Facsimile and static presentation processing – Static presentation processing – Attribute control
Reexamination Certificate
1998-09-16
2004-07-20
Wallerson, Mark (Department: 2622)
Facsimile and static presentation processing
Static presentation processing
Attribute control
C358S001200, C358S001180
Reexamination Certificate
active
06765691
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image processing method and apparatus at the time when images recorded on an original such as a photographic print, a photographic film, or the like, are converted to image data by an image input device such as a scanner.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in an exposure system in a silver salt photographic technology, printing is generally effected by analogue exposure (i.e., surface exposure: an image is exposed onto a photosensitive material with light being irradiated on an entire surface of an original). Namely, a developed negative film is positioned at a predetermined printing position, light from a white light source (i.e., a halogen lamp or the like) is illuminated on the negative film, and a transmission image from the negative film is imaged (exposed) on a photographic printing paper.
In the analogue exposure system like the above, an image of an original recorded on the negative film can be reproduced faithfully.
On the other hand, in recent years, a so-called digital printer has been technologically improved, in which an image of an original is converted to digital data, subjected to predetermined image processing, and exposed onto a photosensitive material so as to obtain a print image. This makes it possible to prepare an image which is substantially equal to that of the silver salt photography.
In the above-described digital exposure processing, the image of the original is read by a scanner, an image density signal of each of colors of the read image is converted to density data in accordance with spectral sensitivity characteristics of a paper on which the image is printed, and for example, by scanning a semiconductor laser beam, the image is recorded.
By digitizing the image of the original in such a way as described above, various incidental operations (size change, character input, and the like) can be easily effected and it is possible to make a contribution to the development in the field of photography.
However, in the digital exposure processing, practically, a transmission image of a negative film is not printed on a photographic printing paper and the image of the original is read by the scanner. In this case, even when a film of a different type is read, there are some elements which do not exhibit any change in respective density signals of the read image.
Namely, gradation, color tone, and the like are not determined based on the kind of negative film, and are largely influenced by a resolution of the scanner or a resolution of the printer. For this reason, so long as some correction is not made, an image cannot be faithfully reproduced.
Further, there exist various kinds of negative films having different grades (soft gradation, medium gradation, hard gradation, hardest gradation, ultra-hard gradation), different photographic sensitivities, contrast, fog, color sensitivities, image qualities (granularity, resolution, sharpness, MTF (modulation transfer function)), and the like. Even when an image is photographed by using the different kinds of negative films described above, there are some elements which do not exhibit any change in respective density signals of an image read by the scanner.
For example, when different colors are photographed by using a film of which color materials have different spectral distributions, there is a possibility that read density signals becomes the same depending upon the spectral distribution of the scanner. Accordingly, when images are printed on the basis of the image density signals, the images are recorded as entirely the same image.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the above-described circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide image processing method and apparatus in which, when an image is printed by digital exposure processing on the basis of an image of an original, the image is faithfully reproduced with an element added which does not exhibit any change in image data read at the time of reading the image of the original.
A first aspect of the present invention is an image processing method in which an image of an original is read by an image input device, the read image data is converted to density data used when printing onto a photosensitive material, and an image is obtained on the photosensitive material by digital exposure, wherein, when the image data is converted to the density data used when printing onto the photosensitive material, the image data is corrected on the basis of parameters determined by combinations of print finish characteristics, including at least image input device characteristics, kind of original, kind of photosensitive material, and exposure amount characteristics, which affect a print image when the image of the original is printed onto the photosensitive material by an analogue exposure system.
A second aspect of the present invention is an image processing method in which an image of an original is read by an image input device, the read image data is converted to density data used when printing onto a photosensitive material, and an image is obtained on the photosensitive material by digital exposure, wherein, when the image data is converted to the density data used when printing onto the photosensitive material, on the basis of parameters determined by combinations of print finish characteristics, including at least image input device characteristics, kind of original, kind of photosensitive material, and exposure amount characteristics, which affect a print image when the image of the original is printed onto the photosensitive material by an analogue exposure system, the density data used when printing onto the photosensitive material while correcting the image data, and in order to display the image on a monitor, on the basis of the density data, data for monitor display is generated so that gradation and color tone when printing onto the photosensitive material coincide with appearances of gradation and color tone when displayed on the monitor.
In accordance with the above-described first and second aspects, when, for example, a negative film is used as an original, a transmission image of the negative film is read, and on the basis of the read image data, an image is formed on a photographic printing paper by digital exposure, in order to obtain a finish state which is equal to that when printed onto the photographic printing paper serving as a photosensitive material by a printer of an analogue exposure system, the density data is obtained while the image data is being corrected on the basis of the parameters determined by combinations of print finish characteristics. For this reason, an image finish print in the digital exposure can have an image quality which is equal to that of a finish print obtained by the analogue exposure system.
A third aspect of the present invention is an image processing method according to the first or second aspect, in which the exposure amount characteristics is a characteristic of change in printing density caused by a color filter in the analogue exposure system, and on the basis of exposure amount characteristics, the change in printing density is simulated by calculation.
In accordance with the third aspect of the present invention, usually, in the analogue exposure system, a color filter is disposed in a direction in which light from a light source is illuminated, and an amount of exposure for each color is adjusted. Namely, since an amount of light for each of colors can be adjusted by an amount by which each color filter is inserted, even if exposure processing of a fixed time is effected for each of colors, the amount of exposure on the photosensitive material can be practically adjusted for each of colors.
On the other hand, the digital exposure system has no means for directly adjusting an amount of light for each of colors, such as a color filter, and the change in printing density by the color filter is simulated by calculation. Namely, for example, in the case of image recording using a semi
Kubo Masahiro
Shinohara Mamoru
Takaoka Naoki
Taniguchi Koichi
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
Sughrue & Mion, PLLC
Wallerson Mark
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