JPH06326840A - Picture printing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To efficiently obtain a print with a required and sufficient resolution in a short time independently of the magnification of the print by setting a required minimum resolution depending on the magnification of the print. CONSTITUTION:Scanners 1, 2 convert an image of a film 3 with different resolution into digital picture data and a magnetic head 4 reads print size trimming information recorded to a magnetic recording part of the film 3. An I/O port 8 receives an information signal read by the magnetic head 4 via an amplifier 5 and a signal processing circuit 6 and receives information such as correction data and a notch number from an LSI card 7. A work station 9 is connected to the I/O port 8, a memory 10 storing picture data read by the scanners 1, 2 and picture data subject to processing and a printer 11 printing out a photograph to execute various picture processing to control the whole of the scanners 1, 2 and the printer 11 or the like.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image printing system, and more particularly, to an image printing system which changes a reading resolution of a scanner according to an enlargement magnification to obtain a beautiful print efficiently.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various methods have been proposed for recording trimming information and print size on a film to obtain a trimmed photograph of a desired size. When a negative image of a film is printed on photographic paper to obtain a desired trimmed photograph, it takes time and effort to adjust the position of the film original and set the imaging magnification of the lens. As a method of saving this trouble, if a film image is read by a scanner and image data of a desired area is selected and printed according to trimming information, a trimmed photograph can be obtained without performing mechanical adjustment.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-93959 discloses a technique for enlarging a color copy at an arbitrary magnification based on image information read from an image information reading device.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-93444,
The maximum trimming ratio is calculated from the input print size and the preset final enlargement ratio, and the trimming ratio at the time of shooting is set from the calculated maximum trimming ratio and the input desired trimming ratio. A device is disclosed.

[0005]

However, the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-93959 has the following problems. That is, since the scanner electronically scans and reads an image, the higher the resolution, the longer it takes to read the image. In addition, if the resolution of the scanner is constant, the larger the magnification of the color copy, the rougher the image of the color copy.

Further, in the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-93444, it takes time to position the film frame and set the magnification of the projection lens in the system that prints an image optically on photographic paper to obtain a print. Will end up. Further, in the electronic printing by the scanner, there is a problem that the image quality of the print changes depending on the resolution of the scanner.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image printing system capable of efficiently obtaining a print having a necessary and sufficient resolution in a short time regardless of the enlargement magnification of the print. To aim.

[0008]

That is, the present invention provides a reading means for reading an image formed on a film or the like and converting it into digital image data, and a printing means for printing the image based on the digital image data. An image printing system comprising: the reading means, the resolution of which is variable according to the enlargement ratio of the image to be printed.

[0009]

In the image printing system of the present invention, the image formed on the film or the like is read by the reading means whose resolution is variable according to the enlargement ratio of the image to be printed and converted into digital image data. To be converted. Then, the image is printed by the printing means based on the digital image data.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a first embodiment according to the present invention and is a schematic configuration diagram showing an entire image printing system. In the figure, 1 and 2 are scanners for converting the image on the negative film 3 into digital image data. Of these, scanner 1
Converts the image of film 3 into digital image data at a first resolution, and scanner 2 converts the image of film 3 into digital image data at a second resolution higher than scanner 1.

The magnetic head 4 reads the print size trimming information recorded in the magnetic recording portion of the film 3. The information signal read by the magnetic head 4 is amplified by the amplifier 5, and the output of the amplifier 5 is further deformed and shaped into a signal suitable for subsequent processing, and the I / O port 8 is passed through the signal processing circuit 6. Is supplied to. To the I / O port 8, stored data such as correction data by the negative test and the number of notches is input from the LSI card 7.

The workstation (WS) 9 connected to the I / O port 8 includes a memory 10 and a printer 11.
Connected to the printer 11 for executing various image processing, printing the scanners 1 and 2 and photographs.
It controls the entire system such as. The memory 10 is
It is for storing image data read by the scanners 1 and 2 and image data subjected to image processing.

The film supply reel 12 and the film winding reel 13 are reels for supplying and winding the film, and the roller 14 is for conveying the film 3.

Next, the operation of the image printing system having such a configuration will be described. When the trimming information and the print size are detected by the magnetic head 4, the film 3 of the corresponding frame is set to either the scanner 1 or the scanner 2 according to the final enlargement magnification, and the image of the film 3 is a digital image. Converted to data.

Here, the final enlargement ratio will be described. FIG. 2 shows a viewfinder of a camera, in which pictures of the sizes of image frames A, B, and C are taken. As a result, even with a single-focus lens, it is possible to obtain a photograph as if zooming was performed. The trimming size is represented by (X, Y) with the center O of the screen as the origin. Trimming information (X, Y)
Then, the print size is written in the magnetic recording portion 15 attached to the film 3, as shown in FIG.

Now, the trimming magnification α is set to a ratio of the trimming information X or Y to the full size of 36 / X or 24 / Y (where the unit of X and Y is mm). The print magnification β is the ratio of the print size to the film full size. At this time, the final enlargement magnification m of the photograph is m = α · β (1).

For example, when m is up to 4 times, a film image is read by a sensor having a relatively coarse pixel density of the scanner 1, and when m is 4 times or more, a film image is read by a sensor having a relatively high density in the scanner 2. I will read it. As a result, it is not necessary to read the image with a resolution higher than necessary, and it is possible to efficiently and quickly convert the film image into digital image data.

The developed film is applied to a negative proofing machine (not shown) to perform negative proofing on each frame, and a half-circular cutout is formed on one side image portion of the film for the printing frame. Notched. In addition, for frames that can obtain good prints for correction due to defective imaging,
As is well known, there is no notch. Further, the density correction data and the color correction data that provide the optimum finish are input to the frames that need correction. The correction data, the number of notches, the data between the notches, and the like are recorded on the LSI card 7.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the scanner 1 in detail. Although the scanner 1 is used here, the configuration of the scanner 2 is also the same, so only the scanner 1 will be described here.

In FIG. 4, the light from the light source 16 is applied to the film 3 in the film carrier 18 via the diffusion plate 17. Then, the light transmitted through the film is guided to the color line sensor 21 via the lens 20. The sensor scanning device 22 scans the color line sensor 21 to obtain two-dimensional image data, and is driven via the I / O port 8. The drive circuit 23 is for driving the color line sensor 21 and reading pixel data bit by bit. The output of the color line sensor 21 is amplified by the amplifier circuit 24, converted into a digital value by the A / D conversion circuit 25, and supplied to the I / O port 8.

The notch detection sensor 26 is the notch detection sensor described above. Further, 27 is a film feed roller provided in the film carrier 18. Next, the operation of the scanner 1 shown in FIG. 4 will be described.

White light from the light source 16 passes through the diffusion plate 17,
The light passes through the film 3 and the lens 20 in the film carrier 18 and is guided to the color licensor 21. Film 3
The image of is formed on the color line sensor 21 by the lens 20. The output signal of the color line sensor 21 is amplified by the amplifier circuit 24 according to the timing of the drive circuit 23.
Is converted into a digital amount by the AD converter 25 via the.

Here, returning to FIG. 1, the digital image data converted by the scanners 1 and 2 is the I / O port 8
It is stored in the image memory 10 by the workstation 9 via the.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The operation of image processing will be described. First, shading correction is performed (step S1). Here, the distortion due to the sensitivity variation of the sensor of the scanner and the distortion due to the uneven light amount of the light source are corrected. Next, the average transmission density (LATD) of the entire screen is measured based on the digital image data (step S2). Then, the LATD and the correction data from the LSI card 7 are input (step S3), and the print density and R, G, B are input.
Color correction is performed (steps S4 and S5).

Next, a reflectance-voltage linear signal (BGR) and a concentration-voltage linear signal (Y
After conversion to MC) (step S6), a black signal is generated by separating the gray components in the three-color signal (undercolor removal: referred to as UCR) (step S7). Next, color correction masking is performed using a predetermined masking equation (step S8).

Then, after gradation correction (step S
9), sharpness correction up to edge enhancement and smoothing is performed (step S10). In this way, printing is executed based on the digital image data that has been subjected to the above processing (step S11), and the processing ends.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the entire image printing system. In the above-described first embodiment, a plurality of scanners are installed and the optimum scanner is selected from among them. However, since a plurality of expensive scanners are installed, the entire image printing system may be expensive. The second embodiment is an improvement on this point. In FIG. 6, the same parts as those in FIG. 4 are designated by the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 6, the scanner 28 has two resolutions selectable. Then, the white light of the light source 16 is transmitted to the diffusion plate 17, the film 3 in the film carrier 18, and the lens 20. Then, one of the lights emitted from the lens 20 is guided to the line sensor 30, and the other light is reflected by the half mirror 29 and guided to the line sensor 35. The pixel density of the line sensor 35 is
It is higher than the pixel density of the line sensor 30. Therefore,
The line sensor 30 is used when printing a photograph with a relatively small enlargement magnification, and the line sensor 35 is used when printing a photograph with a relatively large enlargement magnification.

The sensor scanning devices 31, 36 are for scanning the line sensors 30, 36, respectively, to obtain two-dimensional image data. The drive circuits 32 and 37 are
This is a circuit for driving the line sensors 30 and 35 and obtaining image data from the line sensors 30 and 35 at a predetermined timing. The amplifier circuits 33 and 38 are the same as the line sensor 3 described above.
It is a circuit that amplifies the analog output of 0 and 35. The outputs amplified by the amplifier circuits 33 and 38 are supplied to the A / D converter 3
It is converted to a digital value at 4, 39 and supplied to the I / O port 8.

With this configuration, only one scanner can selectively switch between two types of resolutions. Further, in the embodiment, two kinds of resolutions of the scanner 28 can be selected, but any number of resolutions can be used if necessary. As a method of changing the resolution, in addition to the above configuration, a MOS type high resolution sensor may be used so that necessary pixels can be selected according to the resolution.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention, the resolution of the scanner can be selected according to the enlargement ratio of the photograph, so that the image data of the necessary and sufficient image quality can be read from the film at high speed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an entire image printing system in a first embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a viewfinder and an image frame of a camera.

FIG. 3 is a magnetic recording portion 1 attached to the film 3 of FIG.
It is the figure which showed 5.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the scanner 1 of FIG. 1 in detail.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of image processing.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an entire image printing system in a second embodiment according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 2 ... Scanner, 3 ... Film, 4 ... Magnetic head, 5
... Amplifier, 6 ... Signal processing circuit, 7 ... LSI card, 8 ...
I / O port, 9 ... Workstation (WS), 10
... memory, 11 ... printer, 12 ... film supply reel, 13 ... film take-up reel, 14 ... roller, 15
... magnetic recording unit, 16 ... light source, 17 ... diffusion plate, 18 ... film carrier, 20 ... lens, 21 ... color line sensor, 22 ... sensor scanning device, 23 ... drive circuit, 24 ... amplification circuit, 25 ... A / D Conversion circuit.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An image printing system comprising: a reading unit that reads an image formed on a film or the like and converts the image into digital image data; and a printing unit that prints the image based on the digital image data. The image reading system is characterized in that the reading means has a variable resolution according to a magnification of an image to be printed. 2. The image printing system according to claim 1, wherein the reading means comprises a plurality of reading devices having different resolutions. 3. The image printing system according to claim 1, wherein the reading unit is configured so that one sensor can be selected from a plurality of sensors having different image densities.