Photosensitive lacquer having a pH of between 6.7 and 8.2 and containing polyvinyl alcohol, a light sensitive chromium compound for hardening the alcohol, a dipolar aprotic substance. The lacquer layers may be dried at temperatures up to about 100* C. without causing hardening of the polyvinyl alcohol. The invention relates to a photosensitive lacquer which consists of a solution in water of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) in which a hexavalant chromium compound is present, to a method of preparing such lacquers, and to their use in manufacturing patterns according to a photomechanical method. The photosensitive lacquers which are known as such and which consist of a solution of polyvinyl alcohol in which a compound is present containing a hexavalent chromium, are used in various sectors of technology, for example, in manufacturing lithographic plates for offset printing, in which the photohardened layer serves as an ink-absorbing layer, in manufacturing printed circuits in which the photohardened layer serves as an etching resist and in manufacturing picture screens for cathode-ray tubes in which a pattern of substances luminescing upon excitation by electrons is provided on the screen with a photosensitive lacquer. In all these methods the quality of the photosensitive lacquer is very important. The quality is determined inter alia by the shelf life of the photolacquer, the photosensitivity of layers obtained with the photolacquer, and the extent to which the socalled dark reaction in a layer obtained with the photolacquer can occur and which may give rise to hardening of the lacquer on nonexposed, thus undesired, places. The photosensitive lacquers commonly used in the art and consisting of a solution in water of polyvinyl alcohol usually contain ammonium bichromate or ammonium chromate, which latter compound, on drying the lacquer layer, is converted into ammonium dichromate, while ammonia (NH3) volatilizes. Other bichromates which are sometimes used are potassium bichromate and sodium bichromate.