K-14 was the most recent version of the developing process for

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...

Kodachrome Kodachrome is the brand name for a color reversal film introduced by Eastman Kodak in 1935. It was one of the first successful color materials and was used for both cinematography and still photography. For many years, Kodachrome was widely used ...

transparency film before its discontinuation (the last revision having been designated Process K-14M). It superseded previous versions of the Kodachrome process used with older films (such as K-12 for Kodachrome II and Kodachrome-X). The K-14 process differed significantly from its contemporary, the

E-6 process The E-6 process is a chromogenic Photographic processing, photographic process for developing Ektachrome, Fujichrome and other Reversal film, color reversal (also called slide or transparency) photographic film. Unlike some color reversal process ...

, in both complexity and length. Kodachrome film has no integral color couplers; dyes are produced during processing (each color in a separate step) by the reaction of the color coupler with the oxidized developing agent, both in the developer solution. Due to declining sales, Kodak discontinued production of all K-14 chemistry in 2009, concurrently with Kodachrome 64 film. Dwayne's Photo, in

Parsons, Kansas Parsons is a city in Labette County, Kansas, Labette County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 9,600. It is the most populous city of Labette County, and the second-most pop ...

, operated the last K-14 line in the world, discontinued sales on 30 December 2010; the last roll was processed on 18 January 2011.

Steps

The cross-section of Kodachrome film consists of layers which are, from top-to-bottom: blue sensitive (of which the non-sensitized portions will be dyed yellow), yellow filter, blue-green sensitive (dyed magenta), blue-red sensitive (dyed cyan),

acetate An acetate is a salt formed by the combination of acetic acid with a base (e.g. alkaline, earthy, metallic, nonmetallic, or radical base). "Acetate" also describes the conjugate base or ion (specifically, the negatively charged ion called ...

base, rem-jet anti-halation backing. The blue-green and blue-red sensitive layers are primarily sensitive to green and red light, respectively, but are sensitive to blue light as well. The yellow filter layer is added to prevent blue light from penetrating to these layers during exposure. The result is three different color records each with the appropriate dye, just like other color films. The original Kodachrome process in 1935 used dye bleaches and was a far more complex process; the dyes themselves were unstable and faded at high temperature. Although the formulae have changed over the years, the basic process steps have followed a similar pattern since the introduction of "selective re-exposure" Kodachrome in 1938.

References

External links

Kodak: Processing Kodachrome film

K-14 Process Demonstration
{{photography subject Photographic film processes