toning

film process

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Last updated

July 14, 2026

Quick Summary

Toning is a photographic process that alters the color of a silver image by causing the silver to combine with sulfur. This results in colors ranging from yellowish to purplish brown. This process is distinct from "sulfide toning".1

In early motion pictures, before the advent of color photography, non-photographic methods were used to add color. These included hand-coloring individual frames or using monochrome sections for mood. One technique involved "toning" the emulsion by bathing the film in chemical salts to change its color.2

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History of film
Introduction of color
…replaced by mechanized tinting and toning. Tinting colored all the light areas of a picture and was achieved by immersing a black-and-white print in dye or by using colored film base for printing. The toning process involved chemically treating film emulsion to color the dark areas of the print. Each…
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…replaced by mechanized tinting and toning. Tinting colored all the light areas of a picture and was achieved by immersing a black-and-white print in dye or by using colored film base for printing. The toning process involved chemically treating film emulsion to color the dark areas of the print. Each…
Read More