How Is Photographic Film Processed?
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Preparing the Film
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The process of preparing photographic film for development and processing begins inside a dark room. This room is specially designed to avoid exposing the film rolls to any light whatsoever, as doing so would alter the images captured and potentially ruin the film completely. The negative film is taken out of the camera and wound onto reels. These reels are placed inside a box that is light proof but will allow developing chemicals to wash over the film during the next step of the process.
The Solutions
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A number of solutions are used in film processing. The path begins by using a developer solution, which takes the latent image of the film and turns it into a kind of metallic silver picture. A stop bath is then used, which ends the process of the developer solution.
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The Finish
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A fixer solution is then used which makes the image permanent. The image also becomes light-resistant at this point, which means that it can no longer be altered simply by being exposed to light. A "Clean Water" wash solution is then used to remove any remnants of the fixer solution that may still be on the images.
At this point the film is dried off. This can be done by hanging the film on a line, much in the same way you would dry clothes outside. It is imperative that the area used for this be dust free, though, as dust attaching itself to a piece of film at this point could be detrimental to the finished image.
The film is then cut from the roll into individual images, and placed into protective sleeves. From this point duplicate prints can be made, and colors can be altered or subdued by using a variety of different chemicals in a chemical bath.
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