Patent Publication Number: US-2005116080-A1

Title: Recording material roll unit and apparatus for manufacture of recording material roll unit

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to a recording material roll unit having a sheet recording material that is wound around a core, and an apparatus for manufacturing such recording material roll unit.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      A well-known printer processor scans an image on a recording medium such as a photo film (a negative film and a reversal film, for example) photoelectrically to generate digital image data, and expose the image by modulating an intensity of recording light and irradiating the recording light on a photosensitive recording material. Then, the printer processor carries out developing and drying processes to the exposed recording material so that a print picture is formed. The printer processor has an advantage in improving the quality of the recorded image by image processing, such as color balance correction and sharpness correction, to the image data of the scanned image.  
      In terms of fastening the processing speed of the printer processor, recording plural images at the same time is preferable. In Japanese patent No. 3114718, for example, after two images are simultaneously exposed on a wide recording paper, the recording paper is cut along an advancing direction of the recording paper to have two print pictures. In addition, Japanese patent No. 3114718 describes a technique to produce two print picture at a time by shifting a cut recording paper in the widthwise direction perpendicular to the advancing direction and by recording two images on the cut recording papers arranged in the widthwise direction.  
      When the position of the recording paper is deviated in the widthwise direction, or when the recording paper is fed obliquely and cut into two pieces, the print picture may have an uneven blank around the image area. In addition, the image area in a single image may be separated by cutting a wide recording paper into two pieces. Moreover, the time for shifting every two recording paper in the widthwise direction makes it difficult to increase the processing speed of the printer processor.  
      In order to solve the above problems, an image exposure apparatus the printer processor described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open publication (JP-A) No. 11-95330 can load plural magazines to contain the recording paper roll in the widthwise direction. In addition, the printer processor described in JP-A No. 2001-56511 contains plural recording paper rolls in a single magazine. Since these printer processor can simultaneously draw plural recording papers from the recording paper rolls arranged in the widthwise direction, it is possible to increase the process capability.  
      In recording the images with plural recording paper rolls, however, an operator of the printer processor must load the recording paper roll individually. Especially, in loading a photosensitive recording paper, the operation to load the recording paper roll becomes more troublesome because of the necessity to load the recording paper roll in a light-tight condition.  
      In setting two recording paper rolls, for example, the recording paper of one recording paper roll may remain when the recording paper of the other recording paper roll is used up. In that case, it is troublesome to change the recording paper roll each time when the recording paper of either recording paper roll is used completely. Although the operator can change both recording paper rolls when one recording paper roll is used up, the remaining recording paper of the other recording paper roll becomes a waste. Moreover, if the recording characteristics of the recording paper are different according to the product lot, the printer processor has to carry out exposure correction to each of the recording papers to be recorded simultaneously. As a result, the manufacture cost of the exposure device of the printer processor increases.  
      The image exposure apparatus described in JP-A No. 11-95330 has plural magazines in the widthwise direction, so the apparatus becomes bigger and more expensive. Because of the thickness of the side wall of the magazine and because of the design of a magazine loading section, the image exposure apparatus must provide certain gap between the adjacent recording paper rolls. As a result, the exposure area of the image exposure apparatus needs to be longer, or the image exposure apparatus needs to have a paper shift device. So the image exposure apparatus becomes bigger and more expensive.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      An object of the present invention is to provide a recording material roll unit that can be loaded with an image recording apparatus easily.  
      Another object of the present invention is to provide a recording material roll unit that can use up the recording material effectively.  
      Further object of the present invention is to provide a recording material roll unit that can effectively decrease the size and the manufacture cost of the image recording apparatus.  
      Still further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for manufacturing such recording material roll unit.  
      To achieve the above objects, the recording material roll unit comprises plural recording material rolls that are integrated and arranged in a widthwise direction. The recording material rolls are formed by winding plural belt-shaped recording materials. The recording materials are wound around a single core.  
      The recording material may be wound around a second core provided for each recording material. In that case, the recording material roll unit is made by inserting a support shaft into the second core.  
      One of the recording materials may be wound around a third core. Then, the recording material roll unit is made by winding other recording material around at least one fourth core and by inserting a part of the third core into the fourth core.  
      The recording material roll unit may be formed by wining the recording materials around plural fifth cores and by adhering the fifth core to each other.  
      The recording materials for the recording material roll unit may have the same recording characteristics, the same length and/or the same width.  
      The side edges of the recording material rolls may be separated. In that case, a spacer is preferably provided for adjusting the gap between the recording material rolls.  
      In a preferred embodiment, the recording material is a photosensitive recording material. The recording materials are covered with a light shielding sheet. The leading end portions of the recording materials may be connected to the light shielding sheet.  
      The apparatus for manufacturing such recording material roll unit comprises a winding shaft to support the core and a winding section to rotate the winding shaft to wind the recording materials, arranged in parallel in a widthwise direction, around the core. The core has the length of about multiple of the width of the recording material. Between the winding section and a web cutter to cut a wide web into the recording materials, a separation section is provided for increasing the gap between the recording materials. The apparatus for manufacture the recording material roll unit may have plural rider rollers for pressing the peripheries of the recording material rolls that are supported by the winding shaft. At least one rider roller is provided for each of the recording paper rolls arranged in the widthwise direction.  
      According to the present invention, since plural recording material rolls are integrated and arranged in the widthwise direction, plural recording material rolls can be set in a printer with a single loading operation. The length of the recording materials are the same, it is possible to use up the recording materials at the same time. By use of the recording materials with the same recording characteristics, it is possible to set the same recording condition for the recording materials of the recording material roll unit. Since the recording materials have the same width, the printer can record plural images of the same size at a same time, so the recording speed increases. Moreover, by covering the peripheries of the recording material rolls with a light shielding sheet, an operator can set the recording material roll unit outside. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The above objects and advantages of the present invention will become easily understood by one of ordinary skill in the art when the following detailed description would be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a schematic view of the structure of a printer processor;  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an internal structure of a twin roll magazine;  
       FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of a recording paper roll unit;  
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the recording paper roll unit in which a front end portion of the recording paper is drawn out;  
       FIG. 5  is a plane view of the relationship in position between the recording paper rolls in the twin roll magazine and the recording paper rolls in single roll magazines;  
       FIG. 6  is a schematic perspective view of an apparatus to manufacture the recording paper roll unit;  
       FIG. 7  is an enlarged and partial view of the apparatus of  FIG. 6 ;  
       FIG. 8  is a partial cross section of an expander roll;  
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the printer section of the printer processor in which cut recording papers are supplied from the recording paper roll unit;  
       FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the printer section in which a spliced portion of the recording paper is detected;  
       FIG. 11A, 12A  and  13 A are exploded perspective views of embodiments of the recording paper roll unit;  
       FIGS. 11B, 12B  and  13 B are perspective views of embodiments of the recording paper roll unit; and  
       FIG. 14  is an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the recording paper roll unit. 
    
    
     PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION  
      In  FIG. 1 , a printer processor capable of loading a recording paper roll unit according to the present invention is illustrated. The printer processor  10  is constituted by a printer section  11  and a processor section  12 . The printer section  11  comprises a twin roll magazine  13 , a pair of single roll magazines  15 ,  16 , a pair of splice sensors  17   a ,  17   b , a cutter device  18 , a backside printer  19 , a paper shift device  20  and an exposure unit  21 .  
      In the twin roll magazine  13 , two recording paper rolls  22 ,  23  having rolled photosensitive recording papers  22   a ,  23   a  are contained as a recording paper roll unit  50  (see  FIG. 2 ). When a feeding roller pair  26  provided with the twin roll magazine  13  rotates, the recording papers  22   a ,  23   a  are drawn out of the twin roll magazine  13 . The cutter device  18  cuts the recording paper  22   a ,  23   a  into cut recording papers  22   b ,  23   b  having a predetermined length.  
      The single roll magazines  15 ,  16  are loaded on a stage  28  provided in the printer section  11 . In the single roll magazines  15 ,  16 , the recording paper rolls  29 ,  30  are respectively contained. The width of the recording papers for the recording paper rolls  29 ,  30  are different from each other. When feeding roller pairs  31 ,  32  are rotated, the leading end portions of the recording paper are pulled out of the single roll magazines  15 ,  16  and fed into the printer section  11 . The cutter device  18  cuts the recording papers into the cut recording papers  22   b ,  23   b.    
      The cut recording paper  22   b ,  23   b  is fed from the cutter device  18  to the backside printer  19 . The backside printer  19  prints necessary information, such as a frame number and correction data, in a rear surface of the cut recording paper  22   b ,  23   b . The paper shift device  20  has a shift roller that is slidable in a widthwise direction, perpendicular to the advancing direction of the cut recording sheet  22   b ,  23   b , and shifts the cut recording papers  22   b ,  23   b  from the single roll magazines  15 ,  16  in the widthwise direction. The exposure unit  21  incorporates a well-known laser printer device. The exposure unit  21  irradiates laser beam according to image data stored in an internal image memory or sent from an image scanner (not illustrated), so the latent image is exposed in the cut recording papers  22   b ,  23   b.    
      The cut recording papers  22   b ,  23   b  after exposure of the image are advanced to the processor section  12 . The processor section  12  comprises a development device  33 , a dryer  35  and a sheet ejection device  36 . In the development device  33 , a develop tank  37 , a breach/fixation tank  38  and washing tanks  43  are provided in this order listed from the upstream side with respect to the advancing direction (from the left side of the  FIG. 1 ). The washing tanks  43  include a first washing tank  39 , a second washing tank  40 , a third washing tank  41  and a fourth washing tank  42 . The develop tank  37  contains developing agent, and the breach/fixation tank  38  contains breach and fixation agent. In the first to fourth washing tank  39 - 42 , washing agent is stored. While the cut recording papers  22 ,  23   b  are advanced from the develop tank  37  to the washing tanks  43  by feeding racks provided with each processing tanks  37 - 42 , development, fixation and washing processes are carried out.  
      The dryer  35 , located above the processing tanks  37 - 42 , has a conveyor belt and an air blow duct. The air blow duct blows dried air that is heated by a heater, so the cut recording papers  22   b ,  23   b  are pressed toward the conveyor belt. By feeding the cut recording papers  22   b ,  23   b  while blowing dry air, the washing agent on the cut recording papers  22   b ,  23   b  is removed. The cut recording papers  22   b ,  23   b  through the drier  35  are fed to the sheet ejection device  36  in which the cut recording papers  22   b ,  23   b  are sorted in accordance with print sizes or print jobs and ejects the sorted cut recording papers  22   b ,  23   b  to a tray (not illustrated) provided with the processor section  12 .  
      As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the recording paper rolls  22 ,  23  are supported by a single core  53  to form a recording paper roll unit  50  that is loaded with the twin roll magazine  13 . The recording paper roll unit  50  is covered with a light shielding sheet  51  for enabling outside loading of the recording paper roll unit  50 . In the lateral sides of the recording paper rolls  22 ,  23 , plural pleats  51   a  are folded to form (chrysanthemum-shaped) gathers. The ridgelines of the mountain folds  51   b  are longer than the ridgelines of the valley folds  51   c . Moreover, the ridgelines of the mountain folds  51   b  tend toward the center axis of the core  53 . Thereby, it is possible to decrease the size of the light shielding sheet  51  as well as keeping the recording paper rolls  22 ,  23  in light-tight and moisture-tight manner.  
      The recording paper roll unit  50  has the recording paper rolls  22 ,  23  and the core  53  to support the recording paper rolls  22 ,  23 . The recording paper rolls  22 ,  23  are formed by winding the recording papers  22   a ,  23   a  that have the same width. When the core  53  is rotated, the recording paper rolls  22 ,  23  are also rotated simultaneously so that the recording papers  22   a ,  23   a  are drawn out from the recording rolls  22 ,  23 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . The recording paper rolls  22 ,  23  are covered with the light shielding sheet  51 . The front end portions of the recording papers  22   a ,  23   a  and the light shielding sheet  51  are adhered to each other in a connecting area  55 . Thereby, when the recording papers  22   a ,  23   a  are initially advanced, the portion of the light shielding sheet  51  to cover the periphery of the recording paper rolls  22 ,  23  is torn away from the portion of the light shielding sheet  51  to cover the lateral side of the recording paper rolls  22 ,  23 . The recording papers  22   a ,  23   a  and the portion of the light shielding sheet  51  to cover the periphery of the recording paper rolls  22 ,  23  are advanced out of the twin roll magazine  13 .  
      Two recording paper rolls  22 ,  23  that constitute the recording paper roll unit  50  have the same recording characteristics. Note that the same recording characteristics means that the recording paper rolls  22 ,  23  have the same product lot (in other words, the recording papers  22   a ,  23   a  are formed from the same web), or the color balance value and the mean density value are 0.05 or less when the gray patch having the density of each color from 0.75 to 0.85 is printed in the recording papers  22   a ,  23   a.    
      Referring to  FIG. 1 , an ID chip  59  is removably provided with the front surface of the twin roll magazine  13 . The ID chip  59  stores various information such as the type of the recording paper, the width and the length of the recording paper, processing agents for the recording paper, the product lot of the emulsion and the expiry date. The information in the ID chip  59  is read out when the twin roll magazine  13  is loaded with the printer section  11 . The information may be recorded in the ID chip  59  by electrically or optically readable format. The ID chip  59  may be a wireless tag. Since the recording property of the recording paper rolls  22 ,  23  are the same, the twin roll magazine  13  requires only one ID chip so that the manufacture cost for the twin roll magazine  13  decreases.  
      Referring to  FIG. 5 , the recording paper roll unit  50  in the twin roll magazine  13  is held by a holder  60  that comprises a support shaft and a pair of flanges. The single roll magazine  15 ,  16 , located above the twin roll magazine  13 , holds the recording paper rolls  29 ,  30  having different width. The recording paper rolls  29 ,  30  in the single roll magazines  15 ,  16  are respectively held by holders  61 ,  62  each of which comprises a shaft and a pair of flanges. In this embodiment, the width W1 of the recording paper rolls  22 ,  23  in the twin roll magazine  13  is the same as that of the recording paper roll  29  in one of the single roll magazine  15 . For example, the width W 1  is the print width of the king size (KG size) print (152 mm). The width W 2  of the recording paper roll  30  in the other single roll magazine  16  is the print width of the panorama size print.  
      When the recording paper roll unit  50  is loaded with the printer section  11 , the recording paper rolls  22 ,  23  are symmetrical with respect to the center line CL of the exposure width of the exposure unit  21 . The gap L 1  between the side surfaces of the recording paper rolls  22 ,  23  is 50 mm or less. In consideration of deviation in the position of the cut recording papers  22   b ,  23   b  in the widthwise direction while advancing the cut recording papers  22   b ,  23   b , the gap L 1  is preferably from 5 mm to 15 mm. Since there is no lateral wall of the magazine and the holder, the gap L 1  between the recording paper rolls  22 ,  23  becomes smaller than the gap L 2  between the recording paper rolls  29 ,  30  in the single roll magazines  15 ,  16 .  
      Referring to  FIG. 6 , an apparatus for manufacture of the recording paper roll unit  50  comprises a web supply machine  120 , a web cutter  130 , a web winding machine  140 , a core cutter  150  and a core conveyor  160 . The web supply machine  120  supports a couple of web rolls  111  formed by winding a wide web  110  as the photosensitive recording paper, and advances the wide web  110  toward the web cutter  130  by rotating a support shaft to hold the web roll  111 . The web cutter  130  cuts the wide web  110  along the longitudinal direction of the wide web  110  to make plural narrow recording papers (long web)  112 . The web winding machine  140  winds the recording paper  112  around the core  53 . The core cutter  150  cuts a long core material  53 A to produce the cores  53  having a predetermined length. The core conveyor  160  feeds the cores  53  to the web winding machine  140 .  
      The web supply machine  120  has a base  121  and a roll holder  123  that is rotatable around a shaft  122 . The web rolls  111  are rotatably held in both end portions of the roll holder  123 . When one of the web rolls  111  at a web feeding position is completed, the web supply machine  120  rotates the web holder  123  to set the other web roll  111  at the web feeding position. Then, while the wide web  110  is supplied from the other web roll  111 , new web roll  111  is loaded in the roll holder  123 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 7 , the web cutter  130  comprises an upper blade assembly  131  and a lower blade assembly  132  that sandwich the wide web  110 . The upper blade assembly  131  has plural upper blades  131   a  that are arranged in the widthwise direction of the wide web  110  at a predetermined interval. Although nine upper blades  131   a  are provided in  FIG. 7 , the number and the intervals of the upper blades  131   a  may be defined in accordance with the number and the width of the recording paper  112 . The lower blade assembly  132  has the same structure of the upper blade assembly  131 . Each of the lower blades of the lower blade assembly  132  comes in contact with each of the upper blades  131   a . When the upper blade assembly  131  and the lower blade assembly  132  are respectively rotated in the directions A and B, the wide web  110  fed in the direction C is separated into plural (eight in  FIG. 7 ) recording papers  112 .  
      A pass roll  133  to supply extension to the wide web  110  and an expander roll  134  are provided in the upstream side and the downstream side of the upper blade assembly  131 . In  FIG. 8 , the expander roll  134  has a main shaft  134   a  and a plurality of bosses  134   b . The bosses  134   b  are fixed to the main shaft  134   a . A collar  134   d  is rotatably around the boss  134   b  via a bearing  134   c . The bosses  134   b  with the collars  134   d  are covered with an outer rubber  134   e . The bosses  134   b  fixed to the center of the main shaft  134   a  have the common axis, and the axes of other bosses  134   b  are inclined to the axis of the main shaft  134   a . The inclination of the axes of other bosses  134   b  increases as the distance from the boss  134  fixed to the center of the main shaft  134   a.    
      The recording papers  112  are hanged around a portion of the expander roll  134  and advanced to the web winding machine  140 . Since the bosses  134   b  and the collars  134   d  are inclined to the main shaft  134   a , the recording papers  112  is shifted toward the lateral edges of the expander roll  134 . As a result, the gap is generated between the adjacent recording papers  112  by the expander roll  134 .  
      Referring to  FIG. 7 , the recording papers  112  are wound around the cores  53  by the web winding machine  140 . In the web winding machine  140 , a winding shaft  141  is located above a pair of surface drums  142 ,  143 . The winding shaft  141  inserts the plural cores  53  (four in this embodiment). Each core  53  has the length enough for winding two recording papers  112 .  
      In  FIG. 6 , the core  53  is produced in the core cutter  150  and supplied to the web winding machine  140  by the core conveyor  160 . The core cutter  150 , disposed near the web winding machine  140 , sets a long pulp tube  53 A as the core material. The core cutter  150  moves a rotary cutter  151  in the longitudinal direction of the pulp tube  53 A and cuts the pulp tube  53 A by a predetermined length, so the cores  53  are produced.  
      The core conveyor  160  to feed the cores  53  to the web winding machine  140  comprises a first horizontal conveyor  161 , a second horizontal conveyor  162  that extends to the direction perpendicular to the first horizontal conveyor  161 , a bucket conveyor  163  and a third horizontal conveyor  164 . The cores  53  are rolled onto the first horizontal conveyor  161 , for example, and then fed to the bucket conveyor  163  via the first and second conveyors  161 ,  162 . The bucket conveyor  163  moves the cores  53  up to the level of the third horizontal conveyor  164 . Then, the third horizontal conveyor  164  feeds the cores  53  to the position near the winding shaft  141  in which the cores  53  and the winding shaft  141  are coaxial.  
      The cores  53  are successively inserted in the winding shaft  141  by conveyor means (not illustrated). When a predetermined number (four in this embodiment) of the cores  53  are set in the winding shaft  141 , the core conveyor  160  stops feeding the cores  53 . The cores  53  are secured to the winding shaft  141  by chuck means (not illustrated).  
      The web winding machine  140  winds the recording papers  112  around the plural cores  53  that are fixed to the winding shaft  141 , so the recording paper roll  113  is produced. In  FIG. 7 , the web winding machine  140  comprises the surface drums  142 ,  143 , rider rollers  144 , winding rollers  145 , a winding table  146 , a slide roller  147  and a nip roller  148 .  
      The rider rollers  144  are arranged in the widthwise direction of the recording paper  112 . Each of the rider rollers  144  is slidable in the direction D between a work position to press each of the recording paper rolls  113  and a non-press position that is away from the recording paper rolls  113 . Each of the rider rollers  144  is connected to a pressure device having an air cylinder, for example, to press the periphery of the recording paper roll  113  at a predetermined pressure. The particulars of the pressure device are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,248,107, entitled “Web Winder for Winding up Web on Core and Method of Automatically Wrapping Leading End Portion of Web around Core”, the details of which are herein incorporated by reference. Since plural rider rollers  144  are provided for each of the recording paper rolls  113 , it is possible to press the recording paper rolls  113  at the predetermined pressure even when the diameters of the recording paper rolls are different during the process to wind the recording paper  112 . As a result, the tightness of winding of the recording paper rolls  113  becomes the same. Although one rider roller  144  is provided for each of the recording papers  112  in  FIG. 7 , it is possible to increase the rider rollers  144  for each recording paper roll  113 .  
      The winding rollers  145 , arranged in the widthwise direction, press different recording paper rolls  113 . Each winding roller  145  is rotatable around the core  53  by a predetermined angle from a winding start position to a winding end position. The winding rollers  145  are also moveable between the position to press the recording paper  112  and a non-press position that is away from the recording paper roll  113 . The nip roller  148  is provided near the surface drum  142 . While the leading end portion of the recording paper  112  is wound around the core  53 , the recording paper  112  is held between the surface drum  142  and the nip roller  148 .  
      Below the winding table  146 , there is a guide rail (not illustrated) to support and guide the slide roller  147  in the direction E. The winding table  146  as well as the slide roller  147  is movable in the direction F. The winding table  146  is also utilized as a conveyor table for conveying the product after winding the recording paper  112  around the core  53 .  
      The recording paper  112  is wound around the core  53  in the following steps. First, the leading end of the recording paper  112  from the web cutter  130  is advanced to the area above the winding table  146  through the surface drums  142 ,  143 . Then, the winding table  146  and the slide roller  147  at initial positions are moved upward so that the leading end portion of the recording paper  112  is also moved upward by the winding table  146 . When the winding table  146  finishes the movement, the slide roller  147  is slid in the direction E to push the recording paper  112  toward the core  53 . Thereby, the leading end portion of the recording paper  112  is located above the core  53 , and a portion successive of the leading end portion of the recording paper  112  is pressed onto the core  53 .  
      Next, the rider rollers  144  are rotated and moved toward the core  53  to press the recording paper  112  onto the periphery of the core  53 . The leading end portion of the recording paper  112  is thereby wound around the core  53 , and the leading end of the recording paper  112  reaches the winding end position. At that time, the nip roller  148  is moved to a position away from the surface drum  142  to release the recording paper  112 .  
      The winding rollers  145  located at the non-press position move toward the core  53  and reach the winding start position to press the recording papers  112  onto the cores  53 . The winding table  146  and the slide roller  147  are moved back to the initial position.  
      The winding rollers  145  is driven by rotary means (not illustrated), and is moved by about 45 degrees from the winding start position to the winding end position (to the leading edge of the recording paper  112 ) along the periphery of the core  53 . Thereby, the recording paper  112  is wound around the core  53  without folding the leading end portion of the recording paper  112 . The resistance of rotation of the winding roller  145  is small enough to rotate. during the movement around the core  53 . In addition, the winding rollers  145  are located at positions not to interfere the movement of other mechanical parts near the core  53 . After the leading end portion of the recording paper  112  is wound around the core  53 , the surface drums  142 ,  143  and the rider roller  144  start rotating to rotate the core  53  so that the recording paper  112  is wound around the core  53 . At that time, the winding rollers  145  is away from the recording papers  112 .  
      The recording paper  112  to be wound around the core  53  has a predetermined length by a cutter device (not illustrated). After winding the whole recording paper  112  completely, the surface drums  142 ,  143  and the winding shaft  141  stop rotating. Then, the recording paper roll units  50  having the recording papers  112  are ejected from the winding shaft  141  and sent to a conveyor  170  via the winding table  146 . The recording paper roll units  50  are conveyed on the conveyor  170  and subject to wrapping process, for example.  
      With reference to  FIG. 9 , the steps to print images by use of the recording paper roll unit  50  are described. In changing the recording paper roll unit  50 , the operator of the printer processor  10  ejects the twin roll magazine  13  from the printer processor  10 . After loading new recording paper roll unit  50  in the twin roll magazine  13 , the operator sets the twin roll magazine  13  in the printer processor  10 . Since the recording paper roll unit  50  is covered with the light shielding sheet  51 , the operator can set the recording paper roll unit  50  outside. Moreover, enabling to change two recording paper rolls  22 ,  23  by a single operation can reduce the burden to the operator.  
      After setting the recording paper roll unit  50 , the feeding roller pair  26  is rotated to feed the leading end portions of the recording papers  22   a ,  23   a  and the light shielding sheet  51  to the printer section  11 . Such leading end portions are not suitable for recording, so the leading end portions as well as the light shielding sheet  51  are cut and not used for image recording. When the twin roll magazine  13  is loaded, the printer section  11  reads information in the ID chip  59  and sets the exposure condition. Since the recording paper rolls  22 ,  23  of the recording paper roll unit  50  has the same recording characteristics, the printer section  11  can set the same exposure condition.  
      Moreover, in calibrating the exposure unit  21 , either one of the recording papers  22   a ,  23   a  having the same recording characteristics is used. As a result, since calibration for both recording paper rolls  22   a ,  23   a  is not required, it is possible to carry out calibration effectively and quickly.  
      The recording papers  22   a ,  23   a  drawn out from the recording paper rolls  22 ,  23  are cut by the cutter device  18  into the cut recording papers  22   b ,  23   b  having a predetermined length (102 mm of the longitudinal length of the king size print, for example). The cut recording papers  22   b ,  23   b  are further advanced to the recording unit  21 , and then latent images are simultaneously exposed to the cut recording papers  22   b ,  23   b . Since two images are recorded at a same time, the processing speed of the printer section  11  increases. Moreover, since the recording papers  22   a ,  23   a  have the same length, the recording paper rolls  22 ,  23  are used up at the same time. Thus, it is possible to save the waste and reduce the burden to the operator.  
      When the cut recording papers  22   b ,  23   b  are advanced in parallel, recording the same image in the cut recording papers  22   b ,  23   b  enables so-called double print (two sets of printing) in a short period. In that case, in discharging the developed print pictures, the sheet ejection machine  36  may eject the bunch of print pictures for each set individually instead of combining the cut recording papers  22   b ,  23   b.    
      Referring to  FIG. 10 , some of the recording paper rolls  22 ,  23  have spliced portions  22   c ,  23   c  to connect the end of the recording papers  22   a ,  23   a . The recording paper rolls  22 ,  23  of the recording paper roll unit  50  have the same product ID (or the same length), the spliced portions  22   c ,  23   c  appears at the same timing. Since both of the spliced portions  22   c ,  23   c  are detected by driving one splice sensor  17   b  to detect a splice hole  23   d  formed in one recording paper roll  23 , it is not necessary to form a splice hole in the other recording paper roll  22 . If the printer processor  10  is exclusive for the twin roll magazine  13 , the other splice sensor  17   a  is not necessary, so the manufacture cost of the printer processor  10  is reduced.  
      With the recording paper roll unit  50  according to the present embodiment, a test to record the image is carried out. The recording paper for the recording paper roll unit  50  is the “sample  100 ” disclosed in the embodiment of JP-A No. 2003-307821. The recording paper roll unit  50  is manufactured and set in the printer processor. Then, same images are recorded to the cut recording papers  22   c ,  23   c  that are advanced in parallel. The characteristics of the print pictures, such as the density and the color balance, are the same. In addition, the recording paper rolls  22 ,  23  are used up at the same timing. The same results are obtained with the recording paper that is disclosed as the “sample  207 ” of JP-A No. 2003-307821.  
      In the above embodiment, the recording paper roll units are manufactured by use of the web cutter  130 . The recording paper roll units may be manufactured by setting the recording paper rolls with the same recording characteristics or the same product ID in a re-winding machine, and by winding the recording papers again around a single core.  
      According to the above embodiment, the recording papers are wound by use of the surface drums and rider rollers, but the configuration of the web winding machine is not limited to this embodiment. For instance, the web winding machine may be the center winding type.  
      In the above embodiment, the recording paper roll unit  50  covered with the light shielding sheet  51  is set in the twin roll magazine  13  outside, but the operator may keep the recording paper roll unit  50  in a light tight manner in loading the recording paper roll unit  50 . In that case, the recording paper roll unit  50  is covered with a dark bag or in a dark room while the operator loads the recording paper roll unit  50 . The number of the recording paper rolls is not limited to two, but the recording paper roll unit may have more than two recording paper rolls.  
      Although the recording paper rolls  22 ,  23  of the recording paper roll unit  50  has the same product ID in the above embodiment, the recording paper rolls with different product ID may be used to manufacture the recording paper roll unit as long as the recording papers have the same recording characteristics.  
      In the above embodiment, the recording paper roll unit is manufactured by winding plural recording papers around a single core. But the recording paper roll unit may be manufactured by other processes. For instance, as shown in  FIGS. 11A and 11B , a recording paper roll unit  205  may have two recording paper rolls  200  each of which has a recording paper  200   a  wound around a core  201 . The recording paper rolls  200  are integrated by inserting the cores  201  into a common support shaft  202 , so the recording paper roll unit  205  is manufactured.  
      As shown in  FIGS. 12A and 12B , a step core  212  having a large tube portion and a small tube portion may be used to manufacture a recording paper roll unit  215 . A recording paper roll  210  is formed by winding a recording paper  210   a  around the large tube portion of the step core  212 . Then, the recording paper rolls  210  are integrated by inserting a core  213  of a recording paper roll  211  into the small tube portion of the step core  212 , so the recording paper roll unit  215  is manufactured.  
      In  FIGS. 13A and 13B , a recording paper roll unit  225  may have two recording paper rolls  220 ,  221  each of which has a recording paper  220   a , 221   a  wound around a core  222 ,  223 . The cores  222 ,  223  are adhered to each other by adhesion means such as an adhesive and a tape, so the recording paper rolls  200  are integrated with each other to manufacture the recording paper roll unit  225 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 14 , a spacer  232  may be provided between a pair of recording paper rolls  230 ,  231  to constitute a recording paper roll unit  235 . The gap L 1  between the recording paper rolls  230 ,  231  is adjusted by changing the width of the spacer  232  in accordance with the performance of the paper feeding devices in the printer section  11  and the processor section  12 .  
      In the above embodiment, the recording paper has the width of the king size print (152 mm), but not limited to this size. For example, the width of the recording paper may be the width of the L size print (127 mm).  
      The recording paper roll unit may be applicable to other type of the printer as well as the printer processor. The recording paper roll unit may be used in printers to record images and/or characters in a rolled recording paper. For instance, the present invention is applicable to a thermosensitive printer, a thermal transfer printer and an inkjet printer. In addition, the present invention is applicable to any kinds of sheet recording materials as long as images and/or characters are recorded in the material.  
      Various changes and modifications are possible in the present invention and may be understood to be within the scope of the present invention.