Annealing of color photothermographic imaging elements for improved stability
AssigneeEastman Kodak Company
InventorDavid H. Levy
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Abstract
The present invention is related to a method of making a color photothermographic element such as a capture film intended to be developed to yield an image by the application of heat, preferably without the addition of processing solutions. In particular, this invention relates to the annealing of a photothermographic imaging element prior to storage and use. It has been found that the use of such an annealing process improves raw stock storage and hence, the performance of color photothermographic systems.
Claims20
A method of making a color photothermographic element comprising a red-light-sensitive silver-halide layer unit, a green-light-sensitive silver-halide layer unit, and a blue-light-sensitive silver-halide layer unit, each layer unit further comprising a light-sensitive silver-halide emulsion, a gelatin binder, at least one essentially non-light sensitive organic silver salt that functions as an oxidizing agent for the purpose of donating silver during dry thermal development, and a developing-agent precursor, which element is developed by heating to a temperature of 120 to 180° C., which method comprises
- annealing by heating at least one imaging layer in the color photothermographic element such that the surface of the element attains a temperature of at least 55° C. for at least 2 seconds at a relative humidity of less than 50%, wherein the annealing occurs after the imaging layer is substantially dried but before image capture.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.