JPH10133288A - Digital printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily output a print of a desired size, even during the output work of the print from a roll of strips by arbitrarily setting and/or changing and registering plural printing sizes for the print. SOLUTION: An operator sets a carrier corresponding to a film F as an original, in a scanner 12 and further, selects the specifications of an order by a customer, to issue instructions. The CPU of a controller 14 reads various kinds of required information, including the details of the specifications selected from a memory, based on the instructions, to set the power of an image forming lens unit 30, calculate electron power or the like. The recorded image region deciding means of the CPU further calculates a recorded image region, to transmit it and the electron power to an image processor 40. When the specifications of finished prints are changed during a series of these operations, in a control part 36, the CPU reads the details of the specifications by new instructions from the memory and the finished prints after this frame are made according to the changed specifications.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for reading an original image photoelectrically to obtain image data, exposing a photosensitive material with recording light modulated in accordance with the image data, and printing the reproduced image. It belongs to the technical field of digital printing devices that output.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, an image photographed on a photographic film (hereinafter, referred to as a film) such as a negative film or a reversal film is printed on a photosensitive material such as photographic paper by projecting an image of the film onto the photosensitive material. Surface-exposing the photosensitive material,
This is performed by so-called direct exposure.

On the other hand, in recent years, a printing apparatus using digital exposure, that is, an image recorded on a film is photoelectrically read, the read image is converted into a digital signal, and then various image processing is performed. 2. Description of the Related Art Digital photo printers have been put to practical use for recording and printing an image (latent image) by scanning and exposing a photosensitive material with recording light modulated according to the image data.

In a digital photo printer, a film is read photoelectrically, and color density correction is performed by signal processing to determine exposure conditions. Therefore, it is not necessary for the operator to determine the exposure conditions at the time of exposure, and furthermore, it is not necessary to adjust the filter and the aperture. The time required for exposure per image is short, and the exposure time is constant according to the image size. Therefore, printing can be performed more quickly than in conventional surface exposure. In addition, it is possible to freely perform editing of print images such as synthesis of multiple images and image division, and various image processing such as color / density adjustment and edge enhancement, and output a finished print freely processed according to the application. can do. Further, since the image of the finished print is basically treated as image data, not only the output of the finished print, but also the image data can be supplied to a computer or the like, and stored on a recording medium such as a floppy disk. Since there is no need to prepare a film serving as a document at the time of additional printing or the like, and it is not necessary to determine exposure conditions again, the work can be performed quickly and easily. Further, in conventional printing by direct exposure, it is not possible to reproduce all the images recorded on a film or the like in terms of resolution, color / density reproducibility, etc. It is possible to output a print in which almost 100% of the image (density information) is reproduced.

[0005] Such a digital photo printer basically includes a scanner (image reading device) that photoelectrically reads an image recorded on a film, an image processing device that processes the read image and determines exposure conditions for image recording. It comprises a processing (setup) device and a printer (image recording device) that scans and exposes the photosensitive material according to the determined exposure conditions and performs development processing.

In a scanner, reading light emitted from a light source is incident on a film to obtain projection light carrying an image photographed on the film, and the projection light is transmitted to an image sensor such as a CCD sensor by an imaging lens. The image is read by forming an image and performing photoelectric conversion, and after performing various types of image processing as necessary, the image is sent to the image processing apparatus as image data (image data signal) of the film. The image processing apparatus sets image processing conditions from the pre-scan image data,
The image processing according to the set conditions is performed on the image data of the main scan, and is sent to the printer as output image data (exposure conditions) for image recording. In the printer, for example, if the device uses light beam scanning exposure, the light beam is modulated according to the image data sent from the image processing device,
The light beam is deflected in the main scanning direction and the photosensitive material is conveyed in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction, thereby exposing (burning) the photosensitive material with the light beam carrying an image to form a latent image. Then, the film is subjected to a development process or the like in accordance with the photosensitive material to obtain a finished print (photograph) in which the image photographed on the film is reproduced.

[0007]

By the way, the size of the finished print output by such a digital photo printer is not fixed, and in addition to major sizes such as L size and panoramic size, there is a demand from customers who ordered the finished print. Therefore, it is necessary to be able to output a large-size finished print such as a quarter-cut print or an A4 size. In addition, it is preferable that not only the above-mentioned standard size but also a finished print of any size can be output according to the user of the digital photo printer (that is, a lab store or a development laboratory) or the customer's request.

Further, an order from one customer, for example,
The size of the finished print using one strip as a document is not always uniform, and the L size and the panorama size are often mixed. In some cases, an image captured on one strip is mainly used as the L size. There is also an order to output in a size and output only one or a plurality of specific images as a standard or non-standard finished print of another size. Therefore, digital photo printers are required to be able to easily and easily meet such demands.

[0009] However, a digital photo printer that can easily and easily respond to such demands of users and customers has not been realized yet.

It is an object of the present invention to arbitrarily and plurally set and / or change the size of a print to be output and to register the print size, thereby facilitating printing of a desired size according to a request of a customer or a user. According to the set photosensitive material, even during continuous work, for example, print output from one strip,
It is possible to easily change the size of the print to be output, and more preferably, in addition to the print size, the selection of the presence or absence of a border of the print to be output, and in the case of the presence of a border, the width of the border is set to four sides. It is an object of the present invention to provide a digital printing apparatus which can be independently set and registered and which is suitably used for the above-described digital photo printer or the like.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for reading an original image photoelectrically, exposing a photosensitive material with recording light modulated in accordance with the obtained image data, and performing a developing process. A digital printing apparatus that outputs a print having a print size selected from a plurality of print sizes, wherein the registration means registers a plurality of print sizes arbitrarily and / or changes the print size and registers the print size. Instruction means for selecting an arbitrary print size from the registered print sizes and instructing the print size of the print to be output; and a print size instructed by the instruction means during a continuous print output operation. Changing means for changing the print size to an arbitrary print size registered in the registration means. Subjected to.

In addition, the registering means includes, in addition to the print size, a means for designating the presence or absence of a margin at the periphery of the print in the output print of the registered print size, and a method for designating the margin at the print size designated as having a margin. It is preferable to have a setting means for individually setting the width on each side.

Further, the instruction means has display means for displaying the print size registered in the registration means,
Further, it is preferable that the registering means has a selecting means for selecting the presence or absence of display on the display means from the registered print size.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a digital printing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a digital printing apparatus according to the present invention. The digital printing device 10 (hereinafter, referred to as a printing device 10) shown in FIG.
The digital photo printer described above, which basically includes a scanner (image reading device) 12 for photoelectrically reading an image photographed on a film F, image processing of read image data (image information), and image processing conditions. A control device 14 for performing automatic setting (auto-setup), further operating and controlling the entire printing apparatus 10, and imagewise exposing the photosensitive material A with a light beam modulated according to the image data processed by the control device 14. And a printer (image recording device) 16 that develops and outputs the finished print P.

The control unit 14 includes an operation system having a keyboard 18a and a mouse 18b for inputting various settings (changes) / registrations, selection and instructions of processing, instructions for color / density correction, and the like. 18 and a display 20 for displaying images read by the scanner, various operation instructions, setting / registration screens for various conditions, and the like. The printing apparatus 10 according to the present invention includes a print size (dimensions of long and short sides) of the finished print P, the presence or absence of an edge, and the width of each edge of the four sides when the edge is present (hereinafter, these are collectively referred to as the finished print P). ) Can be arbitrarily set (or changed) and registered, an arbitrary specification can be selected / instructed to output a finished print P, and even during a continuous operation of, for example, one strip. , Which can change the specifications of the finished print P to be output.
Operations such as setting (changing) and registering the specifications of the finished print P and instructions for specifying the specifications of the finished print P to be output by an operator or a serviceman can be performed by using the display 20 and the operation system 18, for example, using a GUI (Graphical U).
ser Interface). In this regard,
Details will be described later.

The scanner 12 is a device that photoelectrically reads an image photographed on a film F or the like one frame at a time.
2, a variable aperture 24, and three color filters R, G, and B for separating an image captured on the film F into three primary colors of R (red), G (green), and B (blue). A color filter plate 26 that can rotate and apply an arbitrary color filter to the optical path; a diffusion box 28 for making the reading light incident on the film F uniform in the surface direction of the film F; A CCD sensor 32 as an area sensor for reading one image taken on a film, and an amplifier (amplifier) 34.

In such a scanner 12, the reading light emitted from the light source 22, the light amount is adjusted by the variable diaphragm 24, the color is adjusted by passing through the color filter plate 26, and the reading light diffused by the diffusion box 28 is applied to the film F. Incident,
By transmitting the light, projection light carrying an image photographed on the film F is obtained. In the illustrated example, an image of a long film F (strips) is read, but in the printing apparatus 10 of the present invention, in addition to this, one film (usually a reversal film) is mounted. A slide, a film for each sheet, and the like, which are held in the same manner, are also suitably used as a document. Each film is held in a dedicated carrier (not shown) for each size and form of the film, which can be mounted on the scanner 12, and is automatically or automatically operated by an operator at a predetermined image reading position. To be served.

The projection light is imaged on the light receiving surface of the CCD sensor 32 by the imaging lens unit 30, is read photoelectrically by the CCD sensor 32, and its output signal is amplified by the amplifier 34 and transmitted to the control device 14. Sent. Although not shown, the imaging lens unit 30 and the CC
Between the D sensor 32, a shutter for performing darkness correction is arranged.

The CCD sensor 32 is, for example, 1380 ×
It is an area CCD sensor of 920 pixels. In the illustrated example, the CCD sensor 32 is configured to be two-dimensionally movable in the pixel array direction by an amount corresponding to a half pixel, thereby increasing the apparent number of read pixels up to four times. Can be.

The imaging lens unit 30 is a lens unit having a known zoom mechanism and an automatic focus adjustment mechanism. In normal reading, the imaging lens unit 30 changes the optical magnification according to the size of the film F serving as a document, and changes the size of the projection light to the maximum size that can be received by the CCD sensor 32 (that is, the required image area). Is adjusted to the size that inscribes the light receiving surface of the CCD sensor 32).
An image is formed on the sensor 32. The size of the film F is
The detection may be performed automatically by mounting the carrier described above, or may be input by an operator. On the other hand, when performing so-called trimming, in which an arbitrary position of an image photographed on film is cut out and reproduced on the finished print P, the operation system 18 is used.
The magnification is, for example, 0.4 to 0.
The image can be enlarged at an arbitrary magnification up to 8 times and formed on the CCD sensor 32. Further, the imaging lens unit 3
0 is a TTL (Through The Le
ns), the automatic focus adjustment (autofocus: AF) is performed using the contrast of the image read by the CCD sensor 32.

The scanner 12 performs such image reading three times by sequentially inserting three color filters of R, G, and B of the color filter plate 28, thereby obtaining one frame shot on the film F. The image is read after being separated into three primary colors of R, G and B. In the illustrated example, the printer 1
Prior to the main scan for obtaining image data to be output to 6, a pre-scan for reading an image at a low resolution is performed in order to determine an aperture value of the variable aperture 24, set image processing conditions, and the like. That is, the scanner 12 performs image reading (output of image data) six times in total per frame.

As described above, the image data read by the scanner 12 is output to the control device 14. As shown in FIG. 1, the control device 14 includes a control unit 36 that controls each unit and the whole of the scanner 12 and the printer 16 and the entire printing device 10 of the present invention, and an input device 12.
A signal processing device 38 that receives an output signal (image data) from the CCD sensor 32 and performs predetermined signal processing, performs required image processing on the image data obtained by the signal processing device 38, and outputs And an image processing device 40 for outputting the image data as image data.

FIG. 2 shows the control unit 36 and the signal processing device 3.
8 is a block diagram. The control unit 36 includes a CPU 42, a memory 44, an AF unit 46, an image rotation unit 48, a positive / negative conversion unit 50, an aperture value determination unit 24 a using the variable aperture 24, and a rotation control unit 26 a of the color filter plate 26.
Etc. The control unit 36 also includes a keyboard 18a and a mouse 18b (operation system 18) for instructing and inputting the operation of the printing apparatus 10 and the monitor 2
0 is connected.

The CPU 42 controls the signal processing operation of the signal processing device 38, controls and manages the entire printing apparatus 10 including the scanner 12 and the printer 16, and controls various operations such as registration of a print size described later. It is. The CPU 42 determines the input pixel area (the number of input pixels) from the effective pixel area (the number of pixels) of the CCD sensor 32 stored in the memory 44, the effective reading area of the film, and the like; Means for determining the output image size and the output image area (the number of output pixels) from the specifications of the finished print P, the output vignetting margin, the output image density, etc .; the determined input pixel area and output image area, which are stored in the memory 44 Means for calculating the electronic magnification from the input pixel loss or USM in the subsequent image processing; means for calculating the cut-out pixel area (from the image data stored in the frame memory 62) from the electronic magnification and the input pixel area; A recording pixel area (the number of pixels) to be output to the printer 16 is obtained using the calculated cut-out pixel area and the electronic magnification. Means for determining a recording pixel area having respective means such as:

The specifications of the finished print P registered in the memory 44; the discrimination data of the carrier mounted on the scanner 12, and the carrier information such as the film type set in the scanner 12; the image formation corresponding to the film size and the like Adjustment information of the lens unit 30; image sensor information such as the size (dimension information in the main and sub scanning directions) of the CCD sensor 32, pixel density, and effective pixel area (number); output pixel density of the printer 16; Magazine discrimination data and magazine information such as the size (width) and type of the photosensitive material A stored in the magazine; the meandering of the photosensitive material in the transporting device of the printer 16 and the main scanning length error by the light beam scanning device. Output vignetting margin taken into account; output pixel missing due to image processing such as LPF or USM in image processing device 40 Information and the like; Starting with such a variety of information such as information necessary for the operation and various control of the print apparatus 10 of the present invention are stored.

The image rotation means 48 includes a size of the photosensitive material A loaded in the printer 16, a specification of the finished print P specified by the operator, and a length and width (long or short) of an image read in the main scanning direction by the printer 16 described later.・ Determine the necessity to convert the read image vertically and horizontally, that is, determine the necessity of rotating the image by 90 °, and rearrange the pixels to rotate the image if necessary. Is what you do.

Further, the control unit 36 includes the signal processing device 3
8 is provided with a positive / negative conversion circuit 50 for performing a positive / negative inversion on the image data which has been subjected to a predetermined process by 8. The positive / negative conversion circuit 50 basically converts, when a document is a reversal film, image data on which predetermined image processing has been performed and outputs the converted data as a negative image. The method of the positive-to-negative conversion or the negative-to-positive conversion is not particularly limited, and may be a known conversion method (image processing method).

In the control device 14, image data (analog image data) output from the scanner 14 (amplifier 34) is input to a signal processing device 38. In the signal processing device 38, the image data is converted into digital image data by the A / D converter 52,
4, the DC offset is corrected, and then the dark time correction circuit 5
At 6, darkness correction is applied. The image data is then
After being LOG-converted by the OG conversion circuit 58 and subjected to shading correction by the shading correction circuit 60 to become input image data, the input image data is stored in the frame memory 62 and supplied to the image processing device 40.

When performing AF as necessary, the image data dark-corrected by the dark correction circuit 56 is also input to the AF means 46 of the control unit 36. AF means 46
First, the focus adjustment mechanism of the imaging lens unit 30 is controlled to move the focus position to each point at a predetermined interval in a predetermined search area, to obtain dark-corrected image data at each point, and to obtain image contrast. By repeatedly calculating the integrated value, the position where this is the maximum is determined as the focus position (focus position),
The imaging lens unit 30 is set to an accurate focus position at this in-focus position via the CPU bus.

By the way, as described above, the printing apparatus 1
At 0, prior to precise reading for image output (main (main) scanning), pre-scan for roughly scanning a document image is performed for setting image processing conditions and the like. For this reason, the frame memory 6 of the signal processing device 38
2 has a frame memory for pre-scan and a frame memory for main scan.

The image processing device 40 performs required image processing on the image data of the film F stored in the frame memory 62 as image data corresponding to recording by the printer 16 (exposure of the photosensitive material A). , Printer 16
Is output to Such an image processing device 40
Is image processing for displaying the pre-scan image data stored in the pre-scan frame memory on the display 20 (basically the same processing as the main scan image data)
A display image processing circuit to perform; cut out image data of the recording pixel area determined by the recording pixel area determination means of the CPU 42 from the main scan image data stored in the main scan frame memory, and perform predetermined image processing such as gradation correction; LPF for electronic scaling (enlargement / reduction) processing, dodging processing
(Low-pass filter) processing, U for sharpening the image
A recording image processing circuit that performs SM (unsharpness mask) processing and outputs it as output image data to the printer 16; prescanned image data, a main subject set as required, and desired processing input by an operator Means for setting image processing conditions for the main scan image data in the recording image processing circuit from the conditions.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the printer 16. The printer 16 includes a driver 64, an image exposing unit 66, and a developing unit 68. Image processing device 40
Is output to the driver 64. The driver 64 D / A converts the image data into analog image data, and drives an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) 70 of the image exposure unit 66 so as to modulate a light beam according to the analog image data.

The image exposure section 66 scans and exposes the photosensitive material Z by light beam scanning to record an image of the image data on the photosensitive material Z.
A light source 72R that emits a light beam in a narrow wavelength band corresponding to the exposure of the photosensitive layer, a light source 72G similarly corresponding to the exposure of the G photosensitive layer, and a light source 72B corresponding to the exposure of the B photosensitive layer
AOM70R that modulates a light source of each light beam of each of the light beams and a light beam emitted from each light source according to a recorded image,
70G and 70B, a polygon mirror 74 as an optical deflector, an fθ lens 76, and a sub-scanning conveyance unit for the photosensitive material Z.

The light beams emitted from the light sources 72 (72R, 72G, 72B) and traveling at different angles from each other are respectively associated with AOMs 70 (70R, 70G,
70B). Each AOM 70 has a driver 64
R, G and B drive signals corresponding to the recorded image, that is, the image data supplied from the image processing device 40 are transferred, and the intensity of the incident light beam is modulated according to the recorded image.

Each light beam modulated by the AOM 70 is incident on and reflected at substantially the same point of the polygon mirror 74, deflected in the main scanning direction (the direction of the arrow x in the figure), and then is scanned by the fθ lens 76 at a predetermined scanning position. The light is adjusted so as to form an image with a predetermined beam shape on z, and enters the photosensitive material Z. The image exposure unit 66 may be provided with a light beam shaping unit and a surface tilt correction optical system as needed.

On the other hand, the photosensitive material A is long, and is loaded at a predetermined position in a state of being wound into a roll and formed into a magazine. Such a photosensitive material A is pulled out by a pull-out roller (not shown), and is held at the scanning position z while being held at the scanning position z by a pair of conveying rollers 78a and 78b disposed across the scanning position z constituting the sub-scanning means. Are conveyed in the sub-scanning direction (the direction of the arrow y in the figure) orthogonal to. Since the light beam is deflected in the main scanning direction, the entire surface of the photosensitive material A conveyed in the sub-scanning direction is two-dimensionally scanned and exposed by the light beam and transferred from the image processing device 40 to the photosensitive material A. An image (latent image) of the image data is recorded. Prior to exposure, frame information or sort information corresponding to the print size in the sub-scanning direction ("feed" described later) is formed on the photosensitive material A in accordance with the specified specification of the finished print P.

The exposed photosensitive material A is then conveyed to the developing section 68 by the pair of conveying rollers 80, where it is subjected to a developing process to be a finished print P. Here, for example, if the photosensitive material A is a silver salt photosensitive material, the developing section 68 includes a color developing tank 82, a bleach-fixing tank 84, and washing tanks 86a, 86b, 8
6c and 86d, a drying section, a cutter (not shown), etc., the photosensitive material A is subjected to predetermined processing in each processing tank, dried, and then corresponds to one print by the cutter according to the frame information. The print is cut into a predetermined length and output as a finished print P.

The printing apparatus 10 basically has such a configuration, but as described above, the printing apparatus 10 according to the present invention has a print size, presence / absence of edges,
A plurality of specifications of the finished print P, such as the width of each of the four edges in the case where there is an edge, are arbitrarily set (changed) and registered, and the output of the finished print P is performed by designating an arbitrary specification. A device that can The operation and configuration will be described below.

When setting (changing) the specification of the finished print P, first, using the keyboard 18a, the mouse 18b, the display on the display 20, and the like, a print for registering the specification of the finished print P using a GUI, for example. Start size registration. This allows the display 20
Displays a registration screen for the print size (specification of the finished print P) as shown in FIG. On this registration screen, the specifications of the finished print P currently registered in the display column 102 are displayed in addition to various parameters 100 for setting the specifications of the finished print P.

As shown in FIG. 4, the specifications of the finished print P are basically set by the name of the specification of the finished print P (hereinafter referred to as name), the width indicating the print size of the finished print P, and the feed. , The presence or absence of an edge, and the setting of the individual widths of the four edges when the presence of an edge is selected. Further, in the apparatus of the illustrated example, it is possible to set whether or not to display a name or the like on a screen for selecting and instructing the specification of the finished print P output by the operator.

When the print size registration screen is called, first, the ID number of the specification to be changed or newly registered displayed in the display column 102 (serial number displayed on the leftmost side, for example, 300 specifications are registered). If possible, enter 1-300) with the keyboard 18a or click with the mouse 18b to select it. When selected, the specification of the ID number is displayed in each column of the parameter 100, for example. If nothing is set for this ID number, the parameter 100
0 may be displayed in each of the fields, or may be left blank. Note that the specifications of the finished print P are not limited to all settings and registration according to the user, but major specifications, such as a digital photo printer, L-size borderless specification, and L-size border. With a 4mm edge width,
Specifications that are expected to have a high output frequency, such as panorama-size specifications without borders and panorama-size borders with border widths of 4 mm, are registered before the printing device 10 is shipped from the factory. You may keep it.

Next, the name of the specification is determined, and the name is input using the keyboard 18a, the mouse 18b, or the like. This name may be arbitrarily determined so that the operator or the like can recognize it.

After the name is determined, the width and feed, which are the print size of the finished print P, are input by numerical input using the keyboard 18a or clicking an arrow using the mouse 18b. As described above, in the illustrated apparatus, a magazine formed by winding a long photosensitive material A in a roll shape is used, and while the photosensitive material A is pulled out from the magazine and transported (sub-scanning), it is orthogonal to the transport direction. Exposure is performed using a light beam deflected in the main scanning direction. Therefore, this width is the width of the photosensitive material (that is, the size of the magazine), and the feeding is the length in the transport direction of the photosensitive material A (the winding direction of the photosensitive material roll).

Since the size of the magazine supplied to the user is usually fixed, the selection of this width is not made by inputting a numerical value, but by displaying the entire size of the supplied magazine and by using the mouse 18b or the like. It may be determined by selecting in. In addition, it is preferable that, when the width is input as a numerical value, when a size that is not provided in the supplied magazine is input, an error is generated by a warning sound or the like. Further, as described above, in the printing apparatus 10, the image photographed on the film, which is the original, is transferred to the imaging lens unit 30.
, And electronic scaling by the CPU 42 to reproduce the finished print P. Therefore, the aspect ratio of the print size of the finished print P (aspect ratio)
Is too large, or if the difference in aspect ratio between the film F and the print size is large, it may not be possible to reproduce an appropriate image. In such a case, it may be displayed that registration is not possible.

After inputting the width and the feed in this manner, the user selects the presence / absence of an edge using the keyboard 18a or the mouse 18b. Enter the width of the border in the field. Here, in the printing apparatus 10 of the illustrated example, as shown in FIG. 5, the upper line on the downstream side, the lower line on the upstream side, the right line on the right side, and the left line on the left side with respect to the transport (sub-scanning) direction y. Of 4
It can be determined arbitrarily and individually by the side (in the illustrated example, the unit is mm). If the widths of all four sides are the same, the width of the edge may be input in the column of all lines.

As described above, the width of the edge can be set arbitrarily and individually on four sides, so that a title or a comment can be arbitrarily entered in the edge portion, and the finished print P
It can be used to expand applications and improve hobbies and entertainment. Also, when the finished print P is attached to a wall or the like with a thumbtack or tape, the image part is hidden by the forehead when the finished print P is put in a forehead to decorate it or when it is attached to an album or the like at a corner. Can be prevented. Further, it is possible to prevent the image portion from being stained with hand oil or the like when carrying the finished print P. Furthermore, especially in a large size such as a six-cut size, by providing an edge having a suitable width according to the size, the quality of the finished print P can be improved. Also, the printing device 1
In the case of 0, the print size is determined to some extent according to the width of the photosensitive material. However, by adjusting the width of the edge as appropriate, an arbitrary image size can be obtained regardless of the print size according to the request of the customer. A finished print P in which an image has been reconstructed can be output.

In the printing apparatus 10 of the present invention, when the sum of the upper line and the underline is set to be equal to or larger than the above-described print size feed, and when the sum of the left line and the right line is set to be equal to or more than the same width. Since the image cannot be reproduced in the finished print P, it is preferable that an error message is issued by a warning sound, display, or the like, assuming that the width of the edge is inappropriate.

Further, since the printing apparatus 10 of the present invention is an apparatus for performing digital image recording, the edges (colors or achromatic colors) can be applied to the edges as necessary by processing the image data in the CPU 42 and the image processing device 40. ) May be provided. Similarly,
Instead of an edge, various decorative lines or the like may be recorded.

After completing the above necessary settings, finally,
Select display or non-display in the selection list field. In the printing apparatus 10, the operator can output a finished print P having desired specifications by selecting and instructing a specification according to a customer's order from the set finished print P specifications. This selection / instruction is performed by, for example, displaying the name and ID number of the above-mentioned specification on the selection screen for the specification of the finished print P and clicking the mouse 18b from among them. If the number is too large, or if there are many specifications that are output very rarely, displaying the names and the like of all the specifications on the selection screen will greatly deteriorate the workability of selection / instruction. Therefore, the printing apparatus 1 of the illustrated example
0, when the specification of the finished print P is set,
The workability is improved by selecting whether or not to display a specification selection screen and displaying only the specification for which display is selected on the selection screen. Alternatively, all the specifications may be displayed, and a specification with a high specification frequency may be easily selected by inversion display or the like.

After setting (changing) the specifications of the finished print P in this manner, the specifications set in the respective columns of the parameter 100 are checked.
"Registration" is instructed using, for example. As a result, the specifications are stored in the memory 44 of the control unit 36. In the case where the set specifications are not registered, if "cancel" is instructed using the mouse 18b or the like, the settings are canceled.

The order of setting the above parameters is as follows.
This is an example, and the setting order is not limited to this order. However, it is natural that the width of the edge is preferably set after the print size.

As described above, the operator selects and instructs the specification according to the order of the customer from the specifications of the finished print P set and registered in this way, thereby giving the finished print of the desired specification. Outputs P. When producing the finished print P, the operator sets the carrier corresponding to the film F to be a document on the scanner 12 and uses the mouse 18b or the like to display the image on the display 20.
Then, a screen for selecting the specification of the finished print P is called, and the specification ordered by the customer is selected and indicated. Based on this, the CPU 42 of the control device 14 reads various necessary information including the details of the selected specification from the memory 44, sets the magnification of the imaging lens unit 30, calculates the electronic magnification, and the like. I do.

On the other hand, when it is confirmed that the printing apparatus 10 is in a predetermined start-up state, such as the light amount of the light source 22 of the scanner 12, the operator loads the film F into the carrier 28 in a predetermined state. Here, when an instruction to start reading is issued, the scanner 12 first starts pre-scanning. When the pre-scan is started, the read light emitted from the light source 22 is adjusted in light quantity by the variable aperture 24, and the light is adjusted by the filter of the color filter plate 26 inserted in the optical path L, for example, the G filter, and the film F is adjusted. And transmitted therethrough to obtain projection light carrying an image (G image) captured on the film F. The projection light is transmitted to the CCD sensor 3 at a predetermined optical magnification by the imaging lens unit 30.
An image is formed in the effective pixel area of the second pixel. Thereby, the G image of the film F is read and sent to the control device 14,
After predetermined signal processing is performed by the signal processing device 38, the signal is stored in the pre-scanning frame memory of the frame memory 62. When the reading of the G image by the CCD sensor 32 is completed, similarly, for example, the B image and then the R image are read, sequentially stored in the frame memory 62, and the prescan is completed.

In the control device 14, the image processing device 4
The pre-scanned image is read out from the frame memory 62 by 0, subjected to image processing by the display image processing circuit, and displayed on the display 20. After the operator sets the main subject and adjusts the color / density as necessary, image processing conditions are set according to the obtained image data, the set main subject, and the like. Etc. are performed.

Thereafter, when the main scan is started, the G image, the B image, and the R image of the film original are sequentially read and sent to the control device 14, similarly to the pre-scan.
After the signal is processed by the signal processing device 38, the signal is stored in the main scan frame memory of the frame memory 62. CP
As described above, the recording pixel area determination means of U42 calculates the input pixel area, the electronic magnification, and the output image area according to the type of the film F and the specifications of the finished print P, and further calculates the recording image area. Then, the recording image area and the electronic magnification are sent to the image processing device 40.

Here, when the specification of the finished print P has an edge, the recording image area and the electronic magnification are adjusted according to the specifications instructed around the finished print P in accordance with the set width of the edge. The edge is set to form. That is, if there is an edge, an area excluding the edge from the print size of the finished print P is recognized as an image size, and an image captured on the film F is reproduced to the maximum within this image size. Then, the recording image area and the electronic magnification are determined. Note that the vertical and horizontal scaling is not normally performed. Further, it is preferable to perform the centering so that the center of the image reproduced on the finished print P matches the center of the image photographed on the film F.

However, in the present invention, in addition to the above, regardless of the shape and width of the edge, depending on the print size,
It is needless to say that the enlargement magnification from the film F to the finished print P may be uniquely determined, or the presence or absence of the magnification change may be selected.

On the other hand, when the specified specification has no border, the enlargement from the film F to the finished print P is performed so that the unexposed portion and the vignetting of the image do not occur due to the meandering of the photosensitive material A in the printer 16 or the like. The magnification is preferably set so that the recording image area is slightly larger than the print size of the finished print P according to the print size.

When the image data in the recording image area is sent to the image processing device 40, the recording image processing circuit performs image processing such as gradation processing, electronic scaling, LPF, USM, and the like. 90-degree rotation of the image by the image rotation control means 82 and the negative / positive
The image data of the output pixel area (the number of pixels) is transmitted to the printer 16 after the positive inversion.

On the other hand, in the printer 16, while the photosensitive material A pulled out of the magazine is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction, it is modulated in accordance with the image data sent from the image processing device 40 and deflected in the main scanning direction. A scanning exposure is performed with a light beam to form a latent image. The exposed photosensitive material A is sequentially subjected to color development, bleach-fixing, and washing with a developing unit 68, developed, dried, and cut into prints P to obtain a finished print P.

When the specifications of the finished print P are changed during these series of operations, for example, the scanner 12
In order to output a finished print P of a different specification for the next frame to be read next or after a predetermined number of frames, the operator calls a specification selection screen and instructs a specification change frame together with a specification instruction. As a result, in the control unit 36, the CPU 42 reads out the details of the newly instructed specification from the memory 44, and the production of the finished print P after this frame is performed according to the changed specification. However, if the specified specification is
If the output cannot be performed with the photosensitive material A (magazine) of the size loaded in the photosensitive material A, the operation is temporarily stopped and the photosensitive material A
Need to be replaced.

When the original film F is a 135 size film or a film of a new photo system (Advanced Photo System), the L size and the panorama size are often mixed, so that there is no border. If the width of the edge is common when there is an edge, for example, the finished print P is basically output in L size, and the original is identified as a panorama size from the prescanned image data and the like. Preferably, the CPU 42 automatically changes the specifications and outputs the finished print L.

As described above, the digital printing apparatus of the present invention has been described in detail. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various improvements and modifications may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Of course.

[0065]

As described above in detail, according to the digital printing apparatus of the present invention, the size of a print to be output is arbitrarily set, and a plurality of print sizes are set and / or changed and registered, and the print of a desired size is registered. Can be easily output, and even during continuous operation, the size of the print to be output can be easily changed according to the set photosensitive material. Further, preferably, in addition to the print size, selection of the presence or absence of a border of the print to be output, and in the case of the presence of a border, the width of the border can be independently set to four sides and registered, so that the customer's request Prints of various specifications can be easily output.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a digital printing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example of a control device of the digital printing apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an example of a printer of the digital printing apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of a screen for setting and registering specifications of a finished print of the digital printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining setting of edges of a finished print output by the digital printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 10 (Digital) printing device 12 Scanner 14 Control device 16 Printer 18 Operation system 20 Display 22 Light source 24 Variable aperture 26 Color filter plate 28 Diffusion box 30 Imaging lens unit 32 CCD sensor 34 Amplifier 36 Control unit 38 Signal processing device 40 Image processing 40 Device 42 CPU 44 Memory 46 AF unit 48 Image rotation unit 50 Positive / negative conversion unit 52 A / D conversion circuit 54 Offset correction circuit 56 Dark correction circuit 58 LOG conversion circuit 60 Shading correction circuit 62 Frame memory 64 Driver 66 Image exposure unit 68 Developing unit 70 (70R, 70G, 70B) AOM (acoustic optical modulator) 72 (72R, 72G, 72B) Light source 74 Polygon mirror 76 fθ lens 78, 80 Transport roller pair 82 Color developing tank 84 Drift Fixing tank 86 washing tank 100 Parameter 102 display column

Claims (3)

[Claims] An image of an original is photoelectrically read, and a photosensitive material is exposed to recording light modulated according to the obtained image data.
What is claimed is: 1. A digital printing apparatus which performs a development process and outputs a print having a print size selected from a plurality of print sizes. Instruction means for selecting an arbitrary print size from the print sizes registered in the means and instructing the print size of the print to be output; and instructing by the instruction means during continuous print output work. Changing means for changing a print size to an arbitrary print size registered in the registering means. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the registering means includes:
In an output print of a registered print size, there is provided means for designating the presence or absence of an edge at the periphery of the print, and setting means for individually setting the width of the edge at the print size designated as having an edge for each side. 2. The digital printing device according to 1. 3. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the instruction unit has a display unit for displaying a print size registered in the registration unit, and the registration unit selects whether or not to display the display size on the display unit from the registered print size. 3. The digital printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a selection unit that performs the selection.