Photo Film Printing

Photo film printing is the process whereby a visible image is created on specially treated photo film paper.

Different processes apply to printing on black-and-white film paper and colored film paper but, in all cases, the paper is first exposed to the image and then processed to reveal the image and make it permanent. There are several ways in which exposure can take place, including contact printing where the negative is placed on top of the film paper and thus directly exposed. The most common method of exposure, however, is where the film paper is exposed to either a positive transparency, a photographic negative or a digital image file. In digital image file exposure, the image is projected onto the film paper through the use of either a digital exposure unit or an enlarger.

Photo film printing on colored film paper comprises printing from either color transparencies or color negatives and different chemicals will be required depending on whether transparencies or negatives are used. The Ilfochrome process applies to printing from color transparencies and is a positive-to-positive process that involves the destruction or bleaching of the dyes contained in the film paper. When printing from color negatives, the RA-4 process is used whereby the film paper is exposed to create a latent image and is then treated with several chemicals to transform the latent image to a final one.

Photo film printing on black-and-white film paper comprises four separate stages and takes place in a darkroom. Step one is the exposure of the image onto the film paper using an enlarger or contact printer and step two involves processing the latent image. This processing also comprises four distinct steps and these, in order, are the reduction of the paper's silver halide to metallic silver, the termination of image development by adjusting the developing chemicals, the fixing of the image by dissolving the excess silver halide from the paper's light-sensitive emulsion and the washing of the final image to get rid of unnecessary chemicals and to protect it from degeneration. Finally, steps three and four of the printing process comprise treating the image with a hypo-clearing agent to ensure its long-term stability and then hand-coloring it.

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