JPH01196065A - Color proof forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform high-gradation image formation by a small-sized exposure device by guiding the light emitted by a light source onto a photosensitive material held behind a film which has a printed image in contact through a slit. CONSTITUTION:This device is provided with the housing 316 which has a shield plate 308, an exposure window, i.e. the slit 310, and a light diffusion plate 328 fixed by being fitted on the light source side of the slit, and an exposure part 300 is enabled to run on rails 317A and 317B for scanning. The light which is uniformed by the light diffusion plate is therefore stopped down through the slit to suppress the influence of diffused light as much as possible by positioning the light diffusion plate 328 on the opposite side from the photosensitive material about the slit 310 at all times. The light diffusion plate is set at a certain distance from the photosensitive material. Consequently, the device is made compact and the gradations of the image are further improved.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is a method of placing each separation screen original, which has been developed and finished after separation exposure, in a predetermined position and printing each original on a positive color or negative color photosensitive material. 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 exposing it multiple times, one at a time, to make 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.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, exposure devices have two methods: one method is to irradiate light from a light source onto the surface of a document 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 stack the document and the photosensitive material. There is a method of contact exposure by irradiating light from a light source.

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 otobolimer 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, effects such as lens flare occurred, and there was a deterioration in gradation reproducibility. 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 ProofIl+asterSystem, K
Co1or Proof from leonite, Inc.
There is a contact exposure method sold under the name ing 5ysteIIl. 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 close-contact method has better gradation reproducibility for separated mesh originals than the photographing method.

Achieving this with static exposure requires a large light source device, which requires a large installation space and makes handling difficult. The light source can be made smaller if the slit light is uniformly scanned therein so that the entire image forming area to be closely exposed is uniformly exposed.

Normally, in a scanning exposure apparatus such as a copier, parallelism and uniformity of light are not so important.

On the other hand, reproduction of halftone gradation is an important problem in an apparatus for creating a color proof using a separated halftone original in the field of printing plate making. If small dots are skipped or large dots are crushed, it becomes difficult to fully understand the gradation of the resolution screen original on the proof material, and it becomes necessary to check it again on the film, which is time consuming. Not only does this cause problems, but it also becomes extremely difficult to grasp accurate gradation reproducibility and color reproducibility due to color mixture.

Furthermore, when exposing a negative separation mesh original onto a negative color photosensitive material, it is sufficient to attach one sheet of original film to the photosensitive material, but when exposing a positive separation mesh original onto a positive color photosensitive material, Recently, color version (Y, M, C version) 1
A total of two resolving mesh films, one for black and one for black, must be brought into close contact with the photosensitive material, and one of the two resolving mesh films will be exposed to the photosensitive material through the base thickness of one sheet. .

Furthermore, in the case of exposure of positive separation film for printed matter that is simultaneously printed with special ink called spot color, etc.
It is necessary to simultaneously stack and expose more than one sheet of decomposition film. In these systems, the parallelism and uniformity of light greatly affect image reproducibility, and if these are insufficient, sufficient gradation reproducibility may not be obtained, or partial fog may occur. This results in deterioration of image quality.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a color proofing device equipped with a compact exposure device that can form images with high halftone dot reproducibility, that is, high gradation on halftone originals. Make it.

[Means for solving problems]

The purpose of this is to transmit light emitted from a light source through a slit-shaped opening through a selectively used filter and a light diffusing plate, and then pass through the slit to a film having a printed image and to the rear side of the film. This is achieved by means of a color proofing device configured to direct the color proof onto the photographic material which is held in close contact.

〔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 that has been color-separated into 0, M, Y, and black versions, the color proofing device checks to make sure there are no mistakes in the layout of the original film and that 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 will allow you to take action to correct the manuscript.

The main body 100 has a document table 140 having an upper surface 141 and a lower surface 142 for installing a document positioning bin bar (registration bin) 143 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 302C 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 thereof, with filters such as B, G, R, ND, etc. arranged on each cylinder surface concentrically at the center, and the filter surface and the transmission window are arranged on the contact exposure surface. It is designed to face. A housing 316 is provided on the outside thereof, which includes a shielding plate 308, a solenoid 312 for operating the shielding plate, a return spring 314, an exposure window or slit 310, and a light diffusing plate 328 attached and fixed to the light source side of the slit. It is being

The exposure section 300 can run on the rails 317A and 317B for scanning.

Therefore, it is necessary to suppress the influence of the diffused light as much as possible by narrowing down the light that has been made uniform by the light diffusing plate using a slit. Therefore, the light diffusing plate must always be located on the opposite side of the photosensitive material with respect to the slit. The light diffusing plate may be held in contact with the slit or may be held apart from the slit, but it is preferable to keep a certain distance from the photosensitive material.

A preferable distance between the diffuser plate and the photosensitive material is 30 m+i or more. The slit is preferably thinner in order to suppress the influence of diffused light, and the preferred slit width is less than 30 mm.

A photosensitive material mounting section 200 is provided inside the main body frame 101 as a second chamber. And the sensitive material mounting table 201 is
It is driven by a motor 214 and can be moved up and down.

On the other hand, an endless light-shielding belt 242 as a light-shielding member is wrapped around the rollers 241, 242A, 243, 244, and an exposure window having a size at least larger than the cross section of the moving area of the photosensitive material mounting table is opened approximately in the middle of the length. It is being 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 traveling head 522 and a 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 the photosensitive material is conveyed.

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, the first chamber is brightened with external light, and a resist bin (pin bar) 143 set on the upper surface part 141 is placed in a separated screen original (one of the black version and MMC, e.g., Y version, or Y version). .

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.
0, the gap created by the fitting surface of the photosensitive material mounting table into the opening forms a suction channel groove 204, and is sandwiched between the document table surface, the photosensitive material mounting table surface, and the transparent cover sheet. The airtightness between the original document and the photosensitive material is maintained.

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. Thereupon, the blower 206 as a pressure reducing device operates and suction is carried out through the flow path groove 204 through the suction hose 207 connected to the suction hole 201f made in the photosensitive material mounting table 2, and the exposure table, the upper surface part, and the cover sheet are sucked. The air present between them is sucked out, and the photosensitive material, each document, and the cover sheet are stacked and held in close contact with each other in a flat shape. However, the suction hole 20
1f may be a hole drilled in the original table.

At this time, as shown in FIG.
The dimensional relationship between the abutting surface 201b, the airtight packing 201c attached thereto, and the lower surface 142 of the document table 140 is adjusted so that the upper surface 201a of the photosensitive material mounting table 201 is on the same plane. By doing this, air can flow smoothly between the transparent cover sheet, the document table and the photosensitive material mounting table through the flow channel grooves, and the cover sheet, the document and the photosensitive material can be placed in the correct planar shape. Close contact 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, insert the second yica (black version and one of Y, M, C, for example, M version, or any one of Y, M, C, black version, or several or all of these). After setting it on the registration pin 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. 0 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.

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 tip 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, and 556, and then by switching around the swing shaft 568 of the switching chute 566, it is moved between the guides 564, 565° 567,568 with the rear end at the beginning. are conveyed by guide rollers 556, 557, 558, and 559 and sent to the development processing section 600. When using a direct positive sensitive material for the internal latent image, a color developing tank 60 is used.
1, the exposure lamp 351 of the second exposure section 350
Fog exposure is performed by an exposure box 356 consisting of a filter device 352, reflectors 353, 354, and an exposure window 355.

The photosensitive material then passes through a bleach-fixing tank and a stabilizing tank, is slowly transported through a drying section 680 by transport rollers 681 and 682, and is dried, 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 old surface, measured, cut by the cutter section 510, and set in close contact is repeated as described above.

When using an internal latent image type direct positive, the photosensitive material is the second
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. Also, when using other dye-bleached color photosensitive materials, color reversal, diffusion transfer, and other photosensitive materials, it is possible to expose and develop them using the same system by providing processing baths suitable for each type of material. It is.

Of course, regarding exposure to direct positive light-sensitive materials, a black plate is superimposed on each Y, M, and 0 version of the original, and B is used for the Y and black versions, and G is used for the M and black versions. , 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 black, which are generally called special colors, repeated exposure, blending of colored light, or combination of filters may be performed. In this case, depending on the case,
It is necessary to use a decomposition film called a special color film or to combine the decomposition film for special colors with other films, and in some cases, contact printing is performed with several sheets of other decomposition film being stacked one on top of the other. There is a need.

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 and the color proofing device equipped with the same can be made compact, and the reproducibility of halftone dots, that is, the gradation of images in close contact multiple exposure of each separation mesh original film to the photosensitive material, can be further improved. Images equivalent to printed matter can be quickly formed, documents can be inspected accurately, and posters can be created using photosensitive materials.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view of the color proof document creation 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 143...Regist bin (bin bar) 300...Exposure section
310...Slit 308...Light diffusion plate

Claims (1)

[Claims] The emitted light from the light source that is emitted through the slit-shaped opening is transmitted through a selectively used filter and a light diffusing plate, and then passes through the slit and is held in close contact with the film having the printed image and the rear side of the film. A color proofing device configured to guide the color proof onto a photosensitive material.