Interpositive

Anyone working with original negatives in an analog workflow knows the problem: every copy costs quality. The intermediate positive — known in the English-speaking world as an Interpositive — was long the standard solution to minimize this generational loss. One had an internegative (a copy from the original), and from that, a positive was struck — the intermediate positive. This then served as the master for all further reproductions, instead of repeatedly copying from the internegative.

The practical benefit was considerable: direct duplication from the negative quickly leads to scratches, dust settles, and optical quality measurably suffers with each generation. The intermediate positive acted as a safeguard — it allowed for the creation of any number of work prints and distribution prints without damaging the precious internegative. In the 35mm workflow, this was standard for feature films: internegative → intermediate positive → distribution prints. It was also archived for backup purposes — if the internegative was damaged, a new negative could be created from the intermediate positive.

Technically, its production was demanding: color values had to be adjusted during the re-duplication process to avoid color casts — which is why test strips and gray scales (see corresponding lexicon entry) were used. An intermediate positive on good Kodak or Fuji material could withstand two or three generations of duplication work without a visible loss in sharpness or contrast. The practice was similar for 16mm, only more cost-sensitive.

With the transition to digital and DCP, its significance has completely shifted — today, work is done with Digital Intermediates and DCPs (see lexicon), and the physical negative film chain has become obsolete in the cinema sector. However, archivists and restorers still encounter old intermediate positives in storage and must decide whether they are better sources for digitization than the deteriorated original. Often enough, they are — if they were stored properly.