Photothermographic element with reduced woodgrain interference patterns

A photothermographic element comprising a support and on at least one side thereof, a binder, an organic silver salt, a reducing agent, and photosensitive silver halide grains, wherein

• said photosensitive silver halide grains are in a photosensitive layer having an absorbance of at least 0.1 at an exposure wavelength,
• said photosensitive layer further contains a compound or compounds of formula (I) and formula (II):
• Ar—SM (I)
• Ar—S—S—Ar (II)
• wherein M represents a hydrogen atom or alkali metal atom, and Ar represents an aromatic ring or fused aromatic ring containing one or more of nitrogen, sulfur, oxygen, selenium, or tellurium atoms,
• and said photosensitive layer contains one or more sensitizing dyes that are merocyanine or complex merocyanine dyes.

A spectrally sensitized photothermographic silver halide element comprising a transparent support having on at least one surface thereof a photothermographic emulsion layer having a total uniform thickness of from 10 to 40 μm, said photothermographic emulsion layer comprising a binder, a light insensitive silver source, a reducing agent for silver ion and radiation sensitive silver halide grains, which element displays uniform image density across its surface when exposed to floodlight or uniform incandescent light exposure at a wavelength of radiation to which the photothermographic emulsion layer is sensitive, said uniform image density meaning a variation in optical density of no more than 5% at a gray out optical density of from 1.5 to 1.9 between adjacent areas of 1 mm2 of said photothermographic emulsion layer surface,

• said photothermographic element comprising at least two layers, including a top layer having a uniform thickness of from 0.5 to 6 μm, and said photothermographic emulsion layer, and wherein:
• 1) the top layer of the element has haze induced therein of 0.05 to 30%,
• 2) there is a random refractive pattern on the top layer,
• 3) there is haze in the photothermographic emulsion layer caused by optically transparent particulates,
• 4) the reflective characteristics of a surface of said transparent support layer facing the photothermographic emulsion layer have been altered to reduce reflection of coherent radiation into said emulsion layer, or
• 5) said element having one or more acutance dyes in said photothermographic emulsion layer that absorb radiation to which said photothermographic emulsion layer is sensitive.