| abstract |
The present invention provides a process for thermal mass transfer of metallic images, the process comprising the steps ofn a) providingn 1) a toner fluid dispersion comprising electrostatically charged, colloidal elemental metal particles dispersed in an electrically nonconductive organic carrier liquid and an amount of a soluble surfactant effective to charge and stabilize said dispersion, 2) a dielectric or photoconductive substrate, and 3) a thermoplastic receptor substrate, b) electrophoretically depositing the charged colloidal elemental metal particles of the toner fluid in a uniform or imagewise fashion on the dielectric or photoconductive substrate using standard electrographic techniques to provide a donor substrate bearing an electrically nonconductive, colloidal, elemental metal coating thereon; c) transferring, by application of energy, said metal coating from said donor substrate to said thermoplastic receptor substrate, to provide a metallic image on said receptor substrate, d) optionally, subjecting the colloidal, elemental metal coated donor or receptor substrate to an electroless metal plating solution to provide a second elemental metal coating which is electrically conductive on said substrate. |