JPS63100459A - Plate making device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shorten the time for working by detecting an unnecessary light transparent part or reflecting part and providing a light shielding layer to the unnecessary light transparent part or reflecting part. CONSTITUTION:An object for inspection such as film for plate making or photographic paper or the like is advanced by a transport belt 1 and a roller (rubber) 2 to a detecting part 10. The image information of the object for inspection is stored into a memory 15 under the control of a CPU 13. The information of quadruplet picture element is compared in a comparator 20 when the information quantity stored in the memory 15 attains the information corresponding to 3 lines in the direction perpendicular to the transporting direction. Whether said information is a necessary part or unnecessary part is then determined by the predetermined value. The corresponding coordinate information is stored into a sub-memory 16 if said information is decided to be the unnecessary part. The result compared and studied in the comparator 20 is fed to the next light shielding part 30 where the coordinate information in the memory 16 and the coordinate information of the object for inspection under the light shielding part 30 is verified with an ANDing device. If the result is true, the light shielding to the coordinate position of the corresponding object for inspection is automatically executed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Object of the Invention (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to a device for blocking unnecessary light transmitting or reflecting portions of a plate-making film, photographic paper, etc.
The present invention further relates to a plate-making device that utilizes the pixel size of an image formed on a plate-making film, photographic paper, or the like.

(Prior art) Conventionally, in plate-making work, it is a work to block unnecessary light-transmitting or reflective parts that occur due to the glue being used, dirt on the plate mount, dirt on the exposure device, etc. be. Alternatively, it is a task of dividing drawing lines by color. As methods for blocking light from plate-making films, photographic paper, etc., methods using a mask sheet and methods for applying a correction liquid are known. In the method of using a mask sheet, a removable red layer or the like is formed on a polyethylene terephthalate film, and the film is cut out or the like to block light. Regarding how to use mask sheets.

The sheet is cut to match the size of the plate-making film, photographic paper, etc. to be light-shielded, and pin holes are provided for register alignment of both sheets before use.

This method of using a mask sheet is very simple, and by cutting out the necessary part of the plate-making film or photographic paper while holding it in the registered position with a bottle hole, and peeling off the red layer part, unnecessary light can pass through. A portion or a reflective portion can be shaded relatively quickly.

Furthermore, by using two or three mask sheets in a stacked manner as necessary, there is also the advantage that light shielding work can be realized in even finer areas. but.

Most of the light-shielding work is done manually, and the number of man-hours associated with the use of mask sheet materials increases, the difficulty of cutting and peeling the mask sheet is high, and light diffusion due to the thickness of the mask sheet makes it difficult to use plate-making film. Another disadvantage is that the quality of manuscripts, characters, etc. formed from photographic paper etc. deteriorates. Further, the mask sheet is not suitable as a means for blocking light from small unnecessary light transmitting or reflecting portions such as pinholes due to the cost and workability of the mask sheet.

On the other hand, the correction liquid coating method uses a light-shielding liquid (correction liquid) in which a vehicle contains a light-shielding agent such as carbon black. This method is superior to the method using a mask sheet in that the applied light shielding layer is thin. This correction fluid application method is described in 9, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-9123.
No. 6, No. 57-6850, and No. 57-108853.

These are superior in that they enable the formation of a harder film than conventionally used correction fluids, and their matte effect makes it easier to visually judge the applied area. The disadvantage of this work is that it is difficult to block out light in small areas, and it is a manual process that takes 3 hours, making it labor-intensive.

Light shielding methods other than using a mask sheet or applying correction fluid include attaching pre-colored adhesive tape to the light shielding area (masking paper), or using light shielding materials such as paper that does not transmit or reflect light. There is a method of pasting it on plate-making film or photographic paper. How do you block light by pasting these?

All of these methods can achieve light shielding, but they have the disadvantage of being labor-intensive as they require manual work, and only a large portion can be corrected, and only a small portion of them can be used in actual plate-making work. .

Also, when looking at unnecessary parts of plate-making film or photographic paper, small unnecessary parts are not only more numerous than large unnecessary parts, but also require much more effort to detect and block light. The current situation is that In other words, there are many areas that need to be shielded from light in small areas such as between the nine letters and pictures.

In other words, as a means of blocking unnecessary light-transmitting or reflecting parts of conventional plate-making film or photographic paper, etc., almost all methods must be done manually by the operator, and no methods have been considered so far. Improvements have mostly been limited to strengthening the light-shielding film or measures that can be applied to only a few areas, and the means of blocking unnecessary light-transmitting or reflecting areas is an extremely manual process.

Regarding the detection of unnecessary light-transmitting or reflective parts in plate-making film or photographic paper, there are printed matter inspection devices or printed circuit board inspection devices, but these devices only allow you to collect samples for inspection. Sample images of the actual object or input from a television camera, etc. are stored in the device using electronic (electrical) storage means, and the constituent images of each inspection item are sequentially scanned or compared with the sample sample using an appropriate method. The purpose of inspection is achieved by performing comparisons and verifications.

Examples of these devices include 1, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-25095.
No. 7, No. 60-250958, No. 61-12341, No. 61-12343, No. 61-12345, etc. Although these methods have the advantage of quickly and stably setting information for inspection or testing and streamlining the production of printed matter, they do not eliminate unnecessary light-transmitting or reflective parts of plate-making film or photographic paper. For detection, the size of the detection pixel and the lack of an inspection sample, that is, the inspection sample is a block mount etc., so it cannot be used, and it is generally not possible to use it for inspection with printed matter inspection equipment or printed circuit board inspection equipment. The size of the target unnecessary portion is considerably larger than the size of a pixel (the smallest unit constituting an image) of an original correct image. Alternatively, portions that are considerably smaller than the pixels of the original correct image often have the characteristic that they do not have much of an adverse effect. For example, in the case of a pixel with a size of 100 μm to 1 mm, the unnecessary portion is 100 μm to 1 mm.
It has a size of around mm or a size close to this.

For this reason, the resolution or resolving power of the detection light-receiving elements used in these devices must be close to the pixels of the image to be formed, or must be high enough to input and process these pixels into the device. It is set. Therefore, the unnecessary light-transmitting or reflecting portions of plate-making film or photographic paper are much smaller than the pixels of the image being formed.
The setting of the resolution or resolving power of the above-mentioned device and the associated software cannot perform sufficient detection, resulting in many objects to be detected being left out of detection.

Therefore, simply using the conventional light shielding method in combination with a known printed matter inspection device is not functional and technically difficult to use for detecting unnecessary light transmitting or reflecting portions in plate-making film or photographic paper. It's also difficult.

(Problem that the invention attempts to solve) The present invention takes into consideration the drawbacks of such conventional methods.

To provide a plate-making device that can shorten work time in plate-making for shielding unnecessary light-transmitting or reflective parts of plate-making film, photographic paper, etc., and can achieve an effect equal to or better than that of conventional light shielding methods. It is something to do.

"Structure of the Invention" (Means for Solving Problems) The present inventors have developed a method for detecting unnecessary light transmitting portions or reflecting portions in plate-making film or photographic paper.

We focused on the fact that there is usually a huge difference between the size of the pixels of the image being formed and the size of the unnecessary light-transmitting or reflective parts, that is, there are many small unnecessary parts, and it is necessary to block out light from these small unnecessary parts. Considering that this requires a lot of effort, we can detect this area optically or electrically, and then shield the detected area from light using image forming means such as thermal transfer or inkjet. The present inventors have discovered an apparatus that allows plate making to be performed more simply, quickly, and with high precision compared to the printing method or the correction liquid coating method, and which can be operated without the assistance of an expert.

That is, 1. The present invention relates to a device for exposing the film or photographic paper to light in a plate-making process that blocks unnecessary light-transmitting or reflective portions of a plate-making film or photographic paper on which an image has been formed; Detect unnecessary light transmitting or reflecting parts. This is a plate-making device that has a detection device including a light receiving element, a device that applies a light-shielding layer to an unnecessary light-transmitting portion or a reflective portion according to instructions from the detection device, and furthermore, a device that applies a light-shielding layer to an unnecessary light-transmitting portion or a reflective portion smaller than the size of a pixel. The present invention relates to a plate-making device that detects the image by a concatenation method.

Examples of the plate-making film or photographic paper according to the present invention include, in addition to the plate-making film and photographic paper, negative or positive monochrome or color films, printing mounts, and the like.

The main components of the apparatus of the present invention are an exposure means, a detection means, and a light-shielding layer applying means, and an integrated apparatus including these three means may be used. A device including an application means may be combined,
Furthermore, devices including the respective means may be combined.

The device serving as the exposure means is not particularly limited as long as it can receive light with the light receiving element in the detection means, and for example, an LED array, tungsten lamp, fluorescent light, xenon lamp, etc. can be used.

Nine types of light receiving elements can be used as the light receiving element in the detection means. For example, a COD contact image sensor, a photomultiplier, a photoconductive image pickup tube such as a vidicon, a photodiode, a phototransistor, a solar cell, etc. can be used. In particular, the COD contact type image sensor 9, for example, Toshiba's CIPS304MS1, can be used as plate-making film or photographic paper.

It is an excellent light-receiving element because it can increase the speed of passing through a preset detection portion. In addition,
Examples of image pickup tubes include Vidicon, Plavicon (Philips, Matsushita Electric Industrial), Sachicon (NHK9 Hitachi), Calnicon (Toshiba), New Vidicon (Matsushita Electric Industrial), and Silicon Vidicon (RCA). (interline system), FT (frame transfer system) COD, etc.

The functions of the light receiving element suitable for the present invention are as follows.

(1) Photoelectric conversion in part or all of the wavelength of 300 to 800 nm.

(2) Minimum reading size is 0.01 to 0.50m
(3) It has a variable gradation characteristic (γ correction), and has a lens for enlarging or reducing the light input portion of a single or plural light-receiving elements as necessary. As long as it has some or all of the functions (1) to (3) above and has photoelectric conversion characteristics, it is not limited to the light receiving element shown as an example.

During detection, an appropriate enlarging or reducing lens system can be used as needed, and the detection ability can be improved. As a result, the resolving power of the light receiving element, that is, the degree of detection of unnecessary portions, can be set in various ways depending on the combination with the lens system used.

To detect unnecessary light-transmitting or reflective parts of the plate-making film or photographic paper, a light-receiving element is used to scan the surface of the plate-making film or photographic paper in units of 9 pixels or less. The information from this scan is stored in at least one scan.
Detection is possible by holding a line or more by some means and setting in advance that, for example, an independent pixel in one scanning line is an unnecessary light transmitting or reflecting portion. Therefore, by examining and verifying pixel information from one scanning line or more than one scanning line using an appropriate method, it is possible to identify unnecessary portions. In other words, the drawing line, which is an originally necessary part, does not have 9 pixels that normally exist independently, and those that do exist independently are unnecessary parts, so it can be determined from the information of the front and rear and/or left and right pixels by scanning. .

Note that the original drawing lines on plate-making film or photographic paper are continuous, and on printing plates made from plate-making film or photographic paper, they are line dots, but this is a rough term. Then, pixels on plate-making film or photographic paper correspond to halftone dots on a printing plate.

Identification in detection may be performed by simple computer processing such as 4-connection or 8-connection of pixels. This connection method allows detection of unnecessary light-transmitting or reflective parts of plate-making film or photographic paper. Of course, other methods of identification may be used.

After detecting unnecessary light-transmitting or reflective parts by the detection means, a light-shielding layer can be immediately provided on the plate-making film or photographic paper, but it is possible to simplify the overall structure of the detection device,
In order to facilitate maintenance, etc., it is desirable to provide an appropriate distance difference or gap of one hour or the like between the heating means and the light-shielding layer applying means. This facilitates separation and connection between the detection section and the light shielding section. In other words, in a device in which only detection and light blocking can be selected at the same time, not only are two operations forced to be carried out in a narrow range, but also various device configurations and connection methods are difficult. For example, it is possible to provide flexibility by connecting only the detection means immediately after the automatic processor for plate-making film, and installing the light shielding means at a separate position.

Functions that should be provided as a light shielding method and transmitting positional information from the detection means to the light shielding layer applying means.

(1) Electrical storage means for at least one scanning line.

(2) A computer suitable for investigating and verifying the storage means.

(3) Including means for applying a light-shielding material to a plate-making film or photographic paper, etc. as necessary based on the identified position information;
The means (1) to (3) can be of integral or separate construction.

An example of a storage means for more than one line of scanning is 9.
For example, if the resolution in the scanning direction is 4 lines/mm, it is sufficient to have a storage capacity of at least 8 lines/mm.

Preference is given to means having a storage capacity corresponding to 4 bytes/mm.

In order to detect unnecessary light-transmitting or reflective parts of a plate-making film or photographic paper, etc. and provide a light-shielding material, it is necessary to carry out the process from detection to identification of the position after the plate-making film or photographic paper, etc. to be detected passes through. It must be finished before reaching the light shielding layer applying means, but if it is before reaching the light shielding target part, the type of process of the computer used and the processing speed of the processing language used (e.g. assembler, etc.) It is not limited to.

As the light shielding layer, transfer from a heat-melting type heat-sensitive transfer sheet,
Transfer or application 2 using an inkjet can be used, but the transfer method and material are not necessarily limited as long as it is a means that can hide unnecessary parts of plate-making film or photographic paper with a thin film.

The light-shielding layer preferably has the necessary resistance in the working environment that the plate-making film or photographic paper is exposed to after being transferred or applied to unnecessary parts of the plate-making film or photographic paper, etc. A suitable light shielding layer can be selected. For example, in a plate-making film that is insensitive to red, a transparent red color can be used as the light-shielding layer. Further, although the transparent red layer is suitable for being insensitive to red, it is not suitable for a panchromatic film that is sensitive to all colored lights, and it is necessary to change the material for the light-shielding layer. Therefore, nine different materials can be selected and used as appropriate. For example, as a light-shielding material for a plate-making film that is insensitive to red, carnauba wax in which red iron oxide is dispersed can be used, and a simple light-shielding film can be formed by a thermal transfer method.

Other examples of the light-shielding layer include application using a pen block (using ink, crayon, etc.), and transfer of printing ink using a printing method.

Next, one example of the light-shielding material will be explained. As a thermal transfer material,
Contains an R material or dye and a hot-melt film-forming material, 5
A support is provided with a transfer material that can be thermally transferred at a temperature of about 0 to 130°C. The pigment or dye is one that satisfies light-shielding conditions in the exposure work, which is a post-process using plate-making film or photographic paper. Hot-melt film-forming materials include wax or other hot-melt film-forming materials.

The ink for transfer or application by inkjet is composed of film-forming materials such as dyes or pigments, solvents, and resins.

These light-shielding materials are sometimes rubbed with water or alcohol to remove stains after being applied to plate-making film or photographic paper, and if necessary, they are coated with water-resistance, alcohol-resistance, etc. It is necessary to provide it. It should be noted that the present invention may be implemented by combining a dedicated dirt wiper and a light shielding material in advance. For example, dedicated stain wipes include water and polyoxyethylene solpitan senostearate, water and polyoxyethylene stearyl ether, and the like.

Next, the present invention will be explained based on one embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment.

This is clear from the above explanation.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining a plate making apparatus of the present invention.

The object to be inspected is plate-making film or photographic paper.

It advances to the detection part 10 by the conveyor belt 1 and the roller (rubber) 2. In the detection unit 10, LED arrays 11 (for transmission) and 12 (for reflection, that is, for photographic paper) are used as illumination light sources, and a CCD light receiving element 13 is arranged perpendicular to the transport direction, and the image information of the object to be inspected is detected. sequentially to CPU13
It is stored in the memory 15 under management.

The rubber roller 2 operates for the purpose of holding the object to be inspected, and in this example, an encoder (not shown) is used to confirm the operation. When the amount of information stored in the memory 15 reaches the equivalent of 3 lines in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction, the
The information of the connected pixels is compared by a comparator, and it is determined by a predetermined value whether it is an important part or an unnecessary part. If the portion is determined to be unnecessary by this comparison and determination, the corresponding coordinate information is stored in the sub-memory 16.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating detecting unnecessary portions and providing information to the light-shielding layer applying means. In addition, <A) in FIG. 3 schematically shows the drawing line, which is an originally necessary part, together with position information, and (B) shows an unnecessary part.

To explain the comparison by the comparator 20, pay attention to the position B-2, and focus on the horizontal direction, that is, A, B.

If C is a scanning line, part B-2 is the necessary part (
whether it is an original drawing line) or an unnecessary part (pinhole, etc.).
Comparison is made based on the information of A-1, 8-1, 8-3 and C-2. In other words, there was a light transmitting or reflecting part in part B-2, and there was a light transmitting or reflecting part in any one or more of A-1, 8-1, B-3 and C-2. In the case (A) of FIG. 3, the part B-2 is set as a necessary part. 2 or more adjacent, or 3
If there are more than one light transmitting or reflecting part, it can also be set as a necessary part. In addition, if there is no light transmitting or reflective part in any of the adjacent A-1, 8-1, 8-3 and C-2, as shown in CB in Figure 3, it is set as an unnecessary part. . The unnecessary portion can also be set to one or less.

Although an example is shown in which scanning is performed sequentially in units of 9 pixels, if the unit of 9 pixels covers the end of an originally required drawing line, this drawing line portion will also become a portion smaller than the pixel.

In order to avoid detecting this part as unnecessary part,
Correct detection is performed by detecting using the above-described linking method.

The results of comparison and examination by the comparator 20 are sent to the primary light shielding section 30.

When the inspected object being conveyed reaches the light shielding section 30 shown in FIG.
The coordinate information of the lower inspection object is verified using a logical product (AND) machine, and if the result is true, light is automatically blocked at the corresponding coordinate position of the inspection object.

In addition,'! The size of A-plate film or photographic paper is as follows:
The size 9 of the image to be used varies depending on, for example, street advertising or catalog use. But 9
In the present invention, the plate-making film, photographic paper, etc. that have unnecessary light-transmitting or reflecting portions that are subject to light shielding are located in the middle of the work process, and therefore their size is often smaller than the final finished product. In the present invention, the size that can be inserted into the detection section shown in FIG. 1 is about 610 mm. Of course.

It may be larger than this.

In addition, in the detection section, a lens (not shown) is used in front of the CCD light-receiving element, but this lens is not essential.9 For example, in the case of plate-making film, the
Images with diameters of mm (pinholes, etc.) and images with diameters of 0.05 to
One of the continuous images of about 30mm is captured by the CCD.
If it corresponds to at least one chip of , it can be detected even if the image is enlarged or reduced without using a lens.

FIG. 1 shows an example in which a heat-sensitive transfer material is used as the light shielding part 30. The main components are a thermal head 31 and a thermal transfer material 32. The thermal head 31 is arranged perpendicular to the conveyance direction, and the thermal head is heated based on the logical product of the position information of both the sub-memory 16 and the inspection target, and the transfer material is thermally melted and the detected unnecessary A light shielding layer is formed on the portion. As the thermal transfer material 32, for example, on a polyethylene terephthalate film (4 μmff),
Oxyethylene/oxypropylene block copolymer
2M parts of solvent (isopropyl alcohol and water) 7
Melt the parts by weight, add 1 part by weight of carbon blank, add 1 equivalent of glass beads, and shake using a shaker (Rhett Devil).
The transfer material was shaken for 1 hour, then coated with a bar coater No. 16, and dried. Note that the transfer temperature was approximately 53°C.

Films for plate making etc. that are light-shielded with this heat-sensitive transfer material are
The light layer had good adhesion and abrasion resistance, and was completely shielded from light. Therefore, even in the post-process, no peeling or the like occurred even when the material was handled in the same manner as in conventional manual work for shielding light.

The above transfer material is a water-based type, but it may also be an organic solvent type such as an alcohol type.9 For example, carnauba wax Goiii part9 15 parts by weight of petroleum resin and 15 parts by weight of colloidal silica are dissolved in 100 parts by weight of toluene.9 Then, a carbon blank is prepared. When 1 part by weight was added, dispersed for 1 hour using a left devil, coated using a bar coater, etc., and transferred using a dried heat-sensitive transfer material, a good light-shielding layer was formed. Note that the transfer temperature was approximately 90°C.

"Effects of the Invention" By using the plate-making apparatus of the present invention in the work of shielding unnecessary light-transmitting or reflective parts of a plate-making film or photographic paper, the following improvements can be made to the work process.

(168 light-shielding areas with A3 size plate-making film,
Shading quality A - Good shading, no need for re-correction.

B- There are some parts that need to be revised again. ) Also, dishes for preparation required in conventional work.

There is no need to wash brushes, water boxes, etc., and since the light-shielding material is provided as a sheet, one work area will not be soiled, and multiple sheets can be worked continuously. Furthermore, uniform light shielding work can be performed without the use of skilled workers.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing one embodiment of the plate making apparatus of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are conceptual diagrams for explaining detection of unnecessary light transmitting portions or reflecting portions. The symbols in the figure are 1-conveyor belt, 2-roller, l〇-
Detection unit, 1l-LED array, 12-CCD light receiving element,
13-CPU, 14-memory, 15-submemory, 30-light shielding section, 31-thermal head, 32-thermal transfer material, respectively.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In plate making that blocks unnecessary light transmitting or reflecting parts of a plate-making film or photographic paper on which an image has been formed, an apparatus for exposing the film or photographic paper, and a device for exposing the film or photographic paper to light; A plate making device comprising: a detection device including a light receiving element that detects an unnecessary light transmitting portion or a reflective portion smaller than the size of the camera; Device. 2. The plate making apparatus according to claim 1, which is an apparatus for detecting unnecessary light transmitting portions or reflecting portions smaller than the size of a pixel by a connecting method.