Radiation imagery chemistry: process – composition – or product th – Thermographic process – Heat applied after imaging
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-29
2004-04-27
Chea, Thorl (Department: 1752)
Radiation imagery chemistry: process, composition, or product th
Thermographic process
Heat applied after imaging
C380S044000, C380S044000, C380S044000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06727050
ABSTRACT:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-97245, filed Mar. 29, 2001, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel silver halide photographic lightsensitive material (hereinafter referred to simply as “lightsensitive material”) and an image-forming method using the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a silver halide photographic lightsensitive material having a high sensitivity, and being excellent in rapid processing suitability, improving ability of development-induced unevenness and an adhesion resistance during the storage thereof, and to an image-forming method using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Today, it has become possible to easily obtain a high-quality recorded image by virtue of photographic lightsensitive materials using silver halide. For example, in a system usually called a color photograph, photographing is performed using a color negative film, and image information recorded on the color negative film after development is optically printed on a color print paper to obtain a color print. Recently, this process has advanced to a higher level so that a color lab, which is a large-scale centralized base for producing a large quantity of color prints in high efficiency, or a so-called mini lab, which is a compact and simple printer processor installed at a shop, is popularized, and as a result, anybody can easily enjoy color photographs.
The above-described system is widely popularized at present. However, demands for further simplification thereof are more and more increasing. For example, first, the composition and the temperature of processing baths for performing development, bleaching and fixing need to be precisely controlled, and therefore, professional knowledge and advanced operation are required. Second, the processing solutions contain materials whose the discharge is necessary to be restricted in view of environmental conservation, such as a developing agent and a bleaching agent such as a chelate compound, and therefore, installation of equipments, such as developing equipments, requires facilities for exclusive use thereof. Third, although the recent technological development has shortened the time spent for the above-described development processing, such processing still needs time and accordingly is at a level insufficient to meet the demand for rapid reproduction of recorded images. Thus, there still is room for further improvement as a system.
Moreover, demands for lightsensitive materials have become stronger. There also is a higher-level demand for photographic characteristics such as high speed, image qualities such as graininess and sharpness, and in addition, so-called toughness such as storage stability and resistance to pressure.
Rapidly processable lightsensitive materials containing tabular silver halide emulsions are disclosed in Jpn. Pat Appln. KOKAI Publication No. (hereinafter referred to as JP-A-) 10-15888, JP-A's-10-62936, 9-61960, 62-78555 and the like. These techniques can provide high speed and rapidly processable lightsensitive materials, but are still insufficient in terms of toughness such as their storage stability, resistance to pressure.
Unlike the conventional developing method in which a lightsensitive material is immersed in a developing solution, the attempt to perform development by a method in which a heat source at high temperature, such as 60° C. to 180° C., is brought into contact, directly or through a certain processing member, with the surface of a lightsensitive material has cause new problems. It has been found that in this developing method, developing unevenness easily occurs due to the unevenness and roughness in the surface of a lightsensitive material and also that the surface of a lightsensitive material is required to be kept smoother than in the conventional method. However, it has been found that if the surface of a lightsensitive material is made too smooth, adhesion between the front face and the back face of the lightsensitive material occurs during its raw stock storage and its wound storage, causing serious deterioration in photographic performance.
JP-A-2000-267228 discloses a technique for preventing an image from roughing when printing is conducted using a specular light source by defining the grain diameter of matting agent grains and the surface roughness of the outermost layer. This publication discloses how to effect more efficiently the dissolution of the matting agent with alkali during development processing. However, there is no description on a problem caused by a method, according to the present invention, of developing a lightsensitive material by contacting, directly or through a certain processing member, with a high-temperature heat source, and on the solution of this problem.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a silver halide photographic lightsensitive material that generates less processing-induced unevenness even in a simple and rapid processing and also is excellent in adhesion resistance. Another object of the present invention is to provide an image-forming method that is able to withstand practical use using the silver halide photographic lightsensitive material.
The above-mentioned objects of the present invention has successfully been attained by the following means:
(1) A silver halide photographic lightsensitive material comprising, on a support, at least one lightsensitive silver halide emulsion layer and at least one non-lightsensitive layer, wherein the roughness of the surfaces of the lightsensitive material satisfies the relationship of formula (1):
Rq
1
/Rq
2≦0.5 (1)
wherein Rq1 is the roughness of one of the surfaces of the lightsensitive material with which a heat source is to be brought into contact, and Rq2 is the roughness of the other opposing surface of the lightsensitive material
(2) The silver halide photographic lightsensitive material according to item (1) above, wherein Rq1 is 50 or less and Rq2 is 100 or more.
(3) The silver halide photographic lightsensitive material according to item (1) or (2) above, wherein the outermost layer of one of the sides of the lightsensitive material with which a heat source is to be brought into contact comprises no matting agent grain, and the outermost layer of the other opposing side of the lightsensitive material comprises a matting agent grain.
(4) The silver halide photographic lightsensitive material according to any one of items (1) to (3) above, wherein the lightsensitive silver halide emulsion layer comprises a lightsensitive silver halide emulsion containing tabular silver halide grains having an average grain thickness of 0.01 &mgr;m or more and 0.12 &mgr;m or less.
(5) The silver halide photographic lightsensitive material according to any one of items (1) to (4) above, wherein the lightsensitive silver halide emulsion layer comprising a lightsensitive silver halide emulsion containing tabular silver halide grains having adsorbed a sensitizing dye or sensitizing dyes so that the grains have a maximum spectral absorption wavelength of less than 500 nm and a light absorption intensity of 60 or more or have a maximum spectral absorption wavelength of 500 nm or more and a light absorption intensity of 100 or more.
(6) The silver halide photographic lightsensitive material according to any one of items (1) to (5) above, wherein the lightsensitive silver halide emulsion layer and/or the non-lightsensitive layer contain a developing agent and/or a precursor thereof.
(7) The silver halide photographic lightsensitive material according to item (6) above, wherein the developing agent is at least one compound selected from the group consisting of compounds represented by the following general formulas (1) to (5):
wherein each of R
1
to R
4
independently represents a hydroge
Chea Thorl
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
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