Developing agent replenishing method and digital photographic printer

A digital photographic printer in which an image is exposed onto a photosensitive material based on digital data containing image data and the exposed photosensitive material is developed by a developing agent, comprising:

• density characteristic calculation means which calculates, based on the digital data, a density characteristic value of an image to be exposed;
• image rate calculation means which calculates, on the basis of the density characteristic value calculated by said density characteristic calculation means, a print image rate corresponding to the density characteristic value as a parameter for obtaining a replenishment quantity of the developing agent based on the density characteristic value of the image;
• replenishment quantity calculation means which calculates the replenishment quantity of the developing agent based on the print image rate calculated by said image rate calculation means;
• and
• replenishing means which effects replenishing processing of the developing agent based on the replenishment quantity calculated by said replenishment quantity calculation means.

A photographic printer including a plurality of exposure sections in which an image is exposed onto a photosensitive material by light irradiated from a light source, and a development processing section in which the photosensitive material exposed by any one of the plurality of exposure sections is developed by a developing agent in a common development processing tank, comprising:

• identification means which identifies an exposure section, in which the photosensitive material is exposed, among the plurality of exposure sections;
• separate replenishment quantity calculation means which calculates a replenishment quantity of the developing agent corresponding to the identified exposure section for each identified exposure section;
• and
• actual replenishment quantity calculation means which calculates, based on the calculated replenishment quantity, an actual replenishment quantity of the developing agent to be supplied into the development processing tank.