A lithographic printing plate precursor comprising a coating provided on a support having a hydrophilic surface, the coating containing thermoplastic polymer particles and an IR-dye characterized in that the IR-dye contains a structural element according to Formula I wherein A represents hydrogen, halogen or a monovalent organic group; Y and Y′ independently represent —CH— or —N—; R1 and R2 independently represent hydrogen, an optionally substituted alkyl or aryl group or represent the necessary atoms to form a ring; * represents the linking positions to the rest of the molecule.