JP2003115955A - Method and device for outputting photo image - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and device for outputting photo image that provides an output of a print-out and a file at a low cost and in high efficiency so as to obtain a print and an image file with high quality in the case that a lab or the like implements both processing of printing out a photo image recorded on a photo film and processing of storing the photo image on a storage medium as an image file. SOLUTION: A digital printer 5 outputs a plurality of photo image data obtained from a film 1 through one film handling by using a film scanner having an automatic feed function as a print 7 and a file output means (compression means 4) outputs the image data to a storage medium 6 as a file.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for outputting a photographic image, and more particularly to printing out a photographic image recorded on a photographic film as a photographic print, and storing the image data of the photographic image for later use. The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for outputting a photographic image when it is stored as.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image of each frame of a photograph recorded on a photographic film (hereinafter, simply referred to as a film) is read by a film scanner to obtain image data, necessary image processing is performed, and then output as a photographic print. Photofinishing systems are known.

On the other hand, photo image data is stored in a removable medium as an image file so that it can be used by a personal computer or the like. Generally, this service is provided only for a part of photos selected by a customer. Therefore, it is usual that facilities such as a scanner and an image processing device are provided separately from the photofinishing system as described above. At this time, in order to provide high-quality image files that can be printed out as a photographic print as well as being displayed on the monitor, it was necessary to prepare expensive equipment as the above equipment, so the price of the file output service is It was not always cheap.

[0004]

In recent years, due to the rapid spread of personal computers, the demand for the file output service to the above removable media is increasing. In addition, there is also proposed a service form in which all customer photographs are stored as image files in a server computer (hereinafter referred to as an image server) having a large-capacity disk installed in a laboratory or the like and used for reprint printing. ing. Therefore, there is a demand for a method capable of efficiently outputting a photographic image data file at a lower cost.

In view of the quality of photographic images,
It is not so preferable to separately perform print output and file output as in the conventional case. If processed separately,
Since the reading conditions and the image processing conditions do not always match, for example, when a print is created from an image file, the same finish as the simultaneous print may not be obtained, and adjustment is performed by trial and error to obtain the same finish. This is because there is an inconvenience of having to do so.

In view of the above problems, the present invention efficiently outputs an image file that gives a desired finish at the time of printing when a photographic image recorded on a film is printed out and stored as an image file in a storage medium. It is an object of the present invention to provide a photographic image output method and device that can be provided to customers at low cost.

[0007]

A method of outputting a photographic image according to the present invention reads a plurality of images recorded on an image recording medium to obtain a plurality of image data, and prints out the plurality of image data. And image processing conditions for performing image processing suitable for file output, respectively, image processing is performed on the plurality of image data according to the image processing conditions suitable for file output, and the plurality of image processing-processed image data are processed. A predetermined storage medium together with information indicating a correspondence relationship between the image processing condition for performing the image processing suitable for the print output and the image processing condition for performing the image processing suitable for the file output. It is characterized by outputting to a file.

The photographic image output apparatus of the present invention comprises a reading means for reading a plurality of images recorded on an image recording medium to obtain a plurality of image data, and a plurality of image data for the plurality of image data.
Image processing condition setting means for obtaining image processing conditions for respectively performing image processing suitable for print output and file output, and image processing for the plurality of image data according to the image processing conditions suitable for file output, Correspondence between the image processing conditions for performing the image processing suitable for the print output and the image processing conditions for performing the image processing suitable for the file output of the plurality of image data subjected to the image processing. And a file output means for outputting a file to a predetermined storage medium together with the information indicating

Another method of outputting a photographic image according to the present invention is to sequentially read images of a plurality of frames of a photograph recorded on a photographic film that has been photographed and developed by a film scanner having an automatic film feeding function to obtain a plurality of image data. And a plurality of image data are printed out by a printer and output to a predetermined storage medium as a file. That is, it is intended to perform both print output and file output of photographic image data by one film handling.

It is desirable that the reading be performed only on an image of a desired frame among frames of a photograph recorded on the photographic film. The “desired frame” means a normal frame excluding, for example, a defocused image, an extremely underexposed image, and an overexposed image. In addition, APS (Advanced Photo Sys
tem) etc., the photographer can determine the necessity of printing before reading the film and magnetically record the information on the film. In the photo finishing system, the film scanner reads this information and is not necessary. Some have a function of automatically skipping frames. That is, in such a case, the "desired frame" means a frame in which the information that printing is required is recorded on the film.

As a concrete example of the above method, for example, a method of printing or outputting image data obtained by one reading at the same time or alternately, or a first reading by unidirectional film feeding, One method is to print out all the scanned image data, then scan the film in the opposite direction for the second scan, and output the scanned image data to a file. You can print it out later).

As a general film reading method, there is known a method of performing a prescan to determine reading conditions and the like and then performing a fine scan to obtain image data of a desired resolution. "One read"
1 means that the image is read once to obtain image data having a desired resolution, and the pre-scan is not counted.

When image processing is performed on the image data before print output and file output, different image processing is performed according to the image quality required for the photographic image output in each form. Is desirable.

Further, another photographic image output apparatus of the present invention is an apparatus for performing an output process according to the above method, wherein the images of a plurality of photographic frames recorded on a photographed and developed photographic film are recorded. A film scanner that obtains a plurality of image data by sequentially reading a photographic film while automatically feeding it, a printer that prints out the plurality of image data as a photographic print, and a plurality of the printers that operate in parallel with the printer. And a file output unit capable of outputting a file of the image data to a predetermined storage medium during print output of the image data.

In this apparatus, when different image processing is performed on image data and then print output / file output is performed, two image processing means are provided to respectively perform image processing for print output and file output. Image processing may be performed, or one image processing means capable of adjusting processing conditions by changing parameters may be provided, and image processing may be performed by changing parameters for print output or file output as necessary. Good.

The photographic image output method and apparatus of the present invention is used in the case where a large amount of film must be processed promptly by utilizing the automatic film feeding function like the photofinishing system installed in a laboratory. Is intended for. In other words, unlike the case where a film scanner and printer are connected to a personal computer, for example, the film is manually set and read while selecting the frame, then the file is output, and the print is output. It is assumed that the image data is sequentially output in the order in which they are read, and that the next data is read while the output processing is being performed. In other words, the system configuration is such that the read image data is alternately written to the two frame memories, and the image data is read and output from the frame memory which is not written, as in the conventional lab auto printer. It is premised on the configuration.

[0017]

According to the method and apparatus for outputting a photographic image of the present invention, a plurality of photographic image data obtained by one film handling is printed out by a printer and is output as a file in a predetermined storage medium. By effectively utilizing equipment such as a film scanner, it is possible to efficiently perform both print creation and image file saving at low cost.

At this time, the print output and the file output are 1
When performing image processing once, it means that processing is performed based on the same criteria, so when you print out the photo image data that was output as a file, you can adjust it by trial and error. You can get the desired finish without performing.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A method and apparatus for outputting a photographic image according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. This is a photo-finishing system installed in a lab,
It has a function of outputting photographic image data output as a simultaneous print as a file to a removable medium or an image server in a lab.

This system, like the conventional photofinishing system, obtains all the normal photographs of the photograph recorded on the film 1 except for out-of-focus, extreme under, and over frames. The digital image data is stored in the frame memory 2. Or, when reading APS film,
As described above, only the frames requiring printing may be read based on the information, which is magnetically recorded on the film, indicating the necessity of printing.

Reading is performed by performing two scans, a prescan and a fine scan, on each frame. The pre-scan is performed to set the optimum reading conditions, and the image data obtained by the fine scan is used for output.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the pre-scan and fine scan may be performed for each frame, and then the film may be fed by one frame, but as shown in FIG. 4, the pre-scan and the fine scan are performed. Reading in parallel at another location can take about half the time of the method of FIG. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5, first, the film may be sequentially fed in one direction to perform only the prescan for all the frames, and then the film may be fed in the reverse direction to perform the fine scan.

The image data thus read are alternately stored in the two frame memories 2a and 2b. This is so that while the read image data is being written in one frame memory, the image data in the other frame memory is output processed so that the reading process and the output process can be performed in parallel. This is because

The image data fetched from the frame memory 2 for output processing is processed by the two image processing means 3a and 3b, respectively. At this time, the processing by the two image processing means and the subsequent output processing are simultaneously (in parallel) performed for each image data. When both processes are completed, the frame memories are switched and the next image data is read into the two image processing means.

The image processing performed by the image processing means 3a and 3b is, for example, color or gradation correction, but the processing of the two image processing means differs depending on the output purpose of the image data. For example, the image processing means 3b performs a process for improving the image quality when the image data is recorded on a photographic paper as a photographic print,
The image processing means 3a performs image processing for making the image data displayed on the monitor of the personal computer easy to see. However, even though different image processing is performed, unlike the case where image processing is performed in different devices, the processing performed by the image processing means 3a and the processing performed by the image processing means 3b can be associated with each other. When the file is printed out later, the image processing to be performed can be uniquely determined from the correspondence.

The image data processed by the image processing means 3a is compressed by the compression means 4 and stored in the storage medium 6 as an image file compressed. On the other hand, the image processing means 3b
The image data processed by is printed out by the digital printer 5.

In the embodiment described above, the file output and the print output are simultaneously performed for each image data, but the file output and the print output are alternately performed for each image data next. Will be described with reference to FIG. Since the film reading mode in the embodiment of FIG. 2 is the same as that of the embodiment of FIG. 1, illustration and description thereof will be omitted.

The embodiment of FIG. 1 is provided with the image processing means 3 for file output and print output respectively, but the embodiment of FIG. 2 has only one image processing means, and this image The processing means performs image processing for file output when the processing path is switched to the compression means 4, and performs print output processing when the processing path is switched to the digital printer 5. ing.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, file output and print output may be alternately performed for each image data, but for example, image data of all frames read by sending the film in one direction is output as a file. After that, the processing path may be switched, the film may be sent in the reverse direction, each frame may be read again, and the image data may be printed out.

Here, in carrying out the present invention, the form of FIG. 1 or the form of FIG. 2 may be determined in consideration of the capabilities of the film scanner and the digital printer. For example, when it takes a long time to read by a film scanner, there is a high possibility that a wait occurs in the output processing, and therefore it is sufficient to switch the output alternately without providing two image processing means. That is, it is desirable to select a form that maximizes the usage rate of each facility.

When file output and print output are performed by the photographic image output method and apparatus of the present invention,
As shown in FIG. 6, it is desirable to record the file name of the image file on the back of the simultaneous print 9 or under each frame of the index print 10. Thus, for example, when a request for reprint printing is received, the image file 8 stored in the image server 6 in the lab can be easily searched, and a quick service can be provided.

If the apparatus as described above is installed in a laboratory as an alternative to the conventional photofinishing system, it will cost not only printout but also file at the same cost as that conventionally required for printout. Output can also be performed, and an inexpensive service can be provided to the customer.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a photographic image output device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the photographic image output device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a film feeding sequence.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of a film feeding sequence.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing still another example of the film feeding sequence.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of recording a file name on a print.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 film 2 frame memory 3 Image processing means 4 compression means 5 Digital printer 6 storage media 7 print 8 image files 9 simultaneous printing 10 Index print

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G06T 1/00 200 G06T 1/00 200D 500 500A 11/60 120 11/60 120A (72) Inventor Nakajima Nobu Shu, Miyagi, Kaisei-cho, Ashigarakami-gun, Kanagawa 798 Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. (72) Norihisa Haneda No. 3-1146 Izumisui, Asaka City, Saitama Fujisha Shin Film Co., Ltd. (72) Sugio Makishima Saitama 3-11-46, Izumi, Asaka-shi, Aichi Prefecture Fuji Shashin Film Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroshi Tanaka 3--11, Izumi, Asaka-shi, Saitama Prefecture F-term (reference) 2C187 AD13 AG01 in Fujisha Shinfilm Co., Ltd. CC07 CD13 CD17 DD02 GA01 GB01 5B021 AA01 BB02 BB12 QQ01 5B050 AA09 BA06 BA15 DA02 DA04 EA09 5B057 BA11 CE11 CE17 CH11 CH20 5C062 AA05 A B03 AB11 AB13 AB17 AB42 AC24 AF00 BA04

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A method for reading a plurality of images recorded on an image recording medium to obtain a plurality of image data, and subjecting the plurality of image data to image processing suitable for print output and file output, respectively. Image processing suitable for outputting the image processing conditions, performing image processing on the plurality of image data according to the image processing conditions suitable for the file output, and outputting the plurality of image data subjected to the image processing for the print output. A method for outputting a photographic image, characterized in that a file is output to a predetermined storage medium together with information indicating a correspondence relationship between the image processing condition for performing the image processing and the image processing condition for performing the image processing suitable for outputting the file. . 2. A reading means for reading a plurality of images recorded on an image recording medium to obtain a plurality of image data, and image processing suitable for print output and file output for the plurality of image data, respectively. Image processing condition setting means for obtaining an image processing condition for performing, image processing is performed on the plurality of image data according to the image processing condition suitable for outputting the file, and the plurality of image data subjected to the image processing are A file for outputting a file to a predetermined storage medium together with information indicating a correspondence relationship between the image processing condition for performing the image processing suitable for the print output and the image processing condition for performing the image processing suitable for the file output. An output device for a photographic image, comprising: an output unit.