Eastman-Kodak Company

Louis P Harasta

Gerald M Leszyk

Edward D Morrison

Richard Dominic Bomba

Stephen T Faulkenberry

Scott B Hardenbrook

The present invention is directed to the continuous production of microcellular plastic web material having integral unmodified laminar skin. In accordance with the invention a web of plastic material impregnated with an inert gas is delivered continuously to a degassing device in which the degree to which gas diffuses out of the surfaces of the web can be selectively and continuously controlled, whereupon the web enters a foaming station where it is reheated to induce foaming. The temperature of the reheated web and the duration of the foaming process prior to quenching are also selectively controllable to produce the desired web characteristics. The gas-impregnated plastic web can be produced initially by any of several novel means including a continuous device for impregnating a previously formed web and several versions of die devices which operate either by rapidly quenching the extruded gas-impregnated plastic material before any significant foaming has occurred or by maintaining the material above its foaming pressure within the die until the material has cooled to below the temperature at which foaming occurs.

Method for producing microcellular foamed plastic material with smooth

Curable coating compositions useful for protective treatment of elements bearing electrographically-formed toner images are comprised of (a) either (i) a mixture of a siloxy-containing polycarbinol and an acrylated urethane, or (ii) a siloxy-containing acrylated urethane; (b) a multifunctional acrylate; and, optionally (c) a free radical photoinitiator. Toner image-bearing elements, such as electrographic elements and specifically photoconductive recording films, can be provided with a protective overcoat layer which is bonded to the element and which serves to protect the toner image from abrasion and scratches. Such an overcoat layer is provided by coating the element with a curable composition and curing the resulting coating. The protective overcoat layer is applied to the toner image-bearing side of the element.

Radiation-curable overcoat compositions and toner-imaged elements

Radiation-curable compositions useful for restorative and/or protective treatment of photographic elements are comprised of a polymerizable epoxy compound, a cationic initiator for initiating polymerization of the epoxy compound, a polymerizable acrylic compound, a haloalkylated aromatic ketone which serves as a free-radical initiator for initiating polymerization of the acrylic compound, and a polymerizable organofunctional silane. Photographic elements, such as still films, motion picture films, paper prints, microfiche, and the like, are provided with a protective overcoat layer which is permanently bonded to the element, and serves to protect it from abrasion and scratches, by coating the element with the radiation-curable composition and irradiating the coating to bond it to the element and cure it to form a transparent, flexible, scratch-resistant, cross-linked polymeric layer. The protective overcoat layer can be applied to the image-bearing side of the element or to the support side of the element or to both sides. The radiation-curable composition can also be used as a restorative composition in the treatment of photographic elements which have scratches, abrasion marks, and the like, which impair the appearance or projection capabilities of the element. In use as a restorative composition, the radiation-curable composition can be applied locally in the region of the defects only, to effectively eliminate them and restore the element to a substantially defect-free condition, or it can be applied over the entire surface of the element to both eliminate the defects and form a protective overcoat layer that is capable of providing protection against subsequent scratching or abrasion.

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Rochester, NY, United States of America

Louis P Harasta