Instant high contrast imaging system

A system for creating direct images in a developed film, the system comprising,

• a film sheet having a thin surface layer of fine grained silver and a clear underlayer supported on a transparent substrate, the thin surface layer being substantially opaque,
• a supply of oxidizing solution having a high concentration of potassium ferricyanide,
• an ink-jet printer connected to the supply of oxidizing solution for dispensing controlled amounts of the oxidizing solution onto selected areas of the surface layer of the film sheet, the ink-jet printer including a printhead and positioning means for providing relative movement between the printhead and the film sheet,
• control means operatively connected to the ink-jet printer for controlling the dispensing of the oxidizing solution,
• sheet feeding means for feeding the film sheet proximate the printhead, and
• means for inputting and storing a bit map of an image, the means for inputting and storing being connected to the control means and the selected areas of the film sheet being associated with the stored bit map.

A method for creating transmissive images in a developed photographic film, the method comprising the steps of,

• providing a film sheet having an opaque surface layer of silver grains and a clear gelatin underlayer supported on a transparent substrate, the surface layer having a thickness of less than one micron and having an optical density greater than 1.0,
• positioning the film sheet proximate to the print head of an ink-jet printer,
• supplying an oxidizing solution to the ink-jet printer for dispersion from the print head,
• controllably regulating the dispersion of the oxidizing solution in relation to stored image data, the oxidizing solution being dispersed onto selected areas of the film sheet to create an image associated with the stored image data thereby forming an imaged film sheet.