Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1996/07/03
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]>The information about Technicolor and Kodachrome in the most recent >posting from our Swiss contributor is not quite right and could cause an >unnecessary confusion. The old Technicolor movie process is really not >like Kodachrome (you might think of it as a cousin, but not a sister). Thank you for the interesting explanation of the Technicolor process and its history. I never suggested in my message that the Kodachrome and Technicolor processes are identical, I know that. I just stated that the color from Kodachrome and from the original Technicolor process does not depend on the limited range of chemical agents that produce dyes in the E6 world. This is what provides the possibility for far more stable color. In the original Technicolor process, the three negatives were not copied on monopack printfilm. Technicolor made positive copies of the RBG negatives, which, after processing resulted in gelatine relief images. These 3 non-color relief films were colored in 3 color baths containing stable dyes, like the three non-color Kodachrome layers. Thick layer, much dye, intensive red. Thin layer, the opposite. The three colored images were later transferred on the blankfilm, which could also carry a grey keyimage (to improve shadows) and carried the soundtrack. Registering the 3 images perfectly on blankfilm was a problem in the early days of Technicolor but this got solved by Bell & Howell by high precision perforation of the films. As you rightly pointed out, later improvements in the process included copying of the 3 negatives on multilayer printfilm. Again, the point I tried to make was that non color coupler based processes, like Kodachrome, Technicolor, and Kodak's Dye Transfer, open up the possibility to use far more stable dyes than those available in through E6 chemistry, resulting in much better archival quality. Sorry if I was not clear and/or caused confusion. Gerard Captijn, Geneva, Switzerland. Email: captyng@vtx.ch Fax: +41 (22) 700 39 28 Gerard Captijn Geneva, Switzerland Email: captyng@vtx.ch Telephone/fax: +41 22 700 39 28