Recently, the mega-pixel Digital Still Camera (DSC) has become very popular in Japan. This has led to a demand for a digital hard-copy method with the quality of a silver halide photo.One possible printing method that could be used for this application is thermal dye transfer technology. Desirable features that speak to this technology's suitability include its high image quality and its quick drying process. Though the image quality of thermal dye transfer printing is as high as the silver halide photo, one of the disadvantages is its durability. Once the image has been laid down on the surface of the dye-receiving layer, it is necessary to overprint a protective layer to give durability to the image.A newly developed protective layer improves light stability to a level equal to that of the silver halide photo; in particular, it reduces “catalytic fading” of the cyan dye. Additionally, improved stiffness, surface gloss and surface color meet the demand that the new receptor paper be cosmetically more similar to conventional photo paper (RC paper).