JPH01209451A - Formation of color proof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To accurately form a color proof of even a small-sized original by positioning even the small-sized color separation mesh film original which can not use registration pins on an original platen directly by using the pins, and forming the color proof. CONSTITUTION:The registration pins 143 are fitted in pinholes 22 of respective transparent sheet originals formed by sticking at least one of separation mesh film originals 12BL, 12Y, 12M, and 12C on a transparent sheet 11 which have the pinholes 22 meeting the registration pins 143 on the original platen so that their original positions are matched, and thus a photosensitive material is fixed on an exposure surface to perform color separation printing one after another. Color proof formation is performed even for the decomposition mesh film having no pinholes similarly to a separation mesh film original which uses registration pins and has pinholes. Consequently, the color proof is accurately and easily formed irrelevantly to the kind of the color separation mesh film.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention also provides a method for applying registration pins to at least one type of small-sized color separation mesh film originals for which the registration pins on the document table cannot be used directly. This paper relates to a method that makes it possible to create color proofs by positioning using .

[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 other than 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., use a projection lens to obtain a proof material (this will be called a color proof) on a color photosensitive material using a photographing system. The method is described. 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 IeyF, C
The Carls from Arlson Company
on ProofIlasterSystem, Kr
Co1or Proofi from eonite, Inc-
There is a contact exposure method sold under the name ng 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]

In this way, there are two types of color proof creation: one that uses a projection optical system and the other that uses a contact type, but in both cases, the color separation mesh film original is precisely placed using resist pins, as is the method used in normal photoengraving work. Generally, a method is adopted in which multiple exposures are carried out on a photosensitive material which is positioned on an exposure table to achieve flatness, and which is fixed to a flatness on an exposure table. This method is common regardless of the type of photosensitive material used to create color proofs, and is essential for confirming exact alignment during plate-making work.

Generally, two or more resist pins are provided with a distance as large as possible to improve the positioning accuracy of the film document determined by the pin holes that fit into the resist pins. In photolithography, the usual work process is to affix a decomposition mesh film for each pattern onto a transparent base with pin holes drilled in advance. At this time, we use a transparent base on which a separation mesh film of one color is pasted, which is printed in close contact with the photosensitive material, and we carefully align the negative and positive images of the same pattern. Therefore, the positional accuracy of the image with respect to the pin hole is very high, and registration can be performed using resist pins in a subsequent process.

On the other hand, sheets of separation mesh film produced by camera decomposition or scanner decomposition of continuous tone images usually do not have such means for alignment such as pin holes. Some scanners have a registration mark generation mechanism, so it is possible to accurately determine the relative positional relationship between the pattern and the registration marks called registration marks, but color separation net film made from the same image The relative position between them must be adjusted visually. In such systems, it is necessary to perform visual alignment when creating proofs, and proof systems that use non-silver halide photosensitive materials have low sensitivity and can be operated in bright rooms due to their spectral sensitivity characteristics. However, in the Blue 7 system, which uses a silver halide color photosensitive material, alignment is impossible because it cannot be done visually or manually.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a method that can solve these problems and create color proofs with high accuracy even for small-sized originals.

[Failure to solve the problem]

The purpose of this is to create a color proof by printing at least one sheet of decomposed mesh film original onto a photosensitive material. At least one sheet of separation film original is pasted on each sheet so that the positions of the originals are aligned with each other.By fitting the pin holes of each transparent sheet original into the resist pins, the positions of the originals are fixed on the exposed surface. This is achieved by a method for producing color proofs, which is characterized in that color-separate printing is carried out one after another on a photosensitive material.

〔Example〕

First, an example of a color proof production apparatus for obtaining a proof of a printing plate used in the method of the present invention is shown in the front view of FIG.
This will be explained with reference to a side view in FIG. 2 and a top view in FIG. 3. Although the present device is a close-contact type, the method of the present invention is not limited to use in a close-contact type.

The color proofing device checks whether there are any errors in the layout of the original film before creating the actual printing plate using each color-separated original film that has been color-separated into 0, M, Y, and black versions. Proofreading materials are used to check for color discrepancies, typographical errors, etc., and to confirm the finish of printed matter in advance.
Using a second device, one or several sheets of the above-mentioned decomposition film are positioned and overlaid on the color photosensitive material for multiple contact exposure to obtain a proof (color proof) using the color photosensitive material. By creating this, it is possible to discover errors in the paperback manuscript, check the print finish in advance, and take action to correct the paperwork 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 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, and includes a shielding plate 308, a solenoid 312 for operating the shielding plate, a return spring 314, and an exposure window 310. Then, the exposure section 30
0 allows travel on the rails 317A and 317B for scanning.

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 salt color photosensitive material is loaded into a magazine 401 to form a photosensitive material loading section 400. They are lined up at section 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 fixedly attached to 6, and a rad 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 penetrating through the head and a guide hole drilled in the 7th frame, the thrust direction is fixed to the frame, and the head is provided with a suction cup along the hole. It is mounted so that it can move 7 f and 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 2 in this way, the blower 204A is driven via the flexible hose 205, and suction pressure is applied to the suction hole made on the photosensitive material placing table. As a result, the photosensitive material is tightly fixed onto 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 illuminated with external light, and a resist pin (pin bar) 143 set on the upper surface part 141 is attached to a separated mesh 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, while the first chamber with the upper surface of the document table and the second chamber with the photosensitive material placement table are in a common dark wheel, 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. At this point, the blower 206 as a pressure reducing device operates and the photosensitive material mounting table 20
1 through the suction hose 207 connected to the suction hole 201, the air interposed between the exposure table and the upper surface and the cover sheet is suctioned through the flow path et204, and the photosensitive material and each The original and the cover sheet are overlapped and held in close contact with each other in a plane. However, the suction hole 201f may be a hole bored 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 smoothly flow between the transparent cover sheet, the document table and the photosensitive material mounting table through the flow grooves, and the cover sheet, the document and the photosensitive material can be placed in the correct flat 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 nostle 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 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 of the conveyance chute section 550 .
, 564, 565, the switching chute 566, and the guide rollers 552, 553, 554, 555, 556, and then the switching chute 566 is switched around the pivot shaft 568, so that the rear end is moved to the front. Then, it is conveyed by guide rollers 556, 557, 558, and 559 between guides 564, 565, 567, and 568, and sent to the development processing section 600. When using an internal latent image type direct positive sensitive material, the exposure lamp 3 of the second exposure section 350 is
51 and filter device 352, reflection plates 353, 354,
Fog exposure is performed by an exposure box 356 consisting of an exposure window 355.

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.

When using an internal latent image type direct positive, the photosensitive material is the second
Exposure is necessary, but when using a negative color photosensitive material or a solarization type direct positive photosensitive material, the second exposure is not necessary and the light is left 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 then the black plate is layered a fourth time and exposed using a corresponding color filter for color correction if necessary. Also, the black plate is exposed three times using the B, G, and R filters mentioned above. May be exposed to light.

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. Further, in order to blend light equivalent to different color separations in advance, processing such as blending BGH 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, it is necessary to perform contact printing with several sheets of other decomposition film films stacked one on top of the other. There is.

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 cylinder 3 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.

How to use the color proof creation device to create proofs (color proofs) without any problems even for small size separation mesh film originals or separation mesh film originals created by camera separation or scanner separation from continuous tone images. state

For a separation mesh film document without pin holes that should be aligned using such a resist pin, a transparent sheet 11 having pin holes that match the resist pins is used.
Prepare a paper and paste the decomposition film original onto it at a certain position. FIG. 5(a) shows a state in which the BL version of the decomposition film original 12BL is pasted to the pin hole 22 at a predetermined position.

Further, in FIG. 5(b), a Y version separation mesh film original 12Y corresponding to the BL version separation film original 12Y is shown in the pin hole 22.
The transparent sheet 11 is shown attached to the same position on another transparent sheet 11. Similarly, in FIG. 5(C), M
The separation mesh film original 12M of the plate is placed on another transparent sheet 11.
It is shown attached in the same position. When a plurality of transparent sheets 11 are used in this manner, the relative positions of the pin holes between the transparent sheets and the guideline are made to closely match.

For example, to paste a separation mesh film original onto such a transparent sheet, for example, a transparent sheet with a separation mesh film original pasted (hereinafter referred to as a transparent sheet original) shown in FIG. 5(a) is attached to a transparent sheet. A resist pin (pin bar) of the same size as the resist pin (pin bar) used in the color proof production device placed and fixed on the sheet is fitted, another transparent sheet 11 is placed on top of the pin bar, and a Y version of the decomposition film original 12Y is placed on the pin bar. 12BL, and the decomposition film original may be pasted and fixed on the sheet at that position.

However, in order to make pasting easier, Fig. 7,
As shown in FIG. 8, it is very effective to provide a guideline 17 for pasting on the transparent sheet. This guideline 17 makes it easier to paste by matching the registration mark or characteristic points, corners, etc. of the pattern, and the color tone is written using separated colors or white rather than black ink. is preferred. Also, pale colors and intermediate tones are preferable to bright primary colors. Furthermore, the guideline can take any shape and is not limited to this example.

Further, it is preferable to prepare several types of transparent sheets corresponding to the size of the decomposable mesh film to be pasted.

Also, in order to avoid the guideline 17 from being recorded as an image in the picture as much as possible, it is preferable to write a guideline so that the area occupied by the guideline should be kept to 5% or less of the entire image, preferably 3%. The following are particularly preferred. Further, the line width of the guideline is preferably 120 μm or less, particularly preferably 60 μm or less. In order to facilitate visual judgment, the lower limit is preferably 20 μm or more.

Figure 6 shows three types of decomposition film originals placed on a transparent sheet.
(a) is 14BL,
It is a diagram of a BL version transparent sheet manuscript with 15BL and 16BL pasted, and (b) is 14Y, 15Y, 16
This is a diagram of a transparent sheet manuscript of Y version with Y pasted, (
c) is a diagram of an M version transparent sheet manuscript with 14M, 15M, and 16M pasted, and (d) is a diagram of 14C, 15c.
, 16C is a diagram of the transparent sheet a draft of the 0th edition.

In this way, the color proofing device can be used to efficiently proofread even for separation mesh film originals without pin holes, in the same way as for separation mesh film originals with pin holes that should be used with resist pins. It can be carried out.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, color proofs can be created accurately and easily regardless of the type of color separation net film, and proofing work for printing plate making can now be performed more effectively and accurately.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a color proof production device used in the method of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of the exposure device of the color proof production device. 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. FIGS. 5(a), (b), (c), and (d) are explanatory diagrams showing a method of processing a separation mesh film original without resist pin holes. FIGS. 6(a), (b), (c), and (d) are explanatory diagrams showing another method for processing a separation mesh film original without resist pin holes. FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are explanatory diagrams of a transparent sheet provided with guidelines. 11...Transparent 12BL, 14BL, 15BL, 16BL...
Separation net film original B without pin holes L version 12Y, 14Y, 15Y, 16Y... Separation net film original Y version without pin holes 12M, 14M, 15M, 16M... Pin hole odor Degradable net film manuscript M version 12c, 14c, 15c, 16c... Degradable net film W without pin holes, draft C version 17... Guideline 100... Color proof creation device main body 140...・
Document table 143...Regist pin (pin bar) 275...Cover sheet 300...Exposure section

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a method of creating a color proof by printing at least one resolution mesh film original onto a photosensitive material, at least one sheet is placed on a transparent sheet having pin holes that match a plurality of resist pins on an original platen. Separation mesh film originals are pasted one by one so that the image positions are aligned with each other, and the pin holes of each transparent sheet original are fitted into the resist pins, so that the originals are fixed on the exposure surface one after another. A color proof creation method characterized by performing color separation printing processing. (2) The color proof production method according to claim 1, wherein the transparent sheet is provided with a guideline that is determined secondary to the pin holes.