The present invention provides an image forming method comprising the
steps of exposing imagewisely an image forming material having a
photosensitive layer comprising an infrared absorbing agent, a
polymerization initiator and a polymerizable compound on a substrate to
overlapping infrared beams. The solubility of the photosensitive layer in
an alkali developing solution reduces upon exposure to light of
wavelengths in the range of 750 nm to 1400 nm. The exposed image forming
material is developed, and the infrared beam diameter used in light
exposure is 20 .mu.m or less, and the overlapping coefficient is 0.8 or
more.