Color negative films record images in densities opposite to the brightness of the objects in the image. They can easily be recognized because they contain the suffix color, like Kodacolor and Fujicolor. Color negative films are used to create prints as the final product.
Other than film used for aerial photography, most color negative films have an orange mask. This mask increases the color separation that reproduces accurate colors in the final prints. During the developing process, colors are formed in the emulsion that replicate the color of the original image. A red object in the image is recorded as cyan in the negative. All the other colors in an image are made from a combination of cyan, magenta and yellow.
Color dyes that are in the emulsion layers of the film control the colors of light passing through the color negative. Color negative images may be printed on color positive materials. These include color paper and color print film, which make color prints or color transparencies. To make black-and-white prints, color negatives can be printed on special panchromatic black-and-white paper. Color negative film comes in various sizes and speeds and costs a few dollars a roll.
