US 5,270,145 AGranted

Heat image separation system

AssigneeEastman Kodak Company

InventorsRoland G. Willis, John Texter

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Abstract

A process for forming a dye image including the steps of: (a) exposing a photographic element comprising a light sensitive silver halide emulsion layer containing a color coupler compound capable of forming a heat transferable dye upon development; (b) developing the exposed element resulting from step (a) with a color developer solution to form a heat transferable dye image; (c) heating the exposed, developed element resulting from step (b) to thereby transfer the dye image from the emulsion layer to a dye receiving layer which is part of the photographic element or part of a separate dye receiving element brought into contact with the photographic element; and (d) separating the emulsion layer from the dye receiving layer containing the transferred dye image; wherein the color coupler compound is of the following formula (I): COUP--B (I) wherein COUP represents a coupler moiety capable of forming a heat transferable dye upon reaction of the coupler compound with an oxidized product of the developing solution of step (b); and B is hydrogen or a coupling-off group which is separated from COUP upon reaction of the coupler compound with an oxidized product of the developing solution of step (b). The process combines "wet" development with conventional developing solutions and "dry" separation of the developed image from the emulsion layer by heat transfer.

Claims13

Dependent claims

A process for forming a dye image comprising the steps of:

(a) exposing a photographic element comprising a support bearing a light sensitive silver halide emulsion layer containing a color coupler compound capable of forming a heat transferable dye upon aqueous development;
(b) developing the exposed element resulting from step (a) with an aqueous color developer solution to form a heat transferable dye image;
(c) washing the developed element resulting from step (b) in an aqueous acidic stop bath;
(d) drying the developed and washed element resulting from step (c);
(e) heating the exposed, developed, washed, and dried element resulting from step (d) to thereby transfer the heat transferable dye image from the developed silver halide emulsion layer to a dye receiving layer which is part of the photographic element or part of a separate dye receiving element brought into contact with the photographic element, where said heating comprises exposing the element to a temperature of from 50.degree. C. to 200.degree. C. for from 10 seconds to 30 minutes;
and
(f) separating the developed, washed, dried, and heated silver halide emulsion layer from the dye receiving layer containing the transferred dye image;
wherein the color coupler compound is of the formula:
COUP--B
wherein
COUP represents a coupler moiety capable for forming a heat transferable dye upon reaction of the coupler compound with an oxidized product of the color developer solution of step (b);
and
B is a hydrogen or a coupling-off group which is separated from COUP upon reaction of the coupler compound with an oxidized product of the color developer solution of step (b).

10 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.