Photocopying – Projection printing and copying cameras – Identifying – composing – or selecting
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-24
2001-04-17
Lee, Eddie C. (Department: 2851)
Photocopying
Projection printing and copying cameras
Identifying, composing, or selecting
C396S310000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06219129
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the technical field of print systems that output prints (photographs) reproducing the images recorded on films.
Most of the images recorded on photographic films such as negatives and reversals (which are hereinafter referred to as “films”) are conventionally printed onto light-sensitive materials (photographic papers) by a technique generally called “direct exposure” (analog exposure) in which the image on a film is projected onto the light-sensitive material for areal exposure.
A printer that adopts digital exposure has recently been commercialized. In this “digital photoprinter”, the image recorded on a film is read photoelectrically and converted into digital signals, which are subjected to various kinds of image processing to produce recording image data; a light-sensitive material is exposed by scanning with recording light modulated in accordance with the image data, thereby recording a (latent) image which is then processed photographically to produce a print.
In digital photoprinters, the image is converted to digital image data and exposing conditions can be determined by processing that image data. Hence, by using such digital photoprinters, the correction of dropouts or blocked-ups due to photography with rear light or an electronic flash, the correction of color or density failures, the correction of under- or over-exposure, the correction for the insufficiency of marginal light, sharpening and various other kinds of image processing that have heretofore been impossible or difficult to accomplish by the direct exposure technique can be performed with high degrees of freedom to produce prints of much better quality. In addition, a plurality of images can be composited into a single image or one image can be split into segments or even characters can be composited by the processing of image data. If desired, prints can be outputted after desired editing/processing in accordance with a specific application.
The capability of digital photoprinters is by no means limited to outputting the image as a print (photograph), since they enable the image data to be supplied to computers or stored in recording media such as floppy disks. Thus, with digital photoprinters, the image data can be used in various applications other than photography.
The digital photoprinter is composed of the following three basic parts: a scanner (image reading apparatus) that reads the image on a film photoelectrically with an image sensor such as a CCD sensor; an image processing apparatus in which the image data read with the scanner is subjected to various kinds of image processing (processing of image data) for determining the output image data, namely, the conditions for exposing a light-sensitive material that is to be outputted as a print; and a printer (image recording apparatus) that exposes a light-sensitive material with recording light such as optical beams modulated with the image data determined with the image processing apparatus and that performs development and other specified processes on the exposed light-sensitive material to produce it as a (finished) print.
When producing prints from films, requests are often made to perform “extra printing”, or printing the image in the same frame more than once. In this case, the previous print (which is usually the print outputted in simultaneous printing) and the print (re-print) outputted in extra printing are required to reproduce images having identical colors and densities. In practice, however, due to differences between print systems or between operators in terms of evaluation and procedures, the re-print often has a different image color and density than the previous print. This has been the cause of major complaints by customers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been accomplished under these circumstances and provides a print system that outputs prints reproducing the images recorded either on photographic films or with image data supply sources such as digital cameras and which, when outputting re-prints as in response to a request for extra printing, is capable of consistent reproduction of an image having the same color and density as the image on the previous print.
This can be attained by a print system that performs image processing on an image recorded on a film and which outputs a print reproducing said image in a visible state, comprising:
acquisition means for acquiring identifying information that identifies each of frames of the film on which said image is recorded;
memory means in which the identifying information acquired by said acquisition means and image processing information about the image processing that was performed to produce the print reproducing the image in each of the frames that was recorded on the film are stored in correspondence with each other; and
condition setting means which, when producing a print, sets image processing conditions in accordance with the image recorded on the film and which, when producing a re-print of said print, retrieves from said memory means and in accordance with the identifying information acquired by said acquisition means, the image processing information that corresponds to said identifying information, and which sets image processing conditions in accordance with the retrieved image processing information;
wherein, when producing the re-print, the image processing is reproduced on the basis of said image processing information and the reproduced image processing is performed.
Preferably, said image processing information is at least one member of the group consisting of kinds of image processing jobs performed commonly over an entire lots, kinds of image processing jobs performed to each frame, order of the image processing jobs performed, image processing conditions and data related with the image processing, and wherein said image processing conditions is at least one member of the group consisting of parameters used for each image processing job, applicable ranges of the image processing jobs, reference sites for the related data and control parameters related with hardware control in the print system.
In another preferred embodiment, the print system is either
a digital print system that performs photoelectric reading of the image recorded on the film, performs image processing on a resulting input image data to produce an output image data, exposes a light-sensitive material to recording light modulated in accordance with the output image data, and produces a print, or
an analog print system that performs photoelectric reading of the image recorded on the film, performs optical image processing on projected light through said film in accordance with the resulting input image data, exposes a light-sensitive material to the projected light and produces a print, wherein
said memory means further stores at least one member of the group consisting of quantity of an image feature for input image data produced in previous printing, the input image data in the previous printing, reduced image data for the input image data produced in the previous printing, resolution conversion image data for the input image data produced in the previous printing, compressed image data for the input image data produced in the previous printing, quantity of an image feature for output image data produced in the previous printing, the output image data produced in the previous printing, reduced image data for the output image data produced in the previous printing, resolution conversion image data for the output image data produced in the previous printing, compressed image data for the output image data produced in the previous printing, quantity of an image feature for the output print produced in the previous printing, image data for the output print produced in the previous printing, reduced image data for the image data of the output print produced in the previous printing, resolution conversion image data for the image data of the output print produced in the previous printing and compressed image data f
Enomoto Jun
Kinjo Naoto
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
Fuller Rodney
Lee Eddie C.
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