Kelleycolor

1923

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William van Doren Kelley (Kelleycolor Company)

Subtractive 2 color: Dye transfer

“In 1919 Kelley produced a series of coloured cartoons which were drawn by Pinto Colvig. In 1924 he introduced “Kelleycolor,” which was an imbibition process. Two colours were imbibed on a black-and-white key image. In 1926 he ...

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Credit: George Eastman House Motion Picture Department Collection. Film: The Old Family Toothbrush (USA 1925).

1 Image

EverColor

1993

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William Nordstrom

Subtractive 4 color: pigment process, still photography

“Also during the 1990s, William (Bill) Nordstrom started to experiment with a carbon process called Agfa-Proof, a four-color proprietary prepress color proofing system. He founded the EverColor Corporation in El Dorado Hills, California, in ...

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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 96.

1 Image

Curtis Orthotone

1939

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Thomas S. Curtis

Subtractive 3 color: dye imbibition process, still photography

“In 1939 Thomas S. Curtis (1889–1964) proposed Orthotone, a dye imbibition printing method that was primarily a variation of the widely used Eastman Wash-Off Relief. Orthotone offered its practitioners complete control on the contrast or ...

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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 142.

1 Image

Ozobrome 1905–ca. 1910, after 1913 renamed Raydex

1905

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Thomas Manly

Subtractive 3 color: pigment process, still photography

“In 1905 Thomas Manly (d. 1932) of London introduced the Ozobrome process,21 which was a modification of his earlier Ozotype, patented in 1898.22 The process was based on a carbon printing method proposed in 1873 by Auguste Marion (1835–1917) ...

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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 100.

1 Image

Technicolor No. VI: Dye-transfer prints from enhanced process

1997

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Technicolor

Subtractive 3 color: dye transfer

In 1994, Technicolor announced the development of an enhanced dye-transfer process. This process became effective in June 1997. There was no official denomination, so “Technicolor No. VI” is not to be confused with statements from the mid ...

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N.P.G.

1902

|

Robert Krayn, Neue Photographische Gesellschaft

Subtractive 3 color: pigment process, still photography

“In 1902 Robert Krayn of Berlin described and patented his Naturfarben-Photographie System, a carbon printing system that was commercially introduced around 1905 by the German manufacturer of photographic paper Neue Photographische ...

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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 85.

1 Image

Irix-Farbenfilm

1933/34

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Richard Gschöpf, Karl Pokorny

|

Austria

Subtractive three-color process: imbibition

Three matrices in the subtractive primary colors are printed on the gelatin of the final print. Supposedly, the used dyes were particularly fast and able to prevent color bleeding. Pokorny started working on color cinematography in the 1920s, often ...

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Ataraxia

1998

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Racey Gilbert

Subtractive 4 color: pigment process, still photography

“In 1998 Racey Gilbert purchased Polaroid’s stock of pigment films and opened Ataraxia Studio in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, to make high-quality collectors’ carbon prints. Under the direction of Gérard Niemetzky, the studio produced ...

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Source: Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 98.

1 Image

Fresson Quadrichromy

1959

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Pierre Fresson; Atelier Fresson

Subtractive 4 color: pigment process, still photography

“In 1951, when pigment processes were falling into disfavor, Pierre Fresson (1904–1983) of Atelier Fresson developed Fresson Quadrichromy, a four-color printing method based on the monochrome direct carbon process (charbon-satin) that had ...

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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 91.

1 Image

Russian three-color process

1936

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Pavel Mershin (Mosfilm), Fedor Provorov (NIKFI) and Avenir Min (Leningradskii zavod kino-apparatury, Leningrad Film Factory LenKinAp)

Subtractive three color

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Zaveshchanie/The Testament (7 June 1937). Credit: Courtesy of Nikolai Mayorov.
Zaveshchanie/The Testament (7 June 1937). Credit: Courtesy of Nikolai Mayorov. Credit: Courtesy of Nikolai Mayorov.
The Miraculous Traffic Light (1938). Credit: courtesy of Nikolai Mayorov
The Wolf and Seven Goat-Kids (1938). Credit: Courtesy of Nikolai Mayorov.
The Fox and the Wolf (1937). Credit: Courtesy of Nikolai Mayorov.
The Fox and the Wolf (1937). Credit: Courtesy of Nikolai Mayorov.

6 Images

Autotype Dyebro

ca. 1929

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Owen Wheeler, Autotype Company

Subtractive 3 color: dye imbibition process, still photography

“Autotype Dyebro Introduced around the same time as Colorsnap and Uvatype, Autotype Dyebro combined the three-color carbro and dye imbibition processes. The method was invented by Owen Wheeler (1859–1932) and commercialized by the Autotype ...

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Handschiegl / DeMille-Wyckoff / Wyckoff Process

1916

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Max Handschiegl and Alvin Wyckoff

Applied color: Imbibition

Similar to stenciling, the Handschiegl process was applied mechanically to manually defined image parts. Therefore it is an applied color process. After the film was shot and edited, for each color applied a separate print was made. In contrast to ...

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Black-and-white with Handschiegl in Lights of Old Broadway (USA 1925, Monta Bell). Credit: Library of Congress. Photograph of the nitrate print by Barbara Flueckiger.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: Trail of '98 (USA 1929, Clarence Brown).
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: Trail of '98 (USA 1929, Clarence Brown).
Credit: Paolo Cherchi Usai. Source: Cherchi Usai, Paolo (2000): Silent Cinema. London: BFI. Film: Greed (USA 1925, Erich von Stroheim).
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: Forbidden Fruit (USA 1921, Cecil B. DeMille).
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: Forbidden Fruit (USA 1921, Cecil B. DeMille).
Source: Ryan, Roderick T. (1977): A History of Motion Picture Color Technology. London: Focal Press, p. 24.
Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: Trail of '98 (USA 1929, Clarence Brown).

142 Images in 8 Galleries

Kodak Dye Transfer

1946

|

Louis M. Condax, Eastman Kodak Company

Subtractive 3 color: dye imbibition process, still photography

“Kodak Dye Transfer materials were introduced by Eastman Kodak Company in February 1946 and replaced Eastman Wash-Off Relief. Principal improvements over the previous material included a simplified registration procedure, more rapidly ...

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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 148.

1 Image

Condax-Dytrol

ca. 1940

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Louis M. Condax, Condax-Speck, Inc., New York, Robert P. Speck

Subtractive 3 color: dye imbibition process, still photography

“Around 1940, Condax-Speck, Inc., of New York started to market dyes and mordant for the Condax-Dytrol system of dye imbibition printing (Fig. 4.19). The system, developed by company owners Louis M. Condax (1897–1971) and Robert P. Speck, ...

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Kwik-Print

1977

|

Light Impressions Corporation

Subtractive 3 color: pigment process, still photography

“In 1977 Light Impressions Corporation of Rochester, New York, introduced Kwik-Print, a contact speed color printing material. This was a modification of the Kwik-Proof graphic arts proofing system made by Direct Reproductions Corporation of ...

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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 110.

1 Image

Pinatype / Pinatypie

1903

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Léon Didier (Meister Lucius & Brüning)

Subtractive 3 color: Dye transfer, still photography

“In the imbibition process, a dye image is transferred from a gelatin relief image to a receiving layer made either of paper or film. Charles Cros described this method of “hydrotypie” transfer printing in 1880 and suggested it ...

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Cyan and magenta combined, third layer, yellow missing. Source: Meister Lucius & Brüning (1905): Pinatypie. Positiv-Verfahren für die Dreifarbenphotographie. Höchst am Main.
Source: Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 235.
Source: Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 235.
Source: Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 132.

4 Images

Duxochrome / Colorstil / Duxocolor

1929

|

Johannes Herzog Company

Subtractive 3 color: pigment process, still photography

“Duxochrome, introduced around 1930 by the Johannes Herzog Company of Bremen, Germany, combined the colored gelatin layers of pigment processes with the tanning development procedure of dye imbibition. Exposures from three separation negatives ...

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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 106.

1 Image

Crawford Flexichrome 1940–1942, after 1949 Kodak Flexichrome

1940

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Jack Crawford, Crawford Flexichrome Company (Eastman Kodak Company)

Subtractive 3 color: hybrid dye imbibition process, still photography

“In the 1940s a product called Crawford Flexichrome appeared on the market. It allowed photographers to obtain prints or transparencies in full color by simply applying dyes of various colors by hand to a gelatin relief image.16 Results ...

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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 145.

1 Image

Triadochrome

1921

|

J. F. Shepherd

Subtractive 3 color: dye mordanting and silver toning process, still photography

“After the war, in 1921, J. F. Shepherd introduced in England a printing method called the Triadochrome Color Process, which was very similar to Hamburger’s Polychromide.10 To make a print, a cyan impression obtained from an iron-toned ...

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Raylo

ca. 1922

|

Hiram Codd Joseph Deeks (American Raylo Corporation)

Subtractive 3 color: pigment process, still photography

“Raylo was a material developed by Hiram Codd Joseph Deeks (1880−1952) of the American Raylo Corporation, New York. It was introduced in 1922 for a printing service for users of the Raylo Camera, a one-shot camera that made three negatives ...

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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 87.

1 Image

Carbro-Chromatone

1937

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Harlan L. Baumbach

Subtractive 3 color: pigment process, still photography

“References to Carbro-Chromatone prints are sometimes found in the literature on early color photography. These prints were made using a combination of the two processes they were named after. The method was described by Harlan L. Baumbach in ...

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Autotype Trichrome Carbro

1921

|

H. F. Farmer, Autotype Company

Subtractive 3 color: pigment process, still photography

“As in previous versions of the process, pigment papers were soaked in a sensitizing bath and then squeegeed firmly onto the surface of wet bromide prints to harden the pigmented gelatin in proportion to the amount of silver contained in the ...

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Source: Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 103.

1 Image

Belcolor

ca. 1935

|

George Murphy

Subtractive 3 color: pigment process, still photography

“Introduced in the mid-1930s by George Murphy, Inc., of New York City, Belcolor was considered one of the simplest ways to obtain color transparencies, as it required no special equipment or expert technique and could be used successfully ...

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Jos-Pé

1924

|

G. Koppmann

Subtractive 3 color: dye imbibition process, still photography

“Invented by G. Koppmann and introduced in Hamburg in 1924 by the German financier Josef-Peter Welker, from whom the product took its name (Wall and Jordan 1940: 330), Jos-Pé was a complete color system that included a one-exposure camera, ...

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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 135.

1 Image

Hicrography / Hicrome

1915

|

Frederic Eugene Ives

Subtractive 3 color: dye imbibition process, still photography

“In 1915 the company launched a hybrid dye imbibition color printing system called Hicrography.9 From the separation negatives, positive impressions were made through the base on the presensitized dichromated film (Hicro Film), which also ...

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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 134.

1 Image

Polychrome

1932

|

Frederic Eugene Ives

Subtractive 3 color: dye mordanting and silver toning process, still photography

“In 1932 Frederic Eugene Ives published details of his Polychrome printing system for making three-color paper prints or transparencies from two separation negatives made through a red and a green-blue filter. The process, described by its ...

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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 281.

1 Image

Dye Imbibition Process

1875

|

Ernest Edwards

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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson.

1 Image

Sanger-Shepherd

1900

|

Edward Sanger-Shepherd

Subtractive 3 color: dye imbibition process, still photography

“In 1900 Edward Sanger-Shepherd (ca. 1869−1927), a London scientific instrument maker, started to offer complete outfits for making natural color lantern slides with a dye imbibition printing method that became known as the Sanger-Shepherd ...

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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 128.
Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 129.
Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 130.

3 Images

Dufaytissue

1941

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Dufay-Chromex Limited of London

Subtractive 3 color: pigment process, still photography

“Dufaytissue materials, marketed by Dufay-Chromex Limited of London between 1941 and 1948, resembled Belcolor and were used to produce color prints by contact. After they had been sensitized and dried, the pigment films were exposed by contact ...

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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 89.

1 Image

Vivex

1928

|

Dr. Douglas Arthur Spencer (Color Photographs Limited of London)

Subtractive 3 color: pigment process, still photography

“Vivex prints were introduced by Color Photographs Limited of London in 1928. One of the most important features of this printing method, invented by Douglas Arthur Spencer (1902–1980), was the introduction in 1929 of cellophane, instead of ...

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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 105.

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