Silver Gelatin Prints

The first silver gelatin prints appeared in the late 1880s. They were the dominant print medium from about 1905 until the 1960s, when colour photography took over, although they are still in use. They can have glossy or matte finishes. More contemporary prints can be reliably distinguished from other photographic media only under microscopic examination (which reveals the fact that the paper fibres are almost totally hidden by a special coating to make the paper appear whiter).