Tinting & Toning

1895–1930

Before color film existed, prints were dipped in dye baths or chemically toned. Night scenes were blue, fire was red, daylight was amber.

Tinting: entire film dipped in dye. Toning: silver replaced with colored compound. Sometimes combined — tinted AND toned.

1 artist6 colors

Silent Film Color Processes

International

Before 1930, over 80% of films used some form of color — not photographed color, but applied color.

Tinting colored the light areas (gelatin). Toning colored the dark areas (silver). Combined, they created two-tone images.