I’ve recently been scanning a bunch of my old film negatives that had been taking up office space for the past few decades. And I’ve used an array of film brands in my shooting, mainly Ilford, Kodak, Fujifilm, and Agfa.
I’m disposing of many of the tens of thousands of negatives that I’ve accumulated over the years—yes, I know it’s sacrilegious, but it’s time.
I wanted to record the type of film I used for the shot. In the digital age, we take for granted that minute information about the equipment is included in EXIF data, but that’s much harder to come by with film. In many cases, I recorded some shooting and processing data on the negatives sheets when I developed and filed them. Things like the camera used and the developer used and whether it was push processed.
It can also be very useful to know the specific kind of film stock used. And it can be more than a matter of record-keeping; it can affect how you digitally edit the images, especially if you’re using something like Negative Lab Pro.
But one of the easiest data points available is the type of film, because the film manufacturers helpfully included that information exposed onto the edges of the film outside the sprockets. It’s known as the edgeprint code, and on Kodak film it’s at 2-inch intervals at the top, above the sprocket holes. There’s a practical example at the top of the page; in that case, it’s Kodak T-MAX 400 black and white negative film (5053 TMY).
Some manufacturers, such as Ilford, make things easy with their edgeprint codes—they just include the name of the film, such as HP5, Pan-F, FP4, or XP2.
Kodak does that with a handful of their film stocks, but on many, they make things a bit more confusing by using codes. And if you’re not using them in day-to-day shooting anymore, it’s easy to forget what codes apply to which film types. Which is where the table below comes in. It cross-references the films’ edgeprint codes with the film types and names. 1
I’ve broken it out into main film types and whether the film was color negative, color transparency, or black and white. And while I’m mainly working with 35mm / 135 stock, I’ve also included several medium-format 120/220 codes. I’ve not included some of the other more specialized formats that are available in some cases, such as sheet film or movie film stock.
Table of Contents
35mm (135) Kodak Film Edgeprint Codes
Black & White Negative Film
| Film Stock | Manufacturing Codes | Letter Codes |
|---|---|---|
| T-MAX 100 Professional | 5052 | 100TMX |
| T-MAX 400 Professional | 5053 | 400TMY / TMY / TMY2 |
| T-MAX P3200 Professional | 5054 | P3200TMZ |
| Technical Pan | 2415 | TP |
| PLUS-X Pan | – | PX |
| PLUS-X Pan Professional | 402 / 473 | PXP |
| PLUS-X 125 | – | 125PX |
| TRI-X Pan | – | TX |
| TRI-X 400 | – | 400TX |
| TRI-X 320 | – | 320TXP |
| T400 CN | – | T400 CN |
| BW400CN | – | BW400CN |
| High Speed Infrared | 2481 | HIE |
Color Negative Film / Color Print Film
| Film Stock | Manufacturing Codes | Letter Codes |
|---|---|---|
| VERICOLOR III Professional, Type S | 5026 | VPS |
| PORTRA 100T | – | PORTRA 100T |
| PORTRA 160NC | – | 160NC |
| PORTRA 160VC | – | 160VC |
| PORTRA 400NC | – | 400NC |
| PORTRA 400UC | – | 400UC |
| PORTRA 400VC | – | 400VC |
| PORTRA 800 | – | PORTRA 800 |
| Gold 200 | – | GB |
| Royal Gold 25 | – | RZ |
| Royal Gold 200 | – | RB |
| Royal Gold 400 | – | RC |
| EKTAPRESS PLUS 100 Professional | 5115 | PJA |
| EKTAPRESS PLUS 200 Professional | 5016 | PJZ |
| EKTAPRESS PLUS 400 Professional | 5113 | PJB |
| EKTAPRESS PLUS 1600 Professional | 5030 | PJC |
| EKTAR 100 | – | EKTAR 100 |
| EKTAR 25 Professional | 5327 | PHR |
| Pro 100 | 5329 | PRN |
| Pro 400 | 5080 | PPF |
| Pro 400 MC | 5059 | PMC |
| Ultra Max 400 | – | GC / GC 400-8 / GC 400-9 |
| MAX Versatility |
Color Transparency Film / Color Reversal Film / Slide Film
| Film Stock | Manufacturing Codes | Letter Codes |
|---|---|---|
| EKTACHROME 64 Professional | 5017 | EPR |
| EKTACHROME 64X Professional | 5025 | EPX |
| EKTACHROME 64T Professional | 5018 | EPY |
| EKTACHROME E100S | – | E100S |
| EKTACHROME E100G | – | E100G |
| EKTACHROME E100GX | – | E100GX |
| EKTACHROME E100SW | – | E100SW |
| EKTACHROME E100VS | – | E100VS |
| EKTACHROME 100 Professional | 5058 | EPN |
| EKTACHROME 100 PLUS Professional | 5005 | EPP |
| EKTACHROME 100X Professional | 5024 | EPZ |
| EKTACHROME LUMIERE 100 Professional | 5046 | LPP |
| EKTACHROME LUMIERE 100X Professional | 5048 | LPZ |
| EKTACHROME 160T Professional | 5037 | EPT |
| EKTACHROME E200 | E200 | |
| EKTACHROME 200 Professional | 5036 | EPD |
| EKTACHROME 320T Professional | 5042 | EPJ |
| EKTACHROME 400X Professional | 5075 | EPL |
| EKTACHROME P1600 Professional | – | EPH |
| EKTACHROME Professional Infrared | 2236 | EIR |
| KODACHROME 25 Professional | 5034 | PKM |
| KODACHROME 25 | KM | |
| KODACHROME 40 (Type A) | 5070 | KPA |
| KODACHROME 64 Professional | 5033 | PKR |
| KODACHROME 64 | – | KR |
| KODACHROME 200 Professional | 5002 | PKL |
| KODACHROME 200 | – | KL |
| VERICHROME Pan | – | VP |
| EKTAPAN | – | EKP |
| EKTAGRAPHIC HC Slide | – | HCS |
120/220 Kodak Film Edgeprint Codes
Black & White Negative Film
| Film Stock | Manufacturing Codes | Letter Codes |
|---|---|---|
| T-MAX 100 Professional | 6052 | – |
| T-MAX 400 Professional | 6053 | – |
| Technical Pan | 6415 | – |
| VERICHROME Pan | – | – |
| PLUS-X Pan Professional | 402 / 473 | PXP / PXE |
| TRI-X Pan Professional | – | – |
| TRI-X Pan | – | – |
Color Negative Film / Color Print Film
| Film Stock | Manufacturing Codes | Letter Codes |
|---|---|---|
| VERICOLOR III Professional, Type S | 6006 | VPS |
| VERICOLOR II Professional, Type L | 6013 | VPL |
| EKTAR 25 Professional | 6327 | PHR |
| Pro 100 | 6329 | PRN |
| Pro 400 | 6080 | PPF |
| Pro 400 MC | 6059 | PMC |
Color Transparency Film / Color Reversal Film / Slide Film
| Film Stock | Manufacturing Codes | Letter Codes |
|---|---|---|
| EKTACHROME 64 Professional | 6017 | EPR |
| EKTACHROME 64X Professional | 6025 | EPX |
| EKTACHROME 64T Professional | 6018 | EPY |
| EKTACHROME 100 Professional | 6058 | EPN |
| EKTACHROME 100 PLUS Professional | 6005 | EPP |
| EKTACHROME 100X Professional | 6024 | EPZ |
| EKTACHROME LUMIERE 100 Professional | 6046 | LPP |
| EKTACHROME LUMIERE 100X Professional | 6048 | LPZ |
| EKTACHROME 160T Professional | 6037 | EPT |
| EKTACHROME 200 Professional | 6036 | EPD |
| EKTACHROME 400X Professional | 6075 | EPL |
| KODACHROME 64 Professional | 6033 | PKR |
Things Worth Knowing
DXO Code. Newer film canisters (or magazines) often included what’s known as a DX code (nothing to do with Nikon cropped-sensor cameras, in this case). These are exposed metal parts of the canister that are configured into a very basic barcode pattern. For newer cameras that could read them, these DX codes conveyed to the camera the nominal film speed (ISO) of the film, reducing the need for the photographer to have to remember to manually adjust the ISO when they inserted the film. They also served another purpose for film processing machines used in development labs through a latent-image bar code along one edge of the film that conveyed information such as the film family, film generation, film type, and number of exposures. Kodak also deployed a machine-readable Keycode for this latter purpose.
Standard photography film in 35mm (135) and medium-format (120/220) is often available in ready-to-go film canisters (or magazines, as Kodak refers to them) or on long bulk rolls that the photographer can load themselves into film canisters for use. In some cases, there are minor differences in the markings between these films. For example
Push / Pull. Film stock has a nominal ISO rating, which is the sensitivity that the manufacturer has determined that the film performs at optimum levels with standard processing. But you can also push and pull film, which involves deliberately treating the film as a high or lower ISO film. That has the effect of underexposing or overexposing the film. Sometimes it’s done as a pragmatic adjustment for lighting conditions. Or it might be done as a creative choice for different visual results. Adjustments are then made in the processing, sometimes by adjusting the developer time, using a different developer chemical, or increasing the developer liquid’s temperature. Some films are more forgiving of pushing and pulling than others.
Slide film can go by many names: color reversal, color transparency, or chrome film.
Motion picture film stock uses different styles of codes. You can find those here. And Kodak has put together this useful guide to reading film can labels of Kodak motion picture films.
Related Posts
- The starting point for this information is Kodak’s Reference Dataguide: For Kodak Professional Photographic Products (1994; publication PG-118). I’ve built on that with newer and updated films using other Kodak technical data guides when available (such as this one), as well as technical guides for individual film stocks. This is a running list and doesn’t include every film Kodak has ever made; let me know if there’s something missing that you think should be added.[↩]
