The role chemistry plays in digital photography

Chemistry has always been essential in making photography work, from the very first light sensitive papers giving black and white photos through to the more sophisticated multi-layer assemblies used in development of colour prints.

Chemistry is also vital in the digital revolution occurring within photography today. Printing of digital images can be achieved by a number of different methods and each one poses chemical challenges. Synthesis of stable dyes and pigments for formulation into inks and production of new polymers and fillers for incorporation into paper coatings are just two problems chemists are facing in the development of ink jet printing.

Advancements in chemical toner technology could well see laser printing becoming an established route for photo printing, and Dye Diffusion Thermal Transfer (D2T2TM) printing used in the latest photo kiosk systems, relies on specific dye and polymer chemistry to give very durable photo quality prints. Furthermore, digitally stored images can be viewed on a variety of display devices including cameras, phones, PC’s, PDA’s etc.

Display screen technology is developing rapidly, driven by this digital revolution. This development would not be happening without chemists producing new materials such as liquid crystals, and the latest electro-luminescent materials being incorporated into OLED/PLED displays.