JPH01196064A - Color proof forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make the device compact and to enable light room operation by bringing a film document and a photographic sensitive material into vacuum contact across a transparent cover sheet and then performing exposure printing from the side of the cover sheet. CONSTITUTION:The cover sheet 275 which is unwound from a transparent cover sheet roll 274 is squeezed by a squeeze roller 276 to cover the document and photosensitive material, and when it reaches the right end, a blower 206 as a pressure reduction device operates to suck the air under the cover sheet through a suction hole bored in a photosensitive material mount base 201, so that the photosensitive material, each document, and the cover sheet are put one over another and held airtight in a plane. Here, an exposure part 300 runs on a guide rail in this state to perform scan exposure, thereby finishing 1st color exposure by a filter. Thus, the exposure is carried out once or repeatedly several times. Consequently, the exposure device is made compact and the operation is performed speedily and securely.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention is a method of placing each separation screen original that has been subjected to separation exposure, development, and finishing in a predetermined position, and placing each original on a positive color or negative color photosensitive material once for each original. The present invention relates to an exposure device, which is a technique for directly inspecting whether or not there is an abnormality in a separation mesh original for creating a printing plate by overlapping exposure a plurality of times to produce a color image copy with the same color scheme as the finished print. The present invention also relates to an exposure apparatus for creating a poster using a color photosensitive material using the separation mesh original.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, exposure devices have two methods: one method is to irradiate light source light onto the document surface and form an image on the photosensitive material using a projection lens that has the function of enlarging, reducing, or equal magnification, and the other method is to overlap the document and photosensitive material and irradiate the light source light. There is a method of contact exposure.

Furthermore, there are two methods of irradiating light from a light source: scanning exposure and static exposure. The former uses a relatively small light source to create a compact exposure device, while the latter generally uses a relatively high-brightness light source and In order to achieve parallelism and uniformity, there is a distance from the light source to the exposure surface, which requires a large exposure device.

In the field of printing plate making, the process from continuous tone images such as reversal film, color negative film, and paper to creating printing plates consisting of images consisting of halftone dots uses a large amount of film to separate colors. , image composition, etc. Therefore, the work becomes complicated, and the characters,
Many mistakes occur, such as incorrect layout. Furthermore, since the client (orderer) requests changes in text such as prices, layout changes, color changes, etc., it is easy to forget to make changes. It is also necessary to check in advance whether the printed matter will be finished in the desired color tone and gradation. These are collectively called proofreading.

For this reason, various systems including trial printing called proof printing have been announced and sold for the purpose of these checks. Examples include those using CRT, those using non-silver salt photosensitive materials such as 7-otopolymer and diazo, those using dry toner, and electrophotographic methods. However, these calibration systems generally require a long time to calibrate one sheet, and have problems such as high material cost and poor workability, and have not been a system that is sufficient for practical use.

On the other hand, as another method of obtaining a proof, there is a method of printing a separation mesh original onto a color photosensitive material using color-separated light. For example, JP-A-62-280746, JP-A No. 62-28074
No. 7, No. 62-280748, No. 62-280749
No. 62-280750, No. 62-280849, No. 60-42760, etc., describe a method of obtaining a calibration material on a color photosensitive material using a photographing system using a projection lens. Although these devices are large, they are so-called "bright room specifications" that allow work to be carried out in a normal room, and the exposure operation can be performed in a dark room while the photosensitive material itself remains inside the device. It can be done with a regular knife. Therefore, it is possible to perform color calibration easily, in a short period of time, and at low cost, and it has better characteristics than other calibration systems. However, since it is a photographic system, there were effects such as the 7-reare of the lens, and a deterioration in tone reproducibility was observed. That is, due to flare etc., the small dots of the net tend to fly off and the large dots tend to collapse.

On the other hand, as another method for similarly obtaining a proof (color proof) using a color photosensitive material, Ches 1eyF, C
The Carls from Arlson Company
on Prooffiaster System, K
Co1or Proof from leonite, Inc.
There is a contact exposure method sold under the name ing 5yste■. These methods involve exposing a color light-sensitive material to a separation mesh original in direct contact with the light-sensitive material, so they are greatly improved in terms of gradation reproducibility compared to photographic methods. On the other hand, since color photosensitive materials have a photosensitive region in the entire visible range, they have the disadvantage that they cannot be handled in a bright room and must be groped for work in a dark room.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

As mentioned above, the contact exposure method is superior to the projection method in terms of gradation reproducibility for halftone originals, but film originals and photographic light-sensitive materials (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as light-sensitive materials or light-sensitive materials) In order to perform close exposure while maintaining the flatness of the original film, a transparent parallel plane glass is placed over the film original and the photosensitive material, held in a pressed state, and exposed from above. However, if such a method is used, the glass plate may be damaged and the resulting injury may occur, and operation in a dark room is difficult and skill is required, which is inefficient. Further, even if an attempt is made to avoid working in a darkroom in order to improve operability, as long as a glass plate is used, the apparatus becomes large and requires a large installation space.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve these problems and provide a color proofing device for printing plate proofing which is compact and can be operated in a bright room.

[Means for solving problems]

The purpose of this is to stack a photosensitive material under a film original, place it on an exposure table, cover the film original with a transparent cover sheet, and vacuum-adhere the film original and the photosensitive material through the cover sheet. This is achieved by a color proof production apparatus characterized in that after the color proofing is carried out, exposure and printing is carried out from the cover sheet side.

〔Example〕

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A color proof production apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to a front view in FIG. 1, a side view in FIG. 2, and a top view in FIG. However, the present invention is not limited to this example.

Before creating the actual printing plate using each color-separated original film for 6th edition, M edition, Y edition, and black edition, the color proof production device checks whether there are any errors in the layout of the original film and whether the colors are different. This is a device for inspecting whether there are any errors or errors in characters, etc., and obtaining a proof (color proof) to check the finish of printed matter in advance, and positions the above-mentioned decomposition film one or several sheets at a time. By superimposing it on a color photosensitive material and multiple contact exposure to create a proof material (color proof) using color photosensitive material, it is possible to discover errors in the separation screen original, check the print finish in advance, and make the separation screen original. This allows users to take action to revise the manuscript.

The main body 100 has a document table 140 having an upper surface 141 and a lower surface 142 on which document positioning pin bars (registration pins) 143 are installed on the upper side of the main body frame 101 supported by legs 102. A light-shielding cover 120 is provided that can be opened and closed to make it possible to form a dark room.

Further, an exposure section 300 for scanning and exposing the contact exposure surface of the document table is provided in the first chamber. At the center of the exposure section, one or more (three in this embodiment) tubular light source lamps 302A are installed.
, 302B, and 302G are provided surrounded by a drum-shaped internal reflecting mirror 306 fixed to a housing 316 and a transmission window 304. A polygonal cylinder 301 is rotatably provided on the outside of the central part with filters such as B, G, R, ND arranged on each cylinder surface, and the filter surface and the transmission window are arranged concentrically to the center part. It's meant to be face to face. A housing 316 is provided on the outside thereof, and includes a shielding plate 308, a solenoid 312 for operating the shielding plate, a return spring 314, and an exposure window 310. Then, exposure section 3
00 allows the vehicle to run on the rails 317A and 317B in a scanning manner.

A photosensitive material mounting section 200 is provided as a second chamber inside the main body frame lot. The sensitive material mounting table 2 is driven by a motor 214 and is movable up and down.

On the other hand, an endless light-shielding belt 242 as a light-shielding member is wrapped around rollers 241, 242A, 243, 244, and the length I is a complete light-shielding curtain, and at least a light-sensitive material mounting table is placed approximately in the middle of the length of the following F. An exposure window with a size larger than the cross section of the moving area is opened. In such a light-shielding member 240, the light-shielding belt runs on a surface slightly lower than the lower surface 142 of the document table, that is, the boundary area between the first chamber and the second chamber.
The first chamber is provided so as to be able to switch between forming and releasing light tightness to the first chamber.

Further, a long roll 402 of silver halide color photosensitive material is loaded into a magazine 401 to form a photosensitive material loading section 400, the leading end of the long roll of photosensitive material is sent out by a nipping roller 511, and the leading end is placed in a cutter section. They line up at 510 and wait. Then, the tip is further fed to the left end of the fixed base 527 by the pinching roller 511, the tip is sucked by the suction cup 523, and the traveling head 522 having the suction cup guides the rollers 525 and 526 to the traveling rails 521 on both sides. The measuring device moves to a position where a predetermined length of the photosensitive material is measured and stops. The photosensitive material is cut by the cutter section 510 and further moved so that the leading end of the photosensitive material is located at a predetermined position on the photosensitive material mounting table 201. After the suction of the suction cup of the traveling head is removed, the traveling head 522 returns to its original position.

Here, solenoids 535 are attached to both sides of the traveling head 522 via brackets 534, and the movable iron core 53
A frame 531 is fixed to 6, and the traveling head 522,
A suction cup 5 coupled to the hose 524 on the frame 531
23 is attached, and a holding pipe 537 of the suction cup is provided to penetrate through a guide hole drilled in the head and frame, and is fixed to the frame in the thrust direction, and is slidable to the head along the hole. It floats above the exposure table surface via a helical spring 532 inserted between the travel pad 522 and the frame 531. When the solenoid is energized and the suction valve is opened, the suction cup descends to attract the photosensitive material, and then, when the solenoid is de-energized, the suction cup lifts up and transports the photosensitive material.

When the photosensitive material is transported and placed on the photosensitive material mounting table 201 in this manner, suction pressure is applied to the suction hole formed on the photosensitive material placing table by driving the blower 204A via the flexible hose 205. The photosensitive material is closely fixed on the photosensitive material mounting table.

This tightly fixed state is maintained until multiple exposures are completed and the photosensitive material begins to be transported to the developing section.

Furthermore, in this state, the light-shielding curtain 242 is in a light-shielding position, so that the second chamber in which the photosensitive material mounting table is located remains in a state where a dark room is formed.

Here, the upper light-shielding cover 120 is peeled off and the first chamber 9 is brightened with external light, which is set on the upper surface section 141;

Most of the document is placed on the light-shielding screen by inserting a reference hole for one of C (for example, Y plate, or one of Y, M, C, black plate, or several or all of these). Place it on the

In this state, the light-shielding cover 120 is closed to make the first room a dark room and light-tight, and the light-sensitive material mounting table is raised slightly below the surface of the light-shielding curtain belt, and then the light-shielding curtain belt 242 is moved to open it. Then, in a state where both the first room with the upper surface of the document table and the second room with the photosensitive material placement table become a common dark room, the photosensitive material placement table 201 is raised to match the exposure surface, that is, the separation screen original reference surface. At this time, the airtight gasket 201c provided on the abutment surface around the photosensitive material mounting table in the second chamber is attached to the document table 1 in the first chamber.
The exposure surface of the exposure table is in close contact with the lower surface 142 of the exposure table 0, and the gap created by the fitting surface of the photosensitive material mounting table into the opening forms the suction channel groove 204, and the exposure surface is formed by the document table and the photosensitive material placing table. The document and the photosensitive material sandwiched between the transparent cover sheet and the transparent cover sheet are kept airtight.

That is, a transparent cover sheet roll 274 is wound around a shaft 273, and its tip passes through a squeeze roller 276 and is stopped by a stopper 272.
71 is guided by the rails 281A and 281B to the second
Cover sheet roll 27 by moving to the right in the figure.
The cover sheet 275 unwound from the cover sheet 275 is pressed by a spring 278 and squeezed by a squeeze roller 276 which is rotatably fixed by a shaft 277, and the document and photosensitive material are covered with the cover sheet until the right end is reached by the head. At this point, the blower 206 as a pressure reducing device operates and the photosensitive material mounting table 20
The air interposed between the top surface (exposure surface) of the exposure table and the cover sheet is sucked through the flow path groove 204 through the suction hole 201f connected to the suction hole 201f drilled in the photosensitive material. The materials, each document, and the cover sheet are stacked and held in close contact with each other in a planar manner. However, the suction hole 201f may be a hole bored in the original table.

At this time, as shown in FIG.
and the abutting surface 201b, the airtight gasket 201c affixed thereto, and the document table 140 so that the upper surface 201a of the photosensitive material mounting table 201 is on the same plane as the exposure surface of the exposure table.
The dimensional relationship between the lower surfaces 142 of the two is adjusted. By doing this, air can smoothly flow between the transparent cover sheet, the document table and the photosensitive material mounting table through the flow channel grooves, and the cover sheet, document and photosensitive material can be placed on the same plane. A close contact of the shape is achieved. Further, the sensitive material mounting table may be located at a slightly lower position than the document table.

In this state, the exposure section 300 is connected to the guide rail 317A.
, 317B to perform scanning exposure, and complete the first color exposure using the filter.

Next, in order to perform a second image exposure using a filter of a different color, the cover sheet is returned to its original position and the photosensitive material mounting table is lowered to a position slightly below the travel path of the light-shielding curtain, and air is blown there using the nozzle 215. By switching to the blowing side of the blower 206 to blow air into the flow path groove 204 and closing the light shielding curtain, the original and the photosensitive material can be easily and completely separated. The blowing by the blower and the lowering of the photosensitive material mounting table may be performed in the opposite order or at the same time. and light shielding cover 120
When the first room is opened, the first room becomes a bright room, but the second room is light-dense compared to the first room, forming a dark room.

In this state, copy the second manuscript (black version and one of Y, M, C, e.g. M version, or one of Y, M, C, black version, or several or all of these). After setting it in the registration bin and covering it with a light-shielding cover, open the light-shielding curtain and raise the photosensitive material mounting table to the document table surface, cover the cover sheet again, apply suction, make each sheet stick together, and turn the polygonal tube 301. Then, the cylindrical surfaces provided on another filter are made to face each other, and scanning contact exposure is performed using the second color filter, and the second exposure is completed.

Similarly, the third manuscript (black version and one of Y, M, C, e.g. C version, or any one of Y, M, C, black version, or several or all of these) and Exposure using the corresponding filter is also performed in the same procedure to complete the third exposure. In this way, exposure is repeated one to several times as necessary. The transparent cover sheet used in the present invention is a polyester film having a thickness of 50 Pml to 200 μm, preferably a photographic polyester base. A polyester base of 50 μm or less is difficult to handle, wrinkles occur, and vacuum adhesion tends to be incomplete.

In addition, since a polyester base of 200 μm or more lacks flexibility, the device tends to be large in size just like a glass plate, and there is a risk of twisting.

Once it bends and bends, it tends to cause unevenness in the amount of light in that area, deteriorating the image quality, or break it, resulting in incomplete vacuum adhesion. A sufficient image can be obtained with a base thickness in this range.

In addition, when using a blower with strong suction force, substantially the same close plane effect can be obtained even if the squeeze means and the suction means are synchronized.

Finally, the photosensitive material mounting table is lowered to the lowest position, the suction is released to release the photosensitive material, and the leading end of the photosensitive material is fed to the nipping roller 552 by a device not shown.

The photosensitive material whose tip has reached the nipping roller 552 is guided by the guides 561, 562, 563, 56 of the conveyance chute section 550.
4,565 and switching chute 566 and guide roller 5
52,553° 554.555.556, and then the swinging shaft 5 of the switching chute 566
By switching around 68, the sheet is conveyed by guide rollers 556, 557, 558, and 559 between guides 564.565.degree. When using an internal latent image type direct positive sensitive material, during transportation in the color developing tank 601, the exposure lamp 351 of the 21st light section 350, the filter device 352, the reflectors 353, 354, the exposure window 3,
Fog exposure is performed by an exposure box 356 consisting of 55.

The photosensitive material then passes through a bleach-fixing tank and a stabilizing tank, and is dried while being slowly transported through a drying section 680 by transport rollers 681 and 682, and the developed photosensitive material is collected at the right end of the apparatus.

It should be noted that as the exposed photosensitive material begins to be conveyed through the conveyance chute section 550, the subsequent photosensitive material is transferred to the photosensitive material mounting table 2.
The process of being conveyed onto the 01, measured, cut by the cutter section 510, and set in close contact is repeated as described above.

For photosensitive materials, the internal latent image is used as the second layer when using direct positive.
Although exposure is necessary, when using a negative color photosensitive material or a solarization type direct positive photosensitive material, the second exposure is not necessary and the light remains off. In addition, when using other dye-bleached color photosensitive materials, color reversal photosensitive materials, diffusion transfer photosensitive materials, etc., it is possible to perform exposure and development processing in the same system by providing processing baths suitable for each type of material. .

Of course, regarding exposure to direct positive light-sensitive materials, each Y, M, and C version of the original is overlaid with a black version, and B is used for the Y version and the black version, and G is used for the M version and the black version. , the C plate and the black plate are exposed to light three times using corresponding R filters, but when exposing a negative color photosensitive material, each Y plate, M plate, and C plate original is placed on the photosensitive material. Layer it alone, layer G on the Y version for the 81M version, layer R on the C version, and use 3.
Exposure is performed twice, and a fourth time, a black plate is overlaid and exposed using an ND filter and, if necessary, a color filter for color correction.

Furthermore, if necessary, in addition to the above-mentioned separate color exposures, further exposures using light corresponding to different color separations may be added to produce basic colors suitable for the printing ink. Furthermore, in order to blend light equivalent to different color separations in advance, processing such as blending BGR colored light or exposing using a combination of filters may be performed. Similarly, in order to reproduce colors that are compatible with special inks other than standard inks such as Y, M, C, and BL, which are generally referred to as spot colors, repeated exposure, blending of colored light, or combination of filters may be performed. In this case, depending on the case, it may be necessary to use a separation screen film called a special color film, or to combine the separation screen film for special colors with other films, and in some cases, multiple layers of other separation screen films may also be used. It is necessary to carry out contact baking in this state.

Note that the photosensitive material in the exposed area once enters the guide chute 565 and is then turned over and enters the developing device with the emulsion side facing up; however, it can also be placed into the developing device without entering the guide chute 565 by making a knee turn. However, when using an internal latent image type direct positive photosensitive material, the light source position for the second exposure must be located below the photosensitive material transport path, making maintenance and installation somewhat difficult, and the side of the developer tank. This is not very preferable because the exposure window must be opened at the same time, making it difficult to clean up leaks.

There are two types of photosensitive materials: those with high sensitivity and those without. When using a photosensitive material with low sensitivity, the exposure area 30
A plurality of light source lamps 302 of the 0 polygonal tube 301 may be provided and a large number of them may be turned on to make the exposure more powerful.

In addition, by using the measures of lowering the scanning speed and the measures of making the opening/closing of the exposure window 310 variable, in combination or alone, it is possible to perform high-quality exposure without worsening the reciprocity law failure condition.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, the exposure device becomes compact, and operations such as contacting, positioning, and converting documents during multiple exposure of each separation mesh original film to the photosensitive material can be performed quickly and reliably, and the adhesion effect by the suction means of the suction blower is smoothed. By working together, an image equivalent to a printed matter can be quickly formed on color photosensitive material without damaging the original or the photosensitive material, making it possible to accurately inspect the original.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a color proof production device equipped with an exposure device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of one embodiment of the exposure device of the color proof production apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a top view of the color proof production apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing the positional relationship between the document table and the photosensitive material mounting table. 100...Color proof creation device main body 120...
Light-shielding cover 140...Original table 141...Top surface 142...Bottom surface 143...Register pin (pin bar) 200...Sensitive material placement section 2
01...Sensitive material mounting table 201a...Top surface
201b...Abutment surface 201c...Airtight gasket 204...Suction channel groove 215...Nozzle 240...Light blocking member 242...Blinding curtain bell)-270...Cover sheet device 275.・・・
Transparent cover sheet 300...Exposure section 276...Squeeze roller 278...Spring 350...Second exposure section 400...Sensitive material loading section 550...Sensitive material transport chute section 600...Development Processing section 680...drying section

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) Layer the photosensitive material under the film original, place it on the exposure table, cover the film original with a transparent cover sheet, and bring the film original and the photosensitive material into close contact with each other in vacuum through the cover sheet. 2. A color proof production device, wherein the color proof production device performs exposure printing from the cover sheet side. (2) The transparent cover sheet has a thickness of 50 to 200 μm
2. The color proof production device according to claim 1, wherein the color proof production device is a polyester film.