Process for developing photographic elements

Claim 2

A process according to claim 1 wherein said color-developing agent is imbibed in said photographic element before contact with said amplifier composition.

Claim 3

A process according to claim 1 wherein said development restrainer is a benzotriazole compound.

Claim 4

A process according to claim 1 wherein said photographic element is developed in an aqueous developer bath comprising a silver halide developing agent before contact with said amplifier composition.

Claim 5

A process according to claim 5 wherein said silver halide developing agent is a primary aromatic amino compound.

Claim 6

A process according to claim 5 wherein said developer contains at least two silver halide developing agents which comprise a primary aromatic amino compound and at least one other compound which is a black-and-white silver halide developing agent.

Claim 7

A process according to claim 5 wherein said silver halide developing agent is a black-and-white silver halide developing agent.

Claim 8

A process according to claim 1 wherein said photographic element comprises at least two of said color-providing layer units.

Claim 9

A process according to claim 9 wherein each of said color-providing layer units comprises said color coupler in at least a 40 percent stoichiometric excess based on effective silver.

Claim 10

In a process of developing an imagewise-exposed photographic element comprising a support and at least one image dye-providing layer unit thereon which contains a light-sensitive silver halide emulsion having associated therewith a color coupler, the improvement comprising development of the imagewise-exposed silver halide emulsion to provide an imagewise distribution of metallic silver and imbibition of a color-developing agent in said photographic element, and then contacting said photographic element with an amplifier composition which contains a development resTrainer in a concentration sufficient to repress substantially additional net silver development and wherein said amplifier solution contains a cobalt(III) metal complex having a coordination number of 6 and said amplifier solution is maintained in contact with said photographic element under conditions which reduce said cobalt(III) to cobalt(II) and in turn oxidize said color-developing agent to provide an increase in dye density with dye produced from said coupler in the areas corresponding to the imagewise distribution of said metallic silver.

Claim 11

A process according to claim 11 wherein said amplifier bath contains a sufficient quantity of development restrainer to repress substantially any further net silver development.

Claim 12

A process according to claim 11 wherein said color-developing agent imbibed in said photographic element is an aromatic primary amino compound.

Claim 13

A process according to claim 11 wherein said development of the imagewise-exposed silver halide emulsion is carried out in a liquid which is substantially free of cobalt (III) metal complex salts.

Claim 14

A process according to claim 11 wherein said amplifier bath is substantially free of silver halide solvents or contains less than 30 percent by weight of the silver halide solvent which would be necessary to fix a silver halide emulsion.

Claim 15

A process according to claim 11 wherein the photographic element is developed in solution and contacted with an amplifying bath which is maintained at temperatures of above 90* F.

Claim 16

A process according to claim 11 wherein said color-providing layer unit in said photographic element contains a silver halide emulsion in concentrations of up to 30 mg. of silver per square foot.

Claim 17

A process according to claim 11 wherein said photographic element is a multicolor photographic element comprising at least two color-providing layer units which each contains a silver halide emulsion having associated therewith a photographic color coupler in at least a 40 percent stoichiometric excess based on silver.

Claim 18

A process according to claim 11 wherein said photographic element is a photographic element comprising at least one image dye-providing layer unit which contains a silver halide emulsion having associated therewith a water-insoluble image dye-providing coupler dissolved in a coupler solvent wherein said coupler is present in at least a 40 percent stoichiometric excess based on effective silver.

Claim 19

A process according to claim 18 wherein each of said color-providing layer units contains a silver halide emulsion at a concentration of less than 30 mg. of silver per square foot.

Claim 20

A process according to claim 11 wherein the halide concentration of all silver halide emulsions in said element is less than 3 mole persent iodide.

Claim 21

A process according to claim 12 wherein said development restrainer is substantially free of ionic iodide groups and free mercapto groups.

Claim 22

A process according to claim 12 wherein said development restrainer is the combination of from 0.01 to 2 g./l. of a benzotriazole and from 2 g. to 40 g./l. of an alkali metal bromide.

Claim 23

A process according to claim 11 wherein said amplifier bath contains from 2 g. to 40 g. of an alkali metal bromide.

Claim 24

A process according to claim 11 wherein said cobalt(III) metal complex is a cobalt hexammine salt.

Claim 25

A process according to claim 11 wherein said color-developing agent is 4-amino-N-ethyl-N-(2-methoxyethyl)-m-toluidine di-p-toluenesulfonate.

Claim 26

A process according to claim 11 wherein said amplifier bath contains a coupling accelerator which is an alcohol.

Claim 27

A process according to claim 11 where development of said silver halide emulsion is carried out in a bath which contains a coupling accelerator which is an alcohol.

Claim 28

A process according to claim 11 wherein the halide of the silver halide emulsion in said element is less than 0.25 mole percent iodide.

Claim 29

A process according to claim 11 wherein said imagewise-exposed silver halide emulsion is developed in the presence of a black-and-white developing agent.

Claim 30

A process according to claim 11 wherein said imagewise-exposed silver halide emulsion is developed in the presence of an aromatic primary amino compound and at least one other compound which is a black-and-white silver halide developing agent.

Claim 31

A process for developing an imagewise-exposed photographic element comprising a support having at least one layer unit thereon which contains a silver halide emulsion which has associated therewith at least a 40 percent stoichiometric excess of an image dye-forming color coupler based on silver, which process comprises 1) a development step wherein said photographic element is developed to form an imagewise distribution of silver and an aromatic primary amino color-developing agent is imbibed in said photographic element, and then 2) contacting said photographic element with an amplifier bath containing a) a cobalt (III) metal complex having a coordination number of 6 and b) a development restrainer for sufficient time to produce image dye in addition to any dye produced in said development step.

Claim 32

A process for providing or intensifying an image record in an imagewise-exposed photographic element comprising a support having thereon at least one image dye-providing layer unit which contains a light-sensitive silver halide emulsion and a dye image-providing coupler in at least a 40 percent excess based on effective silver, comprising the steps of 1) developing said photographic element in the presence of an aromatic primary amino color-developing agent and 2) contacting said element with an amplifier composition which comprises a cobalt(III) metal complex, an alkali metal bromide at a concentration of from 2 g. to 40 g./l., an organic development restrainer at a concentration of from 0.01 to 2 g./l., and wherein said amplifier composition contains less than 30 percent by weight of the silver halide solvent which would be necessary to fix said silver halide emulsion.

Claim 33

A process according to claim 33 wherein the temperature of the amplifier composition is maintained at above 100* F.

Claim 34

A process according to claim 33 wherein said cobalt(III) metal complex is cobalt hexammine.

Claim 35

A process according to claim 33 wherein said image dye-providing layer unit contains said color coupler in at least a 110 percent stoichiometric excess based on effective silver.

Claim 36

A process for providing or intensifying an image record in an imagewise-exposed photographic element comprising a support having thereon at least two image dye-providing layer units each of which contains a light-sensitive silver halide emulsion and at least a 40 percent excess of an image dye-providing color coupler based on effective silver, comprising the steps of 1) developing said photographic element in the presence of an aromatic primary amino color-developing agent and 2) contacting said element with an amplifier composition which comprises a cobalt(III) metal complex, an alkali metal bromide at a concentration of from 2 g. to 40 g./l., an organic development restrainer at a concentration of from 0.01 to 2 g./l., and wherein said amplifier composition contains less than 30 percent by weight of the silver halide solvent which would be necessary to fix said silver halide emulsion.

Claim 37

A process according to claim 37 wherein said image dye-providing couplers are water-insoluble couplers dissolved in a coupler solvent.

Claim 38

A process according to claim 37 wherein one of said image dye-providing layer units comprises a cyan dye-providing coupler and another of said image dye-providing layer units comprises a magenta dye-providing coupler and each of said layer units comprises said silver halide emulsion at a concentration oF less than 30 mg./ft.2.

Claim 39

A process according to claim 37 wherein each of said image dye-providing layers contain a 110 percent stoichiometric excess of said image dye-providing color coupler.