Light-sensitive o-quinone diazide copying composition

Claim 1

A composition for a light-sensitive copying layer consisting essentially of an admixture of distinct compounds selected from a), b) and c) below: (a) an o-quinonediazide compound which has at least one o-quinonediazide group which undergoes an increase in solubility in alkaline solution upon irradiation with active light; (b) a resin selected from the group consisting of a phenol-formaldehyde resin, a cresol-formaldehyde resin, a styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer or a methacrylic acid-methylmethacrylate copolymer; and (c) at least one of a secondary or a tertiary aliphatic, hydroxy aliphatic or aromatic amine or hexamethylene-tetramine having a boiling point of not less than about 200° C., wherein said aliphatic amine is tributylamine or triamylamine, said hydroxy aliphatic amine is diethanolamine, N-methylethanolamine, N-methylidiethanolamine, dipropanolamine, or triethanolamine and wherein said aromatic amine is diethylaniline, wherein the proportion of said amine c) to said o-quinonediazide compound a) ranges from about 0.005 to 1 part by weight, per part by weight fo said o-quinonediazide compound and wherein said composition when used as a supported light-sensitive layer is capable, after image-wise exposure to active light, of forming a positive or negative image in the same layer, said positive image being formed by processing with an alkaline developer and said negative image being formed by heating, subsequent to exposure of previously unexposed or all portions of the layer with active light followed by processing with an alkaline developer.