Dryview Technology

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Imation™ DryView™ Laser Imaging Product Data

Laser imaging requires no wet chemistry processor

What is 3M™ DryView™ Laser Imaging Film from Imation™?

Imation™ DryView™ Laser Imaging Film is a high-resolution, infrared-sensitive, photothermographic film specifically designed for Imation's new family of DryView Laser Imaging Systems. The resolution and gray scale of these new systems is equivalent to the performance of the best laser imaging systems on the market today. DryView Laser Imaging Film is continuous tone, just like wet processed silver halide films. When used with 3M™ DryView™ 8700 Laser Imaging Systems from Imation™, it can produce 4,096 gray levels.

How does DryView Laser Imaging Film work?

Like traditional wet films, DryView Laser Imaging Film is a silver-based photographic film. A light-sensitive layer forms a latent image when exposed to light from an infrared diode. However, DryView Laser Imaging Film differs from traditional film in one key aspect. It requires only exposure to moderate heat approximately 250^oF for 15 seconds instead of wet chemistry-based image processing. The simplicity of this development process offers many unique advantages, including increased flexibility for locating the laser imager; no purchase, storage and disposal costs for wet chemistry; reduced footprint; and lower capital and operating costs.

Wet-processed photographic films have a light-sensitive layer of silver halide crystals which scatter light (which is why “green,” or unprocessed wet films, look opaque when held up to light). In the developer bath, any silver exposed to light becomes metallic silver, which is black, while the rest remains silver halide. In the fixer bath, the silver halide is washed away, leaving only metallic silver on the sheet. DryView technology allows film to be processed without this chemical bath process.

A unique form of silver and self-contained developers in the imaging layer give DryView Laser Imaging Film its “photothermographic” properties (i.e., it is light-sensitive and can be developed with heat). Almost all silver in DryView Laser Imaging Film is in the form of a silver salt of a fatty acid known as “silver soap.” Only a small percentage of silver is present as silver halide. Since silver soap does not scatter light like silver halide, the film itself is nearly transparent, although all the silver remains after processing. This characteristic is essential for creating high-quality diagnostic images. However, because the silver stays in the sheet, no washing or disposal of silver-laden solutions is necessary.

How does the DryView 8700 Laser Imager work?

The simple development process for DryView Laser Imaging Film has allowed Imation to develop fully integrated laser imaging systems which are smaller, simpler, easier to use and less costly to purchase and maintain than other systems. The following diagram and description illustrate how the DryView 8700 Laser Imager works each time it receives a print command.

Suction cups in the pickup area lift a single sheet of film from the film cartridge and feed it into the film transport rollers.
The film transport system drives the film into the exposure module.
The film is exposed by an infrared laser diode, then fed into the film developer.
The film is heat-developed as it passes through the developer.
The film passes through the scanning densitometer and into the receive tray.

The internal densitometer is a key element in the 3M™ Automatic Image Quality Control process. This fully-automated system calibrates the imager's electronics to ensure that contrast, density and other image quality parameters meet pre-set user preferences film to film and lot to lot.

For more information

Contact your local Imation sales representative, or call Imation at 1-888-466-3456, ext.4-6000. Or call our Customer Resource Center directly at 1-800-328-2910.