JPH06222465A - Photographic printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shorten a time required for printing processing by attaining image editing according to printing information and exposing/printing. CONSTITUTION:The printing information of a printing size, a kind of surfaces, etc., read out form an LSI card 6 is sent to an image editing part 16. A line sensor 20 reads the image of a long size film 10 in synchronization with the feeding of a film and sends the read image to the image editing part 16 via an image processing part 15. The image editing part 16 classifies and edits the sent images according to the printing information and sends image data to a printing processor 23 in the order of a group in each printing information. The printing processor 23 exposes/prints the sent image data on a color paper 26 in synchronization with the feeding of the color paper 26.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a line photographic printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a photo lab, when a request for simultaneous printing is made in order to eliminate the replacement time and paper loss of a photosensitive material, for example, color paper, according to the face type and print size of the print photograph designated by the customer. To sort the photo films and join the photo films in the same group with splice tape to make a long film. After developing this long film, it is set in a projection type photographic printer loaded with a photosensitive material suitable for each group, and each frame is surface-exposed to a photosensitive material, for example, color paper.

[0003]

As described above, in the conventional photographic printer, according to the print size and face type,
It was necessary to sort the photo films. Especially 1
When making various photographic prints while exchanging color papers with a single photographic printer, it is necessary to consider the joining order in order to efficiently perform the paper exchange.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a photographic printer which eliminates the need for sorting the photographic film and does not need to consider the joining order of the photographic films.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, in the invention according to claim 1, means for inputting print information of size or face type of each print photograph made from one photo film, Image reading means for reading each image recorded on a plurality of photo films and converting it into image data, and a plurality of input image data are divided into groups based on print information, and image data is output for each group. An image editing means and a line printing means for setting a photosensitive material suitable for a group to be printed and printing each image data included in this group are provided. According to this, since the image editing unit edits the image data for each print information and outputs the image data for each group, it is possible to save the trouble of sorting photographed photographs for each print information.

According to the second aspect of the invention, a plurality of line printing means for printing the input image data, each of which is set with a plurality of types of photosensitive materials having different paper widths and surface types, and a photographic film are used. A means for inputting the print information of the size and face type of the print photograph to be produced, an image reading means for reading each image recorded on the photograph film and converting it into image data, and sorting the image data based on the print information, And a sorting means for sending to a line printing means on which a photosensitive material suitable for print information is set. According to this, since a plurality of line printing means in which one of a plurality of types of photosensitive materials having different paper widths and surface types are set in advance is prepared, it is possible to replace the photosensitive materials according to print information one by one. You can save time.

[0007]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment in which image data is divided into groups according to print size or surface type. At the time of printing a photograph, a supply reel 8 on which the developed long film 10 is wound, and an LSI card 6 storing print information, exposure correction information, etc. of the long film 10 are set. The long film 10 is obtained by joining a large number of photographic films, for example, a negative film with a splice tape in the order in which simultaneous prints are received, and then developing the film. LSI
When the long film 10 is certified, the card 6 is written with print information of print size and face type and exposure correction information of an image (frame). The print information written in the LSI card 6 is sent to the image processing unit 15 and the image editing unit 16 via the LSI card reading unit 7.
In the case of a photographic film coated with a transparent magnetic recording layer, print information is recorded on the magnetic recording layer at the time of photographing or development processing, and printing is performed by a magnetic head arranged between the feed roller pairs 11 and 12. The information may be read.

An image reading position is set between the pair of feed rollers 12 and 13, and each image on the long film 10 is illuminated from below by a light source 17. Also, long film 1
An image reading unit 21 including a slit plate 18, a lens 19, and a CCD line sensor 20 is provided above the light source 17 with 0 interposed therebetween. A slit 18a is formed in the slit plate 18 so as to be elongated in the width direction of the long film 10. The image of the long film 10 illuminated by the light source 17 passes through the slit 18a and is imaged on the element surface of the line sensor 20 by the lens 19.

The line sensor 20 has R, G, and
It is a color line sensor in which the B color filter is arranged. The line sensor 20 reads each image of the long film 10 line by line in synchronization with the film feeding, and sends the obtained three-color image data to the image processing unit 15. 1
Instead of using one color line sensor, a line sensor dedicated to each color in which R, G, and B color filters are respectively arranged on three monochrome line sensors may be used. An image area sensor may be used instead of the line sensor, and in this case, the image is read in a state where each image is stopped at the image reading position.

The image processing unit 15 performs color correction and density correction on the sent image data based on the exposure correction information, and size conversion image processing based on the print information. The image-processed image data is stored in the image editing unit 16
Sent to. The image editing unit 16 includes a first memory 16a that stores a plurality of image data, and a second memory 16b that edits the image data into groups for each print information and writes the image data arranged in each group. . Image data is sequentially fetched from the second memory 16b for each group and sent to the print processor 23. Also, before printing, print information is displayed on the display unit 22 to instruct the replacement of color paper. It should be noted that each image to be printed may be displayed on the display unit 22 to check the finished state.

The print processor 23 is composed of a line print section 24 and a processor section 25. The line printing unit 24 performs main scanning in the width direction of the color paper 26 with laser light, and also performs sub-scanning by sending the color paper 26 by the feed roller pair 27, and reproduces based on the image data from the image editing unit 16. The formed image is printed and exposed on the color paper 26. This color paper 2
6 are prepared for each face type and print size, and are exchanged according to the display on the display unit 22. The color paper 26 which has been subjected to the baking exposure is sent to the processor unit 25 as it is, and is passed through each processing tank at the same feed speed as the feed roller pair 27 to be developed. As is well known, the color paper 26 that has undergone the development processing is cut into each frame and discharged to the photographic tray 28.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the line printing unit 24. The image editing unit 16 reads the image data stored in the second memory 16b, and once reads the image data.
6c, and sent to the line print unit 24 via the printer interface. The line print unit 24 includes a He—Ne laser 30, a He—Cd laser 31, and an Ar laser 32. Each laser 3
The laser beams from 0 to 32 are transmitted to the optical modulators 33 and 3 respectively.
The signals 4 and 35 are modulated based on the image data from the image editing unit 16. A beam splitter 36 feeds back a part of the laser beam to each of the optical modulators 33 to 35 when adjusting the intensity of the laser beam to a reference value.

Each laser beam modulated based on the image data is reflected by a mirror 37, a dichroic mirror 38,
The beam is made into one beam by 39, and after being converted into parallel light by a well-known collimating optical system, it is guided to a polygon mirror 41 through a cylindrical lens 40. The polygon mirror 41 is rotated at a high speed by a motor 42, and the rotation causes a laser beam to be swung in the width direction of the color paper 26, so that one main scan is performed on one surface of the polygon mirror 41. The image forming optical system including the fθ lens 43 and the cylindrical lens 44 includes a polygon mirror 41.
The laser beam deflected by the color paper 26
The beam diameter is narrowed down so that the beam diameter corresponds to the photosensitive density.

The paper feed roller pair 45 feeds the color paper 26 in the sub-scanning direction in synchronization with the main scanning of the laser beam. The paper feed roller pair 45 has a motor 46.
Is rotated by. Each motor 42, 46 is a driver 4
The rotation is controlled by the controller 49 via the units 7 and 48. The controller 49 controls the rotations of the motors 42 and 46 based on the synchronization signal from the image editing unit 16. The image is printed and exposed on the color paper 26 by the sub-scanning by the film feeding and the main scanning by the laser beam. In addition to the image printing exposure, the line print unit 24 also prints a cut mark on the blank space between each frame recorded on the color paper 26. Based on the cut marks, the processor unit 25 cuts the color paper 26 into each frame by a cutter after the paper is dried.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of editing on the memory by the image editing unit 16. For most long films, the print size may be specified for each number of prints, but for those shot by a camera or the like that can switch between panoramas, print size information is specified for each image. Also,
The face type is specified for each number of cases. In this embodiment, three print sizes, service size, L size, and panorama size, and two surface types, glossy surface and silk surface, are used.

The operation of the above configuration will be described. At the lab,
When requested to print at the same time, the exposed photographic films are joined with splice tape in the order in which they are received without sorting. After this joining, the long film 10 is developed with a cine type developing machine, and then wound on the supply reel 12. Next, the long film 10 is set in the film inspection machine, and the exposure correction amount is input while inspecting each frame. In this film certification, the print information of the print size and face type specified by the customer is input with the keyboard. The print information and the exposure correction amount information are stored in the LSI.
Written on the card 6.

A long film 10 wound around a supply reel 8.
And the LSI card 6 are set in the photo printer. When the keyboard 14 is operated to indicate the image reading, the pair of feed rollers 11, 12, 13 conveys the long film 10 toward the slit plate 18. At this time, the light source 17 is turned on, and the image of the frame passing through the slit is read by the CCD line sensor 20 line by line. Image reading unit 2
The reading of 1 is performed in synchronization with the film feeding, and the taken-in three-color image data is sent to the image processing unit 15. LSI
The card reading unit 7 reads print information and exposure correction information from the LSI card 6.

The image processing section 15 performs color correction and density correction on the image data based on the exposure correction information, and performs image processing such as size conversion according to the print information. The image editing unit 16 stores the image-processed image data in the first memory 16a.
Remember once. After reading all the images in the long film 10, the first memory 16a is read according to the print information.
Image data is edited for each group, and the edited image data is written in the second memory 16b in the order of groups. In the example shown in FIG. 3, glossy surface and service size, glossy surface and L
It is arranged in four groups of size, silk surface and service size, glossy surface and panoramic size.

Next, the image editing section 16 causes the display section 22 to display
For example, "Color paper 2 for glossy surface and service size
Replace it with 4. Message such as "is displayed.
The operator operates the keyboard 14 to start printing after replacing the color paper 26 in accordance with this message.

When the print start is instructed, the first one of the image data included in the glossy surface and service size group is read from the second memory 16b,
It is sent to the frame memory 16c. The image data read from the frame memory 16c is sent to the line print unit 24 via the printer interface. The line print unit 24 performs a main scan in the width direction of the color paper 26 with a laser beam, and a roller pair 27.
The color paper 26 is fed in the sub-scanning direction, and the first image is printed and exposed on the color paper 26. Thereafter, similarly, each image data grouped into a glossy surface and a service size is printed. When the printing of all the image data included in this group is completed, the image editing unit 16 displays on the display unit 22 a message indicating that the color paper for L size is exchanged.

After the exchange of the curler paper, if the keyboard 14 is instructed to start printing, as described above, L
A group of glossy surfaces is printed in size. In this way, while changing the paper according to the display of the display unit 22,
When the printing operation is performed, the image data of each group is sequentially printed. The recording order for each group may be input in advance from the keyboard 14.

In the above-described embodiment, since one print processor 23 is used, the color paper 2 is grouped by group.
It will be necessary to replace 6. The embodiment shown in FIG. 4 eliminates the need for paper replacement by using a plurality of print processors 23 loaded with different kinds of color papers. A color paper 26 corresponding to print information is set in each print processor 23. The selector 51 includes the image processing unit 15
The image data sent from the printer is selected from a plurality of print processors 23 according to the print information, and the image data is output to the selected print processor 23. In this embodiment, a selector 51 is provided in place of the image editing section 16, and printing is immediately performed by the selected print processor 23 without grouping.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned types of surface types and print sizes. For example, as print sizes, in addition to the well-known four-cut size, six-cut size, cabinet size, etc., a high-definition size, There are a cinema size, a square size, and the like, and the face type includes a fine grain face and the like. Further, although the print information is group-edited by the face type and print size, the present invention is not limited to this, and the group-editing may be performed in consideration of trimming information and the like. If a panorama size frame and a full size frame are mixed in one photo film, the print photos will be separated by grouping, so the same photo will be printed on the back of the print photo. An order number indicating that is printed is printed, and the print photograph is collated based on this.

In the case of a photographic film provided with a magnetic recording layer, the print information is automatically picked up from the magnetic head at the time of reading, so that it is not necessary to input the print information with the LSI card or the keyboard 14. Needless to say. In addition to magnetic recording, the print information may be optically recorded on a photosensitive emulsion surface other than the image recording area by a bar code, a Carla code or the like.

Further, in the above embodiment, the color paper is scanned by the laser beam for printing exposure, but in addition to this, a flat CRT or a liquid crystal line printer may be used for printing exposure. Further, although a color printer is used in the above embodiment, it may be a monochrome printer. Further, in the above embodiment, the gas laser is used as the laser light source, but a semiconductor laser may be used instead.

In the above embodiment, the long film which has been developed is set in the image reading section to read the image data of each frame. However, in addition to this, during the water washing process of the film processor, and the water washing process. You may make it read between a process and a drying process etc. As a result, the rest of the water washing step and the drying step during the film developing process and the printing and paper developing steps can be performed in parallel, and the entire time from the DP reception to the finish of the printed photograph can be shortened. Therefore, in the minilab, the urgent DP processing can be performed in a shorter time, and the waiting time of the customer can be shortened.

[0027]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the image editing unit edits the image data for each print information and the line printing means prints the image data.
It is possible to save the trouble of sorting the photographed films for each print information. Further, in the invention according to the second aspect, since a plurality of line printing means in which the photosensitive materials corresponding to the print information are respectively set are prepared in advance, it is possible to save the trouble of exchanging the photosensitive materials one by one according to the print information. , It is possible to shorten the time from receiving the photo film to ending the simultaneous printing. Further, since the printing process is performed by printing exposure on the photosensitive material by the line printing means, the loop forming device for paper, which is required in the conventional surface exposure method, becomes unnecessary,
The configuration can be easily and compactly integrated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a photographic printer of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a line printing unit.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of editing image data in an image editing unit.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of a photographic printer having a plurality of print processors.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Long film 15 Image processing unit 16 Image editing unit 23 Print processor 24 Line print unit 25 Processor unit 26 Color paper

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A means for inputting print information of size or face type of each print photograph made from one photo film, and an image for reading each image recorded in a plurality of photo films and converting it into image data. A reading means, a plurality of input image data are divided into groups based on print information, an image editing means for outputting image data for each group, and a photosensitive material suitable for a group to be printed are set. And a line printing unit that prints each image data included in the photo printer. 2. A plurality of line printing means, each of which is set with a plurality of types of photosensitive materials having different paper widths and surface types, and which prints input image data, and the size and surface of a print photograph created from a photographic film. A means for inputting print information of a kind, an image reading means for reading each image recorded on the photographic film and converting it into image data, and a photosensitive material suitable for the print information by sorting the image data based on the print information. A photographic printer, comprising: a sorting means for sending the set line printing means.