JPH0955834A - Digital photographic printer, photographic printing method and image recording medium reproduced by the printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve productivity of printing by simplifying complicated printing operations accompanying the handling of cut films at the time of re-ordering or the like in a photographic printer. SOLUTION: A film number written on a check tape for specifying the film 20 is read by a scanner 41 and a bar code for specifying the frame number of a photographing frame 21 is read by a bar code reader 42. Then, an image recorded in the frame of the film specified by information for image retrieval composed of the film number and the frame number is read by a CCD 52 and image data for indicating the image are stored in a hard disk 75 corresponding to the information for the image retrieval. At the time of extra printing, by inputting the information for the image retrieval from a keyboard 73, a CPU 74 retrieves the image data corresponding to the information for the image retrieval from the hard disk 75 and a printer 60 prints the retrieved image on photographic printing paper 100.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital photographic printer for once converting an image recorded on a photographic film into digital image data and reproducing it as a photographic print, a photographic printing method using this printer, and this printer. The present invention relates to an image recording medium such as a reproduced photographic print.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a roll-shaped photographic film housed in a cartridge has been used for a camera, and a film that has been photographed is brought to a photo shop (also referred to as a print shop in this specification) or the like. Developed and printed (so-called simultaneous printing) and returned to the customer. The developed photographic film returned to this customer is not a roll-shaped film in consideration of storage convenience, but is generally cut into film pieces of which 4 to 6 frames are taken as one piece. It was returned to the customer.

[0003]

A film piece of this type is usually stored in a film storage bag.
If it is divided into multiple pieces and each is stored in a bag, it takes a lot of time to put it in and out of this bag at the time of printing, and in the conventional analog type photo printer, it is recorded on the film frame of the film. Each time a printed image is printed on an image recording medium such as photographic paper, each film piece needs to be taken in and out of the bag, and each film piece must be set in the printer.Film handling to handle these films is a complicated task. Has become. Therefore, normally, the work of reprinting or reprinting for printing from the film piece is remarkably low in productivity as compared with so-called simultaneous printing work performed immediately after the film is developed.

Also, when searching for an image to be ordered for additional printing from the film, it is necessary to hold the film over the light and observe the recorded image frame by frame. The work of the person is troublesome. In particular, there are multiple types of similar scenes in the film where all the students were photographed evenly at school events such as athletic meet, and based on the exhibition prints obtained at the same time, additional prints were requested based on the print for exhibition In the case of reprinting according to the order, an extremely large number of orders for each student are printed for each frame and the number of sheets to be printed is added up. It is necessary to print as many as the number of sheets found and counted, and after printing, sort the photographic prints according to the order of each student.

On the other hand, such a work is not limited to the case of handling the film piece, but is the same when the film is cut for each frame and the slide film is housed in the mount one frame at a time.

Further, since photometry and calculation for exposure control are performed again during reprinting of the above-mentioned additional prints, an image is colored between the first ordered print (usually simultaneous print) and the reprinted reprint. There are many cases where the state of is slightly different.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and simplifies the operation and handling of printing work by reordering additional prints and the like to reduce the burden on the operator and improve the productivity of prints. It is an object of the present invention to provide a digital photographic printer and a photographic printing method using this printer.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a digital photographic printer in which the state of color development of an image does not change between prints, and an image recording medium such as a photographic print reproduced and output by this printer. It is in.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A digital photographic printer of the present invention converts a plurality of images recorded on a plurality of photographic films into digital image data, and uniquely identifies each digital image data. Storage means for storing search information in association with each of the image data in a storage medium, and digital image data associated with the specified image search information upon receiving the designation of the image search information And a printing means for reproducing a visible image based on the image data searched by the searching means on an image recording medium.

Here, as the image search information,
(1) An address code indicating an address where the image data is stored in the storage medium, (2) information uniquely identifying the photographic film, and a frame number indicating an image frame of the photographic film, etc. Can be used alone or in combination.

Further, as the information for uniquely identifying the photographic film, (A) the number of the check tape attached to a part of the photographic film or a part of the housing containing the photographic film, (B) In a photographic film having a magnetic recording area in which various information can be magnetically recorded, a film ID number for identifying the photographic film recorded in the magnetic recording area, and (C) a film cartridge containing the photographic film inside. One of the cartridge ID numbers identifying the film cartridge in
Alternatively, a combination of two or more can be used.

The photographic film having the film ID number shown in (B) and the film cartridge having the cartridge ID number shown in (C) are so-called APS (Advanced Photo System; "Photo Industry", Photo Industry Publishing Company). 1994.10 Vol.52 No.10 P118) means a new standard photographic film (including cartridge).

In addition, a part of the image search information includes
At least one of (a) lab code, (b) equipment code, (c) store code, and (d) customer code may be included.

The storage medium is specifically a large-capacity storage medium such as a hard disk, which means that it can be input / output (accessed) by a digital photo printer at any time, and is incorporated in this printer. You can
It may be provided separately from the printer. When provided separately from the printer, it must be connected to the digital photo printer via a communication line such as a telephone line. Therefore, the storage medium in the digital photographic printer of the present invention does not include a portable storage medium such as a CD-ROM that is returned to the orderer.

Furthermore, the storage means may be configured to store information relating to print conditions for printing an image recorded on a photographic film in a storage medium in association with image data, and the print means may be configured to display the visible image. At the time of printing an image, the visible image may be printed on the image recording medium based on the information regarding the print condition associated with the image data of the image. Here, the information regarding the print conditions stored in the storage medium may be updated based on the print conditions at the time of the first print (for example, simultaneous printing) with necessary corrections made each time printing is performed. Good.

Also in the printing means, when the visible image based on the image data is printed on the image recording medium, the visible image is recorded with the image search information associated with the image data. The printing may be performed on a part of the image recording medium or on a part of a housing for housing the image recording medium. By doing so, it is convenient to be able to easily know the image search information of the image to be reprinted by later looking at the recording medium and the container in which the recording medium is stored. The print medium is not limited to the recording medium and its storage body, and may be printed on a semitransparent bag for storing the film or a part of the slide mount, or may be printed on a negative sheet.

The storage means may automatically erase the image data stored in the storage medium for a predetermined period of time from the storage medium.
By erasing the image data every time a certain period elapses, it is possible to reduce the storage cost of the image data and prevent private information from being managed by others for a long period of time.

It is more preferable that the storage means reads the image search information from the photographic film and automatically adds the read image search information.

Further, the storage medium may be connected by a communication line so as to be shared by a plurality of digital photographic printers. That is, by enabling a plurality of digital photographic printers to access a large-capacity storage medium substantially simultaneously or sequentially, it is possible to unify management of images stored in the storage medium. By centrally managing the image data in this way, it is possible to order reprinting without a film, for example, even at a print shop other than the print shop where the film was first printed or developed. Very convenient for the person.

Further, the photographic printing method of the present invention is a photographic printing method of performing reprint printing for a group of photographic prints in accordance with a plurality of orders including a duplicate order for the same photographic print. It is characterized in that the photographic prints sorted for each order are obtained by sequentially specifying the image search information for each order using the photographic printer.

Here, the group of photographic prints means photographic prints corresponding to the images recorded on the film developed by one order, such as a large number of photographic prints taken at school events such as the above-mentioned athletic meet. means.

Further, “sequentially for each order” does not mean that the number of sheets counted for each frame of the film is printed in the order of the frame as in the conventional case. For example, in the photographic print of the above-mentioned athletic meet, the student A It means that after printing the order of, the order of student B is printed, then the order of student C is printed, and so on.

The image recording medium of the present invention is an image recording medium such as a photographic print in which an image recorded on a photographic film is converted into digital image data and a visible image corresponding to the image data is reproduced. An image to be reproduced from an image storage medium that stores digital image data corresponding to each of a plurality of images recorded on a film and image search information uniquely associated with each of the digital image data. The image search information for searching the image data corresponding to is partially added. Note that the part in which the image search information is recorded is an area other than the area in which the visible image of the image recording medium is reproduced, for example, the back surface of the surface on which the image is reproduced or the peripheral portion where the image is not reproduced. Etc. may be any part.

[0024]

In the digital photographic printer of the present invention, the storage means converts the image recorded on the photographic film into digital image data, and associates the image data with image search information for uniquely identifying the image data. Store in a storage medium. The image search information associated with the image data corresponding to the image to be reproduced is designated from the outside to this storage medium, so that it is designated among the plurality of image data stored in the storage medium. The image data associated with the image search information is searched by the search means. Then, the printing means reproduces the visible image on an image recording medium such as a photographic print based on the searched image data.

As described above, according to the digital photographic printer of the present invention, each image recorded on the film is provided with a name (image search information) for specifying the image separately, and is stored in a storage medium such as a large capacity hard disk. Since it is stored, the image data corresponding to the search information can be read from the storage medium and reproduced by simply specifying the image search information corresponding to the image to be reproduced at the time of reprinting.

Therefore, it is not necessary for a person such as an orderer or an operator of a photo shop to search for a film frame corresponding to an image for which an order has been placed, and it is also necessary to handle a film piece itself cut into pieces. Since it is not present, the print operation can be simplified, the print productivity can be improved, and the burden on the operator can be reduced.

On the other hand, since the orderer does not necessarily have to bring the film to the print shop, he / she can order the reprinted print by simply transmitting the image search information corresponding to the image to be reproduced by telephone or facsimile. It is possible and very convenient for the orderer.

Information relating to print conditions (including image processing conditions) for reproducing an image is associated with the image search information and stored in a storage medium, and the printing means prints this print. In a digital photographic printer configured to reproduce a visible image according to the conditions, the visible image is printed according to the constant print conditions stored in the storage medium, so that the print image is always in a constant color development state. Can be obtained, and variations in color development do not occur each time printing is performed.

Incidentally, it is possible to update to the optimum print condition as necessary, and the storage means may store the information on the print condition thus updated in the storage medium. By doing this, it is possible to carry out rework without film handling.
Colors, densities, and other image quality can be corrected and adjusted accurately. Moreover, even if the print inspection work place for inspecting the image quality of the printed photo prints is located away from the printer, by connecting the print inspection work place and the printer with a communication cable or the like,
It is possible to immediately instruct the printer from the print inspection work place as to the content of the print correction as necessary at the time of inspection, and it is possible to significantly shorten the period until obtaining the corrected print.

Further, in a digital photographic printer having a structure in which the printing means prints image search information corresponding to the image on a part of an image recording medium such as a photographic print, an image to be printed later is printed. It is possible to easily know the image search information corresponding to the image to be printed, just by looking at the image search information attached to the image recording medium in which is recorded. This is convenient because it is not necessary to perform a troublesome work such as searching for a frame on which a desired image is recorded while comparing the image reproduced on the image recording medium with the film.

Further, in the digital photographic printer having a structure in which the image search information is the address code of the image storage medium in which the image data is stored, the address associated with the desired image data to be read is directly designated. Therefore, the image data can be searched quickly.

On the other hand, in the structure using the information for specifying the film itself and the information of the frame number indicating the frame to be photographed in the photo film as the image search information, for example, when the photo print is lost for some reason, Also, since the image search information can be known from the film number printed on the check tape and the frame number printed on the film, it is possible to print without film handling even in such cases. It is possible.

In the lab service, since image data is stored in the storage medium one after another, it is possible that the storage capacity of the storage medium will eventually be exceeded. However, according to a study by the applicants of the present application, about 99% of reorder print orders are actually made within one month after development, so after development (after storing image data)
Old image data that exceeds one month may be deleted from the storage medium at regular intervals.

When there is a print order for the image data thus erased, the image may be read again from the film.

Further, according to the photographic printing method of the present invention, when a group of photographic prints is reprinted according to a plurality of orders including a duplicate order for the same photographic print, the digital photograph of the present invention is used. By specifying the image search information for each order using a printer, you can obtain photographic prints sorted for each order.The number of orders is totaled for each frame of the film as before, and then It is possible to eliminate the troublesome work of uniformly printing the number of orders for each frame and finally sorting the photo prints for each order.

Further, according to the image recording medium of the present invention, since the image search information corresponding to the image is reproduced on a part of the recording medium such as a photographic print, the image is reprinted when an attempt is made to reprint it later. Just by looking at the image search information reproduced on the recorded recording medium, the image search information of the image to be printed can be easily known. This is convenient because it is not necessary to perform a troublesome work such as searching for a frame on which a desired image is recorded while comparing them.

[0037]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, specific embodiments of a digital photographic printer of the present invention and a photographic print which is an image recording medium reproduced by this printer, and a photographic print method using this digital photographic printer will be described. Will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the digital photographic printer of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a photographic film used in the digital photographic printer shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the photographic film 20 used in the illustrated digital photographic printer 10 has a frame number of each photographic frame above each photographic frame 21a, 21b, 21c, ... Is provided on the side of this barcode so that each frame number is a numeral 1, 2, 3, ... So that a customer who looks at this film can recognize the frame number. It is recorded. A DX code indicating the film sensitivity and the like is recorded below each frame.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a check tape 24 having a film number for identifying the film 20 itself is attached to the end of the film 20.

The illustrated digital photo printer 10 includes a bar code reader 4 for reading the bar code 22 of the photo film 20.
2, the scanner 41, which reads the film number (number, symbol) written on the check tape 24 of the film 20, the film
A sprocket 44 that meshes with the perforations 23 of 20 to convey the film 20, and a motor 4 that drives the sprocket 44
3. A film scanner control interface (I / F) 40 that transmits the film number read by the bar code reader 42 and the frame number read by the scanner 41 to the data bus and also sends a signal for controlling the motor 43 to the motor 43. , A light source unit 30 including a light source 31 for irradiating the frame 20 of the film 20 with light, a light control unit 32, a color separation unit 33, and a diffusion box 34, and a light source unit 30.
CCD 15 which photoelectrically reads through a lens 51 a transmitted image of an image recorded on a photographing frame 21 irradiated with light from
A / D converter for converting the image signal corresponding to the transmission image photoelectrically converted by the CCD 15 into digital image data
53, a first image processing apparatus for performing image processing on the digital image data output from the A / D converter 53 to obtain desired print quality and outputting the image data to the frame memory 55
54, a second image processing device 56 and a second image processing device for performing image processing in which image processing parameters are changed as necessary on the image-processed digital image data once stored in the frame memory 55 A modulator driver 57 that outputs a modulation signal based on digital image data that has undergone image processing whose parameters have been changed by 56, a printer 60 that reproduces a visible image based on the signal modulated by the modulator driver 57, and a printer A control I / F 58, a hard disk 75 that stores digital image data stored in the frame memory 55 via a data bus, reproduces a visible image based on the digital image data as necessary, or displays image processing conditions and the like. CRT monitor 71 and display I
/ F70, the image processing conditions, the correction value of the image processing conditions, the keyboard 73 and the keyboard I for inputting the information for image search, etc.
/ F72, image search information consisting of the film number and frame number read by the bar code reader 42 and the scanner 41 via the data bus, and input from the first image processing device 54 and the second image processing device 56. The image processing conditions and the digital image data input from the frame memory 55 are associated and stored in the hard disk 75, and one digital image data associated with the image search information input from the keyboard 73 is stored in the hard disk 75. CPU 74 for controlling search from other devices and other devices connected to the data bus, communication port 76 for connecting to other digital photo printer system via communication line, printer 60
A keyboard that is placed at the inspection location to inspect the photo prints that have been reproduced by and that inputs reprint instructions when necessary.
It has a configuration including a 78 and a keyboard I / F 77.

The hard disk 75 has a storage capacity of 25 GB (gigabytes) or more. Usually, the image data required to obtain a resolution corresponding to L size (about 9 cm x 13 cm) photographic prints is calculated to be about 5 MB / 1 image, and when this image data is compressed to the extent that the image quality does not deteriorate The image data is about 1MB / 1 image. An average minilab store can set the number of working days to 25 days / month, the number of films to be brought in to 50 / day, and the number of shooting frames per film to 20 frames. If the old image data one month after being brought in is to be sequentially deleted, the storage capacity required for the hard disk 75 is about 25 GB as described above.

In detail, the printer 60 is composed of a printing section, a developing section and a drying section, and the printing section has a reference hole for positioning on a roll-shaped long photographic paper 100 arranged in a magazine 62. A hole punch unit 63 for punching, a sub-scanning drive system 64 for transporting the photographic printing paper 100 in the longitudinal direction (sub-scanning direction) with reference to a positioning reference hole, and a signal modulated by a modulator driver 57 are modulated. An exposure scanner 61 that irradiates the photographic printing paper 100 while scanning light in the main scanning direction, and a back printing unit 65 that prints the image search information input through the printer control I / F 58 on the back surface of the photographic printing paper 100. ing.

In the drying section, a cutter 66 that cuts the exposed photographic printing paper (photographic prints) 100 that has been dried one by one, and a sorter 67 that aligns and arranges the photographic prints 100 that are cut one by one. It has and.

Next, the operation of the digital photographic printer of this embodiment will be described.

First, the CPU 74 drives the motor 43 via the film scanner control I / F 40, and the sprocket 44 connected to the motor 43 causes the perforation of the film 20.
The film 20 is conveyed by engaging with 23. While the film 20 is being conveyed, the bar code reader 42 reads the bar code 22 indicating the frame number provided for each photographing frame 21, and the read content is input to the CPU 74 via the film scanner control I / F 40. . Also check tape as well
The film number 24 is read by the scanner 41 and input to the CPU 74. The barcode 22 is read by using a known technique such as JP-A-1-155330 and 1-219730.

The reading of the film number by the scanner 41 may be performed by known optical character recognition (OCR), or the film is housed in a cartridge instead of the cartridge, and the film is unique to the cartridge. In the case of the photographic film of the new standard in the above-mentioned APS in which the numbers and the like are recorded, a method of reading the numbers and the like recorded in the cartridge can be adopted. Further, instead of the automatic reading, it is possible to manually input from the keyboard 73.

On the other hand, the photographic frame 21 from which the bar code 22 has been read is irradiated with light from the light source unit 30, and the transmitted image is input to the CCD 52 via the lens 51, and the A /
It is converted into digital image data by the D converter 53 and input to the first image processing device 54. In the first image processing device 54, inversion processing is performed according to whether the input digital image data is a negative image or a positive image, and the optimum density, gradation, and
The image data is subjected to image processing according to a preset image processing algorithm so as to obtain color and sharpness, and the processed image data is output to the frame memory 55.

The image data input to the frame memory 55 is temporarily stored and is also stored in the CPU via the data bus.
It is also input to 74. In reading this image, the CPU 74 optimally adjusts the dynamic range of the CCD 52 based on the image data input to the CPU 74 via the data bus so that the read image has the optimum density and gradation. Alternatively, so-called pre-reading processing (pre-scanning, such as optimally adjusting the amount of light emitted by the light source unit 30)
Setup calculation) may be performed.

On the other hand, the image data stored in the frame memory 55 is input to the CRT 71 via the data bus and the CR
T71 displays a visible image based on this image data. Here, the operator (or the contractor) observes the visible image displayed on the CRT 71 and, if necessary, more optimal density, gradation,
A correction amount for image processing is input from the keyboard 73 so that a visible image of color and sharpness is reproduced. If correction is not necessary, a signal indicating that may be input from the keyboard 73. If there is no input from the keyboard 73 for a certain period of time, the CPU 74 determines that correction is unnecessary. May be.

The correction amount input from the keyboard 73 is the second
Image processing device 56, and the second image processing device 56 performs image processing on the image data stored in the frame memory 55 according to the correction amount, and the modulator driver 57
The image signal subjected to the image processing is output. If there is no need for correction, the second image processing device 56 uses the frame memory 55.
The image data stored in the modulator driver 57
Output to

On the other hand, the CPU 74 associates the film number and frame number input from the scanner 41 and the bar code reader 42 with the image data input from the frame memory 55 and stores them in the hard disk 75. The image data is stored in the hard disk 75 by the CPU 74 in a format in which the corresponding image data can be uniquely searched by designating the film number and the frame number. Further, the information regarding the image processing conditions set by the first image processing device 54 and the second image processing device 56 is also stored in the hard disk 75 in association with the image data.

The modulator driver 57 modulates the light emitted from the exposure scanner 61 of the printer 60 based on the input image data.

On the other hand, the printer 60 is driven and controlled by the CPU 74 via the printer control I / F 58. First, the sub-scanning drive system 64 conveys the photographic printing paper 100 extending from the magazine 62 along a predetermined conveying path in the sub-scanning direction. A hole punching unit 63 is provided on the conveying path. The hole punching unit 63 is provided with a synchronization reference near the side edge of the photographic printing paper 100 at intervals of a length corresponding to, for example, the feeding amount for one photographic print. A reference hole is formed. Inside the printer 60, the photographic printing paper 100 is conveyed with the reference hole as a reference for synchronization.

While the photographic printing paper 100 is sub-scanned in this way,
The light modulated based on the image data from the exposure scanner 61 is main-scanned, and the photographic printing paper 100 is exposed with a light modulation pattern based on the image data by a combination of the main-scan and the sub-scan. The feeding speed in the sub-scanning direction is controlled by the CPU 74 to be a speed necessary for reproducing a visible image in synchronism with the main scanning speed for exposure.

Photographic paper having a light modulation pattern exposed on its surface
100 is transported to the position of the back printing unit 65 along the transport path, and the back printing unit 65 sends the image search information uniquely associated with the image data by the CPU 74 to the CPU 74.
Image retrieval information corresponding to the light modulation pattern on the back surface of the photographic printing paper 100 that has been received and conveyed (the back surface of the surface on which the light modulation pattern has been exposed), that is, as shown in FIG. Print the numbers and frame numbers.

The positional deviation between the exposure scanner 61 that exposes the light modulation pattern and the back printing unit 65 is caused by a soft sequence (for example, a special sequence) using the reference holes of the photographic printing paper 100 punched by the hole punching unit 63. Kaihei 5-19
The sequence disclosed in No. 3609) is to be absorbed while the position is synchronized. The image search information may be recorded not only on the back surface of the printing paper 100 but also on a part of the exposed surface of the visible image. In this case, it is desirable to record in a region outside the exposed range of the visible image, for example, in the peripheral portion.

The exposed photographic printing paper 100 is conveyed from the printing section to the developing section along the conveying path, where it is subjected to predetermined developing treatment and washing treatment, and sent to the drying section. In the drying section, the photographic printing paper 100 that has been washed with water in the development processing section is dried, and the photographic printing paper 100 that has been dried corresponds to the size of one photographic print with the reference hole synchronized by the cutter 66. It is cut into pieces. The photographic printing paper 100 that has been cut into photographic prints is accumulated in the sorter 67 for each film, and is returned to the orderer together with the film pieces that are separated and cut into 6-piece pieces in another process.

The exposure (printing) operation on the photographic printing paper 100 does not necessarily have to be performed together with the reading of the image from the film 20 and the storage of the image data in the hard disk 75. Also, apart from the sequence of storing in the hard disk 75, it may be performed at different times.

Before the photo print is returned to the orderer,
The print quality may be inspected at a predetermined inspection place. In this case, if the print quality is acceptable, it is returned to the orderer together with the film piece as described above and it is a rejected product. In response to this instruction, the inspector inputs the necessary correction amount for image processing and the image search information printed on the back side of the photographic print from the keyboard 78 arranged at the inspection place. Searches the image data stored in the hard disk 75 and associated with the image search information,
The obtained image data is temporarily stored in the frame memory 55, and the second image processing device 56 associates the image data captured in the frame memory 55 with the image data and stores the image in the hard disk 75. The image processing is performed after changing the information regarding the processing conditions according to the input correction amount.

The processed image data output from the second image processing device 56 is input to the modulator driver 57 in the same manner as the above-mentioned operation, and a visible image corresponding to the image data is printed on the photographic paper 100 by the printer 60. A photographic print that has been exposed and corrected for image processing is output. If further correction is necessary in the inspection of the output photographic print, the above correction operation may be repeated. Note that the keyboard
The information regarding the image processing conditions changed according to the correction amount of the image processing input from 78 is stored in the hard disk 75 again in association with the image data.

In this way, the orderer who returns the photographic print on which the image of the film is exposed on the photographic paper 100 and the piece of the film 20 tries to make an additional copy when ordering an additional copy of the print later. Enter the image search information (film number, frame number, etc.) printed on the back of the photo print and the desired number of prints on the order form,
The order form is handed over to the print shop, or the image search information and the number of prints are contacted by telephone to place an additional order.

In the print shop, the image search information and the number of prints are input from the keyboard 73 or 78 in accordance with the received order, and stored in the hard disk 75 under the control of the CPU 74 in response to the instruction. The image data associated with the image search information is searched, the image data obtained by the search is temporarily stored in the frame memory 55, and the second image processing device 56 stores the image data in the frame memory 55. Then, the image processing is performed according to the information regarding the image processing conditions stored in the hard disk 75 in association with the image data.

Here, for example, when the orderer requests a different image processing from the previous photographic print, the keyboard 73 or the correction amount of the image processing corresponding to the request is given.
By inputting from 78, the second image processing device 56 changes the image processing condition according to the correction amount and then performs the image processing.

The processed image data output from the second image processing device 56 is input to the modulator driver 57 in the same manner as the above-mentioned operation, and a visible image corresponding to the image data is printed on the photographic paper 100 by the printer 60. , Keyboard 73 or 78
The exposure is performed by the number of sheets input from, and the photographic prints of the ordered number are output.

As described above, according to the digital photographic printer of this embodiment, the photographic print can be obtained only by the image search information without the film, and the orderer needs to find the film corresponding to the photographic print. In addition, it is not necessary to bring the film to the print shop, and it is possible to place an order only by telephone, FAX, personal computer communication without going to the print shop, which is very convenient for the orderer.

On the other hand, a print shop can obtain a print of an image simply by inputting the image number and the number of prints, and therefore, the complicated handling of the cut film pieces is unnecessary, and the print operation is easy. It is possible to improve print productivity.

Further, since information for image retrieval such as an image number is recorded on the back side of the photographic print, when an additional order for the image is made later, the photographic print and the film are compared and the image number is searched from the film. Since it is not necessary to do so, it is easy to order additional prints.

By storing the image processing condition (printing condition) in the hard disk 75 in association with the image data, the image processing is performed under the same image processing condition every time printing is performed, so that the same color development is always performed. You can get a photo print of. When changing the image processing conditions, it is possible to easily change the image processing conditions simply by inputting the correction amount of the image processing conditions from the keyboard 73 or 78. Further, the hard disk 75 may always store only the latest image processing conditions, or may store all updated image processing conditions arranged in a new order. .

In addition to recording the information for image retrieval on the photographic print itself, for example, the images of all the photographed frames recorded on the film are reduced, and an index of one or two small leaves is used. All visible images may be exposed on the print and displayed in association with each image displayed on the index print. Also, it is displayed on the part corresponding to each shooting frame of the negative sheet that stores the film and returns it to the orderer, or on each slide mount if it is stored in each slide mount and returned You may.

Further, the hard disk 75 may be shared with other digital photographic printers, in which case it may be connected to one or more other digital photographic printers via a network port through the communication port 76. When the hard disk is shared in this way, the lab number of the lab that read the image data, the device code of the digital photo printer that read the image data, and other dates are included in the image search information printed on the photographic print, as shown in FIG. 6B. Even if the printer that read the image and the printer that ordered the print are separate,
The desired photographic print can be obtained by reading the image from the hard disk of the printer that has read the image through the network line from the digital photographic printer that ordered the print.

As described above, in order to read out the image stored in the hard disk of another printer through the network, in addition to the film number and the frame number in the image search information, the printer that stores the image data is stored. Unique device codes such as numbers and hard disk numbers, or unique lab numbers (store codes) of print shops and laboratories that have those devices, such as device identification information (device ID information and address numbers) Correspondence is effective.

An experimental example of the labor saving effect of the print operation by the digital photographic printer of this embodiment will be described below.

An example of ordering additional prints was made into 6 frames and 10 sheets over 3 pieces of film pieces (6 photographing frames per piece) (4 of 6 frames, 2 for each, 2 for the other). Each one).

(Comparative Example: Reprinting print work by a conventional analog photographic printer) Film handling time by an operator of average skill level: 20 seconds / piece Average analog photographic printer print cycle: 3 seconds / frame ( 1st sheet) 1 second / frame (2nd sheet and thereafter) The man-hours of the above-mentioned additional prints under the above conditions are expressed by the following formula.

Effort = (Handling time) + (Printing time) = (20 × 3) + (3 × 6 + 1 × 4) = 82 (seconds) (Experimental example; Reprinting print work by the digital photo printer of this embodiment) Keyboard Key-in speed to: 5 digits / second Digital photo printer capability Data reading: 1 second / frame Print cycle: 3 seconds / frame (1st sheet) 1 second / frame (2nd sheet or later) Converted to the number of key-ins, the order number is 20 digits, and the frame number and the number for designating the number are 6 digits / frame. Further, the key-in operation and the print operation are performed in parallel.

The man-hours of the above-mentioned additional prints under the above conditions are represented by the following equation.

Manipulation time = (key-in time) and (reading time + printing time), whichever is longer (key-in time) = (20 + 6 × 6) / 5 = 11.2 (seconds) (reading time + printing time) = ( 1 × 6) + (3 × 6 + 1 × 4) = 28 (seconds) Therefore, the number of man-hours = 28 (seconds) From the above, the digital photo printer of this embodiment is 2 times larger than the conventional average analog photo printer. It was confirmed that the efficiency could be more than doubled and the print productivity could be improved.

Next, a specific description will be given of a photographic printing method using the digital photographic printer of the present embodiment, in which a group of photographic prints are reprinted according to a plurality of orders including a duplicate order for the same photographic print. Explained.

For example, at school events such as athletic meet and excursions, it is rare for students to bring their own cameras to participate in the event, and in general, a dedicated photographer will accompany them to take pictures of the students evenly. As shown in FIG. 3, the printed photographic prints are all posted on a designated bulletin board at the same time as shown in FIG. 3, and each student is asked to reprint and print the desired photographic print number on the order form as shown in FIG. Then, based on the order slips for all the students, a table as shown in FIG. 5 is created, and the number of orders for each frame totaled in the total column of each frame is displayed in the order of the frames by the photographer himself or by a predetermined print. The store was reprinting and printing.

According to such a conventional method, two sheets of No. 1 are printed in the order of the frame number columns (1 to 30) in FIG. 5, three sheets of No. 2 are printed, and then No. 3
About 5 sheets will be printed, and so on. And after printing was completed up to No. 30, 4 sheets of No. 5 and 2 of No. 7 were ordered as Mr. A's order.
It was necessary to sort the photographic prints for each orderer, such as one sheet, No. 9 sheet.

However, by using the digital photographic printer of the above-described embodiment, by sequentially specifying the image search information for each order and inputting it from the keyboard 73 or 78, the photographic prints sorted for each order are sorted. Since they are arranged on the upper side, the trouble of sorting and the trouble of collecting orders can be extremely reduced.

In other words, the person who handles the order is Mr. A's order.
4 sheets of No.5, 2 sheets of No.7, 1 sheet of No.9, and so on. First, enter Mr. A's order from the keyboard 73 or 78 and make a photo print according to Mr. A's order. By obtaining, then B's order, C's order, and so on, by sequentially specifying the image search information for each order, the photographic prints are lined up on the sorter 67 in the specified order. They are sorted by order.

Although the number of times of inputting the image search information for each order is larger than that in the case of printing for each frame in the order of frames, the order form shown in FIG.
(Optical character recognition) If a digital photographic printer having a device configuration in which it is read by a device or the like and automatically input is used, labor for such input work can be saved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital photographic printer according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a photographic film used in the digital photographic printer shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a series of photographic prints that are collectively posted with numbers.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an order form

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a tabulation table in which the order slips shown in FIG. 4 are tabulated.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of image search information such as a film number and a frame number printed on the back surface of a photographic print (printing paper).

[Explanation of symbols]

 20 Film 21 Shooting Frame 40/58/70/72/77 Interface 41 Scanner 42 Bar Code Reader 43 Motor 44 Sprocket 51 CCD 54/56 Image Processing Device 55 Frame Memory 57 Modulator Driver 60 Printer 73/78 Keyboard 74 CPU 75 Hard Disk 76 Communication port 100 photographic paper

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of images recorded on a plurality of photographic films are respectively converted into digital image data, and image search information for uniquely identifying each digital image data is associated with each image data. Storage means for storing in a storage medium; search means for receiving designation of the image search information and searching for digital image data associated with the designated image search information; and search means searched by the search means. A digital photographic printer, comprising: a printing unit that reproduces a visible image based on the image data on an image recording medium. 2. The digital photographic printer according to claim 1, wherein the image search information comprises information (1) and / or information (2) below. (1) An address code indicating an address where the image data is stored in the storage medium (2) Information uniquely specifying the photo film and a frame number indicating a frame taken in the photo film 3. The information for uniquely identifying the photographic film is one of the following (A) to (C) or a combination of two or more thereof. 2. The digital photo printer described in 2. (A) A number of a check tape attached to a part of the photographic film or a part of a housing containing the photographic film (B) A photographic film having a magnetic recording area where various information can be magnetically recorded, A film ID number for identifying the photo film recorded in the magnetic recording area (C) A cartridge ID number for identifying the film cartridge in the film cartridge containing the photo film inside 4. The image search information according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the following (a) to (d) is included in a part of the image search information. Digital photo printer. (A) Lab code (b) Equipment code (c) Store code (d) Customer code 5. The storage means stores, in the storage medium, information relating to print conditions at the time of printing an image recorded on the photographic film in association with the image data, and the print medium. The means for printing the visible image on the image recording medium on the basis of information on the print condition associated with image data of the image when printing the visible image. 5. The digital photographic printer according to any one of 1 to 4. 6. When the printing means prints a visible image based on the image data on the image recording medium, the visible image is recorded as the image search information associated with the image data. 6. The digital photographic printer according to claim 1, wherein the image is printed on a part of the image recording medium or on a part of a housing for housing the image recording medium. . 7. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the storage means erases the image data stored in the storage medium for a predetermined period of time from the storage medium. The digital photographic printer according to any one of items. 8. The digital photo printer according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit automatically adds the image search information. 9. A photographic printing method for performing reprint printing for a group of photographic prints in response to a plurality of orders including duplicate orders for the same photographic print, according to any one of claims 1 to 8. A photographic print method characterized by obtaining the photographic prints sorted for each order by sequentially specifying the image search information for each order using the digital photographic printer described. 10. An image recording medium in which an image recorded on a photographic film is converted into digital image data and a visible image corresponding to the image data is reproduced, in each of a plurality of images recorded on a plurality of photographic films. The image for searching the image data corresponding to the image to be reproduced from the storage medium in which the corresponding digital image data and the image search information uniquely associated with each of the digital image data are stored An image recording medium characterized in that search information is provided in part.