Dye coupler is present in
chromogenic film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
and
paper used in
photography, primarily
color photography
Color photography is photography that uses media capable of capturing and reproducing colors. By contrast, black-and-white or gray-monochrome photography records only a single channel of luminance (brightness) and uses media capable only of ...
. When a color developer
reduces ionized (exposed)
silver halide
A silver halide (or silver salt) is one of the chemical compounds that can form between the element silver (Ag) and one of the halogens. In particular, bromine (Br), chlorine (Cl), iodine (I) and fluorine (F) may each combine with silver to prod ...
crystals, the developer is oxidized, and the oxidized molecules react with dye coupler molecules to form a dye ''in situ.''
The silver image is removed by subsequent
bleach
Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color (whitening) from a fabric or fiber or to clean or to remove stains in a process called bleaching. It often refers specifically, to ...
and
fix
Fix or FIX may refer to:
People with the name
* Fix (surname)
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Fix'' (film), a feature film by Tao Ruspoli Music
* ''Fix'' (album), 2015 album by Chris Lane
* "Fix" (Blackstreet song), 1997 song by Black ...
processes, so the final image will consist of the dye image.
Dye coupler technology has seen considerable advancement since the beginning of modern color photography. Major film and paper manufacturers have continually improved the stability of the image dye by improving couplers, particularly since the 1980s, so that
archival properties of images are enhanced in newer color papers and films. Generally speaking, dye couplers for paper use are given more emphasis on the image permanence than those for film use, but some modern films (such as
Fujichrome Provia films) use variants of couplers that were originally designed for paper use to further improve the image permanence.
References
Photographic film types
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