Thermally ablatable lithographic printing plate precursors

A method of providing a lithographic printing plate comprising:

• A) imagewise exposing a thermally ablatable lithographic printing plate precursor by thermal ablation at an energy of at least 100 mJ/cm2 and less than or including 1000 mJ/cm2, to cause the materials in an infrared radiation-absorptive and thermally ablatable outer layer to be ejected or disrupted from the lithographic printing plate precursor, thereby revealing an underlying non-thermally ablatable first layer and
• B) optionally removing ablation debris during the exposure step,
• wherein the thermally ablatable lithographic printing plate precursor consists essentially of a hydrophilic substrate having thereon:
• the non-thermally ablatable first layer disposed on the hydrophilic substrate, and
• the infrared radiation-absorptive and thermally ablatable outer layer disposed on the first layer, the infrared radiation-absorptive and thermally ablatable outer layer consisting essentially of an infrared radiation absorbing compound dispersed within a thermally ablatable organic binder, and
• the non-thermally ablatable first layer is hydrophilic and composed of a discontinuous inorganic phase dispersed within a continuous inorganic sol gel phase.