Dye image forming process using shifted azo dye developer

Claim 1

In a process for forming a dye image on a receiving element by diffusion transfer from a photosensitive element comprising a support and a silver halide photosensitive layer thereon wherein said photosensitive element is imagewise exposed, the improvement comprising: (a) processing the exposed photosensitive element with an alkaline solution in the presence of a dye developer having one azo radical therein to form an image of a diffusible dye in said photosensitive element, said dye developer being represented by the formula ##STR9## wherein A represents substituted or unsubstituted aromatic hydrocarbon, aromatic heterocyclic ring, or active methylene or active methine-containing compound-residue which can have at least one substituent selected from alkyl, aromatic hydrocarbon, alkoxy, aryloxy, halogen, nitro, cyano, acylamino, alkylamino, amyl, acyloxy, aralkyl, hydroxyl, amino, carbamoyl, sulfamoyl, and arylamino; R 1 , r 2 , and R 3 individually represent hydrogen, halogen, nitro, alkyl, halogen-substituted alkyl, alkyloxy, aryloxy, alkylamido, arylamido, carbamoyl or sulfamoyl, and R 1 and R 2 can co-operatively form a naphthalene nucleus and, in that case, R 3 is bonded to any position of the naphthalene nucleus; R 4 represents hydrogen, alkyl, aromatic hydrocarbon, alkoxy, aryloxy, halogen, nitro, cyano, acylamino, alkylamino, amyl, acyloxy, aralkyl, hydroxyl, amino, carbamoyl, sulfamoyl, and arylamino; X represents a --CO--, --N(alkyl)--, --NH--, --S--, --O--, --SO 2 --, alkylene, allylene, --NHCO alkylene--, --SO 2 NH alkylene--, NHCO alkylene S--, divalent alicyclic or divalent heterocyclic group; Yo represents alkyl of 1 to 5 carbon atoms being substituted with at least one halogen in at least one of α- or β- positions of the alkyl, --OZ o or ##STR10## in which Z o is unsubstituted or substituted alkyl of 1 to 5 carbon atoms or unsubstituted or substituted phenyl, and X o is hydrogen or a substituent as defined in Z o , Z represents hydrogen or acyl; m and n are individually a value of 0 or 1; p and q are individually a value of 0 or 1, but the sum of p and q is 1 or more, r is an integer of 1 to 5; and x, y and z are individually a value of 0, 1 or 2, provided that when A is aromatic hydrocarbon, x+y+z is 1 or 2 and, when A is other than aromatic hydrocarbon, x+y is 1 or 2; and (b) superimposing the receiving element on the photosensitive element at least during said processing step whereby the diffusible dye image is transferred onto the receiving element.