Patent ID: 8372782

Claim:
A thermal imaging member comprising: a substrate having first and second opposed surfaces, said first surface bearing at least a first color-forming layer, a first thermally-insulating interlayer, a second color-forming layer, a second thermally-insulating layer, and a third color-forming layer, wherein said first color-forming layer has a higher activation temperature than said second color-forming layer, and said second color-forming layer has a higher activation temperature than said third color-forming layer, said thermal imaging member further consisting of a radiation-absorbing material that is located either within said first color-forming layer or in a layer that is closer to said first color-forming layer than to any other color-forming layer; wherein said second and third color-forming layers do not contain radiation-absorbing material; wherein at least one of said color-forming layers comprises a chemical compound in a crystalline form, said crystalline form being capable of being converted to an amorphous form, said chemical compound having intrinsically a different color in said crystalline form than in said amorphous form.