JP2001218136A - Method and system for providing photo service - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and system for providing photos on the day when a meeting or the like is held to its participants wherein photos on that day are prepared by the number of the participants and distributed to each participant before the meeting or the like is over. SOLUTION: The digital camera (1) of this invention photographs a scene of a meeting or the like, a computer (3) edits its image data and generates print data and a color printer (5) prints out the image. Thus, the system can generate distribution materials including many photos in a short time. Therefore, the system can distribute the distribution materials including the photos of scenes during the meeting to each participant before the meeting is over.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and a system for providing a photo service for producing a card for distributing a greeting card for a wedding or the like including a photograph, and more particularly to a ceremony and a photographed image of the day of the meeting in color printing. The present invention relates to a method and a system for providing a photo service capable of creating a large number of distribution cards in a short time.

[0002] At weddings, commemorative ceremonies, parties, and the like, a photo service is provided in which commemorative photos on the day of the ceremony are distributed to participants as commemorations. Such a photo service is
Not only banquet business such as weddings, but also tourism business such as sightseeing trips, food and beverage business, etc. are performed. It is desirable as a memorial that such a distribution card containing a commemorative photo should be distributed to participants, etc., with a distribution card containing a photo on the day of the ceremony, and it is particularly impressive that the distribution card is distributed on the day of the ceremony. Good and saves time for distribution.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a service for taking a commemorative photograph with a camera and distributing the photograph to participants has been provided in a group trip or the like. This system uses a fast lab system,
Photographic negatives are printed on photographic paper.
Photos taken on the day can be distributed on the day.

It is common to distribute a greeting card with a greeting, address, name, and a photo of the day of the ceremony on the day after the ceremony. A greeting card that distributes the greeting card on the day of the ceremony has been proposed (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-92067).

[0005]

However, the conventional method has the following problems.

(1) In the method of distributing a photograph taken by a camera, it is difficult to include a greeting, a commemorative sentence, etc. in the distributed photograph, and the impression is small.

(2) For example, it is pleased that a greeting card including a photograph of a wedding ceremony or a reception is prepared and distributed for all participants before the end of the reception. However, in a camera photographing system, it is difficult to create a large number of photographs in a short time, and it is necessary to introduce a large-scale developing system.

(3) In the above-mentioned proposal for a greeting card for a wedding,
It shows that a photo taken on the day is printed in the greeting, but no specific means of realization is disclosed. In other words, no method is proposed in which greetings or the like on which photographs are printed can be created in a large amount in a short time.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method and a system for providing a photo service for printing a large number of distribution cards containing photographs and text of the day in a short time and distributing them to participants on the day. It is in.

[0010] Another object of the present invention is to print a large number of distribution cards containing photographs and texts of the day in a short time in a relatively small configuration, and to distribute them to participants on the day. An object of the present invention is to provide a service providing method and a system thereof.

[0011] Still another object of the present invention is to provide a photo service for freely editing the layout of a distribution card even if a large number of distribution cards containing photographs and text of the day are printed in a short time. An object of the present invention is to provide a providing method and a system thereof.

[0012]

A method for providing a photo service according to the present invention includes the steps of: photographing a scene with a digital camera; capturing image data of the digital camera into a computer; To the distribution card image data, and printing the edited image data in color using a color printer to create the distribution card.

[0013] A photo service providing system according to the present invention includes a digital camera for photographing a scene, a computer for editing image data of the digital camera into image data of a distribution card, and a computer connected to the computer for editing the image data. And a color printer for color printing the image data on a distribution card.

In this embodiment of the present invention, a scene such as a wedding is photographed with a digital camera, electronic image data is obtained, input to a computer, electronically edited, printed by a color printer, and a distribution card is printed. create. Thus, a distribution card having a layout desired by the client can be freely created for electronically editing the electronic image data.

Further, since the edited data is printed in color on a distribution card by a color printer, a large number of cards on which photographs and text are printed can be automatically created in a short time. Therefore, a greeting card or the like on which the photographed image and text of the day are printed can be distributed to the participants on the day. For example, after the wedding ceremony, or after taking a photo of the newlywed couple during the reception, a greeting card containing the photographed photo, before or at the end of the reception,
Can be distributed to participants.

Furthermore, the computer and the color printer are
Because it can be used for general purposes and for other uses,
Does not require expensive and large systems like photo lab systems. Therefore, it can be realized with an inexpensive and small configuration, and a photo service can be provided at low cost.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a photo service providing method, further comprising the step of laminating the distribution card. In this embodiment, since the printed card is laminated, it can withstand long-term storage even in printing, and is particularly suitable for a greeting card with a commemorative photo such as a wedding.

In another aspect of the present invention, in the photo service providing method, the editing step includes an image processing step of the captured image data, and distributing the image processed image data and other data. Laying out on a business card.

In this embodiment, since the captured image is electronic data, the computer can freely perform image processing on focus, light / dark, zoom, resolution, size, and the like, and can process the image into an optimum image. For this reason, particularly important images such as commemorative photographs can be printed in the best condition with a high degree of impression. In particular, color photographs can be printed with the highest image quality.

In a photo service providing system according to another aspect of the present invention, the computer has a file for storing the captured image data and the edited image data. In this aspect, since the image data and the edit data are stored in one file, the image processing and the printing processing of the computer are easy, and a general-purpose system can be used. Therefore, the photo service can be provided at low cost.

[0021]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in the order of a photo service system, a photo service method, and other embodiments.

Photo Service System FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a photo service system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a photo service system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the digital camera 1
The object 9 is imaged by a CCD or the like, and is converted into electronic image data. The digital camera 1 has a memory cartridge 2 for storing the image data. The memory cartridge 2 is composed of, for example, a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory. This digital camera 1
May be configured with a video camera that captures moving images.

The computer 3 is constituted by a personal computer. The computer 3 reads the image data of the memory cartridge 2 and performs image processing. Then, the input text data and the layout are edited to create edited image data. The disk cartridge 4 stores image data obtained by reading a previously prepared photograph or the like by a scanner (not shown), and is read by the computer 3 as necessary. At the time of editing, the computer 3 also edits the layout of the image data.

The color printer 5 performs color printing of the edited image data sent from the computer 3 on a set medium (such as a greeting card). The color printer 5 can continuously execute the printing of the number specified by the computer 3. In printing a greeting card or the like, a thick high-grade card medium is used as the medium.

The printed matter 7 subjected to color printing is set on the laminator 6 manually. The laminator 6 covers the printed matter 7 with a laminate film, and creates a final distribution card 8.

This digital camera 1 has a computer 3
Not directly connected to Therefore, an arbitrary image can be taken at an arbitrary place in a ceremonial hall or a banquet hall. Of course, the digital camera 1 may be directly connected to the computer 3.

Referring to FIG. 2, the system will be described in more detail. As shown in FIG. 2, the computer 3 includes a processor 30 for performing processing, a file 31 for storing image data and the like, a display 32 for display, and a keyboard / mouse 33 for input.

Further, the processor 30 is provided with an interface card (flash path) 10 for interfacing with the memory cartridge 2 of the digital camera. Further, the scanner 30 for reading the photograph 12 and the like is connected to the processor 30.

The memory of the processor 30 has an image processing program 36 and an editing processing program 37 mounted thereon. The image processing program 36 executes zoom processing, resolution processing, focus adjustment, light / dark processing, size processing, and the like of the captured image in accordance with an instruction from the operator. For example, an application program such as Photoshop (product name) can be used.

The editing processing program 37 performs a layout process on the image data and the text data according to the designated size of the printed matter and the layout position, and creates edited image data (print data). For example, an input program such as WORD (product name of Microsoft Corporation) can be used.

The file 31 is composed of a hard disk. The file 31 is provided with a capture area 34 for storing captured image data and an edit area 35 for storing edited image data. The text data is input by operating the keyboard / mouse 33. Also, fixed sentences such as greetings are stored in the file 31 in advance, and can be selected by operating the keyboard / mouse 33.

The color printer 5 prints an image on a medium in color, and a known computer color printer can be used. In particular, an electrophotographic color printer is suitable. The electrophotographic color printer can print a high-resolution color image at high speed, and is suitable for printing a distribution card 8 including a photo to be distributed to participants.

The electrophotographic color printer 5 includes a hopper 50 for setting a medium to be printed, a magenta unit 51 for forming a magenta toner image on the medium, and a cyan unit 52 for forming a cyan toner image on the medium. A yellow unit 53 for forming a yellow toner image, a black unit 54 for forming a black toner image,
The fixing device 55 includes a fixing device 55 that thermally fixes the toner image on the medium, and a stacker (not shown) that stores the printed medium.

This electrophotographic color printer 5 is capable of printing 13 sheets of color paper at A4 per minute, for example.
It takes 7.7 minutes to print 100 greeting cards. The laminator 6 presses a laminated film on both sides or one side of a known medium. As a result, the printed contents can be protected for a long time, and the appearance of the printed distribution card 8 can be improved, and the printed distribution card 8 is suitable as a distributed product.

Photo Service Method FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 to 6 are explanatory diagrams of the created distribution card.

(S 1) First, the digital camera 1 captures an image of a scene such as a meeting or a ceremony, and stores the image data in the flash memory 2. In the example of the greeting card of the wedding shown in FIG. 4, an image 80 of a couple at the wedding is taken. In the greeting card of the wedding ceremony shown in FIG. 5, an image 80 of a cake cut at a reception is taken. In the example of the commemorative card of the commemorative meeting in FIG. 6,
The participant talk 80 is filmed. in this way,
If it is a digital camera 1, at any place of the ceremony, the meeting,
Image data can be obtained by imaging an arbitrary situation.

(S2) Next, the memory cartridge 2 of the digital camera 1 is taken out and set in the computer 3. That is, this memory is set in the interface card 10 of FIG.

(S3) The image data in the memory 2 is fetched by the operation of the keyboard / mouse 33 by the operator.
It is stored in the fetch area 34 of the file 31.

(S4) The image processing program 36 is activated by the operation of the keyboard / mouse 33 by the operator, and performs image processing of the image data. That is, focus processing, zoom processing, light / dark processing, resolution processing, size processing, and the like are performed according to instructions from the operator. The processed image data is stored in the capture area 34.

(S5) Next, the operator's keyboard
By operating the mouse 33, the editing processing program 37 is started, and the editing processing of the print data is performed. That is, the output size (A4, A5
) Is laid out at a desired position, and an attached sentence is laid out at a designated position. The edited print data is stored in the editing area 35.

In the example of an A5 size wedding greeting card shown in FIG. 4, an image 80 of a couple at the wedding is laid out.
A greeting sentence 81 is laid out next to it, and below that,
The address 82 of the new home is laid out. In the greeting card of the A4 size wedding ceremony shown in FIG.
2, 83 are laid out. These images 82 and 83
It is input from the disk cartridge 4 in FIG. 1 or the scanner 11 in FIG. Further, a date 84 and a color paper image 85 are also laid out.

In the example of the commemorative card of the A5 size commemorative meeting shown in FIG.
7 is laid out. As described above, by performing the editing process, print data having a desired layout and contents can be obtained.

(S6) Next, the operator's keyboard
The number of prints is set by operating the mouse 33, and a print instruction is sent to the color printer 5. Thus, the edited print data of the file 31 is transferred to the color printer 5.

(S7) In the hopper 50 of the color printer 5, a print medium suitable for a greeting card or the like is set. Then, the color printer 5 takes out the print medium from the hopper 50, forms a color toner image on the print medium by the print units 51-54, and fixes the toner image by the fixing unit 55. Then, the printed matter 7 is discharged to the stacker. The color printer 5 prints a designated number of sheets.

(S8) The operator takes out the printed matter 7 from the stacker, inserts it into the laminator 6, laminates the printed matter 7, and creates a distribution card 8. And distribute this to the participants.

As described above, the image is taken by the digital camera 1,
Image / edit processing by computer 3 and color printer 5
Since the color printing is performed by the user, the required number of distribution cards including the photographed images can be created within one hour after the photographing.
Therefore, a commemorative card including an image of the ceremony and an image of the state of the meeting can be created before the ceremony and the end of the meeting and distributed to the participants. For this reason, it is extremely effective as a photo service for wedding halls, banquet halls and the like, and is useful for promoting customer gathering at ceremonial halls and the like.

In addition, a large number of commemorative cards can be created at high speed, and such commemorative cards can be distributed to a large number of participants before the end of the ceremony or the like, even at weddings, receptions, large meetings, meetings, and the like. .

Further, since a general-purpose system is used, it can be introduced at a low cost, and such a photo service can be provided at a low cost.

FIG. 7 is a system configuration diagram of another embodiment of the present invention. The same components as those shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same symbols. In this system, a plurality of (two) digital cameras 1a and 1b are used to photograph various situations such as a ceremony and a meeting, and image data is stored in each memory 2.
The image data in the memory 2 is input to the first computer 3-1 by the interface card 10. The first computer 3-1 includes the second and third computers 3-
2, 3-3 are connected.

Second and third computers 3-2 and 3-3
Transfers image data from the first computer 3-1. Then, the second and third computers 3-2, 3-
Reference numeral 3 performs the above-described image processing and editing processing to create print data. Second and third computers 3-2, 3-
3 are connected to color printers 5-1 and 5-2, respectively.

The color printers 5-1 and 5-2 print the transferred print data on a print medium in color.
The printed material is laminated by the laminators 6-1 and 6-2 to create a distributed product 8.

In this system, two computers,
Since the color printer is provided, the creation speed is doubled. Therefore, even if the number of distributions is doubled, it is possible to create distributions for the number of distributions before the end of the meeting or the like. In particular, such a photo service can be provided for a meeting with a large number of people such as 200 people.

Also, since editing is performed by two computers, different distributions can be made at the same time as the system of FIG.
Can be created in large quantities. For example, it is effective as a photo service when a plurality of wedding receptions are held at the same time at a wedding hall.

In addition to the above-described embodiment, the present invention can be modified as follows.

(1) In the above embodiment, an electrophotographic printer has been described as a color printer, but other color printers such as an ink jet printer can be used.

(2) Other processing can be used for image processing.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiment, various modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention.
They are not excluded from the scope of the present invention.

[0059]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The following effects are obtained.

(1) A scene such as a wedding is photographed with a digital camera, electronic image data is obtained, input to a computer, electronically edited, printed by a color printer, and a distribution card is created. Electronic image data can be electronically edited, and a distribution card having a layout desired by the client can be freely created.

(2) Since the editing data is printed in color on a distribution card by a color printer, a large number of cards on which photographs and texts are printed can be automatically created in a short time. Therefore, a greeting card or the like on which the photographed image and text of the day are printed can be distributed to the participants on the day.

(3) Further, general-purpose computers and color printers can be used, and they can be used for other purposes, so that expensive and large systems such as a photo lab system are not required. Therefore, it can be realized with an inexpensive and small configuration, and a photo service can be provided at low cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a greeting card created by the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of another greeting card created by the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a commemorative photograph created by the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a system configuration diagram of another embodiment of the present invention.

[Description of Signs] 1 Digital camera 2 Memory cartridge 3 Computer 5 Color printer 102-1 Analog resistor 6 Laminator 7 Printed matter 8 Handout (handout card)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 1/387 H04N 1/387 5C062 5/91 B42D 15/02 511E 5C076 // B42D 15/02 511 H04N 101 : 00 9A001 H04N 101: 00 5/91 HJ (72) Inventor Motoyasu Tsuda 6-24-1, Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo F-term within Fujitsu Coworko Co., Ltd. 2C005 XA03 2C087 AA09 AA15 BB10 BC12 BC13 BD52 CA03 CB03 DA16 5B057 AA01 BA02 CA01 CB01 CE08 5C052 AA11 DD02 DD10 FA02 FA03 FA04 FA06 FB04 FB06 FB07 FD06 5C053 FA04 FA07 FA30 HA40 KA04 LA01 LA03 LA11 5C062 AA01 AA05 AA13 AB10 AB22 AB03 AB10 AB22 AB03 AB10 AB10 JJ35 KK42 KK60 KK62

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. a step of photographing a scene with a digital camera; a step of importing image data of the digital camera into a computer; a step of editing the image data by the computer into image data of a distribution card; Printing the edited image data in color using a color printer to create the distribution card. 2. The photo service providing method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of laminating the distribution card. 3. The method of providing a photo service according to claim 1, wherein the editing step includes a step of performing image processing on the captured image data;
Laying out the image-processed image data and other data on the distribution card. 4. A digital camera for photographing a scene, a computer for editing the image data of the digital camera into image data of a distribution card, and connected to the computer, for transmitting the edited image data to the distribution card And a color printer for performing color printing. 5. The photo service providing system according to claim 4, wherein the computer has a file for storing the captured image data and the edited image data. .