Have there been direct-positive photographic processes for reflective prints or plates?

Asked 9/4/2018

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I know slide film makes a positive transparency. Were there also photographic processes that produced a positive image directly on reflective material or paper after development, without making a negative first? I’m not asking about Polaroid or other instant films.

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

7y ago

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The Daguerreotype was the first practical photographic method (1835) yielded a positive image on a silver plated copper plate. The image is actually a negative however it appears positive because of the highly polished reflective surface behind it. Actually it was Sir John Herschel in 1839 that realized that any weak negative viewed against a highly polished reflective background appears positive. The outcome was collodion positives called ambrotypes. Next metal plates were painted gloss black and then coated with light sensitive goodies, these were the tintypes. After that, many reversal processes appeared; mainly they found use in photo-booths in the 1940s. Color direct positive prints on paper came next.

Originally by user44949. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user44949

7y ago

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Yes. Several photographic processes have produced direct positives on reflective surfaces or paper.

Historically, daguerreotypes made an image on silver-plated copper that appears positive because of the polished reflective surface. Related early processes included ambrotypes and tintypes.

Later, direct-positive and reversal processes were used to make reflective prints on paper. In black and white, direct positive paper has been made specifically for camera exposure and processing into a paper positive. It can also be possible to get a positive from some regular negative paper by using a reversal process.

For color, Ilfochrome was a well-known positive print material for making color prints from positive transparencies, though it has been discontinued.

Practically, camera-exposed paper positives are most often used in large-format cameras, since smaller formats would produce very small prints.

So the short answer is: yes—both historically on metal/glass-like supports and later on photographic paper, including dedicated direct-positive papers and reversal-based methods.

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