Photothermographic recording material coatable from an aqueous medium

A process for producing a photothermographic recording material having a support and a photo-addressable thermally developable element containing a photosensitive silver halide in catalytic association with a substantially light-insensitive silver salt of an organic carboxylic acid, said salt being a silver salt of a fatty acid, an organic reducing agent for said fatty acid silver salt in thermal working relationship therewith, a binder including a water-soluble binder, a water-dispersible binder or a mixture of a water-soluble binder and a water-dispersible binder, and a surfactant, said process comprising the steps of:

• (i) producing an aqueous dispersion or aqueous dispersions containing said photosensitive silver halide, said fatty acid silver salt, said organic reducing agent for said fatty acid silver salt, said binder and said surfactant, wherein the medium for said dispersion or dispersions is selected from the group consisting of water and mixtures of water and water-miscible organic solvents;
• and (ii) coating said aqueous dispersion or aqueous dispersions onto said support thereby forming said photo-addressable thermally developable element on said support, wherein at least 90 mol % of said photosensitive silver halide is silver iodide and said aqueous dispersion further contains or said aqueous dispersions further contain a diazine compound being phthalazine or a substituted phthalazine which is at least 10 mol % of said fatty acid silver salt.