Radiation imagery chemistry: process – composition – or product th – Color imaging process – Color correcting
Reexamination Certificate
2001-03-07
2002-04-23
Le, Hoa Van (Department: 1752)
Radiation imagery chemistry: process, composition, or product th
Color imaging process
Color correcting
C430S363000, C430S393000, C430S430000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06376161
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an image information recording method, particularly relates to an image information recording method using a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material, hereinafter occasionally referred to a light-sensitive material.
Recently, it is frequently performed to take image information into a personal computer and to utilize the image information after processing by the computer, accompanied with popularization of the personal computer and interment system. A method by photographing using a digital camera is applicable for taking the image information into the personal computer. However, the quality of an image taken by the digital camera is considerably insufficient since the number of pixel of the digital camera is several hundred thousands and about a million at the highest.
On the other hand, a high quality image data with about a ten million pixel can be obtained by reading the image information formed on an usual color photographic light-sensitive material by a scanner even if a single use camera is used. Such the method is also advantageous in that the image information the usual photographic light-sensitive material accumulated for many years. However, in such the method, a problem is raised that a long time is necessary to obtain the image information since two steps of procedure, processing a color light-sensitive material in a photo-shop and reading the image information into a recording medium, are necessary.
Although prior art is described in Japanese Patent Publication Open for Public Inspection (JP O.P.I.) Nos. 9-121265, 9-230557 and 9-281675, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,627,016, such the techniques are insufficient in the image quality and the rapidness.
In JP O.P.I. No. 9-146247, a technique for obtaining image information, in which the light-sensitive material is developed, without bleaching and fixing, and the image formed is read by a scanner to obtain the image information. However, in the method described in this publication, it is considerably difficult to obtain the image information by reading the image by the scanner since the transmission density of the light-sensitive material is considerably increased by the presence of developed silver and silver halide remained in the light-sensitive material after processing.
As prior art in which image information is read before drying process, a photographic. system is described in JP O.P.I. No. 5-100321 in which a negative film is scanned after color developing and before drying to obtain image data. However, the processing disclosed in the publication includes the steps of color developing, bleaching, bleach-fixing and washing, and the scanning is performed during the washing step. Therefore, the method is insufficient in the simpleness and the rapidness of the procedure since the four steps of processing are carried out.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,286 discloses a method in which image data are read by an image processor from a negative film after color developing and before bleaching thereof. In the method, the reading is performed after bleaching and before fixing of the light-sensitive material, Accordingly, the level of image quality is insufficient since increasing in the transmission density and an unevenness of image caused by remained silver halide are formed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The first object of the invention is to provide an image information recording method by which high quality image information can be obtained simply and rapidly by the use of an usual silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material.
The second object of the invention is to provide an image information recording method by which a high quality image inhibited in the formation of unevenness can be obtained.
The objects of the invention can be attained by an image information recording method comprising the steps of
imagewise exposed to light a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material comprising a support having thereon a light-sensitive layer comprising light-sensitive silver halide and a coupler,
color developing the image wise exoosed silver halide photographic light-sensitive material,
converting the image information formed on the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material to electric information while the light-sensitive material is wetted without a drying and at least a part of developed silver is remained in the light-sensitive material, and
recording the image information on another recording medium according as the electric image information.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the technique disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,286, a negative film is color developed and bleaching and image data are read by a image processor. In the light-sensitive material to be read, developed silver has removed and silver halide has been remained since the reading is carried out after bleaching and before fixing.
According to studying by the inventors, an unevenness of image caused by silver halide is formed when the light-sensitive material in which silver halide is remained is read, and the level of quality of thus obtained image is insufficient.
It is found by the inventors that the unevenness of image can be prevented when the light-sensitive material is read out by a scanner after the color developing while at least a part of developed silver is remained in the light-sensitive material. It is a surprising fact. It is preferable that the light-sensitive material is scanned without any bleaching process. The bleaching process is a process for oxidizing developed silver remained in a light-sensitive material to silver halide. Moreover, in the case of a part of developed silver is remained in the light-sensitive material at the time of canning, it is found that a better image quality, particularly in graininess, can be obtained when the image is read by a scanner while the light-sensitive material is in a wetted state.
In the invention, although the silver halide may be remained without removing, it is preferable to be removed by 50% or more, and further preferably to be removed by 90% or more. The silver halide can be removed by a fixing or bleach fixing process.
In the invention, the drying process is a process for removing moisture from the processed light-sensitive material. The method for drying includes that by a heating roller or by hot air.
The light-sensitive material in a wetted state is a light-sensitive material containing water or a processing solution in a weight ratio of from 0.1 to 1 of times, preferably 1 time, of the weight of the water or processing solution to be contained in all layers of the light-sensitive material in a state of maximally swelled.
There is no limitation on the kind of silver halide color photographic light-sensitive material to be used in the invention. A color negative film, a color reversal film and a direct positive light-sensitive material are also usable.
The silver halide color photographic material of the invention preferably has a red-sensitive silver halide emulsion layer, a green-sensitive silver halide emulsion layer and a blue-sensitive silver halide emulsion layer each capable of recording red-light, green-light and blue-light, respectively.
The silver halide color photographic material to be used in the invention preferably has a speed of not less than ISO 30, more preferably not less than ISO 100, further preferably not less than 400.
It is a presupposition of the invention that the image information on the developed light-sensitive material is read out by a scanner and the image is processed by a personal computer. However, image information obtained by an usual Processing C-41 with a color developing time of 195 seconds is a processing optimized for outputting an image for an optical printer, and not for obtaining image information suitable for the image processing.
In the reading out by the scanner, a lowered fog and lowered gamma are preferable for reducing the load of scanning.
It has been found by the inventors that image information with a low fog and a low gamma suitable for reading out by the sca
Hirabayashi Shigeto
Iwai Yoshiko
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner L.L.P.
Le Hoa Van
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