“Carbon printing was originally a monochrome process. It was invented and patented by Alphonse Poitevin (1819–82) in 1855 and was the first practical printing method with pigments. After Poitevin, the carbon process was patented extensively ...
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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 10.
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“The Hérault Trichrome process was demonstrated in Paris on 1 October 1926, with three films made by A. Rodde — a fashion show, a documentary on Brittany and a tableau of the Legend of the King of Ys. Hérault Trichrome was an extension of ...
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Credit: EYE Film Institute Amsterdam. Photograph by Barbara Flueckiger.
12 Images in 1 Gallery
“In 1915 the company launched a hybrid dye imbibition color printing system called Hicrography. 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.
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Credit: Illustration by Sarah Steinbacher, Multimedia & E-Learning-Services, University of Zurich. Source: Klein, Adrian Bernhard (Cornwell-Clyne) (1940): Colour Cinematography. Boston: American Photographic Pub. Co.
- Source: Klein, Adrian Bernhard (Cornwell-Clyne) (1940): Colour Cinematography. Boston: American Photographic Pub. Co.
- Source: Klein, Adrian Bernhard (Cornwell-Clyne) (1940): Colour Cinematography. Boston: American Photographic Pub. Co.
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Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: Captain Calamity (1936)
- Credit: Geo. Willeman, Nitrate Film Vault Manager, Library of Congress. Film: Captain Calamity (1936)
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Source: Coe, Brian (1981): The History of Movie Photography. Westfield, N.J.: Eastview Editions.
4 Images in 1 Gallery
“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 ...
“In November 1953 Ilford Limited of London launched a mail-order service to supply color prints from 35mm transparencies using Ilford Colour Print, a silver dye-bleach printing material on white-pigmented cellulose triacetate support (Fig. ...
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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 215.
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Cross section of Inducolor-print, leader only, title unknown. Credit: Carsta Knaack, HTW Berlin.
- Leader of print, title and age unknown. Credit: Carsta Knaack, HTW Berlin.
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Similar to Technicolor, the Iriscolor process needed a special beam-splitter camera for exposing three black-and-white negatives on Kodak film stock. These negatives were used for imbibition printing.
Between 1940 and 1942, Tobis Tonbild-Syndikat AG ...
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 ...
“The first patent that has been found was granted to H. Isensee and he placed in front of the lens, both in taking and projection, a rotary shutter with three 120 degrees sectors in the usual colors.”
(Wall, E.J. (1925): The History of ...
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Source: D.R.P. 98,799, Dec. 17, 1897
- Credit: Illustration by Sarah Steinbacher, Multimedia & E-Learning-Services, University of Zurich. Source: D.R.P. 98,799, Dec. 17, 1897
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“Johnsons Colour Screen (1953–ca. 1954): pattern virtually identical to Paget Color Screen, with lines of red and blue squares alternated with lines of green and blue squares, approximately 350 to the inch (Fig. 2.55). The lines are at a ...
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Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 70.
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“In 1894 Professor John Joly of Dublin patented a process for producing a screen of red, green and blue-violet lines by ruling them on a gelatin-coated glass plate. Joly used ruling machines of great accuracy, with drawing pens trailed across ...
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Photomicrograph (20x) of a Joly screen. Credit: Courtesy of George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film.
- Credit: Courtesy of George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film.
- Source: Coe, Brian (1978): Colour Photography. The First Hundred Years 1840-1940. London: Ash & Grant.
- Credit: Gawain Weaver, Photograph Conservator, Gawain Weaver Art Conservation, San Anselmo, CA.
- Source: Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 69.
- Source: Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 22.
- Source: Pénichon, Sylvie (2013): Twentieth Century Colour Photographs. The Complete Guide to Processes, Identification & Preservation. London, Los Angeles: Thames & Hudson, p. 23.
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“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.
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Credit: Cinémathèque française, conservatoire des techniques, Paris.
- Source: Wall, E.J. (1925): The History of Three-color Photography. Boston: American Photographic Pub. Co.
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Karl Schinzel proposed a multi-layered monopack for still photography, based on the principle of the dye-bleach process which was later elaborated to a practical application with Gasparcolor.
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Credit: Cinémathèque française, conservatoire des techniques, Paris.
- Credit: Cinémathèque française, conservatoire des techniques, Paris.
- Credit: Cinémathèque française, conservatoire des techniques, Paris.
- Credit: Illustration by Sarah Steinbacher, Multimedia & E-Learning-Services, University of Zurich. Source: Ede, François (1994): Jour de fête ou la couleur retrouvée. Cahiers du Cinéma: Paris.
- Principle of capturing and projecting lenticular film. Credit: Joakim Reuteler and Rudolf Gschwind, Digital Humanities Lab, University of Basel, Switzerland. Illustration by Sarah Steinbacher, Multimedia & E-Learning-Services, University of Zurich.
- Principle of capturing and projecting lenticular film. Credit: Joakim Reuteler and Rudolf Gschwind, Digital Humanities Lab, University of Basel, Switzerland. Illustration by Sarah Steinbacher, Multimedia & E-Learning-Services, University of Zurich.
- Principle of capturing and projecting lenticular film. Credit: Joakim Reuteler and Rudolf Gschwind, Digital Humanities Lab, University of Basel, Switzerland. Illustration by Sarah Steinbacher, Multimedia & E-Learning-Services, University of Zurich.
- Microscopic image of a piece of Keller-Dorian lenticular film embedded in epoxide resin. The 3-dimensional structure of the lenticules is visible as well as the thin emulsion layer on the other side of the acetate base. Credit: Sample preparation and imaging by the Center for Microscopy and Image Analysis, University of Zurich.
- Lenticular surface of the acetate plastic base of Keller-Dorian lenticular film. On the back plane of the acetate layer and therefore out of focus in this image, structures defined by the silver image in the emulsion layer can be perceived. Credit: David Pfluger, ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors. Imaging was performed with support of the Center for Microscopy and Image Analysis, University of Zurich.
- Hexagonal structure of the lenticules of Keller-Dorian lenticular film. Credit: David Pfluger, ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors. Imaging was performed with support of the Center for Microscopy and Image Analysis, University of Zurich.
- Microscopic images of the Keller-Dorian lenticular structure with the focus set at different points. The images have been chained to show a travelling through the 3-dimensional structure of the bee-hive shaped lenticules. Credit: David Pfluger, conversion to video by Martin Weiss, ERC Advanced Grant FilmColors. Imaging was performed with support of the Center for Microscopy and Image Analysis, University of Zurich.
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“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).
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”The process as illustrated in USP 1431309 was a two-color additive process, but it is stated that it could be a three- or four-color process. For the original photography, the negative was exposed through a line screen composed of alternate bands ...
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Source: Ryan, Roderick T. (1977): A History of Motion Picture Color Technology. London: Focal Press.
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Kinemacolor was an additive process operated with alternating red and green filters that were applied to the shutter in front of the camera and in front of the projector. With at least 32 fps the frame rate was double the minimal frame rate of 16 fps. Time parallax with small differences between the red and green record resulted in color fringes that became visible when objects or scenes were moving.
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Kinemacolor projector used for David Cleveland's and Brian Pritchard's reconstruction. Credit: Brian Pritchard.
13 Images in 3 Galleries
Three black-and-white color separations were printed consecutively on one film strip and projected through the corresponding color filters, thus combining to one color image on screen.
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Principle of capturing and projecting lenticular film. Credit: Joakim Reuteler and Rudolf Gschwind, Digital Humanities Lab, University of Basel, Switzerland. Illustration by Sarah Steinbacher, Multimedia & E-Learning-Services, University of Zurich.
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“In 1930 Mannes and Godowsky were invited to join the staff of the Kodak Research Laboratory, where they concentrated on methods of processing multilayer films, while their colleagues worked out ways of manufacturing them. The result was the new Kodachrome film, launched in 1935. Three very thin emulsion layers were coated on film base, the emulsions being sensitised with non-wandering dyes to red, green and blue light, the red-sensitive layer being at the bottom.” (Coe, Brian (1978): Colour Photography. The First Hundred Years 1840-1940. London: Ash & Grant, pp. 121 ff.)
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Credit: Lichtspiel / Kinemathek Bern. Film: New York, Taufe und Ausflug (CH 1954, Donald Brun).
- Surface emulsion side, raking light. Credit: Carsta Knaack, HTW Berlin. Film: Regular 8mm home movie, anonymous 1975.
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Kodachrome 200 Professional Film (PKL) is a color reversal film with an ISO speed of 200, intended for exposure with daylight or electronic flash. Kodachrome films are designed for the K-14 process, a complex process which uses external couplers.
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Eastman Kodak Company (2009): Technical Data, Color Transparency Film. Kodachrome 25, 64, and 200 Professional Film (E-55), 06.2009, p. 5.
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Kodachrome 25 Professional Film (PKM) is a color reversal film with an ISO speed of 25, intended for exposure with daylight or electronic flash. Kodachrome films are designed for the K-14 process, a complex process which uses external couplers.
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Eastman Kodak Company (2009): Technical Data, Color Transparency Film. Kodachrome 25, 64, and 200 Professional Film (E-55), 06.2009, p. 3.
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Kodachrome 64 Professional Film (PKR) is a color reversal film with an ISO speed of 64, intended for exposure with daylight or electronic flash. Kodachrome films are designed for the K-14 process, a complex process which uses external couplers. In ...
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Eastman Kodak Company (2009): Technical Data, Color Transparency Film. Kodachrome 25, 64, and 200 Professional Film (E-55), 06.2009, p. 4.
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Duplicating stock for reversal film. Replaced Kodachrome duplicating stock type 5262. Contrary to its predecessor the new stock was not suited as camera material. Type 5265 could only be used for duplication.
Although Kodachrome 16mm reversal film was introduced as an amateur film format, rapidly after its introduction it became a format frequently used by (semi-)professional film makers. The reason was that Kodachrome was a relatively easy to use film ...
Timeline of Historical Film Colors by Barbara Flueckiger is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Quote as Flueckiger, Barbara (2012 ff.): Timeline of Historical Film Colors. (= https://filmcolors.org/).
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