Patent ID: 7183024

Claim:
A method of forming a positive image in a photothermographic element that has been imagewise exposed to form a latent image, which element has at least one imaging layer comprising a potentially negative-working emulsion, said method comprising imagewise exposing said element and thermally developing the imagewise exposed element to produce a positive image in said imaging layer, wherein at the temperature of thermal development substantial imagewise inhibition occurs with respect to the exposed areas of the positive image relative to the unexposed areas of the positive image, wherein thermal development of unexposed silver grains in the exposed areas is inhibited relative to the unexposed areas and wherein negative image development is inhibited, wherein the imaging layer comprises at least two organic non-halide silver compounds, a first and a second organic non-halide silver compound, wherein a density-inhibiting agent is released by at least one of the organic non-halide silver compounds, and wherein the second organic non-halide silver compound that releases a density-inhibiting agent has a pKsp that is at least 0.5 greater than the pKsp of said first organic non-halide silver compound.