1848-1872 1873-1897 1898-1913 1914-1945 1946-1990 1991-2008
Photochrome Postcards
1939
PHOTOCHROMES (Chromes) 1939 - Present
Up until 1939 almost all color postcards were manufactured by retouching images taken from black and white photographs. Though the first usable color film was produced in 1907 it was not convienent for publishing purposes and few cards were derived from it. The first high quality, multi layered film was not invented until 1936. Photochrome is derived from Kodak’s Kodachrome the name of this new film. The color separations for individual litho-plates would be made by a process camera, which took four halftone negatives broken down into CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) colors. The different halftone screens were then rotated at precise angles to create a rosette pattern when printed enhancing the method’s subtractive color properties. The printed photochrome cards resemble color photographs even though made through halftone offset lithography. The Union Oil Company was the first to use the photochrome process in 1939 on the giveaway postcards available at their service stations. But with gas rationing enacted during the Second World War, they soon had little need to advertise and the technique was not revived until after 1945. Some publishers thought this process a fad and continued to print linen cards. But since the mid 1950’s almost all postcards have been printed as photochromes. Though the process has basically remained the same it has not been completely static as color quality has continually improved since the early dull grainy cards. Though these cards are considered modern, many of the scenes that they portray are now over fifty years old and they may have changed more than some cards of a hundred years. These cards are almost always refered to by their short name chrome.
Use the link below for a more compleate history of this period.