Radiation imagery chemistry: process – composition – or product th – Imaging affecting physical property of radiation sensitive... – Radiation sensitive composition or product or process of making
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-29
2002-05-21
Baxter, Janet (Department: 1752)
Radiation imagery chemistry: process, composition, or product th
Imaging affecting physical property of radiation sensitive...
Radiation sensitive composition or product or process of making
C430S302000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06391519
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photosensitive resin composition or image recording material which can be used as a material for a planographic printing plate, a color proof, a photoresist, or a color filter and also to a planographic printing plate using the photosensitive resin composition or image recording material. More specifically, the present invention relates to a negative- or positive-type photosensitive resin composition or image recording material which can be used as a material for a planographic printing plate in a so-called direct plate making process in which the material can be directly inscribed by scanning an infrared laser according to digital signals from a computer or the like. Further, the present invention relates to a planographic printing plate using the photosensitive resin composition and image recording material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Owing to the remarkable developments in lasers in recent years, solid state lasers and semiconductor lasers (hereinafter, occasionally referred to as “infrared lasers”) devices, which emit infrared rays mainly in a wavelength range of from 760 to 1200 nm and have a high output power in spite of their small size, have become easily available. These infrared lasers are extremely effective as recording light sources in a direct plate making process in which a material for the printing plate is directly inscribed using digital data from a computer or the like. Accordingly in recent years, there has been a growing demand for a photosensitive resin composition or image recording material, which is highly sensitive to these infrared recording light sources, namely for a photosensitive resin composition or image recording material which causes a photochemical reaction or the like when irradiated with infrared rays and whose solubility in a developing solution largely changes.
An example of the photosensitive resin composition or image recording material which can be recorded by such an infrared laser is the composition or recording material which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,925 and which is composed of an onium salt, a phenolic resin, and a spectral sensitizer. This composition or recording material is a positive-type image recording material which uses the onium salt component and the phenolic resin component to inhibit dissolution in a developing solution.
On the other hand, an example of a negative-type image recording material is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 8-276,558. This recording material comprises a substance which absorbs light to generate heat, an alkali-soluble resin, and a specific phenol derivative which has 4-8 benzene rings in the molecule.
However, none of these photosensitive resin compositions and image recording materials had sufficient sensitivity to laser exposure. Despite various attempts thitherto made to increase the sensitivity of these recording materials, generally, any steps taken to increase the sensitivity of these recording materials tended to impair the storage stability of the recording materials. In particular, poor storage stability under high humidity conditions presented a problem.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a photosensitive resin composition or image recording material which can be directly inscribed using an infrared ray emitting solid state laser or semiconductor laser according to digital data from a computer or the like and which has a high sensitivity to the infrared laser and superior storage stability under highly humid conditions. Another object of the present invention is to provide a planographic printing plate using the photosensitive resin compositions or image recording materials.
The present inventors have conducted intense studies of the components of a photosensitive resin composition or recording material which can be directly inscribed by scanning using an infrared ray. As a result, they have found that the use as a binder polymer of a phenolic polymer which has on a polymer main chain a structural unit represented by the following general formula I-(1) having a specific functional group and has a molecular weight of 1000 or more makes it possible to increase the film density of the photosensitive film of the image recording material since the specific functional group strongly interacts with an adjacent phenolic hydroxyl group in the binder.
Accordingly, the above-mentioned objects can be achieved by the following image recording material and by a planographic printing plate using the image recording material.
The image recording material of the present invention comprises (a) a phenolic polymer, which has on a polymer main chain a structural unit represented by the following general formula I-(1) and has a molecular weight of 1000 or more, and (b) an infrared ray absorbing agent,
wherein Ar
1
represents an aromatic hydrocarbon ring which may have a substituent group; R
1
and R
2
may be the same or different and each represents a hydrogen atom or a hydrocarbon group having 12 or less carbon atoms; n is an integer of 1 to 3; r is an integer chosen in accordance with the molecular weight; X represents a divalent linking group; Y represents either a di- to quadrivalent linking group having at least one partial structure selected from the following Y
1
groups or a terminal group terminated with a hydrogen atom; and Z is absent when Y is a terminal group, but Z represents either a mono- to quadrivalent linking group or a terminal group when Y is a linking group.
The planographic printing plate of the present invention comprises a substrate having thereon a photosensitive layer composed of the above-described image recording layer.
Where the image recording material and the planographic printing plate using the image recording material are of a negative type, they comprise a compound (c) cross-linkable by the action of an acid and a compound (d) which generates an acid by the action of heat in addition to the above-described components.
Where the image recording material and the planographic printing plate using the image recording material are of a positive type, an onium-type infrared ray absorbing agent is suitably used as an infrared ray absorbing agent (b).
As another aspect of the invention, the present inventors have found that the use as a binder polymer of a polymer (a), which has a structural unit in which the hydrogen atom of a phenolic hydroxyl group is substituted with a specific functional group —X—Y′—Z′, namely a polymer having at least the structural unit represented by the general formula II-(1) or the structural unit represented by the general formula II-(2) and further a phenolic hydroxyl group, makes it possible to increase the film density of the photosensitive film of the photosensitive resin composition since the specific functional group strongly interacts with an adjacent phenolic hydroxyl group in the binder.
Accordingly, the above-mentioned objects can be achieved by the following photosensitive resin compositions [A] to [D] and planographic printing plates.
The photosensitive resin composition [A] of the present invention comprises a polymer which has at least a structural unit represented by the following general formula II-(1) as a polymer backbone or a structural unit represented by the following general formula II-(2) as a side chain linked to a polymer backbone and further a phenolic hydroxyl group,
wherein Ar represents an aromatic hydrocarbon ring which may have a substituent group; X represents a divalent linking group; Y′ represents a divalent linking group having at least one partial structure selected from the following Y′
1
groups; Z′ represents a monovalent terminal group; and X
2
represents a single bond or a divalent linking group which contains one or more atoms selected from C, H, N, O, and S and which has 20 or less carbon atoms.
The photosensitive resin composition [B] of the present invention c
Burns Doane , Swecker, Mathis LLP
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
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