Method and apparatus for recording picture information using a photographic single sheet printer

DETAILED DESCRIPTION An object of the present invention is to provide an improved method and apparatus for recording generic picture information by increasing the throughput even with the processing of smaller sheet sizes.
In accordance with an object of the invention, sheets of the recording material are guided through a recording station in two or more parallel transport tracks.
Delivering them in a plurality of transport tracks has the advantage that for smaller sheet sizes, a plurality of sheets can be fed in a side-by-side manner and written upon substantially simultaneously.
In other words, the sheets can be processed based upon the appropriate picture information substantially simultaneously.
Larger sheet sizes occupy two or more transport tracks.
If the single sheets of the same or different size are skillfully arranged, then the unoccupied intermediate spaces next to and between successive sheets can be minimized.
The occupation density within the recording station (i.
e.
, the ratio of surface area actually occupied by the sheets to the maximum of available surface area) is higher than in conventional methods and the throughput is correspondingly higher.
Where exemplary embodiments are employed in the printer of a minilab, single sheets are exposed and guided in a plurality of parallel tracks to a paper processor.
Here it is unnecessary to distribute the exposed sheets crosswise downstream of the printer.