Water-soluble phthalocyanine compounds

A phthalocyanine compound of formula (1) ##STR40## in which Pc is the radical of the copper, cobalt or nickel phthalocyanine additionally not substituted or substituted by chlorine or phenyl in the 3- and/or 4-positions of the carboxylic aromatic rings of the phthalocyanine, the sulfonylcyanamide, sulfonamide and/or sulfonic acid groups being linked in the 3- and/or 4-positions of the carboxylic aromatic rings of the phthalocyanine,

• a is a whole or fractional number from 1 to 3,
• b is a whole or fractional number from 1 to 3 and
• c is a whole or fractional number from zero to 2,
• a, b and c being identical or different from one another, but the total of (a+b+c) is equal to a whole or fractional number from 2 to 4,
• R is hydrogen or alkyl of 1 to 4 C atoms,
• A is a direct bond or a group of the formula --(CH.sub.2).sub.m -- or --(CH.sub.2).sub.n --NH-- in which m is 1, 2, 3 or 4 and n is 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6,
• B is phenylene or naphthylene, each unsubstituted or substituted by substituents selected from the group consisting of alkyl of 1 to 4 C atoms, alkoxy of 1 to 4 C atoms, halogen, carboxy, sulfo, carbamoyl, sulfamoyl, alkylsulfonyl of 1 to 4 C atoms, carboalkoxy of 2 to 5 C atoms, acetylamino and nitro,
• D is a direct bond or a group of the formula --CH.sub.2 -- or --CH.sub.2 --CH.sub.2 --,
• Y is vinyl, .beta.-sulfatoethyl, .beta.- phosphatoethyl, .beta.-thiosulfatoethyl, .beta.-hydroxyethyl or .beta.-chloroethyl, and
• X is hydrogen or the equivalent of a monovalent, bivalent or trivalent metal.