Jameel Synopsis

Download as docx, pdf, or txt
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1of 2

Photographic Processing

Photographic processing or development is the chemical means by which photographic film or paper is
treated after photographic exposure to produce a negative or positive image. Photographic processing transforms
the latent image into a visible image, makes this permanent and renders it insensitive to light.

All processes based upon the gelatin - silver process are similar, regardless of the film or paper's
manufacturer.

1.1 Common Process


All photographic processing uses a series of chemical baths. Processing, especially the development
stages, requires very close control of temperature, agitation and time.

Black and white negative processing

1. The film may be soaked in water to swell the gelatin layer, facilitating the action of the subsequent chemical
treatments.
2. The developer converts the latent image to macroscopic particles of metallic silver.
3. A stop bath, typically a dilute solution of acetic acid or citric acid, halts the action of the developer. A rinse
with clean water may be substituted.
4. The fixer makes the image permanent and light-resistant by dissolving remaining silver Halide. A common
fixer is hypo, specifically ammonium thiosulphate.
5. Washing in clean water removes any remaining fixer. Residual fixer can corrode the silver image, leading to
discoloration, staining and fading.
The washing time can be reduced and the fixer more completely removed if a hypo clearing agent is used
after the fixer.

1. Film may be rinsed in a dilute solution of a non-iconic wetting agent to assist uniform drying, which
eliminates drying marks caused by hard water. (In very hard water areas, a pre-rinse in distilled water may
be required - otherwise the final rinse wetting agent can cause residual ionic calcium on the film to drop out
of solution, causing spotting on the negative.)
2. Film is then dried in a dust-free environment, cut and placed into protective sleeves.
Once the film is processed, it is then referred to as a negative.
The negative may now be printed; the negative is placed in an enlarger and projected onto a sheet of photographic
paper. Many different techniques can be used during the enlargement process. Two examples of enlargement
techniques are dodging and burning.
Alternatively (or as well), the negative may be scanned for digital printing or web viewing after adjustment, retouching,
and/or manipulation.
In modern automatic processing machines, the stop bath is replaced by mechanical squeegee or pinching rollers.
These treatments remove much of the carried-over alkaline developer, and the acid, when used, neutralizes the
alkalinity to reduce the contamination of the fixing bath with the developer.
Before processing, the film must be removed from the camera and from its cassette, spool or holder in a light-proof
room or container.

Color processing
chromogenic materials use dye colors to form color images. Modern color negative film is developed with the c-41
process and color negative print materials with the RA-4 process. These processes are very similar, with differences
in the first chemical developer.
The C-41 and RA-4 processes consist of the following steps:
1. The color developer develops the silver negative image, and byproducts activate the dye couplers to form
the color dyes in each emulsion layer.
2. A rehalogenising bleach converts the developed silver image into silver halides.
3. A fixer removes the silver salts.
4. The film is washed, stabilised, dried and cut.
In the RA-4 process, the bleach and fix are combined. This is optional, and reduces the number of processing steps.
Transparency films, except Kodachrome, are developed using the E-6 process, which has the following stages:

1. A black and white developer develops the silver in each image layer.
2. Development is stopped with a rinse or a stop bath.
3. The film is fogged in the reversal step.
4. The fogged silver halides are developed and oxidised developing agents couple with the dye couplers in
each layer.
5. The film is bleached, fixed, stabilised and dried as described above.
In some old processes, the film emulsion was hardened during the process, typically before the bleach. Such a
hardening bath often used aldehydes, such as formaldehyde and gultaraldehyde. In modern processing, these
hardening steps are unnecessary because the film emulsion is sufficiently hardened to withstand the processing
chemicals.

You might also like