing The developing processing was performed according to the following color negative developing machine and processing specifications. As a processing machine, an automatic developing machine FP-363SC manufactured by Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. can change the processing time, and a liquid level sensor can be attached to the developing tank to reduce and replenish the processing amount. In addition, an experimental machine having three modifications was used in which the replenishment tank was further downsized so that all replenishment tanks could be accommodated in the space below the processing tank group of the automatic processor.
Of the liquid level sensor is 1 level lower than the normal level.
When the replenishment unit (in this case, 50 ml) drops, this is detected and an operation signal is given to the pump of the developer replenishment tank. As a result, 50 ml is replenished and the liquid level is restored to a normal level. It has become.
In the standard process, 15 milliliters of one 135-24Ex format film is replenished, but in the case of weight reduction replenishment, 2.5 milliliters of one film are replenished. Corresponding to the amount of liquid taken out of the In addition,
When the processing amount detecting means detects that the integrated processing amount has reached 1,000 lines, the developing solution in the developing tank is discharged and replaced with a new solution as described above.

As for the replenisher tank, the replenisher tank of the FP-363SC has a replenisher capacity of 13%.
5-24Ex film is equivalent to 200 films, and is adjusted to the replenisher volume of the stabilizer replenisher tank.
The volume was reduced to 2.5 liters corresponding to 000 bottles (there is another advantage that the replenisher unit can be replaced at the same time, in addition to the volume reduction of the replenisher tank portion which is the object of the invention). Although not directly related to the present invention, this machine is equipped with a refilling system of an automatic opening and dispensing system using a concentrated liquid processing agent contained in a plastic bottle container. When the dispensing section is closed and the lid of the dispensing section is closed, the cap (plastic sheet) of the bottle is automatically pierced by the piercing nozzle, and the internal composition solution is poured into the replenishing tank. After that, a certain amount of washing water jets out to wash the inside of the bottle, and the washing water also flows down to the replenishment tank and is used as dilution water for preparing the replenisher, and the replenisher is completed and replenished It is a mechanism that can be stored in the tank.

The processing steps and the composition of the processing solution are shown below. (Processing step) Step Processing time Processing temperature Replenishment amount * Tank capacity Color development 2 minutes 30 seconds 41.0 ° C Weight loss replenishment 3.6L Bleaching 25 seconds 40 ° C 5ml 3.6L Settling (1) 25 seconds 40 ° C -3 1.6L fixed (2) 25 seconds 40 ° C 7.5ml 3.6L stable (1) 14 seconds 40 ° C-1.9L stable (2) 13 seconds 40 ° C-1.9L stable (3) 13 seconds 40 ° C. 30 ml 1.9 L Drying 30 seconds 60 ° C. * Replenishment amount per photosensitive material 35 mm width 1.1 m (equivalent to 24 Ex. 1 bottle)

The stabilizing solution is of a counterflow type (3) → (2) → (1), and the fixing solution is also connected from (2) to (1) by a countercurrent pipe. Also, 15 ml of the tank solution of the stabilizing solution (2) flows into the fixing solution (2), which corresponds to the replenishing amount. The amount of the developer brought into the bleaching step, the amount of the bleaching liquid brought into the fixing step, and the amount of the fixing liquid brought into the washing step were all 2.0 ml per 1.1 mm width of 35 mm photosensitive material. The crossover time is 3 seconds in each case, and this time is included in the processing time of the previous step.

The composition of the processing liquid is shown below. (Color developing solution) Tank solution Replenisher solution Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid 2.0 g 2.0 g Sodium 4,5-dihydroxybenzene-1,3-disulfonate 0.4 g 0.4 g Disodium-N, N-bis (sulfonateethyl 4.) Hydroxylamine 10.0 g 10.0 g Sodium sulfite 4.0 g 4.0 g Potassium bromide 1.4 g-2-Methyl-4- [N-ethyl-N- (β-hydroxyethyl) amino] aniline sulfate 5. 5 g 5.5 g Potassium carbonate 39 g 39 g Add water 1.0 L 1.0 L pH (adjusted with sulfuric acid and KOH) 10.10 11.10

(Bleaching solution) Tank solution Replenisher 1,3-diaminopropanetetraacetic acid ammonium ferric ammonium monohydrate 120 g 180 g Ammonium bromide 50 g 70 g Succinic acid 30 g 50 g Maleic acid 40 g 60 g Imidazole 20 g 30 g Add water. 0 L 1.0 L pH (adjusted with ammonia water and nitric acid) 4.6 4.0

(Fixing solution) Tank solution Replenisher Ammonium thiosulfate (750 g / L) 280 ml 1000 ml Ammonium bisulfite aqueous solution (72%) 20 g 80 g Imidazole 5 g 45 g 1-mercapto-2- (N, N-dimethylaminoethyl) tetrazole 1 g 3 g Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid 8 g 12 g Add water 1 L 1 L pH (adjusted with aqueous ammonia and nitric acid) 7.0 7.0

(Stabilizing solution) Common to tank solution and replenisher p-toluenesulfinic acid rim 0.03 g p-nonylphenoxypolyglycidol (glycidol average polymerization degree 10) 0.4 g ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt 0.05 g 1 1,2,4-triazole 1.3 g 1,4-bis (1,2,4-triazol-1-ylmethyl) piperazine 0.75 g 1,2-benzisothiazolin-3-one 0.10 g 0L pH 8.5

4. Image processing and preparation of evaluation prints The sensitometrically exposed samples for films A to D for image quality determination were developed from a processing amount of “zero”, and while performing a weight reduction replenishment process, the first development amount was 100%. Book 40
0th and 1000th (in total of each film AB)
Processed. The developed sample is processed by an automatic processor Fro
A color print of a sensitometric exposure image was prepared using ntier 350 (manufactured by Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.), color paper treatment prescription CP-48S, and a processing agent (both manufactured by Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.). Frontier
r350 is a printer processor including an image processing apparatus and the accompanying image printing apparatus (printer) and image output apparatus (color paper development processing unit) so that the processing B can be corrected. The image processing has been changed. Color paper includes Fuji Color Paper SUPER FAType D (Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.)
Manufactured). The sensitometric exposure image printed on the color print was measured for density in accordance with the method described in ISO5 (photo-density measuring method) to obtain a characteristic curve.
This is shown in FIG.

[0148] 5. Test Results FIG. 11 is a characteristic curve showing test results of the entire process from Example 1 to exposure to a color negative film, development processing, and image processing to obtain a color print image. In FIG. 11, characteristic curves 2, 3, and 4 are characteristic curves of the 100th, 400th, and 1000th samples subjected to development replenishment and correction by image processing, respectively. These are referred to as characteristic curves 2 and 1-3.
Only the characteristic curve of the magenta color image is shown to avoid complication of the table. A characteristic curve 1 in FIG. 11 is a characteristic curve of a standard processing sample obtained by sensitometric exposure of the film samples A to D for comparison with the standard processing. That is, the above-mentioned automatic developing machine FP-363SC manufactured by Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. was used as a processing machine, and at the start of the test, that is, development processing was performed with a new solution (true processing amount “zero”). The image information obtained by reading the exposure image was directly printed and developed by a printer without performing image processing, and a color print of the sensitometric exposure image was obtained, which was used as a reference example, that is, an example of standard processing. In FIG.
The characteristic curve of the magenta color image of the film A is shown as a representative.

Further, as a comparative example, the read image information of the sensitometric exposure samples of the film samples A to D at the time of processing of 10, 400 and 1000 films was directly printed and developed by a printer without performing image processing. Characteristic curves obtained from the obtained positive images (these were compared in Comparative Example 3-1;
(Characteristic curves of 3-2 and 3-3) (characteristic curves 5, 6 and 7 correspond to Comparative Examples 3-1, 3-2 and 3-3). As shown in FIG. 11, when the developing apparatus of the present invention performs processing by performing replenishment with a reduced amount, that is, underreplenishment, the characteristic curves are soft (low contrast) in Comparative Examples 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3. And the maximum density value (Dmax) is low and not shown in FIG.
Since the colors are different for magenta and yellow, the color balance is also poor, indicating that the image quality has deteriorated. On the other hand, in Examples 1-1, 1-2 and 1-3 of the present invention, the photographic characteristics almost overlap each other, and as shown in comparison with the reference example, the throughput at the start of the development test "zero"
In this case, the shape of the characteristic curve at the time of (1) is maintained, which indicates that the image quality is maintained by the image processing even in the processing under the weight reduction supplement.

Although not shown in FIG. 11, the characteristic curve of film A is the same as that of magenta for the characteristic curves of yellow and cyan.
1, 1-2 and 1-3 are almost identical to each other and also to the reference example, whereas Comparative Examples 3-1 and 3-2
And 3-3 are characteristic curves having a remarkably soft tone and a low maximum density value deviating from the reference example, as in the case of the magenta characteristic curve. Further, the same results as those of the film A were obtained for the films B, C and D. In addition, as described above, in the first embodiment, the amount of replenishment is reduced, and the replenishment amount of the standard processing is reduced to 1/6 from 15 ml to 2.5 ml per 135-24EX format film. The refill tank could also be made smaller.

[Example 2] 1. Tested color negative film Same as in Example 1. 2. Method of photographic property test Developing method of photosensitive material sample The same method as in Example 1 was used for the sensitometric exposure of the sample for image quality judgment, the user approximate exposure of the sample for running processing test, and the method of mixing them. .

[0152] 3. Development Processing Machine and Processing As the processing machine, a two-bath experimental automatic developing machine comprising a developing step of system B and a stabilizing bath step shown in FIG. 2 was used. This developing machine is of a type capable of changing the processing time and having a developing tank equipped with a liquid level sensor, and capable of reducing and replenishing the ink. The liquid level sensor detects that the liquid level is lower than the level L of FIG. 2 by one replenishing unit (in this case, 15 ml) and gives an operation signal to the pump of the developer replenishing tank, and as a result, 15 ml And the liquid level is restored to the level L in FIG. 135-
The replenishment amount per 24Ex format film is
In the standard processing, the amount is 15 ml, but in the case of weight reduction replenishment, the film is 2.5 ml. When the processing amount detecting means detects that the integrated processing amount has reached 400 lines, the developing solution in the developing tank is discharged and replaced with a new solution as described above. The capacity of the replenisher tank was 1. for both the developer replenisher and the stabilizing bath replenisher.
It is 0 liter.

The processing steps and the composition of the processing solution are shown below. (Processing process) Step Processing time Processing temperature Replenishment amount * Tank capacity Color development 20 seconds 65.0 ° C Weight loss replenishment 1.0L Rinse 20 seconds 40 ° C Weight loss replenishment 1.0L Dry ** 20 seconds 60 ° C * Weight loss replenishment amount For a photosensitive material of 35 mm width 1.1 m width (equivalent to 24 Ex. 1 bottle, 2.5 ml.) ** Drying is performed by heat roller (heat source is tungsten halogen heater, surface temperature of 55 ° C) with Teflon coated aluminum roller and hot air of 60 ° C. Soaking drying was also used.

The composition of the processing liquid is shown below. (Color developing solution) Tank solution Replenisher solution Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid 2.0 g 2.0 g Sodium 4,5-dihydroxybenzene-1,3-disulfonate 0.4 g 0.4 g Disodium-N, N-bis (sulfonateethyl 9.) Hydroxylamine 13.2 g 13.2 g Sodium sulfite 4.0 g 4.0 g Potassium bromide 20.0 g-2-Methyl-4- [N-ethyl-N- (β-hydroxyethyl) amino] aniline sulfate 0 g 10.0 g Potassium carbonate 39 g 39 g Add water 1.0 L 1.0 L pH (adjusted with sulfuric acid and KOH) 10.10 11.10

(Stabilizing bath) Common to tank liquid and replenisher 50.0 g of succinic acid Water was added to 1.0 L pH (prepared with aqueous ammonia and nitric acid) 3.5

4. Image processing and preparation of evaluation prints The sensitometrically exposed samples for films A to D for image quality determination were developed from a processing amount of “zero”, and while performing a weight reduction replenishment process, the first development amount was 100%. Book 40
0th and 1000th (in total of each film AB)
Processed. The developed sample was processed using Frontier 350 as an automatic printer processor and Fuji Color Paper SUPER FA Type D as color paper, as in Example 1.
Color paper treatment formula CP-
A color print of a sensitometric exposure image was prepared using 48S and its treating agent (both manufactured by Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.). The sensitometric exposure image was subjected to density measurement according to the method described in ISO5 (photograph-density measurement method) in the same manner as in Example 1 to obtain a characteristic curve. This is shown in FIG.

[0157] 5. Test Results FIG. 12 is a characteristic curve group showing the test results of Example 2 in which the processing of the method B was performed. In FIG. 12, characteristic curves 2 and 3
Examples 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3 of the present invention represented by and 4.
Are the characteristic curves of the 100th, 400th, and 1000th samples after the development replenishment and correction by image processing. Only the characteristic curve of the magenta color image is shown to avoid complication of the table. For comparison with the standard treatment, the reference sample shown in Example 1 is shown again as a characteristic curve 1. As Comparative Example 4, 10 samples of film samples A to D were used.
The samples obtained from the positive images obtained by directly printing and developing with a printer without performing image processing on the read image information of the sensitometrically exposed samples at the time of the processing of 400, 1000, and 1000 samples were obtained. As -2 and 4-3,
The respective characteristic curves are shown (Comparative Examples 4-1, 4-2, and 4-3 are shown corresponding to the characteristic curves 5, 6, and 7). FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, when the processing was carried out by the developing apparatus of the present invention by weight reduction and replenishment, the characteristic curves were extremely soft (low contrast) and the highest density value in Comparative Examples 4-1 to 4-2. (Dmax) is low and FIG.
Although not shown, since the degree is different for cyan, magenta and yellow, the color balance is also poor, indicating that the image quality is at an unacceptable level. On the other hand, in the inventive examples 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3, the photographic characteristics are almost overlapped with each other, and are very close to the reference sample 1 shown as the reference example. That is, the shape of the characteristic curve when the processing amount at the start of the development test is “zero” is maintained within the allowable range. This indicates that the image quality is maintained.

Although not shown in FIG. 12, each of the characteristic curves of Inventive Examples 2-1 to 2-2 for yellow and cyan is the same as that for the magenta film described above. The characteristic curves of Examples 2-1, 2-2 and 2 of the present invention
-3 are almost identical to each other and to Reference Example 1, while Comparative Examples 4-1 to 4-2 and 4-3 are characteristic curves of an unacceptable level as in the case of the magenta characteristic curve. there were. Further, the same results as those of the film A were obtained for the films B, C and D. In addition, as described above, in the second embodiment, the amount of replenishment for the standard processing is the amount of replenishment for decreasing the amount of the 135-24 EX format film 1
The volume is reduced to 1/6 from 15 ml to 2.5 ml per book. The replenishment tank of the developing machine of the present embodiment could be reduced to 1 liter, whereas the replenishment tank of the general-purpose developing machine having almost the same processing capacity was 10.3 liters.

[0159]

By using the developing apparatus of the present invention, the developed image can be read photoelectrically even if the liquid in the developing tank is deteriorated due to the developing processing under the insufficient replenishment. Since it can be converted to serial digital image information and output after correcting it to normal image quality by image processing, the amount of the developing replenisher can be reduced, and as a result, the space of the replenishing unit of the developing processing device can be reduced. It is possible to provide a development processing device which can be reduced in size, requires a small installation space for the development device, and maintains the processing ability. Furthermore, the use of this processing apparatus not only compensates for the effect of under-replenishment, but also enables standard processing to obtain the quality of images obtained by simple or rapid processing such as high temperature, high activation, or omission of processing steps. You can also get color prints that have been modified to the expected image quality.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a developing apparatus according to the present invention and an overall flow of a developing process.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a two-step development processing apparatus which is one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a transmission type image reading apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating a reflection type image reading apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a part of the configuration of the image processing apparatus 5 shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing another part of the configuration of the image processing apparatus 5 shown in FIG. 2, which is not shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing details of a first frame memory unit, a second frame memory unit, and a third frame memory unit shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing details of the first image processing means shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically illustrating an image output apparatus that outputs an image from time-series image information input from a development processing apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of a laser beam irradiation unit of the printer.

FIG. 11 is a group of characteristic curves showing test results of Example 1.

FIG. 12 is a group of characteristic curves showing test results of Example 2.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Description of reference numerals in FIGS. 1 to 11 F film P color print or color paper 1 image reading device 5 image processing device 8 image output device 10 transmission type image reading device 11 light source 12 light amount adjustment unit 13 color separation unit 14 diffusion unit 15 CCD area Sensor 16 Lens 17 Amplifier 18 A / D converter 19 CCD correction means 20 Log converter 21 Interface 22 Carrier 23 Motor 24 Drive roller 25 Screen detection sensor 26 CPU 30 Reflection image reader 31 Light source 32 Mirror 33 Color balance filter 34 Light intensity Adjustment unit 35 CCD area sensor 36 lens 37 amplifier 38 A / D converter 39 CCD correction means 40 log converter 48 interface 49 averaging means 50a first Line buffer 50b Second line buffer 51 First frame memory unit 51R R data memory 51G G data memory 51B B data memory 52 Second frame memory unit 52R R data memory 52G G data memory 52B B data memory 53 Third Frame memory unit 53R R data memory 53G G data memory 53B B data memory 55 Selector 60 CPU 61 First image processing means 62 Second image processing means 63 Input bus 64 Output bus 65 Data bus 66 Memory 67 Hard disk 68 CRT 69 Keyboard Reference numeral 70 Communication port 75 Data synthesizing means 76 Synthetic data memory 76R R data memory 76G G data memory 76B B data memory 77 Interface 78 Interface 79 CPU 80 Image data memory 81 D / A converter 82 Laser light irradiation means 83 Modulator driving means 84 a, b, c Semiconductor laser light source 85 Wavelength conversion means 86 Wavelength conversion means 87 R, G, B Light modulator 88 R, G, B Reflecting mirror 89 Polygon mirror 90 Color paper 91 Magazine 92 Perforating means 94 Color developing tank 95 Bleaching and fixing tank 96 Washing tank 97 Drying section 98 Cutter 99 Sorter 100 Color density gradation converting means 101 Saturation converting means 102 Digital magnification converting means 103 Frequency processing means 104 Dynamic range conversion means 111 Processing unit 112 Developing tank 113 Stabilizing bath 114 Drying unit 116 Liquid level sensor 117 Liquid level sensor 121 Circulating fluid intake 122 Circulating pipe 123 Circulating pump 124 Fluid feeding pipe 125 Heater 126 Counter roller 127 Counter roller 128 Upper cover member 129 Lower cover member 130 Seal blade 131 Circulating fluid intake 132 Circulation pipe 133 Circulation pump 134 Liquid feed pipe 135 Heater 136 Counter roller 137 Counter roller 138 Upper cover member 139 Lower cover member 140 Seal blade 150 Refill port 151 Refill port L Liquid level

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2H098 AA01 AA09 BA15 BA18 CA02 DA15 EA02 EA12 2H106 AA02 AA12 AA85 BA12 BA23 BA29 BA64

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A developing processing apparatus, comprising: a detecting means for detecting at least a developing processing amount of the photosensitive material; a developing processing means including at least a developing step of performing development with under-replenishment; An image information reading means for photoelectrically reading image information from the image processing apparatus. 2. A development processing apparatus, comprising: a detection unit for detecting at least a development processing amount of the photosensitive material; a development processing unit including at least a development step of performing development with under-replenishment; Image information reading means for photoelectrically reading image information from the digital camera, analog / digital conversion means for converting the read image information into electrical / digital information, and the electric / digital conversion means based on the processing amount read by the processing amount detection means. Arithmetic means for correcting image information to electrical digital image information that would be obtained when the processing amount is zero,
The developing device according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. A development processing apparatus, comprising: a detection unit for detecting at least a development processing amount of the photosensitive material; a development processing unit including at least a development step of performing development with an under-replenishment; Image information reading means for photoelectrically reading image information from the digital camera, analog / digital conversion means for converting the read image information into electrical / digital information, and the electric / digital conversion means based on the processing amount read by the processing amount detection means. It has a calculating means for correcting image information into electrical digital image information that should be obtained when the processing amount is zero, and an output means for outputting the corrected electrical digital image information. The developing device according to claim 1. 4. An image processing means for correcting electrical digital image information read from an image obtained by developing a photosensitive material into electrical digital image information to be obtained from an image obtained by standard developing the photosensitive material. 4. The apparatus for developing a silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material according to claim 1, further comprising: 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for switching the whole amount of the processing liquid in the developing tank to a new liquid when the processing amount read by the detecting means for detecting the processing amount reaches a predetermined amount. 5. The apparatus for developing a silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material according to any one of items 1 to 4. 6. At least a processing amount detecting unit, a photoelectric reading unit for image information, and an analog /
A development processing method using a development processing apparatus having a digital conversion unit, a digital image information calculation processing unit, and a calculation processed digital image information output unit, wherein the development is performed under undersupplementation, and the developed photosensitive The image information of the material is photoelectrically read, the read electrical image information is converted into electrical digital image information by analog / digital conversion means, and based on the development processing amount read by the development processing amount detection means by the calculation means. A silver halide color photographic light-sensitive device which corrects the electric digital image information into electric digital image information that would be obtained when the development processing amount is zero, and outputs the corrected electric digital image information. Material development processing method. 7. When the processing amount read by the processing amount detecting means reaches a predetermined amount, the entire amount of the developing solution in the developing tank is switched to a new solution, and the next developing process is performed using the new solution. 7. The method for developing a silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material according to claim 6, wherein the developing amount is returned to zero and the next developing is performed.