Multiple registration and imaging process to form a set of registered imaged elements

Claim 1

A process of registering and imagewise exposing to actinic radiation a set of sheet substrates registratable to one another to produce a composite image, each substrate containing a photosensitive layer comprising the steps of: (1) advancing a substrate to a position in a device to undertake in either order or concurrently (a) aligning the substrate and a photomask in a predetermined relationship to one another through a hinged relationship of the photomask and the substrate to permit substantially identical alignment of a photomask and each similar sheet substrate of the sequence; (b) applying a liquid between the photosensitive layer and the photomask; (2) contacting through the liquid the substrate containing the photosensitive layer and the photomask wherein liquid between the photosensitive layer and the photomask is displaced when the substrate and photomask are brought into more intimate contact by an advancing pressure line whereby during said contacting substantially no movement of the photosensitive layer relative to the photomask occurs other than a more intimate contact due to displacement of the liquid from a liquid layer and whereby at least one of a set of interfacial or viscous forces due to the liquid layer aids to maintain the photosensitive layer and photomask in a fixed position relative to one another; (3) exposing the photosensitive layer to actinic radiation through the photomask; (4) removing the photomask from the exposed photosensitive layer and removing the exposed substrate from the device; (5) repeating steps 1 to 4 for each sheet substrate of said set employing at least one additional photomask whereby the exposed substrates are registratable to one another to produce a composite image.