Packaged color photographic film comprising a blocked phenylenediamine developing agent and a method for processing the film

A method of processing a commercial quantity of color photographic film sold to camera users over a given period of time, which film has been imagewise exposed in a camera, said film having at least three light-sensitive units which have their individual sensitivities in different wavelength regions, each of the units comprising at least one light-sensitive silver-halide emulsion, binder, and dye-providing coupler, wherein the method comprises:

• (a) processing a substantial portion of said quantity of film in a color development step comprising contacting the imagewise exposed color photographic film with a developing agent comprising a non-blocked p-phenylenediamine developing agent, under agitation at a temperature of 30 to 50° C. under aqueous alkaline conditions, in order to form a color negative image in the film by reaction of the non-blocked p-phenylenediamine developing agent with the dye-providing couplers inside the silver-halide emulsions, the dyes formed from the dye-providing couplers in the three light-sensitive units being different in hue, followed by desilvering said film in one or more desilvering solutions to remove unwanted silver and silver halide, thereby forming a color negative image;
• and thereafter forming a positive-image color print from the desilvered film;
• (b) processing a substantial portion of said quantity of film in a color development step without any externally applied developing agent, comprising heating said film to a temperature above about 50° C. aqueous conditions, such that an internally located blocked developing agent in reactive association with each of said three light-sensitive units becomes unblocked to form a phenylenediamine developing agent, whereby the unblocked developing agent forms dyes by reacting with the dye-providing couplers to form a comparable color negative image, which color image may be scanned, without desilvering, to provide a digital electronic record of the color image capable of generating a positive color image in a display element.

An article of manufacture comprising a packaged color photographic film which photographic film has at least three light-sensitive units which have their individual sensitivities in different wavelength regions, each of the units comprising at least one light-sensitive silver-halide emulsion layer, binder, and dye-providing coupler, and blocked phenylenediamine developing agent, wherein the film is enclosed by a package on which indicia indicates that the film may be processed by either one of two alternate routes, and wherein one of the routes corresponds to a wet-chemical process in which the imagewise exposed color photographic film is contacted with a developing agent in which a phenylenediamine developing agent is dissolved and wherein the other of the two routes corresponds to a low-volume thermal process,

• wherein by a wet-chemical process is meant a process comprising the imagewise exposed color photographic element is immersed in a solution comprising a non-blocked phenylenediamine developing agent, under agitation at a temperature under 50° C., in order to form a color image from a latent image, which phenylenediamine developing agent forms dyes by reacting with the dye-providing couplers inside the silver-halide emulsions, hue dyes formed from the dye-providing couplers in the layers being different in hue, and
• wherein by thermal process is meant a process comprising heating the film to a temperature above 50° C. under aqueous conditions such that the blocked developing agent becomes unblocked to form a phenylenediamine compound, whereby the unblocked developing agent forms a color negative image from a latent image, which color negative image is then scanned, without desilvering the film, to provide a digital electron record corresponding to the color negative image, or its positive equivalent, for use in generating a positive color image in a display element.

A photographic element comprising a support bearing a layer unit sensitive to a region of the electromagnetic spectrum, said layer unit comprising a binder, a light sensitive silver-halide emulsion, and a developing-agent precursor;

• wherein, after imagewise exposure, said developing-agent precursor, in the presence of an aqueous solution not containing an external developing agent, at a temperature in excess of 50° C., releases a first developing agent in reactive association with said silver-halide emulsion, thereby forming a first imagewise density deposit;
• and
• wherein by alternatively contacting said element with a developer solution a second imagewise density deposit is formed, said developer solution comprising a second developing agent and having a pH greater than about 9;
• and said contacting occurring for between 10 and 500 seconds at a temperature below 50° C.;
• and wherein said second imagewise density deposit has substantially no density contribution formed by release of a first developing agent by said developing-agent precursor.