Method and apparatus for inspection of photographic prints

Claim 5

continuously advancing the remaining color negatives in the first customer film order and the spliced ends of the first and second customer film orders through said exposure station until the first color negative of the second customer film order is advanced into said exposure station when the detection of the selected color print associated with the first customer print order precedes, in time, the detection of the spliced ends of the first and second customer film orders; and

Claim 6

continuously advancing the remaining color negatives in the first customer film order and the spliced ends of the first and second customer film orders through said exposure station until the first color negative of the second customer film order is advanced into said exposure station when the detection of the selected color print associated with the first customer print order precedes, in time, the detection of the spliced ends of the first and second customer film orders; and

Claim 7

halting the continuous advancement of the color print into said print inspection station when the detection of the selected color print associated with the second customer print order precedes the detection of the spliced end of the first and second customer film orders and for continuously advancing the first and second customer film orders through said exposure station until the detection of the spliced ends of the second and third customer film order; and d. means for halting the continuous advancement of a commercially unacceptable color print within the print inspection station, whereby the color negative in said exposure station of said photographic printer corresponds to the unacceptable color print when the number of color prints in the customer print order containing the unacceptable color print equals the number of color negatives in the corresponding customer film order, and the color negative may be re-printed with exposure corrections based on the assessment of the exposure of the unacceptable print.

Claim 8

halting the continuous advancement of the color print into said print inspection station when the detection of the selected color print associated with the second customer print order precedes the detection of the spliced end of the first and second customer film orders and for continuously advancing the first and second customer film orders through said exposure station until the detection of the spliced ends of the second and third customer film order; and d. means for halting the continuous advancement of a commercially unacceptable color print within the print inspection station, whereby the color negative in said exposure station of said photographic printer corresponds to the unacceptable color print when the number of color prints in the customer print order containing the unacceptable color print equals the number of color negatives in the corresponding customer film order, and the color negative may be re-printed with exposure corrections based on the assessment of the exposure of the unacceptable print.

Claim 11

In photographic apparatus for advancing finished photographic prints in a series of consecutive customer print orders on a roll of developed print material through a print inspection station for inspecting the prints to detect commercially unacceptable prints and to reprint, with the correction necessary to produce an acceptable print, the corresponding photographic original in the corresponding customer original film order of a plurality of customer film orders attached together at their respective ends to form a film roll, each customer print order having a selected print associated therewith to indicate separate consecutive print orders; the improvement comprising synchronization apparatus responsive to the continuous advancement of the prints for controlling the stepwise advancement of the originals of a customer film order corresponding to the print order through the exposure station of a photographic printer associated with the print inspection apparatus, whereby the original in the exposure station corresponding to a print found to be commercially unacceptable may be reprinted in the photographic printer, said synchronization apparatus further comprising: a. first means for detecting the continuous advancement of each print into said print inspection station and for stepwise advancing an original into said exposure station in response to each detected print; b. second means for detecting the selected prints associated with each customer print order continuously advanced into said print inspection station and for continuously advancing the originals in the customer film order through said exposure station in response to each detected print; c. third means for detecting the attached ends of the plurality of customer film orders and for halting the continuous advancement, initiated by said selected print detecting means, of the originals in the customer film order through said exposure station after the detected attached end is advanced through said exposure station; and d. means for halting the continuous advancement of a commercially unacceptable print within the print inspection station, whereby the corresponding original in said exposure station of said photographic printer may be reprinted with exposure corrections based on the assessment of the exposure conditions of the unacceptable print.

Claim 12

In photographic apparatus for advancing finished photographic prints in a series of consecutive customer print orders on a roll of developed print material through a print inspection station for inspecting the prints to detect commercially unacceptable prints and to reprint, with the correction necessary to produce an acceptable print, the corresponding photographic original in the corresponding customer original film order of a plurality of customer film orders attached together at their respective ends to form a film roll, each customer print order having a selected print associated therewith to indicate separate consecutive print orders; the improvement comprising synchronization apparatus responsive to the continuous advancement of the prints for controlling the stepwise advancement of the originals of a customer film order corresponding to the print order through the exposure station of a photographic printer associated with the print inspection apparatus, whereby the original in the exposure station corresponding to a print found to be commercially unacceptable may be reprinted in the photographic printer, said synchronization apparatus further comprising: a. first means for detecting the continuous advancement of each print into said print inspection station and for stepwise advancing an original into said exposure station in response to each detected print; b. second means for detecting the selected prints associated with each customer print order continuously advanced into said print inspection station and for continuously advancing the originals in the customer film order through said exposure station in response to each detected print; c. third means for detecting the attached ends of the plurality of customer film orders and for halting the continuous advancement, initiated by said selected print detecting means, of the originals in the customer film order through said exposure station after the detected attached end is advanced through said exposure station; and d. means for halting the continuous advancement of a commercially unacceptable print within the print inspection station, whereby the corresponding original in said exposure station of said photographic printer may be reprinted with exposure corrections based on the assessment of the exposure conditions of the unacceptable print.

Claim 13

The synchronization apparatus of claim 4 further comprising means for varying the rate of continuous advancement of the prints through said print inspection station.

Claim 14

The synchronization apparatus of claim 4 further comprising means responsive to the third means for detecting the attached ends of the plurality of customer film orders for preventing the stepwise advancement of the originals into said exposure station by said first means foR detecting the prints.

Claim 15

The synchronization apparatus of claim 4 wherein a customer print order contains a greater number of prints than the number of corresponding originals in the corresponding customer film order and further comprising: a. means responsive to the third means for detecting the attached ends of the plurality of customer film orders for preventing the stepwise advancement of the originals into said exposure station by said first means for detecting the prints; and b. means responsive to said second means for detecting the selected prints for advancing a detected attached end through said exposure station until an original in the next customer film order adjacent said attached end is positioned in said exposure station; whereby the stepwise advancement of the originals is halted for the period of time between the direction of the attached end of the customer film order and the selected print of the corresponding customer print order.

Claim 16

The synchronization apparatus of claim 4 wherein first and second consecutive customer print orders contain a fewer number of prints than the number of originals in the corresponding consecutive first and second customer film orders and further comprising: a. means responsive to the detection of the selected print associated with the second print order for stopping the continuous advancement of the prints; and b. means responsive to the detection of the attached ends of the second and a consecutive third customer film order for restarting continuous print advancement.

Claim 17

In photographic apparatus for advancing finished prints in a series including at least first and second consecutive customer print orders on a roll of developed print material through a print inspection station for inspecting the prints to detect commercially unacceptable prints and to reprint, with the correction necessary to produce an acceptable print, the corresponding negative in the corresponding customer film order of a plurality including at least first and second consecutive customer film orders attached together at their respective ends to form a film roll, each print having a first mark associated therewith on the print material and each customer print order having a second mark associated therewith on the print material; the improvement comprising synchronization apparatus responsive to the continuous advancement of the prints for controlling the stepwise advancement of the negatives of a customer film order corresponding to the prints through the exposure station of a photographic printer associated with the print inspection apparatus, whereby the negative corresponding to a print found to be commercially unacceptable may be reprinted in the photographic printer, said synchronization apparatus further comprising: a. first means for detecting the first marks associated with said prints continuously advanced through said print inspection station and for stepwise advancing a negative into said exposure station in response to each detected first mark; b. second means for detecting (i) the second marks associated with each customer print order continuously advanced through said print inspection station and (ii) the attached ends of the plurality of customer film orders and control means responsive to said second means for detecting for halting the stepwise advancement of the negatives into said exposure station when the detection of the attached ends of first and second consecutive customer film orders precedes, in time, the detection of a second mark associated with the corresponding first customer print order, and for continuously advancing the remaining negatives in the first customer film order and the attached ends of the first and second customer film orders through said exposure station until the first negative of the second customer film order is advanced into said exposure station when the detection of the second mark associated with the first customEr print order precedes, in time, the detection of the attached ends of the first and second customer film orders; and c. means for halting the continuous advancement of a commercially unacceptable print within the print inspection station, whereby the negative in said exposure station of said photographic printer corresponds to the unacceptable print when the number of prints in the customer print order containing the unacceptable print equals the number of negatives in the corresponding customer film order, and the negative may be reprinted with exposure corrections based on the assessment of the exposure of the unacceptable print.

Claim 18

In photographic apparatus for advancing finished prints in a series including at least first and second consecutive customer print orders on a roll of developed print material through a print inspection station for inspecting the prints to detect commercially unacceptable prints and to reprint, with the correction necessary to produce an acceptable print, the corresponding negative in the corresponding customer film order of a plurality including at least first and second consecutive customer film orders attached together at their respective ends to form a film roll, each print having a first mark associated therewith on the print material and each customer print order having a second mark associated therewith on the print material; the improvement comprising synchronization apparatus responsive to the continuous advancement of the prints for controlling the stepwise advancement of the negatives of a customer film order corresponding to the prints through the exposure station of a photographic printer associated with the print inspection apparatus, whereby the negative corresponding to a print found to be commercially unacceptable may be reprinted in the photographic printer, said synchronization apparatus further comprising: a. first means for detecting the first marks associated with said prints continuously advanced through said print inspection station and for stepwise advancing a negative into said exposure station in response to each detected first mark; b. second means for detecting (i) the second marks associated with each customer print order continuously advanced through said print inspection station and (ii) the attached ends of the plurality of customer film orders and control means responsive to said second means for detecting for halting the stepwise advancement of the negatives into said exposure station when the detection of the attached ends of first and second consecutive customer film orders precedes, in time, the detection of a second mark associated with the corresponding first customer print order, and for continuously advancing the remaining negatives in the first customer film order and the attached ends of the first and second customer film orders through said exposure station until the first negative of the second customer film order is advanced into said exposure station when the detection of the second mark associated with the first customEr print order precedes, in time, the detection of the attached ends of the first and second customer film orders; and c. means for halting the continuous advancement of a commercially unacceptable print within the print inspection station, whereby the negative in said exposure station of said photographic printer corresponds to the unacceptable print when the number of prints in the customer print order containing the unacceptable print equals the number of negatives in the corresponding customer film order, and the negative may be reprinted with exposure corrections based on the assessment of the exposure of the unacceptable print.

Claim 19

In photographic apparatus for advancing finished prints in a series of consecutive customer print orders on a roll of developed print material through a print inspection station for inspecting the prints to detect commercially unacceptable prints and to reprint, with the correction necessary to produce an acceptable print, the corresponding negative in the corresponding customer film order of a plurality of customer film orders spliced together at their respective ends to form a film roll, each print having a first mark associated therewith on the print material and each customer print order having a second mark associated therewith on the print material; the improvement comprising synchronization apparatus responsive to the continuous advancement of the prints for controlling the stepwise advancement of the negatives of a customer film order corresponding to the prints through the exposure station of a photographic printer associated with the print inspection apparatus, whereby the negative corresponding to a color print found to be commercially unacceptable may be reprinted in the photographic printer, said synchronization apparatus further comprising: a. means for detecting the first marks associated with said prints continuously advanced through said print inspection station and for stepwise advancing a negative into said exposure station in response to each detected first mark; b. means for detecting the second marks associated with each customer print order continuously advanced through said print inspection station and for continuously advancing the negatives in the customer film order through said exposure station in response to each detected second mark; c. means for detecting the spliced ends of the plurality of customer film orders and for halting the continuous advancement, initiated by said second mark detecting means, of the negatives in the customer film order through said exposure station after each detected spliced end is advanced through said exposure station; and d. means for halting the continuous advancement of a commercially unacceptable print within the print inspection station, whereby the negative in said exposure station of said photographic printer corresponds to the unacceptable print when the number of prints in the customer print order containing the unacceptable print equals the number of negatives in the corresponding customer film order, and the negative may be reprinted with exposure corrections based on the assessment of the exposure of the unacceptable print.

Claim 20

In photographic apparatus for advancing finished prints in a series of consecutive customer print orders on a roll of developed print material through a print inspection station for inspecting the prints to detect commercially unacceptable prints and to reprint, with the correction necessary to produce an acceptable print, the corresponding negative in the corresponding customer film order of a plurality of customer film orders spliced together at their respective ends to form a film roll, each print having a first mark associated therewith on the print material and each customer print order having a second mark associated therewith on the print material; the improvement comprising synchronization apparatus responsive to the continuous advancement of the prints for controlling the stepwise advancement of the negatives of a customer film order corresponding to the prints through the exposure station of a photographic printer associated with the print inspection apparatus, whereby the negative corresponding to a color print found to be commercially unacceptable may be reprinted in the photographic printer, said synchronization apparatus further comprising: a. means for detecting the first marks associated with said prints continuously advanced through said print inspection station and for stepwise advancing a negative into said exposure station in response to each detected first mark; b. means for detecting the second marks associated with each customer print order continuously advanced through said print inspection station and for continuously advancing the negatives in the customer film order through said exposure station in response to each detected second mark; c. means for detecting the spliced ends of the plurality of customer film orders and for halting the continuous advancement, initiated by said second mark detecting means, of the negatives in the customer film order through said exposure station after each detected spliced end is advanced through said exposure station; and d. means for halting the continuous advancement of a commercially unacceptable print within the print inspection station, whereby the negative in said exposure station of said photographic printer corresponds to the unacceptable print when the number of prints in the customer print order containing the unacceptable print equals the number of negatives in the corresponding customer film order, and the negative may be reprinted with exposure corrections based on the assessment of the exposure of the unacceptable print.

Claim 21

The synchronization apparatus of claim 10 further comprising means responsive to said means for detecting the first and second marks for preventing said means for stepwise advancing the negatives from responding to the detected first mark immediately following, in time, a detected second mark.

Claim 22

The synchronization apparatus of claim 10 further comprising means for varying the rate of continuous advancement of the prints through said print inspection station.

Claim 23

The synchronization apparatus of claim 10 wherein a customer print order contains two prints made from each negative in the corresponding customer film order, and wherein said means for detecting the first marks is selectively operable to detect alternate first marks associated with alternate prints for stepwise advanciNg each negative into said exposure station in response to each detected alternate first mark.

Claim 24

The synchronization apparatus of claim 10 further comprising means responsive to the means for detecting the spliced ends of the plurality of customer film orders for preventing the stepwise advancement of the negatives into said exposure station by said means for detecting the first marks associated with said prints.

Claim 25

The synchronization apparatus of claim 10 wherein a customer print order contains a greater number of prints than the number of corresponding negatives in the corresponding customer film order and further comprising: a. means responsive to the means for detecting the spliced ends of the plurality of customer film orders for preventing the stepwise advancement of the negatives into said exposure station by said means for detecting the first marks associated with said prints; and b. means responsive to said means for detecting the second marks for advancing the detected spliced end through said exposure station until a negative in the next customer film order adjacent said spliced end is positioned in said exposure station; whereby the stepwise advancement of the negatives in a customer film order is halted for the period of time between the detection of the spliced end of the customer film order and the second mark of the corresponding customer print order.

Claim 26

The synchronization apparatus of claim 10 wherein first and second consecutive customer print orders contain a fewer number of color prints than the number of color negatives in the corresponding consecutive first and second customer film orders and further comprising: a. means responsive to the detection of the second mark associated with the second print order prior to the detection of the spliced ends of the first and second customer film orders for stopping the continuous advancement of the color prints; and b. means responsive to the detection of the spliced ends of the second and a consecutive third customer film order for restarting continuous color print advancement.

Claim 27

The synchronization apparatus of claim 10 wherein first and second consecutive customer print orders contain a fewer number of prints than the number of negatives in the corresponding consecutive first and second customer film orders and further comprising: a. first resettable counting and storage means responsive to said means for detecting the second marks for counting and storing the number of detected second marks; b. second resettable counting and storage means responsive to said means for detecting the spliced ends for counting and storing the number of detected spliced ends; c. means responsive to the first resettable counting and storage means for halting the continuous advancement of the prints through said print inspection station when aid first resettable counting and storage means counts to two detected second marks; and d. reset means responsive to the first and second resettable counting and storage means for resetting the counting of the first and second resettable counting and storage means to zero when the first and second resettable counting and storage means simultaneously achieve the same count; whereby the detection of the second mark associated with the second print order prior to the detection of the spliced ends of the first and second film orders produces a count of two on the first resettable counting and storage means and halts the print advancement while the first and second film orders continuously advance under the control of the means for detecting the second marks until a count of two is achieved in said second resettable counting and storage means, and print and film advancement resumes in synchronization upon the operation of said reset means.

Claim 28

In photographic apparatus for advancing finished color prints in a series including at least first and second consecutive customer print ordErs on a roll of developed print material through a print inspection station for inspecting the color prints to detect commercially unacceptable prints and to re-print, with the correction necessary to produce an acceptable print, the corresponding color negative in the corresponding customer film order of a plurality including at least first and second consecutive customer film orders spliced together at their respective ends to form a film roll; the improvement comprising synchronization apparatus responsive to continuous advancement of the color prints for controlling the stepwise advancement of the color negatives of a customer film order corresponding to the color prints through the exposure station of a photographic printer associated with the print inspection apparatus, whereby the color negative corresponding to a color print found to be commercially unacceptable may be reprinted in the photographic printer, said synchronization apparatus further comprising: a. first means for detecting the continuous advancement of each color print into said print inspection station and for stepwise advancing a color negative into said exposure station in response to each detected color print; b. second means for detecting (i) a selected color print associated with each customer print order continuously advanced into said print inspection station and (ii) the spliced ends of the plurality of customer film orders; c. control means responsive to said second means for detecting for:

Claim 29

In photographic apparatus for advancing finished color prints in a series including at least first and second consecutive customer print ordErs on a roll of developed print material through a print inspection station for inspecting the color prints to detect commercially unacceptable prints and to re-print, with the correction necessary to produce an acceptable print, the corresponding color negative in the corresponding customer film order of a plurality including at least first and second consecutive customer film orders spliced together at their respective ends to form a film roll; the improvement comprising synchronization apparatus responsive to continuous advancement of the color prints for controlling the stepwise advancement of the color negatives of a customer film order corresponding to the color prints through the exposure station of a photographic printer associated with the print inspection apparatus, whereby the color negative corresponding to a color print found to be commercially unacceptable may be reprinted in the photographic printer, said synchronization apparatus further comprising: a. first means for detecting the continuous advancement of each color print into said print inspection station and for stepwise advancing a color negative into said exposure station in response to each detected color print; b. second means for detecting (i) a selected color print associated with each customer print order continuously advanced into said print inspection station and (ii) the spliced ends of the plurality of customer film orders; c. control means responsive to said second means for detecting for:

Claim 30

In photographic apparatus for advancing finished color prints in a series of consecutive customer print orders on a roll of developed print material through a print inspection station for inspecting the color prints to detect commercially unacceptable prints and to re-print, with the correction necessary to produce an acceptable print, the corresponding color negative in the corresponding customer film order of a plurality of customer film orders spliced together at their respective ends to form a film roll, each color print having a first mark associated therewith on the print material and each customer print order having a second marK associated therewith on the print material; the improvement comprising synchronization apparatus responsive to the continuous advancement of the color print for controlling the stepwise advancement of the color negatives of a customer film order corresponding to the color prints through the exposure station of a photographic printer associated with the print inspection apparatus, whereby the color negative corresponding to a color print found to be commercially unacceptable may be re-printed in the photographic printer, said synchronization apparatus further comprising: a. means for detecting the first marks associated with said color prints continuously advanced through said print inspection station for producing a first signal in response to each detected first mark; b. means for detecting the second marks associated with each customer print order continuously advanced through said print inspection station for producing a second signal in response to each detected second mark; c. means for detecting the spliced ends of the plurality of customer film orders and for producing a third signal in response to each detected spliced end; d. film drive means responsive to the first signal for stepwise advancing a color negative into said exposure station and responsive to said second signal for continuously advancing the color negatives in a customer film order through said exposure station; e. means responsive to the third signal for halting the continuous advancement, initiated by the second signal, of the color negatives in a customer film order through said exposure station by said film drive means after a time period sufficient to insure the advancement of the detected spliced end through said exposure station; and f. means for halting the continuous advancement of a commercially unacceptable color print within the print inspection station, whereby the color negative in said exposure station of said photographic printer corresponds to the unacceptable color print when the number of color prints in the customer print order containing the unacceptable color print equals the number of color negatives in the corresponding customer film order, and the color negative may be re-printed with exposure corrections based on the assessment of the exposure of the unacceptable print.

Claim 31

In photographic apparatus for advancing finished color prints in a series of consecutive customer print orders on a roll of developed print material through a print inspection station for inspecting the color prints to detect commercially unacceptable prints and to re-print, with the correction necessary to produce an acceptable print, the corresponding color negative in the corresponding customer film order of a plurality of customer film orders spliced together at their respective ends to form a film roll, each color print having a first mark associated therewith on the print material and each customer print order having a second marK associated therewith on the print material; the improvement comprising synchronization apparatus responsive to the continuous advancement of the color print for controlling the stepwise advancement of the color negatives of a customer film order corresponding to the color prints through the exposure station of a photographic printer associated with the print inspection apparatus, whereby the color negative corresponding to a color print found to be commercially unacceptable may be re-printed in the photographic printer, said synchronization apparatus further comprising: a. means for detecting the first marks associated with said color prints continuously advanced through said print inspection station for producing a first signal in response to each detected first mark; b. means for detecting the second marks associated with each customer print order continuously advanced through said print inspection station for producing a second signal in response to each detected second mark; c. means for detecting the spliced ends of the plurality of customer film orders and for producing a third signal in response to each detected spliced end; d. film drive means responsive to the first signal for stepwise advancing a color negative into said exposure station and responsive to said second signal for continuously advancing the color negatives in a customer film order through said exposure station; e. means responsive to the third signal for halting the continuous advancement, initiated by the second signal, of the color negatives in a customer film order through said exposure station by said film drive means after a time period sufficient to insure the advancement of the detected spliced end through said exposure station; and f. means for halting the continuous advancement of a commercially unacceptable color print within the print inspection station, whereby the color negative in said exposure station of said photographic printer corresponds to the unacceptable color print when the number of color prints in the customer print order containing the unacceptable color print equals the number of color negatives in the corresponding customer film order, and the color negative may be re-printed with exposure corrections based on the assessment of the exposure of the unacceptable print.

Claim 32

The synchronization apparatus of claim 19 further comprising means responsive to the first signal and the second signal for preventing the stepwise advancement of a color negative by said film drive means in response to the first signal immediately following, in time, a second signal, whereby the following second detected first signal corresponding to the second color print in a customer print order advanced to the print inspection station initiates the stepwise advancement of the second color negative in the corresponding customer film order in the exposure station of the printer.

Claim 33

The synchronization apparatus of claim 19 further comprising means for varying the rate of continuous advancement of the color prints through said print inspection station.

Claim 34

The synchronization apparatus of claim 19 wherein a customer print order contains two color prints made from each color negative in the corresponding customer film order, and further comprising means selectively operable to apply alternate first signals detected from alternate color prints to said film drive means for stepwise advancing each color negative into said exposure station in response to every other first signal.

Claim 35

The synchronization apparatus of claim 19 wherein a first customer print order contains a greater number of color prints than the number of corresponding color negatives in the corresponding first customer film order and further comprising: a. first resettable means responsive to the third signal produced in response to the detection of the spliced end of said first customer film order for preventing, until reset, the stepwise advancement oF the color negatives in a second customer film order into said exposure station by said film drive means responsive to the first signals; b. second resettable means responsive to the second signal produced in response to the detection of a second mark associated with said first customer print order for advancing, until reset, the detected spliced ends of said first and second customer film orders through said exposure station until a color negative in said second customer film order adjacent said spliced ends is positioned in said exposure station; and c. reset means responsive to the second and third signals for resetting the first and second resettable means; whereby the stepwise advancement of the color negatives in said second customer film order is halted for the period of time between the detection of the spliced ends of the first and second customer film orders and the second mark of said first customer print order.

Claim 36

The synchronization apparatus of claim 19 wherein first and second consecutive customer print orders contain a fewer number of color prints than the number of color negatives in the corresponding consecutive first and second customer film orders and further comprising: a. means responsive to the second signal produced in response to the detection of the second mark associated with the second print order for stopping the continuous advancement of the color prints; and b. means responsive to the third signal produced in response to the detection of the spliced ends of the second and a consecutive third customer film order for restarting continuous color print advancement.

Claim 37

The synchronization apparatus of claim 19 wherein first and second consecutive customer print orders contain a fewer number of color prints than the number of color negatives in the corresponding consecutive first and second customer film orders and further comprising: a. first resettable signal counting and storage means for counting and storing the second signals produced by the second mark detecting means; b. second resettable signal counting and storage means for counting and storing the third signals produced in response to said means for detecting the spliced ends; c. reset means responsive to the first and second resettable signal counting and storage means for resetting the count of the first and second resettable signal storage means to zero when the first and second resettable signal counting and storage means simultaneously achieve the same count; d. means for applying the stored second signals to said film drive means to continuously advance the color negatives through said exposure station for the time period between the counting and storage of the second and third signals and an extended time period sufficient to advance spliced ends of consecutive film orders through said exposure station; and e. means responsive to the first resettable signal counting and storage means for halting the continuous advancement of the color prints through said print inspection station when said first resettable signal counting and storage means counts and stores two second signals; whereby the production and storage of the second signal in response to the second mark associated with the second print order prior to the production and storage of a third signal in response to the detection of the spliced ends of the first and second film orders produces a count of two on the first resettable signal counting and storage means and halts the print advancement while the first and second film orders continuously advance under the control of the film drive means responsive to the stored second signals until two third signals are counted in said second resettable counting and storage means, and print and film advancement resumes in synchronization upon the operation of said reset means.