All color reversal film sold today is developed with the
E-6 process. The non-substantive
Kodachrome films, the last of which was discontinued in 2009, were processed with the
K-14 process.
Polaroid produced an
instant slide film called
Polachrome. It was packaged in cassettes like normal
35mm film. A separate processing unit was used to develop it after exposure.
Black and white Black-and-white transparencies can be made directly with some modern
black-and-white films, which normally yield negatives. The negative image is developed but not fixed. The negative image is removed by bleaching with a solution of
potassium permanganate or
potassium dichromate in dilute
sulfuric acid, which is removed by
washing and a clearing bath containing
sodium metabisulfite or
potassium metabisulfite. The remaining silver halide salts are re-exposed to light, developed and fixed, and the film is washed and dried. Black-and-white transparencies were once popular for presentation of lecture materials using 3¼"×4" (3¼" square in the UK) glass-mounted slides. Such positive black-and-white projection is now rarely done, except in motion pictures. Even where black-and-white positives are currently used, the process to create them typically uses an internegative with standard processing instead of a chemical reversal process. Black-and-white reversal films are less common than color reversal films. •
Agfa-Gevaert discontinued its Agfa Scala 200x Professional black-and-white reversal film. This could be developed with their proprietary Scala process. • The
Adox company released Scala 160 in 2017, a black and white reversal film based on Agfa's discontinued Scala. • The
Foma company of the Czech Republic produces one of only remaining dedicated black-and-white reversal film for 35 mm stills, Fomapan R 100, which is also available in
movie film formats. •
Kodak and Foma currently produce kits for reversal processing. • Kodak formerly offered a kit ("Direct Positive Film Developing Outfit") for reversal processing of its now-discontinued
Panatomic X film, which doubled the effective film speed from 32 to 64. The bleaching bath used
potassium dichromate and
sodium bisulfate; the redeveloper was a fogging developer, and so unstable that its shelf-life after mixing was only slightly longer than the amount of time needed to process a single roll. This was replaced with a "T-Max Direct Positive Film Developing Outfit", which uses potassium permanganate and sulfuric acid in the bleach. In this kit, the fogging redeveloper is stable, but the bleach is not, with a shelf-life, once mixed, of no more than two weeks. •
dr5 Chrome process, which produces black-and-white transparencies from most traditional halide (i.e., non-chromogenic) black-and-white negative films. • Kodak Tri-X Reversal Film 7266 and Kodak Plus-X Reversal Film 7265 are black-and-white reversal films used for movie-making. • Ilford has published a reversal process applicable to all current B&W emulsions, but recommended for Pan F+, FP4+, and Delta 100. == Pros and cons ==