JPH05150409A - Photograph-material developing method which is improved against environment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To minimize the overflow liquid of a bath or to prevent the formation thereof by executing washing or stabilizing and drying after respective chemical processing steps in these steps. CONSTITUTION: The washing or stabilizing and drying are executed during a chemical processing in the processing stage for photographic materials. For example, in case the washing speed is lower than 1 liter/m<2> , a small amt. of a complexing agent is added to water to avert the precipitation or settlement of a calcium salt. A microorganism growth preventive agent or an antioxidant as a discoloration preventive agent by the product of oxidation is otherwise added thereto. Otherwise, adjustment of pH and further addition of a small amt. of a lubricant are otherwise recommended. The greater part of the liquid sticking to the material is preferably removed by wring rollers. The material is dried after the execution of the washing and stabilizing. As a result, the amt. of the chemicals necessary for the photographic processing is decreased and, eventually, the content of the overflow liquid and the environment pollution are lessened.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

The present invention relates to a photographic processing method with particular economic and environmental advantages.

The processing of silver halide photographic materials consists of several chemical processing steps, which are dependent on the materials and methods used. This chemical processing step includes, inter alia, development, bleaching, fixing, bleach-fixing, conditioning and reversal, and development includes both silver salt image making and color image making.

The processing of photographic materials is usually carried out in an aqueous bath and the material to be processed is placed in the dry state only in the first processing bath.
This bath is usually a development bath.

In all subsequent processing baths, the photographic material carries water or chemicals into the bath.

This dilutes the working solution. The dilution of such a solution must be offset by using a correspondingly high concentration of replenisher. The volume of working solution increases as water is introduced and replenishment solution is supplied.

Various working solutions overflow the bath into overflow liquids which must be discarded. For such disposal to be rational, the continuous overflow must be evaporated.

Vacuum evaporators are commercially available for this purpose. The concentrated sludge obtained by evaporation cannot be used for photography and must also be discarded.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of processing photographic materials which minimizes or prevents the formation of bath overflow and prevents its formation, and which is economically and environmentally improved.

This object of the invention is achieved by performing a washing or stabilizing and drying between at least two chemical treatments in the processing step of the photographic material.

If the washing rate is lower than 1 liter / m ² , a small amount of complexing agent such as aminopolycarboxylic acid and / or organic phosphonic acid is added to the water to prevent the calcium salt from precipitating and depositing. Avoid or add commercial fungicides as microbial growth inhibitors, such as isothiazolinone type chemicals, or antioxidants as discoloration inhibitors due to oxidation products, such as sulfite, hydroxylamine, or diethylhydroxylamine. It is recommended to add a derivative thereof, or alternatively to adjust the pH to 3.5-9.5, or to add a small amount of wetting agent. Addition to the washing solution is preferably 0.00
It is carried out at a concentration of 01 to 0.01 mol / liter.

It is preferable that most of the liquid adhering to the material after washing or stabilizing is removed by a squeezing roller before drying. The combination of washing and drying according to the invention is carried out after all the chemical processing steps of the photographic processing method used in particular.

The photographic material is then subjected to all chemical processing steps in a substantially dry state.

Drying is preferably done by infrared radiation, hot air, microwave or hot rollers, or a combination of these drying methods. Due to the features of the method of the present invention, the standard method can be modified as follows, for example.

Conventional Method Inventive Method RA-4 / AP 94 Color Development Color Development (Mini Lab) Bleaching Fixing Washing Washing Bleaching Fixing Washing RA-4 / AP 94 Color Developing Coloring (Finishing) Stop Bath Washing Bleaching Bleaching Fixing Washing Fixing Washing C41 / AP / 70 Color development Color development Bleaching Washing Fixing Bleaching Washing Washing Fixing Washing In the above known method, the drying is carried out only after the final washing. Here, "wash" can be replaced by stabilization. The drawbacks associated with this are as described above. In the method of the present invention, drying is performed after each washing or stabilization.

According to the present invention, the amount of chemicals required for photographic processing can be reduced, resulting in a direct reduction in effluent content and environmental pollution.

[0016]

【Example】

 Example 1 (Control) Commercially available color photographic paper was processed as follows.

Development 45 seconds / 33 ° C. Wash 22.5 seconds / 35 ° C. Bleach 45 seconds / 33 ° C. Wash 22.5 seconds / 25 ° C. Fixing 45 seconds / 33 ° C. Wash 3 times 22.5 seconds / 25 ° C. Bleach bath Has the following composition:

Ammonium iron EDTA 50 g / liter Ammonium bromide 100 g / liter pH 5.5 The replenishment rate is 60 ml / m ² .

The replenisher is NF ₄ FeRDTA and NH ₄ B
The concentration of r is double.

The tank volume is 5 liters.

The composition of the bleaching bath was determined by analysis after processing 100 m ² of color photographic paper.

NH ₄ Br 93 g NH ₄ FeEDTA 47 g ie the working solution is diluted by carrying in water, this is just at a rate of 60 ml / m ² using a replenisher solution at twice the concentration of the working solution. Offset by replenishing. Ammonium bromide and ammonium iron E
To maintain the original concentration of DTA, the replenishment rate is 64
It had to be ml / m ² .

The amount of overflow liquid in the bath was 5790 ml.
The bath overflow had the same chemical composition as the working solution.

Example 2 (Invention Method) The same method as in Example 1 was used, except that the photographic material was squeezed through a rubber roller, drained, and then subjected to a first wash, followed by 22 seconds of 400 watts 75 cm long. Irradiation was performed by using three ceramic infrared irradiators. Only then was the photographic material placed in a bleaching bath.

The replenishment rate was 60 ml / m ² , and the concentration of the replenishment solution was only 110%, not 200% of the working solution.

After processing 100 m ² of color photographic paper,
The chemical composition of the working solution was analyzed and investigated.

NH ₄ Br 96 g NH ₄ Fe 48.5 g Intermediate drying of the material according to the method of the invention makes it possible to reduce the concentration of the replenishing solution from 200% to below 110%.

The amount of the overflow liquid of the bath was 370 ml, and the amount of the bleaching bath brought from the bath by the photographic material was 6 at the replenishment rate.
Somewhat less than 0 ml / m ² . If the intermediate drying is performed by the method of the present invention, the amount of the overflowed and discarded bath is 90%.
It can be reduced by more than%.

Example 3 (Control) The same method was used as in Example 1, but in this case a fixing bath was included in the experiment.

The fixing bath had the following chemical composition:

Sodium thiosulfate 70 g / l Potassium sulfite 15 g / l pH 7.0 The fixing bath replenisher solution has a composition twice this concentration.

The replenishment rate was 60 ml / m ² .

After processing 100 m ² of color photographic paper,
The fixing bath chemical composition was analyzed and investigated.

Sodium thiosulfate 68 g / l Potassium sulfite 12 g / l Thus the photographic material brought water into the fixing bath, but the replenishment kept the chemical composition of the working solution substantially constant. The fixer overflow is 5930 ml.

Example 4 (Invention Method) The same method as in Example 3 was used, but after washing after the fixing bath, the liquid on the photographic material was squeezed between rubber rollers,
The photographic material is then 11 cm wide, 40 cm long and 2 high.
I passed through a narrow passage of cm.

Hot (about 80 ° C.) air is blown into the passageway through two flat nozzles at the entrance end of the photographic material. The photographic material was run between these nozzles.

The velocity of the air in the passage is 5 to 50 times the feed rate of the photographic material, depending on the desired drying rate.

The replenishment rate was again 60 ml / m ² .

The composition of the replenishment solution simply corresponds to the concentration of the working solution.

After processing 100 m ² of color photographic paper,
The fixing bath chemical composition was analyzed and investigated. Sodium thiosulfate 66.5 g Potassium sulfite 11.3 g The fixing bath overflow was 480 ml.

When intermediate drying is carried out by the method of the present invention,
The amount of chemical required can be halved (half the concentration of the replenisher solution). The amount of overflow liquid in the fixing bath is about 90%.
Only decreases. The remaining 480 ml of effluent contains very little water when the photographic paper comes in and the amount of fixing bath carried by the photographic material does not exactly correspond to the adjusted replenishment rate. It is because of that.

The main features and aspects of the present invention are as follows. 1. A method of processing a photographic silver halide material comprising several processing steps, wherein at least two chemical processing steps each involve washing or stabilizing and drying.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the chemical processing step can comprise development bleach-fix bleach-fix conditioning reversal.

3. The drying is performed by irradiation with infrared rays, high temperature air, microwaves, a method using a high temperature roller, or a combination of these drying methods.
Method described in section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method of processing a photographic silver halide material comprising several processing steps, characterized in that at least two chemical processing steps are followed by washing or stabilizing and drying, respectively. ..