Image forming process with photopolymer layers between a support and a substrate

An image forming process which comprises image-wise exposing a photosensitive material to light, the photosensitive material comprising a support and a substrate with a photopolymerizable material therebetween, where either or both of the support or substrate is transparent and image-wise exposing is through the transparent support and/or substrate, and stripping off the support to leave either exposed areas or non-exposed areas of the photopolymerizable material on the substrate, in which the photopolymerizable material is characterized by comprising at least two different photopolymerizable layers which each comprise one or more addition polymerizable monomers, one or more photopolymerization initiators and one or more binders, which photopolymerizable layers are placed adjacent the transparent support and the substrate, wherein at least one of the ingredients or the ratio of the ingredients of the photopolymerizable layers is different in at least the two different photopolymerizable layers, and the photopolymerizable layers have the relationship of C>A>B and C'>B'>A' or C>B>A and C'>A'>B', wherein:

• A is the adhesive strength between the support and the photopolymerizable layer adjacent thereto;
• B is the adhesive strength between the substrate and the photopolymerizable layer adjacent thereto;
• C is the lowest adhesive strength of all the adhesive strengths between any two photopolymerizable layers among the layers, A' is the adhesive strength between the support and the photopolymerizable layer adjacent thereto after exposure to light, B' is the adhesive strength between the substrate and the photopolymerizable layer adjacent thereto after exposure to light, and C' is the lowest adhesive strength of all the adhesive strengths between any two photopolymerizable layers among the photopolymerizable layers after exposure to light, whereby following image-wise exposure and delamination cohesive failure occurs either (i) at the interface of the support and the photopolymerizable layer adjacent thereto or (ii) at the interface of the substrate and the photopolymerizable layer adjacent thereto, thereby providing negative and positive images in complimentary relationship in accordance with the following:
• 1. In the case of cohesive failure as described at (i), the substrate carrying the layer of the photopolymerizable composition adjacent thereto and areas of the photopolymerizable composition originally on the support in correspondence to the image-wise exposure, with the support carrying a complementary image of the photopolymerizable composition originally on the support;
• or
• 2. In the case of cohesive failure as described at (ii), the support carrying the layer of the photopolymerizable composition adjacent thereto and areas of the photopolymerizable composition originally on the substrate in correspondence to the image-wise exposure, with the substrate carrying a complementary image of the photopolymerizable composition originally on the substrate.