Photographic process for forming a positive transfer image

Claim 1

A PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESS FOR FORMING, BY TRANSFER, A POSITIVE PRINT OF A LATENT IMAGE CONTAINED IN THE SILVER HALIDE EMULSION OF A PHOTOSENSITIVE ELEMENT WHEREIN A SINGLE APPLICATION OF LIQUID TO SAID ELEMENT IS EFFECTIVE TO GIVE A FINISHED PRINT OF IMPROVED STABILITY, WHICH PROCESS COMPRISES THE STEPS OF BRINGING A RELATIVELY UNIFORM LAYERWISE DISTRIBUTION OF A PROCESSING LIQUID INTO CONTACT WITH THE PHOTOSENSITIVE ELEMENT SO AS TO PERMEATE SAID EMULSION WITH SAID LIQUID, SAID LAYERWISE DISTRITBUTION OF PROCESSING LIQUID PROVIDING THE ENTIRE MASS OF LIQUID FOR PERFORMING SAID PROCESSING; CAUSING SAID LIQUID TO PERMEATE SAID PHOTOSENSITIVE ELEMENT WHILE A PRINT-RECEIVING ELEMENT IS SUPERPOSED THEREWITH AND PROVIDING, AS REAGENTS IN SAID PROCESSING LIQUID, A SILIVER HALIDE DEVELOPER CHARACTERIZED BY ITS PROPENSITY FOR OXIDIZING IN AN ALKALINE ENVIRONMENT TO FORM STAINS, A SILVER HALIDE SOLVENT CAPABLE OF FORMING TRANSFERABLE SOLUBLE SILVER COMPLEXES WITH THE UNEXPOSED SILVER HALIDE OF SAID EMULSION, AN ALKALI AND ASCORBIC ACID THE OXIDATION CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LATTER BEING SUCH THAT IT SERVES AS AN ANTIOXIDANT FOR SAID DEVELOPER, SAID ASCORBIC ACID BEING CAPABLE OF COOPERATING WITH SAID DEVELOPER IN THE REDUCTION OF THE SILVER OF SOLUBLE SILVER COMPLEXES; DEVELOPING SAID EMULSIONLAYER WITH SAID PROCESSING LIQUID AND TRANSFERRING FROM SAID EMULSION LAYER, BY IMBITION, AT LEAST PART OF SAID SOLUBLE SILVER COMPLEXES ONTO A PRINT-RECEIVING STRATUM SUPPORTED BY SAID PRINT-RECEIVING ELEMENT; REDUCING BY SAID PROCESSING LIQUID THE SILVER IONS OF SAID SOLUBLE SILVER COMPLEXES TO SILVER IN SAID PRINT-RECEIVING STRATUM TO FORM AN IMAGE INSILVER WHICH IS POSITIVE OF THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THE LATENT IMAGE DEVELOPED IN THE SILVER HALIDE EMULSION; AND SEPARATING SAID STRATUM WITH SAID PRINT-RECEIVING ELEMENT FROM SAID PHOTOSENSITIVE LAYER, A QUANTITY OF SAID ASCORBIC ACID BEING PERMANENTLY RETAINED IN SAID STRATUM AND INHIBITING SUCH RESIDUAL AMOUNTS OF SAID SILVER HALIDE DEVELOPER AS MAY BE IN SAID STRATUM FROM FORMING STAINS THEREIN.