JP3728971B2 - How to set up photo processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for setting up a photographic processing apparatus comprising a projection exposure unit that projects and exposes an image of a photographic film onto a photosensitive material, and a digital exposure unit that exposes image information composed of a large number of pixels onto the photosensitive material. .
[0002]
[Prior art]
In such a photographic processing apparatus, an image of a photographed photographic film is exposed to a photosensitive material such as photographic paper in the projection exposure unit, and the exposed photosensitive material is finished into a print for each sheet, and also in the digital exposure unit. Image information composed of a large number of pixels is exposed to a photosensitive material to finish printing. Here, an operation called setup is performed in order to make the color degree and density of the finished print appropriate. The setup procedure will be described with reference to the projection exposure unit as follows.
(1) A predetermined image is projected and exposed on a photosensitive material, and this is developed to produce a print.
(2) It is determined whether or not the print has an appropriate finish from the density value of the print.
(3) If the finish is not appropriate, control the light control filter position, shutter opening time, etc., and adjust the B (blue), G (green), and R (red) light amounts and the exposure time.
Repeat steps (1), (2) and (3) above until a proper print is completed. When an appropriate print is finished, the setup of the projection exposure unit is completed.
[0003]
The procedure for setting up the digital exposure unit is the same and is roughly as follows.
(1) 'A predetermined image is exposed on a photosensitive material and developed to create a print.
(2) 'Determine whether the print has an appropriate finish from the density value of this print.
(3) If the finish is not proper, the light source adjustment voltage and exposure time are adjusted by controlling the voltage applied to the light source, the moving speed of the exposure head, and the like.
[0004]
Repeat steps (1), (2) and (3) above until a proper print is completed. When an appropriate print is finished, the setup of the digital exposure unit is completed.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, the setup procedure is repeated until the convergence is achieved by repeating the same procedure several times (until an appropriate print is obtained), so it is desirable to reduce the number of repetitions as much as possible. In particular, in a photographic processing apparatus provided with both a projection exposure unit and a digital exposure unit, it is necessary to perform the setup work twice as compared with the case where only one of them is provided, and improvement of the setup work efficiency has been desired.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a photo processing apparatus setup method in which the efficiency of the setup work is improved as compared with the conventional art.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a method for setting up a photographic processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a projection exposure unit that projects and exposes an image of a photographic film onto a photosensitive material, and exposes image information including a plurality of pixels onto the photosensitive material. In a photo processing apparatus provided with a digital exposure unit
Setting up the projection exposure unit;
Data relating to color density of the photosensitive material obtained by the setup with a state which eliminated the elements of an exposure light source of the projection exposure unit, possess a step of setting up the digital exposure unit,
The element of the exposure light source is obtained by subtracting a preset first reference value from a side light value obtained by a sensor .
[0007]
According to this configuration, first, the projection exposure unit is set up. Data relating to the color density of the photosensitive material can be obtained by this setup, and this is used for setting up the digital exposure unit. In the case where the same photosensitive material is exposed in the projection exposure unit and the digital exposure unit and the development processing is performed in the same development processing unit, the data obtained by setting up the projection exposure unit can be used effectively.
[0008]
When starting from a state where there is no data for setting up the digital exposure unit as in the past, the initial value of the part to be adjusted in the digital exposure unit is far from the set value that should be originally set In some cases, the number of times the setup procedure is repeated becomes complicated. However, by using the data on the color density obtained in the setup of the projection exposure unit and adding this to the initial value of the portion to be adjusted in the digital exposure unit, the initial value at the start of the setup of the digital exposure unit Since the value can be started from a position close to the target set value, the number of times the setup procedure is repeated can be reduced, and as a result, the efficiency of the setup work can be improved. Incidentally, the data relating to color density of the photosensitive material, the color density of the actually obtained photosensitive material, not preferable to be obtained by subtracting the second reference value set in advance.
[0010]
The contents of the setup of the projection exposure unit will be briefly described. A first exposure amount adjusting unit is provided for setting up the projection exposure unit, and the setup of the projection exposure unit includes B by the first exposure amount adjusting unit. , G, R light amount adjustment and exposure time adjustment. If the projection exposure unit includes a dimming filter and a shutter arranged in the exposure optical path, the adjustment of the position of the dimming filter and the adjustment of the opening time of the shutter are performed by the first exposure amount adjustment unit. Is given as an example. The dimming filter is a filter for causing each color filter of Y (yellow), M (magenta), and C (cyan) to enter the optical path.
[0011]
Further, a second exposure amount adjusting means is provided for setting up the digital exposure unit, and the digital exposure unit is set up by adjusting the B, G and R light amounts and the exposure time by the second exposure amount adjusting means. And adjustment. If the digital exposure unit includes an exposure light source and an exposure head movable relative to the photosensitive material, the adjustment of the applied voltage of the light source and the adjustment as the adjustment by the second exposure amount adjustment means An example is the adjustment of the relative movement speed of the exposure head.
By adjusting these portions, the color density of the print is made appropriate.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
<Configuration of photo processing apparatus>
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a photographic processing apparatus. First, in order to process the negative film 1, the photographic processing apparatus includes a projection exposure unit 2 that prints an image of the negative film 1 on a photographic paper 10, and a negative film 1 (piece negative) cut into four or six frames by a cutter 3. A negative film discharge section 5 for discharging 1a) to the tray conveyor device 4;
[0013]
As processing units for processing the photographic paper 10, a development processing unit 11 that performs development processing of the photographic paper 10 on which an image is printed by the projection exposure unit 2, and a drying processing unit that performs drying processing of the photographic paper 10 after development processing 12 and a print discharge unit 13 for cutting the dried photographic paper 10 into a predetermined length and discharging it as a print 10a. The photographic paper 10 is stored in a roll shape in a paper magazine 14, and further includes a conveyance roller 15 for conveying the photographic paper and a driving device 16 that drives the conveyance roller 15. The print 10a for one order is sent to the tray conveyor device 4 by the transverse feed conveyor 17, collated and combined with the piece negative 1a for one order discharged from the negative film discharge unit 5, and then the tray 10 is moved to the finished product removal position by the operator. It is conveyed by the conveyor device 4.
[0014]
A digital exposure unit 6 is provided at the same exposure point as the projection exposure unit 2.
[0015]
Next, the configuration of each unit will be described. The projection exposure unit 2 includes an exposure light source 2a, a light control filter 2b, a mirror tunnel 2c, a film transport unit 2d, an exposure lens 2e, and a shutter 2f.
[0016]
The negative film 1 is read by an unillustrated scanner 5c, and the image information is sent to a controller 20 that controls the entire photographic processing apparatus. Based on the image information sent from the scanner, the controller 20 obtains exposure conditions for printing the image of the negative film 1 onto the photographic paper 10, and the image frame of the negative film 1 is conveyed for exposure. When it has been transported to a predetermined position of the unit 2d, the photographic paper 10 is exposed by controlling the light control filter 2b and the shutter 2f based on the exposure conditions obtained in advance.
[0017]
Further, the controller 20 processes the image information of the negative film 1 read by the scanner and displays a simulated image of an image obtained when the photographic paper 10 is exposed under the obtained exposure conditions on the monitor 21. The simulated image is observed on the monitor 21, and the exposure conditions can be corrected from the keyboard 22 as necessary.
[0018]
The negative film 1 that has been subjected to the exposure process in the projection exposure unit 2 is cut into six frames or four frames by a cutter 3 provided in the negative film discharge unit 5 arranged on the downstream side in the film transport direction, and a plurality of sheets It is sent out to the tray conveyor device 4 as a piece negative 1a. When the piece negative 1a is inserted into the negative sheet by the negative sheet insertion device, the negative sheet is folded and sent out to the tray conveyor device 4. Further, in the case of the negative film 1 by the advanced photo system, it is pulled out from the cartridge before each processing operation, and sent out to the tray conveyor device 4 in a state of being stored in the cartridge again after the printing process.
[0019]
Although not shown, the development processing unit 11 is provided with a plurality of development processing tanks, and after the image of the negative film 1 is printed by the projection exposure unit 2, the photographic paper 10 is developed into the development processing unit 11. Development processing is performed by sequentially passing through the development processing tanks. The photographic paper 10 after the development processing is dried by the drying processing unit 12, and then discharged to the print discharge unit 13 as a print 10 a for each sheet by a print cutter (not shown). Sent out.
[0020]
The digital exposure unit 6 includes an exposure head 6 a and a head drive unit 6 b that drives the exposure head 6 a along the conveyance path of the photographic paper 10. The digital exposure unit 6 includes a PLZT, a liquid crystal, an LED (light emitting diode), a fluorescent tube, etc., but any method may be adopted. Here, if it is described as being based on PLZT, the exposure head 6a is provided with a PLZT shutter array arranged along the width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the photographic paper 10, and each shutter array is controlled individually. An image for one line can be formed. Therefore, all images can be formed by moving the exposure head 6a along the transport path of the photographic paper 10 while the photographic paper 10 is stopped.
[0021]
<Setup procedure>
Next, the procedure for setting up the photographic processing apparatus described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In this setup, each part is adjusted in advance so that the finished print 10a has an appropriate color density.
[0022]
First, the projection exposure unit 2 is set up. First, printing exposure is performed on the photographic paper 10 using a set-up negative film, a glass filter, an ND mesh, or the like to create a test print (# 1). As this print, for example, gray scale is used. Next, the density of the created print is measured with a densitometer (# 2). It is determined from the measured results whether the print density and color development are appropriate (# 3). The determination may be made by the operator himself / herself, or the controller 20 of the photographic processing apparatus may automatically determine the quality.
[0023]
If it is determined that the color density of the created print is not appropriate, the controller 20 (corresponding to the first exposure amount adjusting means) adjusts the opening time of the shutter 2f and the position of the light control filter 2b (# 4). ). By adjusting the opening time of the shutter 2f, it is possible to adjust the time at which the image of the negative film 1 is exposed and to adjust the density to be printed. The dimming filter 2b adjusts the amount of Y, M, and C color filters that enter the optical path, thereby adjusting the color development state of the print. After the adjustment in step # 4, the process returns to step # 1 to perform test printing again. The adjustment is repeated until an appropriate print is obtained in this way. Note that the opening time of the shutter 2f and the position of the light control filter 2b are set to a predetermined reference state before setup.
[0024]
When an appropriate print is obtained, the setup of the projection exposure unit 2 is completed, and then the digital exposure unit 6 is set up. The digital exposure unit 6 is set up based on data obtained as a result of the setup of the projection exposure unit 2. This data is data relating to the adjusted opening time of the shutter 2f, the position of the light control filter 2b, or the color density of the finally obtained print.
[0025]
First, the variation in the color density of the print by the projection exposure unit 2 is calculated (# 5). This variation (ΔD) is obtained by subtracting a preset reference value (D _n ) from the color density (D) of the actually obtained print.
That is, ΔD = D−D _n
Here, ΔD includes variations in sensitivity characteristics of the photographic paper 10, variations in the active state of the development processing liquid in the development processing unit 11, variations in the light amount of the exposure light source 2a, and the like. When the data obtained by the projection exposure unit 2 is used by the digital exposure unit 6, it is necessary to eliminate elements unique to the projection exposure unit 2, and therefore, the factors caused by the exposure light source 2a among the factors of the above-mentioned variation. Exclude.
[0026]
When the light source variation (ΔL) is calculated by a sensor not shown in the figure, this is obtained by subtracting a preset reference value (L _n ) from the photometric value (L) obtained by the sensor (# 6).
That is, ΔL = L−L _n
Therefore, when obtaining the variation ΔD ′ in the color density excluding the light source variation factor,
ΔD ′ = ΔD−K * ΔL
(# 7). Here, K is a conversion coefficient for matching units.
[0027]
This ΔD ′ is added (added) to the adjustment reference value of each part of the digital exposure unit 6 (# 8). Specifically, what is adjusted in the setup of the digital exposure unit 6 is the voltage applied to the light source for the digital exposure unit 6 and the light emission time (corresponding to the gradation of how many times light is emitted to form one dot) ), The moving speed of the exposure head 6a, and ΔD ′ is added to the set reference values of these adjustment parts. Needless to say, it is converted into a predetermined unit such as an applied voltage.
[0028]
Next, a test print similar to the projection exposure unit 2 is created in the digital exposure unit 6 (# 9). The density of this test print is measured (# 10), and it is determined whether it is OK (# 11). This procedure is the same as the setup of the projection exposure unit 2. If the print color density is not appropriate as a result of the determination, the controller 20 (corresponding to the second exposure amount adjusting means) adjusts the applied voltage of the light source, the light emission time (number of times of light emission), and the moving speed of the exposure head 6a. (# 12) and return to step # 9. This is repeated until an appropriate print is obtained. When the appropriate print is obtained, the setup of the digital exposure unit 6 is completed.
[0029]
As described above, when the setup of the digital exposure unit 6 is started, the data obtained by the setup of the projection exposure unit 2 is used for each adjustment portion, so that the sensitivity characteristics of the photographic paper 10 and the activity of the development processing liquid Setup will be started in a state that takes the state into consideration (the state in which the initial data has been updated). This means starting the setup closer to the target. As a result, the number of repetitions until the setup is completed can be reduced, and the efficiency of the setup work is improved.
[0030]
<Other embodiments>
In the present embodiment, the projection exposure unit 2 is set up first, but the digital exposure unit 6 may be set up first and the data obtained thereby may be used for the setup of the projection exposure unit 2.
[0031]
In this embodiment, the projection exposure unit 2 and the digital exposure unit 6 are configured to have the same exposure point, but a photographic processing apparatus configured to have different exposure points may be used. For example, a projection exposure unit may be provided on the upstream side of the photographic paper transport path, and a digital exposure unit may be provided on the downstream side.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a photographic processing apparatus. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a setup procedure.
1 Negative film (photographic film)
2 Projection Exposure Unit 2a Exposure Light Source 6 Digital Exposure Unit 6a Exposure Head 10 Printing Paper 20 Controller

Claims (3)

A projection exposure unit that projects and exposes an image of a photographic film onto a photosensitive material;
A method for setting up a photographic processing apparatus comprising a digital exposure unit that exposes image information composed of a large number of pixels onto the photosensitive material,
Setting up the projection exposure unit;
Data relating to color density of the photosensitive material obtained by the setup with a state which eliminated the elements of an exposure light source of the projection exposure unit, possess a step of setting up the digital exposure unit,
The exposure processing light source element is obtained by subtracting a preset first reference value from a side light value obtained by a sensor . A first exposure amount adjusting unit is provided for setting up the projection exposure unit, and the setup of the projection exposure unit includes adjusting the B, G, and R light amounts and adjusting the exposure time by the first exposure amount adjusting unit. Contains
  A second exposure amount adjusting unit is provided for setting up the digital exposure unit, and the digital exposure unit is set up by adjusting the B, G, and R light amounts and adjusting the exposure time by the second exposure amount adjusting unit. The method for setting up a photographic processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 2. The photographic processing according to claim 1, wherein the data regarding the color density of the photosensitive material is obtained by subtracting a preset second reference value from the color density of the photosensitive material actually obtained. How to set up the device.

Images