Agfa Gevaert Nv

Agfa-gevaert

Yvan K Gilliams

Herman J Uytterhoeven

Noel J De Volder

Walter F De Winter

Ingrid E Geuens

Sabine Emmers

Johan August Loccufier

Dirk Bollen

Andre Bellens

Pierre R De Roo

Yvan Hoogmartens

Ivan Hoogmartens

Bartholomeus Cyriel Horsten

Daniel M Timmerman

Ronny De Clercq

Jan J Priem

Bernard H Tavernier

Geert H Defieuw

Carlo A Uyttendaele

Robert J Pollet

August M Marien

Jan Gilleir

Francis J Sels

Emile F Stievenart

Eddy A Michiels

Willy G Verlinden

Nikolaas C De Jaeger

August Jean Van Paesschen

Jozef Leonard Van Engeland

Luc Bastiaens

Luc Vissers

Francine Van Gijsel

Chris Van Roost

A photothermographic recording material comprising a photo-addressable thermally developable element coatable from aqueous media comprising a substantially light-insensitive organic silver salt, photosensitive silver halide in catalytic association with the substantially light-insensitive organic silver salt and a reducing agent in thermal working relationship with the substantially light-insensitive organic silver salt and a binder, characterized in that the binder comprises a water-soluble polymer, a water-dispersible polymer or a mixture of a water-soluble polymer and a water-dispersible polymer and particles of the photosensitive silver halide are non-aggregating in the photo-addressable thermally developable element and are uniformly distributed over and between particles of the substantially light-insensitive organic silver salt, at least 80% by number of the particles having a diameter, determined by transmission electron microscopy, of &lE;40 nm; and a recording process therefor.

Photothermographic recording material

A recording material comprising a support and a thermosensitive element containing one or more of silver behenate, silver palmitate, and silver stearate, an organic reducing agent therefor in thermal working relationship therewith and a binder, wherein the silver behenate, palmitate, or stearate is not associated with mercury and/or lead ions, production processes for particles of substantially light-insensitive organic silver salt primarily comprising silver behenate, silver palmitate, or stearate, with described X-ray characteristics in the substantial absence of organic solvent.

Recording materials with improved shelf-life, image tone and/or stability upon thermal development

A process for producing an aqueous dispersion comprising: preparing a dispersion of photosensitive silver halide and a binder or a surfactant in an aqueous medium; and subsequently either (a) adding a first silver salt to the silver halide dispersion and then adding a second silver salt; or (b) adding the second silver salt to the silver halide dispersion and then adding the first silver salt, wherein the aqueous dispersion is substantially free of a water-soluble metal or ammonium salt of an aliphatic carboxylic acid with greater than 12 carbon atoms, the first silver salt is a substantially light-insensitive and substantially water-insoluble silver salt of an organic carboxylic acid, and the second silver salt has a water-solubility greater than 0.1 g in 1 L of water at 20&deg; C.; an aqueous dispersion obtainable therewith; a photothermographic recording material prepared with the aqueous dispersion; and a process for preparing the photothermographic recording material. In addition the use of the second silver salt for increasing the sensitivity of a photothermographic recording material is provided.

Photothermographic materials with increa sed photosensitivity

An aqueous dispersion comprising a binder or a surfactant, a substantially light-insensitive and substantially water-insoluble organic silver salt and a photosensitive silver halide, wherein the aqueous emulsion further comprises a sensitization agent selected from the group consisting of: tin(II) bromide, aminoiminomethane sulfinic acid, water-soluble salts of H PO , water-soluble salts of H PO , water-soluble SO salts and water-soluble HSO salts; and production process for therefor and a photothermographic recording material comprising a support and a photo-addressable thermally developable element, the photo-addressable thermally developable element fulfilling two requirements: (i) the photo-addressable thermally developable element contains a substantially light-insensitive and substantially water-insoluble organic silver salt, a reducing agent for the substantially light-insensitive and substantially water-insoluble organic silver salt and in thermal working relationship therewith, a photosensitive silver halide and a binder; and (ii) the photo-addressable thermally developable element comprises a layer obtainable by coating the above-mentioned aqueous dispersion onto the support.

Photothermographic recording material with increased photosensitivity

A production method for a photothermographic recording material comprising the steps of: (i) providing a support; (ii) coating the support with a photo-addressable thermally developable element comprising a substantially light-insensitive organic silver salt, photosensitive silver halide in catalytic association with the substantially light-insensitive organic silver salt, a reducing agent in thermal working relationship with the substantially light-insensitive organic silver salt and a binder, characterized in that the photosensitive silver halide is formed by reacting an aqueous emulsion of particles of the substantially light-insensitive organic silver salt with at least one onium salt with halide or polyhalide anion(s) and that the photo-addressable thermally developable element is coated from an aqueous dispersion medium; and a recording process therefor.

Production method for a photothermographic material and a recording process

A photothermographic recording material comprising a support and a photo-addressable thermally developable element comprising photosensitive silver halide in catalytic association with a substantially light-insensitive silver salt of an organic carboxylic acid, an organic reducing agent for the substantially light-insensitive silver salt of an organic carboxylic acid in thermal working relationship therewith and a binder, characterized in that the binder is water soluble or water dispersible and the reducing agent is a non-sulfo-substituted 6-membered aromatic or heteroaromatic ring compound with at least three substituents one of which is a hydroxy group at a first carbon atom and a second of which is a hydroxy or amino-group substituted on a second carbon atom one, three or five ring atoms removed in a system of conjugated double bonds from the first carbon atom in the compound, in which (i) the third substituent may be part of an annelated carbocyclic or heterocyclic ring system; (ii) the third substituent or a further substituent is not an aryl- or oxo-aryl-group whose aryl group is substituted with hydroxy-, thiol- or amino-groups; and (iii) the third substituent or a further substituent is a non-sulfo-electron withdrawing group if the second substiuent is an amino-group and the photo-addressable thermally developable element is coated from an aqueous medium and is capable of producing stable images without a wet-processing step. A process for producing the photothermographic recording material and a photothermographic recording process therefor is also provided.

A production process for a photothermographic recording material thermally developable under substantially water-free conditions comprising the steps of: (i) providing a support; (ii) producing one or more aqueous dispersions or solutions containing together a substantially light-insensitive organic silver salt, photosensitive ex-situ silver halide in catalytic association with the substantially light-insensitive organic silver salt, a reducing agent in thermal working relationship with the substantially light-insensitive organic silver salt and a binder; (iii) coating the one or more aqueous dispersions or solutions onto the support to form layers which upon drying become a photo-addressable thermally developable element; and (iv) drying the layers, wherein the photo-addressable thermally developable element contains between 0.2 and 2.5 moles of in-situ photosensitive silver iodide per mole of ex-situ photosensitive silver halide produced by reacting particles of the substantially light-insensitive organic silver salt in an aqueous dispersion with a source of iodide ion; and a recording process therefor.

Photothermographic recording material with in-situ and ex-situ photosensitive silver halide and a substantially light-insensitive organic salt

A thermographic recording material, thermally developable under substantially water-free conditions, comprising a support and a thermosensitive element, the thermosensitive element being provided with a protective layer and the thermosensitive element containing a substantially light-insensitive silver salt of an organic carboxylic acid, a reducing agent therefor in thermal working relationship therewith and a binder, wherein the protective layer contains at least one proteinaceous binder and non-opacifying inorganic particles with a weight averaged diameter of less than,&mgr;m in a concentration of between 5 and 70% by weight with respect to the weight of the protective layer.

Substantially thermographic recording materials with improved stability

A photothermographic recording material comprising a support and a photo-addressable thermally developable element comprising photosensitive silver halide in catalytic association with a substantially light-insensitive organic silver salt, an organic reducing agent for the substantially light-insensitive organic silver salt in thermal working relationship therewith and a water-soluble or water-dispersible binder, characterized in that the substantially light-insensitive organic silver salt is a silver salt of an organic carboxylic acid, the photo-addressable thermally developable element further comprises a non-ionic or anionic surfactant and the photo-addressable thermally developable element is coatable from an aqueous medium and is capable of producing stable images without a wet-processing step; a process for producing the photothermographic recording material and a photothermographic recording process therefor.

Photothermographic recording material coatable from an acqueous medium

A thermographic recording material comprising a support and a thermosensitive element containing a substantially light-insensitive silver salt of an organic carboxylic acid, a reducing agent therefor in thermal working relationship therewith and at least one proteinaceous binder, wherein the thermosensitive element contains between 700 ppm and 5 ppm of a non-fluoro-halide ion with respect to the proteinaceous binders in the thermosensitive element and the thermographic recording material is thermally developable under substantially water-free conditions; and a process for the production thereof.

A recording material comprising a support and a thermosensitive element containing silver behenate, an organic reducing agent therefor in thermal working relationship therewith and a binder, wherein the silver behenate is not associated with mercury and/or lead ions and when the recording material is irradiated with a copper K.alpha..sub.1 X-ray source the ratio, normalized to a quantity of silver in the recording material of 1 g per m.sup.2 thereof, of the sum of the peak heights of the X-ray diffraction lines attributable to silver behenate at Bragg angles, 2.THETA., of 6.01.degree., 7.56.degree., 9.12.degree., 10.66.degree., 12.12.degree. and 13.62.degree. to the sum of the peak heights of the X-ray diffraction lines at Bragg angles, 2.THETA., of 25.60.degree., 35.16.degree. and 43.40.degree. of NIST standard 1976, rhombohedral Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, determined with the same X-ray diffractometer in the same state of adjustment, is greater than 0.85; production processes for particles of substantially light-insensitive organic silver salt comprising silver behenate with these X-ray characteristics in the presence and substantial absence of organic solvent.

Thermographic recording material with improved image tone and/or

A photothermographic recording material comprising a support and a photo-addressable thermally developable element comprising photosensitive siver halide in catalytic association with a substantially light-insensitive silver salt of an organic carboxylic acid, an organic reducing agent for the substantially light-insensitive silver salt of an aliphatic carboxylic acid in thermal working relationship therewith and a binder, characterized in that the binder comprises a non-proteinaceous water-soluble binder, a non-proteinaceous water-dispersible binder (preferably a comprising a diene, styrene, an acrylate or a methacrylate monomer) or a mixture of a non-proteinaceous water soluble binder and a non-proteinaceous water-dispersible binder and the photo-addressable thermally developable element is capable of being coated from an aqueous medium and is capable of producing images stable to light without a wet-processing step; a process for producing the photothermographic recording material and a photo-thermographic recording process therefor.

Photothermographic recording material coated from an aqueous medium

A recording material comprising a support and a thermosensitive element containing silver stearate, an organic reducing agent therefor in thermal working relationship therewith and a binder, wherein the silver stearate is not associated with mercury and/or lead ions and when the recording material is irradiated with a copper K.alpha..sub.1 X-ray source the ratio of the sum of the peak heights of the X-ray diffraction lines attributable to silver stearate at Bragg angles, 2.THETA., of 2.THETA., of 3.62.degree., 5.45.degree., 7.30.degree., 9.04.degree., 10.97.degree. and 12.71.degree. to the sum of the peak heights of the X-ray diffraction lines at Bragg angles, 2.THETA., of 25.60.degree., 35.16.degree. and 43.40.degree. of NIST standard 1976, rhombohedral Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, determined with the same X-ray diffractometer in the same state of adjustment on a sample of the recording material and a sample of the NIST standard 1976 cut to fit a sample holder of the X-ray diffractometer, divided by the square root of the quantity of silver in the recording material, expressed in g per m.sup.2, is greater than 2.2 m/g.sup.0.5 ; and a process for producing particles of substantially light-insensitive organic silver salt comprising silver stearate with these X-ray characteristics in the substantial absence of organic solvent.

Recording material with improved shelf-line producing prints upon

A recording material comprising a support and a thermosensitive element comprising silver palmitate, an organic reducing agent therefor in thermal working relationship therewith and a binder, wherein the silver palmitate is not associated with mercury and/or lead ions and when the recording material is irradiated with a copper K.alpha..sub.1 X-ray source the ratio of the sum of the peak heights of the X-ray diffraction lines attributable to silver palmitate at Bragg angles, 2.THETA., of 4.01.degree., 6.049.degree., 8.031.degree., 10.06.degree., 12.08.degree. and 14.09.degree. to the sum of the peak heights of the X-ray diffraction lines at Bragg angles, 2.THETA., of 25.60.degree., 35.16.degree. and 43.40.degree. of NIST standard 1976, rhombohedral Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, determined with the same X-ray diffractometer in the same state of adjustment on a sample of the recording material and a sample of the NIST standard 1976 cut to fit a sample holder of the X-ray diffractometer, divided by the square root of the quantity of silver in the recording material, expressed in g per m.sup.2, is greater than 3.09 m/g.sup.0.5 ; and a process for producing particles of substantially light-insensitive organic silver salt comprising silver palmitate with these X-ray characteristics in the substantial absence of organic solvent.

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Hever, Belgium

Yvan K Gilliams