Photographic material suited for use in diffusion transfer photography and method of diffusion transfer photography using such material

A process for the production of diffusion transfer images, said process being characterized by the steps of (1) applying an alkaline processing composition to an image-wise exposed photographic material comprising a support carrying at least one silver halide emulsion layer and at least one alkali-permeable layer (which may be the same layer as the one containing the silver halide) which comprises a quinone type compound as defined hereinafter and that is initially immobile in an alkali-permeable colloid medium, wherein said compound is capable of being reduced by a silver halide developing agent at a rate slower than that of image-wise developable silver halide in the material and in reduced state is capable under alkaline conditions of releasing said photographically useful group, (2) providing said developing agent for said photographic material during application of said alkaline processing composition under conditions to effect image-wise release of said photographically useful group inversely proportionally to the image-wise development of said silver halide in the photographic material, and (3) allowing the diffusion with said alkaline processing composition of the photographically useful group out of the layer in which it was originally incorporated to have it introduced image-wise in another layer, said quinone-type compound corresponding to one of the following formula (A) or (B):

• ##STR50## wherein:
• each of (Nuox).sup.1 and (Nuox).sup.2 (same or different) represents an oxidized nucleophilic group,
• Z represents a bivalent atomic group which is electronegative with respect to the carbon atom carrying R.sup.4 and R.sup.5,
• Q together with the Z group represents a releasable photographically useful group,
• each of R.sup.1, R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 is hydrogen, halogen, alkyl, alkoxy, or an acylamino group or R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 when in adjacent positions on the ring together form a ring fused with the remainder of the molecule, or R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 together form a ring fused with the remainder of the molecule,
• each of R.sup.4 and R.sup.5 (same or different) represents hydrogen or a hydrocarbon group, and in at least one of the substituents R.sup.1, R.sup.2, R.sup.3, R.sup.4 or R.sup.5 a ballasting group X of sufficient size is present to render said compound immobile in an alkali-permeable layer of the photographic material.