JPS61182041A - Feeding method of photosensitive material treating solution - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To keep the alkali activity of a treating solution properly, to feed the treating solution simply and precisely and to use the treating solution for a long period by calculating the area of a non-picture part from the non-picture part ratio of a photosensitive material and the area of the photosensitive material and feeding the quantity corresponding to the area of the non-picture part. CONSTITUTION:Before inserting a photosensitive print plate 3 of which picture is exposed into an automatic developing device 1, a plate-classified input means 7 is driven and a factor due to film thickness corresponding to the kind of the photosensitive printing plate 3 to be developed is inputted to a non-picture area ratio circuit 9 to set and store the non-picture part ratio. Then, the development of the photosensitive print plate 3 is started by the automatic developing device 1, and simultaneously with the insertion of the print plate 3, a signal related to the width of the plate 3 and a carrying speed is obtained by a sensor 6 and inputted to an exchange circuit 8 to calculate the area of the plate 3. A counter 10 multiplies the area of the plate 3 by the non-picture part ratio obtained from the circuit 9 to calculate the area integrating value of the non-picture part and the feeding quantity of a feeding solution corresponding to the integrating value.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a processing liquid replenishment method for maintaining constant the activity of a processing liquid for developing a photosensitive material exposed to an image.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, as photosensitive materials, there are, for example, positive-type and negative-type photosensitive printing plates.
- Some devices are provided with a photosensitive layer having a composition containing a quinonediazide compound.

By the way, when the photosensitive layer of a positive-working photosensitive printing plate containing an 0-quinonediazide compound is exposed to actinic rays through a transparency, the 0-quinonediazide compound present in the desired exposure area changes to carboxylic acid, which is dissolved by an alkaline developer. When developed, a positive image is formed.

Furthermore, a negative photosensitive printing plate containing a photosensitive diazo compound on a support may be given solubility in an alkaline developer by, for example, mixing or combining a compound having an acid group such as a carboxylic acid. , those capable of obtaining negative images are often used.

As described above, by developing with an alkaline developer, compounds having carboxylic acid groups dissolved in the developer and other acid components contained in the photosensitive layer, as well as air and
Carbon dioxide gas etc. dissolved from inside neutralizes and consumes alkaline components in the developer. By developing a photoreceptor having such an alkali-soluble component or a photosensitive material containing a photoreceptor having an alkali-soluble component, the alkaline component in the developer is reduced.

If the activity of the developer decreases due to a decrease in the alkaline component in the developer and the developing ability becomes insufficient, in addition to preparing a new developer and replacing the entire amount, there are two ways to reduce the alkaline component of the developer. A method has been used to restore the developing activity of the developer by replenishing the decreased amount.

One method for replenishing this developer is to determine the size of the photosensitive printing plate to be used for a certain predetermined period, convert it to the amount of replenishment per unit area of one sheet, and then replenish the photosensitive printing plate. Some types maintain alkali activity by replenishing a certain amount each time one sheet is processed.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, in the conventional method, for example, when processing a large number of sheets of smaller size than the average size in a short period of time, the pre-calculated replenishment amount is As it is replenished, the amount of alkaline components increases, causing an apparent increase in the sensitivity of the photosensitive printing plate, which is one of the causes of poor printing durability and poor inking as a printing plate.

On the other hand, when only a small amount of photosensitive printing plate is processed for a long period of time, there is an apparent decrease in sensitivity, and when this is significant, the printing plate becomes smudged, which is one of the causes of smearing on printed matter.

In this way, when developing a large number of photosensitive printing plates with sizes that deviate from the average size, the average replenishment amount is replenished each time one plate is processed, so the alkaline activity of the developer is maintained at an appropriate level. There will be a change in sensitivity. For this reason, for example, it was necessary to develop the control piece several times a day and manage the alkaline component.

This invention was made against the background of the above circumstances, and even when a photosensitive material with a size deviating from the average size is developed with a polyacid, an appropriate processing solution is automatically replenished and the processing solution becomes active. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for replenishing a processing liquid for a photosensitive material, in which the liquid is always maintained within a predetermined tolerance, the liquid can be easily managed, and the liquid can be used for a long time.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems by determining the non-image area ratio of the photosensitive material and The feature is that the area of the non-image area is calculated from the area and the area of the non-image area is replenished with a replenishment amount corresponding to the area of the non-image area.

(Function) In the present invention, when developing a photosensitive material exposed to one image, the non-image area is calculated from the non-image area ratio of the photosensitive material and the area of the photosensitive material. Then, the amount of replenishment corresponding to the area of this non-image area is replenished. This replenishment can be done by e.g.
When the cumulative area of the photosensitive material reaches a predetermined amount, the non-image area may be replenished, or when a predetermined area of the non-image area is reached, a fixed amount may be replenished.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the accompanying drawings.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an automatic developing device, and this automatic developing device 1 is equipped with a processing liquid tank 2. As shown in FIG. The processing liquid tank 2 is filled with a processing liquid for a photosensitive printing plate 3, which is a photosensitive material, and the processing liquid tank 2 is replenished with the replenisher from a replenishing device 4.

The replenishment device 4 is driven by a control section 5.

Signals from a sensor 6, which is a means for detecting the area of the photosensitive material, and a plate type input means 7 are inputted to the control section 5.

The sensor 6 senses the width and conveyance speed of the photosensitive printing plate 3, and inputs signals regarding this width and conveyance speed to the conversion circuit 8 of the control section 5. The sensor 6 divides the insertion section of the automatic developing device 1 into four equal parts, and is arranged in the center of each quarter. Although the number of sensors 6 is four in this embodiment, it is not limited to this number, and measurement accuracy can be increased by using continuous semiconductor sensors and a fluorescent lamp as the light source.

The plate type input means 7 comprises, for example, a manual polarization type select button, and since the film thickness of the photosensitive layer differs depending on the type of the photosensitive printing plate 3, the type is set by manually operating the plate type safe button. The polarization input means 7 for outputting a set signal to the non-image area ratio circuit 9 of the control unit 5 is changed to a polarization type set button, and a signal indicating the amount of reflection at the insertion end of the photosensitive printing plate 3 from the sensor 6 is output. It may be automatically detected by

The non-image area ratio circuit 9 obtains a non-image area ratio coefficient based on the film thickness depending on the type of the photosensitive printing plate 3 based on the signal from the polarization input means 7, and uses this non-image area report as a counter. 10
It is designed to output to. This non-image area ratio can be arbitrarily set, for example, from 10% to 100%, and for example, the average non-image area ratio of the photosensitive printing plate 3 used for two weeks to one month is input as information.

The conversion circuit 8 converts the signal from the sensor 6 into a voltage, calculates the area from the width of the photosensitive printing plate 3 and the length determined from the conveyance speed, and outputs it to the counter 10. counter 1
0, the area of the non-image area is calculated and integrated based on the area information from the conversion circuit 8 and the area ratio information of the non-image area from the non-image area ratio circuit 9.

Then, when a plurality of photosensitive printing plates 3 are processed, the integrated amount of area of the non-image area until a certain predetermined value is reached and the amount of replenishment of replenisher determined according to the area, for example, are counted.

The cumulative area of the non-image area is counted in increments of a fixed amount and is cumulatively accumulated until it reaches a certain predetermined value. For example, the area for replenishment is counted in increments of O, Olm, and the cumulative value is i.
It can be varied from n to 99.9 m2.

The calculation circuit 11 compares and calculates the integrated value of the area of the non-image area with the set value of the replenishment amount of the replenisher, and sends a signal to the driver circuit 12 until they match.The driver circuit 12 drives the replenishment device 4. Then, the processing liquid tank 2 is replenished with the replenisher to keep the alkaline activity of the developer constant.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

First, the photosensitive printing plate 3 on which the image has been exposed is transferred to the automatic developing device 1.
Before inserting the plate into the non-image area ratio circuit 9, operate the polarization input means 7 to input a coefficient depending on the film thickness depending on the type of the photosensitive printing plate 3 to be developed into the non-image area ratio circuit 9, and calculate the non-image area ratio. Select and memorize.

Next, development processing of the photosensitive printing plate 3 is started in the automatic developing device 1, but at the same time as this photosensitive printing plate 3 is inserted, a signal regarding the width of the photosensitive printing plate 3 and the conveyance speed is obtained by the sensor 6. , this signal is input to the conversion circuit 8, and the area of the photosensitive printing plate 3 is calculated.

Then, the counter 10 multiplies the area of the photosensitive printing plate 3 by the non-image g&ratio from the non-image area ratio circuit 9, and counts the area integrated value of the non-image area and the amount of replenishment liquid for this. .

In this way, a plurality of photosensitive printing plates 3 are developed,
The area integrated value of the non-image area and the replenishment amount are output to the arithmetic circuit 11, and when the area integrated value of the non-image area reaches a predetermined value, the arithmetic unit 11 outputs the area integrated value of the non-image area and the replenishment amount. The a@ number is output to the driver circuit 12, and the processing liquid tank 2 is replenished with the replenisher via the replenisher 4.

This replenishment is performed by comparing the area integrated value set by the arithmetic circuit 11 with the replenishment amount until they match.

This replenisher may be replenished for the non-image area when the cumulative area of the photosensitive material reaches a predetermined amount, or it may be replenished by a certain amount when the area of the non-image area is reached. It may be a method.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, the present invention calculates the area of the non-image area from the non-image area ratio of the photosensitive material and the area of the photosensitive material, and replenishes the amount corresponding to the area of the non-image area. Because I did it,
Even when developing a large amount of photosensitive materials with sizes that deviate from the average size, the alkaline activity of the processing solution is maintained at an appropriate level compared to the conventional method, which replenishes the average amount each time one sheet is processed. This reduces sensitivity changes. Therefore, for example, it is not necessary to develop the control piece several times a day and manage the alkaline component solution, and replenishment of the processing solution is simple and reliable, allowing for long-term use.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The figure is a schematic diagram showing a method of replenishing a processing solution for a photosensitive material according to the present invention.

Claims (1)

[Claims] When developing a photosensitive material that has been exposed to an image, the area of the non-image area is calculated from the non-image area ratio of the photosensitive material and the area of this photosensitive material, and a replenishment amount corresponding to the area of the non-image area is refilled. A method of replenishing processing solution for photosensitive materials.