A recording material comprising a support and a thermosensitive element containing silver stearate, an organic reducing agent therefor in thermal working relationship therewith and a binder, characterized in that the silver stearate is not associated with mercury and/or lead ions and when the recording material is irradiated with a copper K alpha 1 X-ray source the ratio of the sum of the peak heights of the X-ray diffraction lines attributable to silver stearate at Bragg angles, 2 THETA , of 2 THETA , of 3.62 DEG , 5.45 DEG , 7.30 DEG , 9.04 DEG , 10.97 DEG and 12.71 DEG to the sum of the peak heights of the X-ray diffraction lines at Bragg angles, 2 THETA , of 25.60 DEG , 35.16 DEG and 43.40 DEG of NIST standard 1976, rhombohedral Al2O3, determined with the same X-ray diffractometer in the same state of adjustment on a sample of the recording material and a sample of the NIST standard 1976 cut to fit a sample holder of the X-ray diffractometer, divided by the square root of the quantity of silver in the recording material, expressed in g per m , is greater than 2.2m/g ; and a process for producing particles of substantially light-insensitive organic silver salt comprising silver stearate with these X-ray characteristics in the substantial absence of organic solvent.