Process Description

A positive print film with three color-sensitive emulsion layers coated on a single support, widely used in professional film production. Images are reproduced subtractively in three light-sensitive emulsion layers with the use of incorporated dye couplers. Chromogenic prints can be made from either color negatives or black-and-white separation negatives. Chromogenic positive emulsions lack the characteristic orange masking of chromogenic negatives because the dye couplers in each emulsion layer are transparent. Chromogenic negative/positive process films were first developed by Agfa in the late 1930s and early 1940s. They were widely adopted in the United States in the early 1950s, when Kodak introduced Eastman Color. Other chromogenic processes were marketed under trade names including Ansco Color, Fujicolor, and Ferrania Color.		  

Identification Tip

With a few early exceptions, chromogenic prints have been manufactured almost exclusively on acetate or polyester bases. Scratches may appear colored, due to their penetration through certain emulsion layers. Chromogenic prints are very susceptible to dye fading, with films produced up through the early 1980s often among the most badly affected.