Method of lacquering photographic emulsions and products produced thereby

Claim 1

METHOD FOR THE PREPARATION OF A CONTINUOUS PROTECTIVE THERMOPLASTIC LACQUER COATING ON A PHOTOGRAPHIC PAPER HAVING A GELATINOUS SENSITIZED PHOTOGRAPHIC EMULSION LAYER COMPRISING THE STEPS OF (1) THINLY COATING THE EMULSION LAYER WHILE IT IS IN A LIGHT-SENSITIVE PHOTOGRAPHICALLY UNEXPOSED CONDITION WITH A TRANSPARENT THERMOPLASTIC LACQUER CONTAINING INTIMATELY ADMIXED THEREITH ABOUT 25% TO 50% BY WEIGHT OF A FINELY DIVIDED WATER-SOLUBLE EXTENDER WHICH IS INSOLUBLE IN COMPOUNENTS OF THE LACQUER, (2) AFTER THE LACQUER COATING HAS DRIED, FORMING A LATENT IMAGE IN THE EMULSION LAYER BY PHOTOGRAPHIC EXPOSURE THROGUH THE LACQUER, (3) CONTACTING THE EXPOSED EMULSION LAYER WITH AN AQUEOUS DEVELOPING SOLUTION, THEREBY DISSOLVING FROM THE LACQUER COATING THE WATER-SOLUBLE EXTENDER AND DEVELOPING THE LATENT IMAGE WITH DEVELOPING SOLUTION WHICH REACHES THE EMULSION THROGUH PERFORATIONS RESULTING FROM REMOVAL OF THE WATER-SOLUBLE EXTENDER, (4) FIXING THE DEVELOPED IMAGE, (5) WASHING AND DRYING THE EMULSION, AND (6) HEATING THE COATED SURFACE OF THE EMULSION LAYER TO A TEMPERATURE BELOW THE CHAR POINT OF THE LACQUER BUT ABOVE THE FUSION POINT THEREOF, THEREBY PROVIDING A GLOSSY WATER REPELLENT CONTINUOUS LACQUER FILM ON THE SURFACE OF THE EMULSION LAYER.