Laser ablative imaging method

A process of forming a single color image comprising:

• a) imagewise exposing, by means of a laser, a dye-ablative recording element comprising a support having thereon, in order, a hydrophilic dye-receiving layer, a hydrophobic dye-barrier layer, and a hydrophilic, water-soluble, infrared-absorbing layer containing an infrared-absorbing material which absorbs at a given wavelength of said laser used to expose said element, thereby imagewise heating said hydrophilic, water-soluble, infrared-absorbing layer and said dye-barrier layer, causing them to ablate;
• b) removing the ablated hydrophilic, water-soluble, infrared-absorbing layer and dye-barrier layer material;
• c) contacting said imagewise-exposed element with an aqueous ink solution and thereby removing the remaining hydrophilic, water-soluble, infrared-absorbing layer;
• and
• d) drying said element to obtain a single color image in said ablative recording element.