JP2001042539A - Photosensitive or heat-sensitive image forming material - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a photosensitive or heat-sensitive image forming material capable of directly making a printing plate using IR laser, having high sensitivity and excellent in shelf stability. SOLUTION: A recording layer comprising a composition whose solubility to water or alkaline water is varied by the action of light or heat is disposed on a substrate and a 2nd layer having the same function as the recording layer and having higher sensitivity to the action of light or heat than the recording layer is disposed on the recording layer to obtain the objective photosensitive or heat sensitive image forming material. An IR absorber is preferably contained in the image forming material from the viewpoint of the attainment of high sensitivity recording using IR laser.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a lithographic printing plate material,
The present invention relates to a photosensitive or heat-sensitive image forming material that can be used as a color proof, a photoresist and a color filter.
In particular, the present invention relates to a negative or positive photosensitive or heat-sensitive image forming material which can be used as a so-called direct plate making planographic printing plate material which can be directly made by scanning an infrared laser based on a digital signal from a computer or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the development of lasers has been remarkable. In particular, solid-state lasers and semiconductor lasers (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "infrared lasers") which emit infrared light having a wavelength of 760 nm to 1200 nm have high output and small size. Is now readily available. These infrared lasers are very useful as recording light sources when directly making a printing plate using digital data from a computer or the like.
Accordingly, there is a demand for a photosensitive resin composition having a high sensitivity to such an infrared recording light source, that is, a photosensitive resin composition in which a photochemical reaction or the like is caused by irradiation with infrared rays and the solubility in a developing solution is greatly changed. It is growing in recent years.

A variety of recording materials sensitive to these various laser beams have been studied. As a typical example, as a material recordable with an infrared laser having a photosensitive wavelength of 760 nm or more, a positive type material described in US Pat. Recording materials include acid-catalyzed crosslinkable negative recording materials described in JP-A-8-276558. Also, 300n
Examples of recording materials compatible with ultraviolet or visible light lasers having a wavelength of from m to 700 nm include a radical polymerization type negative recording material as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,850,445 and JP-B-44-20189. like this,
Although the recording material using radical polymerization can achieve high sensitivity, there is a problem that the sensitivity is greatly reduced due to inhibition of polymerization of oxygen.

Each of these image forming materials is formed by forming a single recording layer having a single composition on a support such as aluminum. In a single recording layer composed of a uniform composition, the effect of the energy beam from the light source decreases as the depth of the light from the surface of the photosensitive layer toward the support decreases due to the influence of the photosensitive material, and the effect is minimal near the support interface. Tend to be. In addition, when infrared rays are used for exposure, the problem of heat diffusion to the back surface of the support is involved, and this tendency is further enhanced. To alleviate this tendency, it is possible to take measures to improve the sensitivity of the recording layer itself. However, extreme increase in sensitivity leads to a decrease in storage stability in a high-temperature environment, which is a practical problem. An image forming material having high sensitivity and good storage stability has been desired.

[0005] On the other hand, a material recordable by short-wavelength light of 300 nm or less and an electron beam is particularly important as a photoresist material. In recent years, the degree of integration of integrated circuits has been further increased, and the processing of ultra-fine patterns having a line width of less than half a micron has been required even in the manufacture of semiconductor substrates such as VLSI. The wavelength used by an exposure apparatus used for lithography is becoming shorter and shorter, and far ultraviolet light or excimer laser light (XeCl, Kr
F, ArF, etc.), and the formation of an ultrafine pattern using an electron beam has been studied. In particular, electron beams are promising as light sources for next-generation pattern formation technology. As a problem common to all of these image forming materials, the above-described various energy irradiated portions and the non-irradiated portions, that is,
It is how the ON-OFF of the image can be enlarged in the image portion and the non-image portion. In this regard, regarding the recording layer having a single composition described above, for example, in a negative type image forming material, The problem is that the adhesion between the support and the image area is insufficient, and in the case of a positive type image forming material, the problem of a residual film on the support due to insufficient image area developability is caused. Further, from the viewpoint of achieving both the sensitivity and the storage stability as described above, a satisfactory technique has not been obtained in these respects, and a new technology which has not existed in the past has been required.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to use a solid-state laser and a semiconductor laser for irradiating infrared rays.
An object of the present invention is to provide a photosensitive or heat-sensitive image forming material which can be directly made from digital data of a computer or the like, has high sensitivity, and has good storage stability.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems The inventors of the present invention have conducted intensive studies focusing on the layer structure of the recording layer of the image forming material, and as a result, provided a recording layer having ordinary sensitivity near the support, By arranging a recording layer having higher sensitivity to the exposure light source near the exposure surface, it was found that a material having high sensitivity to infrared laser and good storage stability could be obtained. The invention has been completed. That is, the light-sensitive or heat-sensitive image forming material of the present invention comprises a support provided with a recording layer made of a composition whose solubility in water or alkaline water is changed by the action of light or heat. A second layer having the same function as the recording layer and having higher sensitivity to the action of light or heat than the recording layer. Here, by adding an infrared absorber to the photosensitive or heat-sensitive image forming material, high-sensitivity recording with an infrared laser becomes possible.

Although the function of the present invention is not clear, in the image forming material of the present invention, by providing a more sensitive layer having the same function as the recording layer in the vicinity of the exposed surface, physical properties on the surface of the recording layer can be improved. A large change in (solubility) occurred, and this influence governed the developability of the entire recording layer, and high-sensitivity recording could be performed. Usually, when a high-sensitivity recording layer is provided, there is a problem that the stability at the time of high-temperature storage is reduced. However, the storage stability under the high-temperature environment is actually reduced by a support having good thermal conductivity. It is largely attributable to the change of the recording layer at the interface, and therefore, by arranging a recording layer with good stability having normal sensitivity as the recording layer near the support, the entire recording layer is governed by this stability,
As a result, good storage stability could be maintained even at a high temperature. Therefore, both high sensitivity and storage stability at high temperatures were achieved by this layer configuration. In the present invention, the photosensitive or heat-sensitive image forming material (hereinafter, appropriately,
Simply referred to as an image forming material) includes an image forming material that is sensitive to both light and heat.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail. The image-forming material of the present invention only needs to laminate two recording layers having different sensitivities to light or heat used for recording on a support, and the constitution of the recording layer is not particularly limited. In the image forming material of the present invention, examples of the recording layer that can be suitably used include a negative-type recording layer such as a known radical polymerization type and an acid-catalyzed crosslinking type (including cationic polymerization). In these, a radical or an acid generated by light irradiation or heating becomes an initiator or a catalyst, and a compound constituting the recording layer causes a polymerization reaction or a cross-linking reaction, and cures to form an image area. As the positive recording layer, known acid-catalyzed decomposition systems and interaction cancellation systems (thermosensitive positive)
Is mentioned. These become soluble in water or alkaline water by the action of releasing the bond of the polymer compound forming the layer by the acid or heat energy itself generated by light irradiation or heating, and are removed by development to become non-soluble. This forms an image portion. The present invention is based on a principle utilizing a difference in sensitivity (reactivity) between recording layers, and is not affected by the type of photosensitive or heat-sensitive material constituting the recording layer.

Hereinafter, each constitution of the image forming material of the present invention will be specifically described. The image forming material of the present invention is provided with a recording layer made of a composition whose solubility in water or alkaline water is changed by the action of light or heat on a support, and this recording layer is generally insoluble, In addition, it contains an alkali-water-soluble polymer, and the bond of the polymer constituting this layer is broken by the action of light or heat, or the bond is strengthened or newly formed and cured, so that an alkali developer is obtained. This is a layer in which the solubility in is increased or decreased. In the present invention, a water-insoluble and alkaline water-soluble polymer is simply referred to as “alkali water-soluble polymer” as appropriate. When performing negative-type recording using the image-forming material of the present invention, the recording layer has a configuration in which the solubility in an alkali developing solution is reduced by the action of light or heat, and the above-mentioned alkaline water-soluble polymer is further added with an acid. And a compound capable of generating an acid by heat. Further, when performing positive recording, the solubility in an alkali developer is increased by the action of light or heat, and from the viewpoint of promoting the solubilization of the alkali water-soluble polymer, as an infrared absorber. An onium salt-type infrared absorber is preferably used.

As the binder polymer which can be used in the present invention, a known polymer compound suitable for each of the negative type and the positive type can be used. In this case, the following polymer compounds can be used depending on the case of each of the negative type and the positive type. Preferred polymers that can be used in the recording layer of the negative-type image forming material include polymers having an aromatic hydrocarbon ring directly bonded to a hydroxy group or an alkoxy group in a side chain or a main chain. As the alkoxy group, those having 20 or less carbon atoms are preferable from the viewpoint of sensitivity. As the aromatic hydrocarbon ring, a benzene ring, a naphthalene ring or an anthracene ring is preferable from the viewpoint of availability of raw materials. These aromatic hydrocarbon rings have a substituent other than a hydroxy group or an alkoxy group,
For example, it may have a substituent such as a halogen group or a cyano group, but preferably has no substituent other than a hydroxy group or an alkoxy group from the viewpoint of sensitivity.

In the present invention, a binder polymer that can be suitably used is a polymer having a structural unit represented by the following general formula (III) or a phenol resin such as a novolak resin.

[0013]

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Where Ar^TwoIs a benzene ring, naphthalene
A ring or an anthracene ring. R ^FourIs a hydrogen atom or
Represents a methyl group. R^FiveIs a hydrogen atom or carbon number 20
Represents up to alkoxy groups. X¹Is a single bond or
Containing one or more atoms selected from C, H, N, O, and S
And a divalent linking group having 0 to 20 carbon atoms. k
Represents an integer of 1 to 4.

First, in the present invention, preferred examples of the structural unit represented by the general formula (III) ([BP-1]
To [BP-6]) below, but the invention is not limited thereto.

[0016]

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[0017]

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The polymer having these structural units can be obtained by radical polymerization using a corresponding monomer by a conventionally known method.

In the present invention, as the binder polymer,
Although a homopolymer composed of only the structural unit represented by the general formula (III) may be used, a copolymer having a structural unit derived from another known monomer may be used together with the specific structural unit. good. Other known monomers used at this time include, for example, acrylates such as methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate, propyl acrylate, butyl acrylate, 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, cyclohexyl acrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate, and benzyl acrylate; Methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate, propyl methacrylate, butyl methacrylate, 2-ethylhexyl methacrylate, cyclohexyl methacrylate, 2
-Methacrylic esters such as hydroxyethyl methacrylate and benzyl methacrylate; styrene, acrylonitrile, and monomers having an acidic group such as acrylic acid and methacrylic acid; and sodium salts of p-styrenesulfonic acid and 2-acrylamide-2-methyl Monomers containing a salt of a strong acid such as an alkali metal salt of propanesulfonic acid, a tetraalkylammonium salt, and a potassium salt of 3-sulfopropylacrylate are exemplified.

The proportion of the structural unit represented by the general formula (III) contained in the copolymer using these is 50 to 100.
% By weight, more preferably 60 to 60% by weight.
100% by weight. The weight average molecular weight of the polymer used in the present invention is preferably 5,000 or more,
More preferably, it is in the range of 10,000 to 300,000, and the number average molecular weight is preferably 1,000 or more, and more preferably in the range of 2000 to 250,000. The polydispersity (weight average molecular weight / number average molecular weight) is preferably 1 or more, and more preferably in the range of 1.1 to 10.

These polymers are random polymers,
Any of a block polymer and a graft polymer may be used, but a random polymer is preferred.

Examples of the solvent used for synthesizing the polymer used in the present invention include tetrahydrofuran, ethylene dichloride, cyclohexanone, methyl ethyl ketone, acetone, methanol, ethanol, ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, ethylene glycol monoethyl ether, -Methoxyethyl acetate, diethylene glycol dimethyl ether, 1-methoxy-2-propanol, 1-methoxy-2-propyl acetate, N, N-dimethylformamide, N, N-
Examples include dimethylacetamide, toluene, ethyl acetate, methyl lactate, ethyl lactate, dimethyl sulfoxide, water and the like. These solvents are used alone or in combination of two or more.

As the radical polymerization initiator used for synthesizing the polymer used in the present invention, known compounds such as an azo initiator and a peroxide initiator can be used.

Next, novolaks will be described. The novolak resin preferably used in the present invention includes phenol novolak, o-, m-, p- various cresol novolaks, and copolymers thereof, novolaks using phenol substituted with a halogen atom, an alkyl group, and the like. Can be The weight average molecular weight of these novolak resins is preferably at least 1,000, more preferably 2,000.
And a number average molecular weight of preferably 100
0 or more, more preferably 2000 to 15000
Range. The polydispersity is preferably 1 or more, more preferably in the range of 1.1 to 10.

Novolak resins which can be suitably used as the additive polymer include phenol novolak,
Various cresol novolaks of o-, m-, and p-, and copolymers thereof, and novolaks using phenol substituted with a halogen atom, an alkyl group, or the like can be given. The weight average molecular weight of these novolak resins is preferably 1000 or more, and more preferably in the range of 2000 to 200,000,000. The number average molecular weight is preferably at least 1,000, more preferably in the range of 2,000 to 150,000. The polydispersity is preferably 1 or more, more preferably 1.1 to 10.

Next, as the polymer compound usable for the positive type image forming material, a homopolymer containing an acidic group in a main chain and / or a side chain of the polymer, a copolymer thereof, or a copolymer thereof may be used. And mixtures. Above all, (1)
Those having an acidic group described in (6) in the main chain and / or side chain of the polymer are preferable in terms of solubility in an alkaline developer and development of dissolution inhibiting ability.

(1) Phenol group (—Ar—OH) (2) Sulfonamide group (—SO ₂ NH—R) (3) Substituted sulfonamide acid group (hereinafter referred to as “active imide group”) SO ₂ NHCOR, -SO ₂ NHSO ₂ R, -CO
NHSO ₂ R] (4) Carboxylic acid group (—CO ₂ H) (5) Sulfonic acid group (—SO ₃ H) (6) Phosphate group (—OPO ₃ H ₂ )

In the above (1) to (6), Ar represents a divalent aryl linking group which may have a substituent, and R represents a hydrocarbon group which may have a substituent. .

Among the alkaline water-soluble polymers having an acidic group selected from the above (1) to (6), among the alkaline water-soluble polymers having (1) a phenol group, (2) a sulfonamide group and (3) an active imide group, A polymer is preferable, and an alkali water-soluble polymer having (1) a phenol group or (2) a sulfonamide group is most preferable in terms of sufficiently securing solubility in an alkaline developer, development latitude, and film strength.

Examples of the alkali water-soluble polymer having an acidic group selected from the above (1) to (6) include the following. (1) Examples of the alkaline water-soluble polymer having a phenol group include a condensation polymer of phenol and formaldehyde, a condensation polymer of m-cresol and formaldehyde, a condensation polymer of p-cresol and formaldehyde,
Condensed polymer of m- / p-mixed cresol and formaldehyde, phenol and cresol (m-, p- or m
-/ P- mixture) and a novolak resin such as a condensation polymer of formaldehyde, and a condensation polymer of pyrogallol and acetone. further,
Copolymers obtained by copolymerizing a compound having a phenol group in the side chain can also be used. Alternatively, a copolymer obtained by copolymerizing a compound having a phenol group in the side chain can be used.

Examples of the compound having a phenol group include acrylamide, methacrylamide, acrylate, methacrylate, and hydroxystyrene having a phenol group.

Weight average molecular weight of alkaline water soluble polymer
Is 5.0 × 10^Two~ 2.0 × 10^Four And the number average molecular weight is
2.0 × 10^Two~ 1.0 × 10^FourWhat is image forming
It is preferred in terms of. In addition, these polymers are used alone
Not only can you use two or more kinds in combination
No. If combined, see US Pat. No. 4,123,279.
T-butyl phenol as described in US Pat.
And octylpheno
Number of carbon atoms, such as polycondensates of
A phenol having 3 to 8 alkyl groups as substituents;
A condensation polymer with formaldehyde may be used in combination.

(2) Examples of the alkali water-soluble polymer having a sulfonamide group include a polymer having, as a main constituent, a minimum structural unit derived from a compound having a sulfonamide group. Examples of the compound as described above include a compound having at least one sulfonamide group in which at least one hydrogen atom is bonded to a nitrogen atom and at least one polymerizable unsaturated group in the molecule. Among them, an acryloyl group, an allyl group, or a vinyloxy group, and a substituted or monosubstituted aminosulfonyl group or a substituted sulfonylimino group, and a low-molecular compound having in the molecule are preferable, for example, represented by the following general formulas 1 to 5 Compounds.

[0034]

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[Where X is¹, X^TwoAre independently-
O- or -NR²⁷Represents-. R^{twenty one}, R^{twenty four}Respectively
Independently a hydrogen atom or -CH_ThreeRepresents R^{twenty two}, R^{twenty five}, R
²⁹, R ³²And R³⁶Each independently has a substituent
An alkylene group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms, cycloalkyl
Represents a len group, an arylene group or an aralkylene group. R
^{twenty three}, R²⁷And R³³Are each independently a hydrogen atom, a substituent
An alkyl group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms which may have
Represents a loalkyl group, an aryl group or an aralkyl group.
Also, R²⁶, R³⁷Each independently has a substituent
C1-C12 alkyl group, cycloalkyl
Represents an aryl group or an aralkyl group. R ²⁸, R³⁰as well as
R³⁴Is independently a hydrogen atom or -CH_ThreeThe table
You. R³¹, R ³⁵Are each independently a single bond or substituted
An alkylene group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms which may have a group,
Cycloalkylene, arylene or aralkylene
Represents a group. Y^Three, Y^FourAre each independently a single bond,
Represents -CO-. ]

Among the compounds represented by the general formulas 1 to 5, in the positive lithographic printing material of the present invention, m-aminosulfonylphenyl methacrylate, N- (p-aminosulfonylphenyl) methacrylamide, N- (P-Aminosulfonylphenyl) acrylamide and the like can be suitably used.

(3) Examples of the alkali water-soluble polymer having an active imide group include a polymer having, as a main constituent, a minimum structural unit derived from a compound having an active imide group. Examples of such compounds include compounds having at least one active imide group represented by the following structural formula and one or more polymerizable unsaturated groups in the molecule.

[0038]

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Specifically, N- (p-toluenesulfonyl) methacrylamide, N- (p-toluenesulfonyl) acrylamide and the like can be suitably used.

(4) Examples of the alkali water-soluble polymer having a carboxylic acid group include, for example, a minimum structural unit derived from a compound having one or more carboxylic acid groups and one or more polymerizable unsaturated groups in the molecule. Examples of the polymer may be a main component. (5) Examples of the alkali-soluble polymer having a sulfonic acid group include, as a main structural unit, a minimum structural unit derived from a compound having one or more sulfonic acid groups and one or more polymerizable unsaturated groups in a molecule. Polymer. (6) The alkaline water-soluble polymer having a phosphate group includes, for example, a minimum constituent unit derived from a compound having at least one phosphate group and at least one polymerizable unsaturated group in the molecule as a main constituent component. The following polymer can be mentioned.

The minimum structural unit having an acidic group selected from the above (1) to (6), which constitutes the alkali water-soluble polymer used for the positive image forming material, need not be only one kind, but may be the same. The minimum structural unit having an acidic group of 2
2 or more minimum structural units having different or different acidic groups
Those copolymerized by more than one kind can also be used.

As the copolymerization method, conventionally known methods such as graft copolymerization, block copolymerization, and random copolymerization can be used.

The above copolymers are copolymerized (1) to
It is preferred that the compound having an acidic group selected from (6) is contained in the copolymer in an amount of at least 10 mol%, more preferably at least 20 mol%. 10 mol%
If it is less than 3, the developing latitude tends to be insufficiently improved. When writing is performed on the image forming material of the present invention using an infrared laser, it is preferable from the viewpoint of sensitivity that the recording layer contains an infrared absorber. The infrared absorbing agent has a function of converting the absorbed infrared rays into heat. At this time, in the case of a negative recording material, the generated heat causes an acid generator described later to be decomposed to generate an acid, thereby causing an acid in the recording layer. In a positive recording material, a photochemical reaction or the like occurs by laser scanning, and the solubility in a developing solution is greatly increased. The infrared absorber used in the present invention has a wavelength of 760 nm to 120.
It is a dye or pigment that effectively absorbs 0 nm infrared light.
Preferably, the dye or the pigment has an absorption maximum at a wavelength of 760 nm to 1200 nm.

Hereinafter, the infrared absorber which can be suitably used when the image forming material of the present invention has a negative recording layer will be described in detail. As the dye, commercially available dyes and, for example, “Dye Handbook” (edited by the Society of Synthetic Organic Chemistry, published in 1970)
And the like can be used. Specifically, azo dyes, metal complex salt azo dyes, pyrazolone azo dyes, naphthoquinone dyes, anthraquinone dyes, phthalocyanine dyes, carbonium dyes, quinone imine dyes, methine dyes, cyanine dyes, squalilium dyes,
Dyes such as pyrylium salts and metal thiolate complexes are exemplified.

Preferred dyes include, for example, those described in
Cyanine dyes described in JP-A-8-125246, JP-A-59-84356, JP-A-59-202829, JP-A-60-78787, etc .;
No. 96, JP-A-58-181690, JP-A-58-1
No. 94595, etc., methine dyes described in
8-112793, JP-A-58-224793, JP-A-59-48187, JP-A-59-73996,
Naphthoquinone dyes described in JP-A-60-52940 and JP-A-60-63744;
Squarylium dyes described in No. 12792, etc.,
Cyanine dyes described in British Patent 434,875 and the like can be mentioned.

Further, a near infrared absorption sensitizer described in US Pat. No. 5,156,938 is preferably used, and a substituted arylbenzo (thio) described in US Pat. No. 3,881,924 is also preferable. Pyrylium salt, JP-A-57-142645
No. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,327,169) described in JP-A-58-181051, JP-A-58-220143, JP-A-59-41363, and JP-A-59-41363.
Nos. -84248, 59-84249, 59-14
Nos. 6063 and 59-146061, pyranyl compounds, cyanine dyes described in JP-A-59-216146, pentamethinethiopyrylium salts described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,283,475, and the like. Fairness 5-13
Pyrylium compounds disclosed in JP-A-514 and JP-A-5-19702 are also preferably used.

As another preferred example of the dye, US Pat. No. 4,756,993 discloses a compound represented by the formula (I):
Near-infrared absorbing dyes described as (II) can be mentioned.

Among these dyes, particularly preferred are cyanine dyes, squarylium dyes, pyrylium salts, and nickel thiolate complexes.

The pigment used in the present invention includes:
Commercial Pigment and Color Index (CI) Handbook,
"Latest Pigment Handbook" (edited by Japan Pigment Technical Association, 1977), "Latest Pigment Application Technology" (CMC Publishing, 1986), "Printing Ink Technology" CMC Publishing, 1984)
Can be used.

The pigments include black pigment, yellow pigment, orange pigment, brown pigment, red pigment, purple pigment,
Blue pigment, green pigment, fluorescent pigment, metal powder pigment, etc.
Polymer-bound dyes. Specifically, insoluble azo pigments, azo lake pigments, condensation azo pigments, chelate azo pigments, phthalocyanine pigments, anthraquinone pigments,
Perylene and perinone pigments, thioindigo pigments, quinacridone pigments, dioxazine pigments, isoindolinone pigments, quinophthalone pigments, dyeing lake pigments,
Azine pigments, nitroso pigments, nitro pigments, natural pigments, fluorescent pigments, inorganic pigments, carbon black and the like can be used.
Preferred among these pigments is carbon black.

These pigments may be used without surface treatment or may be used after surface treatment. Examples of the surface treatment include a method of surface coating a resin or wax, a method of attaching a surfactant, and a method of bonding a reactive substance (eg, a silane coupling agent, an epoxy compound, a polyisocyanate, etc.) to the pigment surface. Can be considered. The above surface treatment methods are described in "Properties and Applications of Metallic Soap" (Koshobo),
It is described in "Printing Ink Technology" (CMC Publishing, 1984) and "Latest Pigment Application Technology" (CMC Publishing, 1986).

The particle size of the pigment is preferably in the range of 0.01 μm to 10 μm, more preferably in the range of 0.05 μm to 1 μm, and particularly preferably in the range of 0.1 μm to 1 μm.
Is preferably within the range. Pigment particle size 0.01μ
When it is less than m, the dispersion is not preferable in terms of stability in the coating solution for the image recording layer, and when it exceeds 10 μm, it is not preferable in terms of uniformity of the image recording layer.

As a method for dispersing the pigment, a known dispersion technique used in the production of ink or toner can be used. Examples of the disperser include an ultrasonic disperser, a sand mill, an attritor, a pearl mill, a super mill, a ball mill, an impeller, a disperser, a KD mill, a colloid mill, a dynatron, a three-roll mill, and a pressure kneader. For details, refer to “Latest Pigment Application Technology” (CMC Publishing, 1
986). As the amount of addition of these dyes or pigments, based on the total solid content of the recording layer coating solution,
It is preferably about 0.01 to 30% by weight.

Next, an infrared absorbing agent which can be used when the image forming material of the present invention has a positive recording layer will be described. When an infrared absorbing agent is used for the positive recording layer, a positive action (development is suppressed in unexposed areas and released in exposed areas to accelerate development) by interaction with a binder polymer having a specific functional group. In view of this, an onium salt type structure is particularly preferable in that respect. Specifically, among the infrared absorbers usable in the case of the negative type, a cyanine dye and a pyrylium salt are particularly preferable. Details of the cyanine dye and pyrylium salt are as described above.

Further, the anionic infrared absorber described in Japanese Patent Application No. 10-237634 can be preferably used. This anionic infrared absorbing agent refers to a dye that substantially has no anionic structure in the mother nucleus of a dye that absorbs infrared light and has an anionic structure. For example, (a-1) anionic metal complex, (a-2) anionic carbon black,
(A-3) Anionic phthalocyanine. Here, the (a-1) anionic metal complex refers to an anion in which the central metal and the ligand in the complex part that substantially absorbs light become anions. (A-2) Examples of the anionic carbon black include carbon black to which an anionic group such as a sulfonic acid, carboxylic acid, or phosphonic acid group is bonded as a substituent. In order to introduce these groups into carbon black, the Carbon Black Handbook Third Edition (edited by Carbon Black Association, 1995)
As described on page 12 of the Carbon Black Association of Japan on April 5, 2002, a method of oxidizing carbon black with a predetermined acid may be used. (A-3) Anionic phthalocyanine refers to an anionic phthalocyanine in which the anion group described above in the description of (a-2) is bonded to the phthalocyanine skeleton as a substituent to form an anion as a whole. Further, [Ga ⁻ −] described in [0014] to [0105] of Japanese Patent Application No. 10-237634.
M-Gb] an anionic infrared absorbing agent represented by _m X ^{m +} [Ga-represents an anionic substituent, and Gb represents a neutral substituent. X ^{m +} represents a cation having 1 to m valences including a proton, and m represents an integer of 1 to 6. ].

Preferred examples of the infrared absorber used in the present invention include an infrared absorber having an onium salt structure as shown below. Specific examples (A-1 to A-56) of such an infrared absorber are shown, but the present invention
It is not limited to these.

[0057]

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[0058]

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[0059]

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[0060]

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[0061]

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[0062]

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[0063]

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[0064]

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[0065]

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[0066]

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[0067]

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[0068]

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[0069]

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[0070]

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[0071]

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[0072] In the structural formulas of A-1~A-56, T ^- A,
Represents a monovalent counter anion, preferably a halogen anion (F ⁻ , Cl ⁻ , Br ⁻ , I ⁻ ), a Lewis acid anion (B
F ₄ ⁻ , PF ₆ ⁻ , SbCl ₆ ⁻ , ClO ₄ ⁻ ), an alkyl sulfonate anion and an aryl sulfonate anion.
The alkyl herein refers to a linear, branched, or cyclic alkyl group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, and specifically, a methyl group, an ethyl group, a propyl group, a butyl group, a pentyl group. Group, hexyl group, heptyl group, octyl group, nonyl group, decyl group, undecyl group, dodecyl group,
Tridecyl group, hexadecyl group, octadecyl group, eicosyl group, isopropyl group, isobutyl group, s-butyl group, t-butyl group, isopentyl group, neopentyl group,
Examples thereof include a 1-methylbutyl group, an isohexyl group, a 2-ethylhexyl group, a 2-methylhexyl group, a cyclohexyl group, a cyclopentyl group, and a 2-norbornyl group. Among them, linear alkyl groups having 1 to 12 carbon atoms, branched alkyl groups having 3 to 12 carbon atoms, and cyclic alkyl groups having 5 to 10 carbon atoms are more preferable. In addition, the aryl referred to herein refers to those composed of one benzene ring, those formed by condensing two or three benzene rings, and those formed by condensing a benzene ring and a 5-membered unsaturated ring. Specific examples include a phenyl group, a naphthyl group, an anthryl group, a phenanthryl group, an indenyl group, an acenabutenyl group, and a fluorenyl group. Of these, a phenyl group and a naphthyl group are more preferred.

When the image forming material of the present invention is used as a positive type, the amount of the infrared absorbing agent to be added can be determined by the same method as described for the negative type image forming material.

In order to further improve the sensitivity and the development latitude, a dye or pigment other than the above-mentioned cyanine dyes, pyrylium salts and anionic dyes is used in the positive recording layer according to the present invention. (An infrared absorber that can be used in the photosensitive resin composition of the present invention).

When the image-forming material of the present invention is used as a negative-type recording material whose solubility in an alkali developing solution is reduced to the extent necessary for image formation by irradiation with infrared laser, a known recording layer can be used. What is used for a negative recording material can be used without particular limitation.

The negative-type recording layer contains an acid generator which decomposes by light or heat to generate an acid and a generated acid in order to reduce the solubility of the alkali water-soluble polymer compound in the exposed portion in the alkaline water. An acid crosslinking agent which causes a crosslinking reaction and cures the binder polymer is contained.

The acid generator means a compound which generates an acid upon irradiation with light having a wavelength of 200 to 500 nm or heating at 100 ° C. or higher, and includes a photoinitiator for photocationic polymerization, a photoinitiator for photoradical polymerization, and a dye. Examples of such compounds include known photodecolorants, photochromic agents, and known acid generators used in microresist and the like, known compounds that generate an acid upon thermal decomposition, and mixtures thereof. The generated acid is preferably a strong acid having a pKa of 2 or less, such as sulfonic acid and hydrochloric acid.

The acid generator preferably used in the present invention includes onium salts such as iodonium salts, sulfonium salts, phosphonium salts, diazonium salts and the like.
More specifically, U.S. Pat.
-20629. Particularly, an iodonium salt, a sulfonium salt, and a diazonium salt having a sulfonate ion as a counter ion are preferable. As diazonium salts, US Pat. No. 3,867,
No. 147, U.S. Pat. No. 2,6
The diazonium compounds described in JP-A-32,703 and the diazo resins described in JP-A-1-102456 and JP-A-1-102457 are also preferable. Also,
U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,838 and U.S. Pat.
Benzyl sulfonates described in US Pat. No. 544 are also preferred. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos.
Active sulfonic acid esters and disulfonyl compounds described in JP-A-100055 and Japanese Patent Application No. 8-9444 are also preferable. Besides, haloalkyl-substituted S-triazines described in JP-A-7-271029 are also preferable. These compounds may be used alone,
Also, two or more kinds may be used in combination.

In the present invention, these acid generators are used in an amount of 0.01 to 50% by weight, preferably 0.1 to 25% by weight, more preferably 0.5 to 20% by weight based on the total solid content of the recording layer. It is added in proportions. When the addition amount is less than 0.01% by weight, no image is obtained, and when the addition amount is more than 50% by weight, the non-image portion is stained during printing.

As the acid crosslinking agent, Japanese Patent Application No. 9-23 / 1997
No. 4406, a methylol compound, an alkoxymethyl compound, a resole resin and the like.
The followings described in JP-A-151412 are exemplified. (I) an aromatic compound substituted with an alkoxymethyl group or a hydroxymethyl group (ii) a compound having an N-hydroxymethyl group, an N-alkoxymethyl group or an N-acyloxymethyl group (iii) an epoxy compound (i) an alkoxymethyl Examples of the aromatic compound substituted with a group or a hydroxymethyl group include an aromatic compound and a heterocyclic compound poly-substituted with a hydroxymethyl group, an acetoxymethyl group, or an alkoxymethyl group. [Formula 14] and [Formula 1]
5] are preferably mentioned. In the above formula, L _{1 to} L ₈ each independently represent a hydroxymethyl group or an alkoxymethyl group substituted with an alkoxy group having 18 or less carbon atoms, such as methoxymethyl, ethoxymethyl and the like.

(Ii) Compounds having an N-hydroxymethyl group, an N-alkoxymethyl group or an N-acyloxymethyl group include those described in European Patent Publication No. 0,133,216 (hereinafter referred to as EP-A). West German Patent No. 3,6
No. 34,671, No. 3,711,264, monomer and oligomer-melamine-formaldehyde condensate and urea-formaldehyde condensate, EP-A
And the alkoxy-substituted compounds disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 0,212,482. As a more preferred example,
For example, a melamine-formaldehyde derivative having at least two free N-hydroxymethyl groups, N-alkoxymethyl groups or N-acyloxymethyl groups is exemplified, and among them, N-alkoxymethyl derivatives are particularly preferred.

(Iii) Examples of the epoxy compound include monomer, dimer, oligomer, and polymer epoxy compounds containing one or more epoxy groups. For example, a reaction product of bisphenol A with epichlorohydrin, a reaction product of a low molecular weight phenol-formaldehyde resin with epichlorohydrin and the like can be mentioned. Other examples include epoxy resins described and used in U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,705 and British Patent 1,539,192.

The crosslinking agents (i) to (iii) which can be used in the present invention are based on the total solid content of the negative recording layer.
It is in the range of 5 to 80% by weight, preferably 10 to 75% by weight, more preferably 20 to 70% by weight. If the amount of the crosslinking agent is less than 5% by weight, the durability of the photosensitive layer of the resulting lithographic printing plate precursor will be deteriorated. If it exceeds 80% by weight, it is not preferable from the viewpoint of storage stability. .

Further, as an acid crosslinking agent, Japanese Patent Application No.
And phenol derivatives represented by [0078] to [0084] of JP-A-151412.

The recording layer of the image forming material of the present invention may further contain, if necessary, various compounds in addition to the above. For example, a dye having a large absorption in the visible light region can be used as a colorant for an image. Specifically, Oil Yellow # 101, Oil Yellow # 103, Oil Pink # 312, Oil Green BG, Oil Blue BOS, Oil Blue # 603, Oil Black BY,
Oil Black BS, Oil Black T-505 (all manufactured by Orient Chemical Industries, Ltd.), Victoria Pure Blue, Crystal Violet (CI42555), Methyl Violet (CI42535), Ethyl Violet, Rhodamine B (CI145170B), Malachite Green (CI42000) , Methylene blue (CI5
2015), Aizen Spiron Blue C-RH (manufactured by Hodogaya Chemical Co., Ltd.), and the dyes described in JP-A-62-293247.

By adding these dyes, the distinction between an image area and a non-image area becomes clear after image formation, and thus it is preferable to add them. The addition amount is preferably in the range of 0.01 to 10% by weight based on the total solid content of the recording layer.

In the recording layer of the present invention, JP-A-62-251 describes a method for increasing the stability of processing under development conditions.
Non-ionic surfactants such as described in JP-A-740-740 and JP-A-3-208514 and JP-A-59-121044.
And an amphoteric surfactant described in JP-A-4-13149 can be added.

Specific examples of the nonionic surfactant include sorbitan tristearate, sorbitan monopalmitate, sorbitan triolate, stearic acid monoglyceride, polyoxyethylene nonyl phenyl ether and the like.

Specific examples of the amphoteric surfactant include alkyl di (aminoethyl) glycine, alkyl polyaminoethyl glycine hydrochloride, 2-alkyl-N-carboxyethyl-N-hydroxyethylimidazolinium betaine, N-tetradecyl-N , N-betaine type (for example,
(Trade name: Amogen K, manufactured by Dai-ichi Kogyo Co., Ltd.).

The proportion of the nonionic surfactant and amphoteric surfactant in the recording layer is preferably from 0.05 to 15% by weight, more preferably from 0.1 to 5% by weight.

Further, a plasticizer may be added to the recording layer of the image forming material of the present invention, if necessary, in order to impart flexibility to the coating film. For example, polyethylene glycol, tributyl citrate, diethyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, dihexyl phthalate, dioctyl phthalate, tricresyl phosphate, tributyl phosphate, trioctyl phosphate, tetrahydrofurfuryl oleate, and the like are used.

In the image forming material of the present invention, a recording layer is usually formed by dissolving each of the above-mentioned components in a solvent and coating the solution on a suitable support. As the solvent used herein, ethylene dichloride, cyclohexanone, methyl ethyl ketone, methanol, ethanol, propanol, ethylene glycol monomethyl ether, 1-methoxy-2-propanol, 2-methoxyethyl acetate, 1-methoxy-2-propyl acetate, dimethoxy Ethane, methyl lactate, ethyl lactate, N, N-dimethylacetamide, N, N-dimethylformamide, tetramethylurea, N-methylpyrrolidone, dimethylsulfoxide, sulfolane, γ-butyllactone, toluene,
Water and the like can be mentioned, but it is not limited thereto. These solvents are used alone or as a mixture. The concentration of the above components (total solids including additives) in the solvent is 1
Preferably, it is about 50% by weight. The coating amount (solid content) of the recording layer according to the present invention varies depending on the application, but is 0.0%.
It is adjusted to a range of 1 to 3.0 g / m ² . Various methods can be used as the method of coating, and examples thereof include bar coater coating, spin coating, spray coating, curtain coating, dip coating, air knife coating, blade coating, and roll coating. As the coating amount decreases, the apparent sensitivity increases, but the film characteristics of the image recording film deteriorate.

The recording layer in the present invention may have a surfactant for improving coating properties, for example, JP-A-62-1709.
A fluorine-based surfactant as described in No. 50 can be added. A preferable addition amount is 0.01 to 1% by weight based on the total solid content of the recording layer, and more preferably 0.05 to 1% by weight.
0.5% by weight.

Next, a second layer provided as an upper layer of the recording layer and having the same function as the recording layer and having higher sensitivity to the action of light or heat than the recording layer (hereinafter referred to as a
(Highly sensitive layer) will be described. This high-sensitivity layer is preferably formed adjacent to the recording layer formed on the support. For the high-sensitivity layer of the present invention, a recording material based on the same basic image forming principle as the recording layer may be used with a higher sensitivity.For example, the recording layer may be compared with a radical polymerization type. If a low-sensitivity acid-catalyzed cross-linking recording layer is formed, and a combination of different recording material systems is used, such as a configuration in which a high-sensitivity layer composed of a more sensitive radical polymerization system is provided thereon, Good. From the viewpoint of interface fusibility and production suitability, it is preferable to use the same recording material as the recording layer for the high-sensitivity layer. Also,
It is preferable that the difference in sensitivity to light or heat between the recording layer and the high-sensitivity layer is at least about 1.3 times. If the difference in sensitivity is less than 1.3 times, the effect obtained by forming the laminated structure becomes insufficient. The sensitivity of the recording layer and the sensitivity layer can be determined by forming a single layer and measuring the sensitivity under the same conditions.

Next, a description will be given of a general method of increasing the sensitivity of a recording layer in the case of using the same kind of recording material system.
Examples of the method include, for example, a method of adjusting the developability of a binder constituting the high-sensitivity layer by a means such as a change of a hydrophilic group or a hydrophobic group to be introduced or a change of a molecular weight, thereby increasing the sensitivity, A method for adjusting (increasing) the concentration of a photosensitive or heat-sensitive compound contained therein to increase the sensitivity, such as promoting a reaction or a change in physical properties caused by the action of light or heat in a high-sensitivity layer. There is a method of adding a so-called sensitizing aid such as an infrared absorber to increase the sensitivity. The coating amount (solid content) of the high-sensitivity layer according to the present invention varies depending on the application, but is adjusted in the range of 0.01 to 3.0 g / m ² .

The support on which the recording layer and the high-sensitivity layer according to the present invention can be coated is a dimensionally stable plate, for example, paper, plastic (eg, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, etc.). Laminated paper,
Metal plates (eg, aluminum, zinc, copper, etc.), plastic films (eg, cellulose diacetate, cellulose triacetate, cellulose propionate, cellulose butyrate,
Cellulose acetate butyrate, cellulose nitrate, polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene, polystyrene, polypropylene, polycarbonate, polyvinyl acetal, etc.), and paper or plastic films on which the above-mentioned metals are laminated or vapor-deposited.

Preferred examples of the support include a polyester film and an aluminum plate. Among them, an aluminum plate which has good dimensional stability and is relatively inexpensive is particularly preferable. Suitable aluminum plates are a pure aluminum plate and an alloy plate containing aluminum as a main component and containing a trace amount of a different element, and may be a plastic film on which aluminum is laminated or vapor-deposited. The foreign elements contained in aluminum alloys include silicon, iron, manganese,
Copper, magnesium, chromium, zinc, bismuth, nickel, titanium and the like. The total content of foreign elements in the alloy is 10% by weight or less. Particularly preferred aluminum in the present invention is pure aluminum. However, completely pure aluminum is difficult to produce due to refining technology, and therefore may contain a slightly different element. As described above, the composition of the aluminum plate applied to the present invention is not specified, and an aluminum plate of a conventionally known and used material can be appropriately used. The thickness of the aluminum plate used as the support in the present invention is approximately 0.1 mm to
About 0.6 mm, preferably 0.15 mm to 0.4 m
m, particularly preferably 0.2 mm to 0.3 mm.

Prior to roughening the aluminum plate, if necessary, a degreasing treatment with, for example, a surfactant, an organic solvent or an alkaline aqueous solution is performed to remove the rolling oil on the surface. The surface roughening treatment of the aluminum plate is performed by various methods, for example, a method of mechanically roughening the surface, a method of electrochemically dissolving the surface, and a method of selectively dissolving the surface chemically. It is performed by the method of causing. Known mechanical methods such as a ball polishing method, a brush polishing method, a blast polishing method, and a buff polishing method can be used as the mechanical method. Further, as an electrochemical surface roughening method, there is a method of performing an alternating current or a direct current in a hydrochloric acid or nitric acid electrolyte. Further, as disclosed in JP-A-54-63902, a method in which both are combined can also be used.

The aluminum plate thus roughened is subjected to an alkali etching treatment and a neutralization treatment, if necessary, and then subjected to an anodic oxidation treatment, if necessary, in order to increase the water retention and abrasion resistance of the surface. You. As the electrolyte used for the anodizing treatment of the aluminum plate, various electrolytes that form a porous oxide film can be used, and generally, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, oxalic acid, chromic acid, or a mixed acid thereof is used. . The concentration of these electrolytes is appropriately determined depending on the type of the electrolyte.

The anodizing treatment conditions vary depending on the electrolyte used and thus cannot be specified unconditionally. However, in general, the concentration of the electrolyte is 1 to 80% by weight, the solution temperature is 5 to 70.degree.
Current density 5 to 60 A / dm ^2, voltage 1 to 100 V, which is an electrolyzing time of 10 seconds to 5 minutes. If the amount of the anodic oxide coating is less than 1.0 g / m ² , the film resistance is insufficient or the non-image area is easily scratched. So-called "scratch stains" to which ink adheres easily occur.

After the anodic oxidation treatment, the aluminum surface is subjected to a hydrophilic treatment if necessary. U.S. Pat. No. 2,714,075 discloses a hydrophilic treatment that can be used in the present invention.
No. 66, No. 3,181,461, No. 3,280,
There is an alkali metal silicate (for example, sodium silicate aqueous solution) method as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 734 and 3,902,734. In this method, the support is immersed in an aqueous solution of sodium silicate or electrolytically treated. In addition, potassium fluorozirconate disclosed in JP-B-36-22063, U.S. Pat.
276,868, 4,153,461, and 4,689,272, and the like, such as a method of treating with polyvinyl phosphonic acid.

Before applying the recording layer, an undercoat layer may be provided on the support, if necessary. Various organic compounds are used as a component of the undercoat layer. For example, carboxymethyl cellulose, dextrin, gum arabic,
Phosphonic acids having an amino group such as -aminoethylphosphonic acid; organic acids such as phenylphosphonic acid, naphthylphosphonic acid, alkylphosphonic acid, glycerophosphonic acid, methylenediphosphonic acid and ethylenediphosphonic acid which may have a substituent; Phosphonic acid; organic phosphoric acid such as phenylphosphoric acid, naphthyl phosphoric acid, alkyl phosphoric acid and glycerophosphoric acid which may have a substituent; phenylphosphinic acid, naphthylphosphinic acid, and alkylphosphinic acid which may have a substituent; It is selected from organic phosphinic acids such as glycerophosphinic acid; amino acids such as glycine and β-alanine; and hydrochlorides of amines having a hydroxyl group such as hydrochloride of triethanolamine. Is also good. It is also preferable to undercoat the aforementioned diazonium compound. The coating amount of the organic undercoat layer is 2 to 2
00 mg / m ² is appropriate, preferably 5 to 100 m
g / m ² . If the coating amount is less than 2 mg / m ² , sufficient film properties cannot be obtained, and the same is true even if the coating amount is more than 200 mg / m ² .

This organic undercoat layer can be provided by the following method. A method in which a solution obtained by dissolving the above organic compound in water or an organic solvent such as methanol, ethanol, or methyl ethyl ketone or a mixed solvent thereof is applied to an aluminum plate and dried to form a water or an organic solvent such as methanol, ethanol, methyl ethyl ketone. This is a method in which an aluminum plate is immersed in a solution in which the above organic compound is dissolved in a solvent or a mixed solvent thereof to adsorb the above compound, and then washed and dried with water or the like to provide an organic undercoat layer. In the former method, a solution of the above organic compound having a concentration of 0.005 to 10% by weight can be applied by various methods. In the latter method, the concentration of the solution is 0.01 to 20% by weight, preferably 0.05 to 5% by weight.
At an immersion temperature of 20 to 90 ° C., preferably 25 to 50 ° C.
° C, and the immersion time is 0.1 second to 20 minutes, preferably 2 seconds to 1 minute. The solution used for this is ammonia,
The pH can be adjusted to a range of 1 to 12 with a basic substance such as triethylamine or potassium hydroxide or an acidic substance such as hydrochloric acid or phosphoric acid. When the recording layer of the present invention is used as a lithographic printing plate precursor, a yellow dye may be added for improving tone reproducibility.

As described above, the image forming material of the present invention can be used as a lithographic printing original plate. This image forming material is preferably recorded by an infrared laser.

In the case where the image forming material of the present invention has the above-mentioned positive or negative recording layer, after the exposure, development processing with water or an alkali developing solution is performed. The development treatment may be performed immediately after the exposure, or a heat treatment may be performed between the exposure step and the development step. When performing the heat treatment, it is preferable that the heat treatment is performed within a range of 60 ° C. to 150 ° C. for 5 seconds to 5 minutes. As a heating method, various conventionally known methods can be used. For example, a method of heating while contacting the recording material with a panel heater or a ceramic heater, and a non-contact heating method with a lamp or hot air are used. By this heat treatment, the laser energy required for recording at the time of laser irradiation can be reduced.

When an alkaline aqueous solution is used, a conventionally known alkaline aqueous solution can be used as a developer and a replenisher. For example, sodium silicate, potassium, tribasic sodium, potassium, ammonium, dibasic sodium, potassium, ammonium, sodium carbonate, potassium, ammonium, sodium bicarbonate, potassium, potassium Inorganic alkali salts such as ammonium, sodium borate, potassium, ammonium, sodium hydroxide, ammonium, potassium, and lithium. Also, monomethylamine, dimethylamine, trimethylamine, monoethylamine, diethylamine, triethylamine, monoisopropylamine, diisopropylamine, triisopropylamine, n-butylamine, monoethanolamine, diethanolamine, triethanolamine, monoisopropanolamine, diisopropanolamine,
Organic alkali agents such as ethyleneimine, ethylenediamine, and pyridine are also used.

These alkaline agents are used alone or in combination of two or more. An example of a particularly preferable developer among these alkaline agents is an aqueous solution of a silicate such as sodium silicate and potassium silicate. The reason is that the developability can be adjusted by the ratio and concentration of silicon oxide SiO ₂ which is a component of silicate and alkali metal oxide M ₂ O (M represents an alkali metal). The alkali metal silicates described in JP-A-54-62004 and JP-B-57-7427 are effectively used.

When developing using an automatic developing machine, an aqueous solution (replenisher) having a higher alkali strength than the developing solution is added to the developing solution to replace the developing solution in the developing tank for a long time. And it is known that a large number of recording layers can be processed. This replenishment system is also preferably applied in the present invention.

The recording layer developed using the developing solution and the replenisher described above is post-treated with washing water, a rinsing solution containing a surfactant and the like, and a desensitizing solution containing gum arabic and a starch derivative. You. As the post-processing when the recording layer of the present invention is used as a printing plate material, these processings can be used in various combinations.

In recent years, especially in the plate making and printing industries, automatic developing machines for printing plate materials have been widely used in order to rationalize and standardize plate making operations. This automatic developing machine generally includes a developing section and a post-processing section, and includes a device for transporting a printing plate material, each processing solution tank, and a spray device. The developing process is performed by spraying each pumped processing liquid from a spray nozzle. Recently, a method is also known in which a printing plate material is immersed and conveyed by a submerged guide roll or the like into a processing liquid tank filled with a processing liquid to perform processing. In such an automatic processing, the processing can be performed while replenishing each processing liquid with a replenisher according to the processing amount, the operating time, and the like.

Also, a so-called disposable processing method in which the processing is performed with a substantially unused processing solution can be applied.

When the image-forming material obtained as described above is used as a lithographic printing plate, it can be subjected to a printing step after applying a desensitized gum if desired.
Burning treatment may be performed for the purpose of further improving printing durability. When burning a lithographic printing plate, before burning, JP-B 61-2518 and 55-280
No. 62, JP-A-62-131859 and JP-A-61-1596.
It is preferable to treat with a surface-regulating liquid as described in each of the publications No. 55.

The lithographic printing plate precursor to which the surface conditioning liquid has been applied is dried, if necessary, and then heated at a high temperature using a burning processor (for example, BP-1300, a burning processor sold by Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.). Heated. The heating temperature and time in this case depend on the type of the component forming the image, but are preferably in the range of 180 to 300 ° C. and 1 to 20 minutes.

The burn-processed lithographic printing plate can be subjected to a conventional treatment such as washing with water or gumming if necessary. When a liquid is used, a so-called desensitizing treatment such as gumming can be omitted.

The lithographic printing plate obtained by such a process is set on an offset printing machine or the like and used for printing a large number of sheets.

[0116]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples. [Preparation of Support] An aluminum plate (material 1050) having a thickness of 0.30 mm was washed with trichlorethylene and degreased, and then a nylon brush and a 400 mesh pamistone were used.
The surface was grained using a water suspension and washed well with water. This aluminum plate was immersed in a 25% aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide at 45 ° C. for 9 seconds to perform etching and washing with water.
Further, it was immersed in 2% HNO ₃ for 20 seconds and washed with water. At this time, the etching amount of the grained surface was about 3 g / m ² . Next, this plate was provided with a 3 g / m ² DC anodic oxide coating at a current density of 15 A / dm ² using 7% H ₂ SO ₄ as an electrolyte, and then washed and dried. Next, the following undercoat liquid was applied to this aluminum plate, and dried at 80 ° C. for 30 seconds. The coating amount after drying was 10 mg / m ² .

<Undercoat liquid> β-alanine 0.10 g methanol 40.0 g pure water 60.0 g

(Examples 1 to 5: Negative-type image forming material) A negative-type recording layer (acid-catalyzed cross-linked layer) forming solution 1 having the following composition was applied on the above support, and the solution was applied at 100 ° C for 3 minutes. Dried. The weight after drying was 0.5 g / m ² . Subsequently, a negative-type high-sensitivity layer forming solution 1 having the following composition was applied, and dried at 130 ° C. for 30 seconds to obtain a negative-type image forming material. The weight after drying was 2.0 g / m ² in total.

(Negative Recording Layer (Acid Catalyst Cross-Linked Layer) Forming Solution 1) Crosslinking Agent [X] in Table 1 0.8 g Polymer Y in Table 1 1.5 g Acid Generation in Table 1 0.20 g of agent [Z]-0.15 g of infrared absorber [A] in Table 1-0.015 g of colorant (AIZEN SPLON BLUE C-RH: manufactured by Hodogaya Chemical Co., Ltd.)-Fluorosurfactant 0.06 g (Mecha @ Fac F-177: manufactured by Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Inc.) 10.0 g of methyl ethyl keto 10.0 g of γ-butyrolactone 7.0 g of 1-methoxy-2-propanol

(Negative-Type Highly Sensitive Layer Forming Solution 1) Crosslinking agent [B] in Table 1 0.8 g Polymer 1.5 in Table 1 [C] 1.5 g Acid generator [Z] 0 in Table 1 .20 g ・ Infrared absorbent [A] in Table 1 0.30 g ・ Fluorine surfactant 0.06 g (Mechanical Fac F-177: manufactured by Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Inc.) ・ Ethyl acetate 15.0 g ・5.0 g of methanol

[0121]

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[0122]

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[0123]

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[0124]

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[0125]

[Table 1]

(Comparative Examples 1 to 5) On the same subbed support as used in Example 1, a cross-linking agent, a polymer, and infrared absorption Applying the formulation shown in Table 2 below,
It dried at 0 degreeC for 3 minutes, and obtained the image forming material which formed only the recording layer of a single composition on the support body, and set it as Comparative Examples 1-5.
The weight after drying was 0.5 g / m ² .

[0127]

[Table 2]

(Comparative Examples 6 to 10) On the same subbed support as used in Example 1, a cross-linking agent, a polymer, an infrared absorber and the like in the high-sensitivity layer forming solution 1 were prepared as shown in the following table. Apply the formulation as described in 3 above,
After drying for 2 seconds, image forming materials were obtained in which only a recording layer having a single composition with higher sensitivity was formed on the support than the recording layers in Comparative Examples 1 to 5, and Comparative Examples 6 to 10 were obtained. The weight after drying was 1.5 g / m ² .

[0129]

[Table 3]

(Examples 6 to 10: Positive image forming material)
On the same subbed support as used in Example 1 above,
The following heat-sensitive positive recording layer forming solution 2 is applied,
For 3 minutes. The weight after drying was 0.5 g / m ² . Subsequently, the following positive-type high-sensitivity layer forming solution 2 was applied and dried at 130 ° C. for 30 seconds. The weight after drying was 2.0 g / m ² in total.

(Thermal positive recording layer forming solution 2) ・ Polymer [P] in Table 4 2.0 g ・ Infrared absorbent [A] in Table 4 0.15 g ・ Colorant 0.015 g (AIZEN SPLON BLUE C -RH: Hodogaya Chemical Co., Ltd.)-Fluorine surfactant 0.06 g (Mechanical Fac F-177: manufactured by Dainippon Ink & Chemicals, Inc.)-Methyl ethyl ketone 10.0 g-γ-butyrolactone 10.0 g- 1-methoxy-2-propanol 7.0 g

(Positive high-sensitivity layer forming solution 2) 2.0 g of polymer [Q] in Table 4 • Infrared absorbent [R] in Table 4 (Amount (g) described in Table 4) • Addition of Table 4 Agent [S] (Amount (g) shown in Table 4)-Fluorosurfactant 0.06 g (Mechanical Fac F-177: manufactured by Dainippon Ink & Chemicals, Inc.)-Ethyl acetate 15.0 g-Methanol 15.0 g

[0133]

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[0134]

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[0135]

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[0136]

[Table 4]

(Comparative Examples 11 to 15) On the same undercoated support as used in Example 1, a crosslinking agent, a polymer, an infrared absorber and the like were added in the heat-sensitive positive recording layer forming solution 2. Apply the formulation shown in Table 5 below and apply 100
C. for 3 minutes to obtain an image forming material in which only a recording layer having a single composition was formed on a support, and Comparative Examples 11 to 15 were obtained. The weight after drying was 0.5 g / m ² .

[0138]

[Table 5]

(Comparative Examples 16 to 20) On the same undercoated support as used in Example 1, a cross-linking agent, a polymer, an infrared absorbing agent and the like were added in the positive-type high-sensitivity layer forming solution 2. Applying the formulation shown in Table 6 below, 100 ° C
For 3 minutes to obtain an image forming material in which only a recording layer having a higher sensitivity than a recording layer of Comparative Examples 11 to 15 was formed on a support, and Comparative Examples 16 to 20 were obtained.
The weight after drying was 1.5 g / m ² .

[0140]

[Table 6]

<Evaluation of Sensitivity of Image Forming Material> The obtained negative type image forming materials of Examples 1 to 10 and Comparative Examples 1 to 20 were subjected to scanning exposure with a semiconductor laser emitting infrared rays having a wavelength of about 830 nm to 850 nm. After the exposure, the negative photosensitive material was subjected to a heat treatment at 130 ° C. for 60 seconds with a panel heater, and the positive photosensitive material was not subjected to the heat treatment. (1: 7 water dilution). At this time, the amount of energy required for recording was calculated based on the line width and laser output of the obtained image, the loss in the optical system, and the scanning speed, and used as an index indicating sensitivity.

<Evaluation of Storage Stability> Each of the above image forming materials was subjected to a high temperature condition (60 ° C.) before laser exposure.
After standing for a day, the image forming material after storage was subjected to scanning exposure with a semiconductor laser that generates infrared rays having a wavelength of about 830 nm to 850 nm. Next, Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.
Developing was performed using a developing solution DP-4 (a 1: 8 water diluent). The photosensitive material obtained at this time was used as a printing plate, and the stain on the non-image area during printing was investigated with a Heidel KOR-D machine.
Those with poor storage stability have non-image areas stained. Table 7 shows the results of these evaluations.

[0143]

[Table 7]

As is clear from Table 7, the image-forming material of the present invention is excellent in sensitivity, and shows no stain on the non-image area due to a decrease in developability even in a high temperature environment. It turned out to be excellent in stability.

[0145]

The image-forming material of the present invention can be recorded directly from digital data of a computer or the like using a solid-state laser or semiconductor laser radiating infrared rays.
High sensitivity can be achieved, and storage stability is excellent.

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Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A recording layer comprising a composition whose solubility in water or alkaline water is changed by the action of light or heat on a support, and having the same function as the recording layer on the recording layer. A photosensitive or heat-sensitive image forming material comprising a second layer having a higher sensitivity to the action of light or heat than the recording layer. 2. The photosensitive or heat-sensitive image-forming material according to claim 1, wherein the photosensitive or heat-sensitive image-forming material contains an infrared absorbing agent and can be recorded by an infrared laser.