DX number
Unique identifier of a film emulsion
title: "DX number" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["photographic-film-markings"] description: "Unique identifier of a film emulsion" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DX_number" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Unique identifier of a film emulsion ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Interleaved_2_of_5_135_film_barcode.png" caption="Fujicolor Superia]] Venus 400"] ::
The DX number is a number which uniquely identifies the type and manufacturer (sensitizer) of a film emulsion. These DX numbers were assigned by the International Imaging Industry Association (I3A), which published and sold a proprietary list of DX numbers for APS and 135 film yearly or as needed. The last edition of the list, entitled DX Codes for 135-Size Film, was published in January 2009.
DX number composition
A DX number has two parts separated by a dash: CCC-SS
- CCC is the "combination code", also known as "DX Number Part 1", which identifies the manufacturer and emulsion type
- SS is the "specifier number", or "DX Number Part 2", which distinguishes between different varieties within the same family of emulsions For example, Agfa Perutz 3-color ISO 200/24° film is assigned 115-4, while the equivalent Perutz 3-color ISO 100/21° film is assigned 115-3. DX Part 1 numbers, from the 2008 DX Codes document: ::data[format=table title=""] | No. | Assignee | Product(s) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | colspan=2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Agfa-Gevaert | Agfapan, Scala | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Konica Minolta | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Agfa-Gevaert | Agfachrome | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Eastman Kodak | Technical Pan | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Agfa-Gevaert | Agfachrome | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Eastman Kodak | Infrared (HS & Ektachrome) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Agfa-Gevaert | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Fujifilm | Superia, Reala | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Svema | DS-100 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Fujifilm | Fujicolor Pro | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Eastman Kodak | Traffic Surveillance | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Fujifilm | Superia | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Eastman Kodak | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Eastman Kodak | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ferrania | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ::
::data[format=table title=""]
| No. | Assignee | Product(s) | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Konica Minolta | Chrome | |||||||||||||||||
| Agfa-Gevaert | Agfacolor | |||||||||||||||||
| Ferrania | Scotch Color | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastman Kodak | ||||||||||||||||||
| Eastman Kodak | Ektachrome | |||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 (was Tudor) | ||||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 (was Tudor) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Eastman Kodak | Ektachrome, Elite Chrome | |||||||||||||||||
| Ferrania | Imation Chrome | |||||||||||||||||
| Konica Minolta | ||||||||||||||||||
| Konica Minolta | Centuria | |||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Konica Minolta | VX | |||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Konica Minolta | ||||||||||||||||||
| Agfa-Gevaert | Perutz Primera | |||||||||||||||||
| :: |
::data[format=table title=""]
| No. | Assignee | Product(s) | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fujifilm | Sensia, Astia, Velvia, Provia | |||||||||||||||||
| Fujifilm (APS) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Fujifilm | Sensia, Astia, Provia | |||||||||||||||||
| Fujifilm | Superia | |||||||||||||||||
| Fujifilm | NPH, Super G, Superia, Reala | |||||||||||||||||
| Fujifilm (APS) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Fujifilm (APS) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Fujifilm | Superia | |||||||||||||||||
| Konica Minolta | Impresa | |||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Fujifilm | Fujichrome RSP | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastman Kodak | MAX / Supra 800 | |||||||||||||||||
| Agfa-Gevaert (APS) | Agfacolor Futura | |||||||||||||||||
| Agfa-Gevaert (APS) | Perutz Primera | |||||||||||||||||
| Agfa-Gevaert | Agfacolor, Polaroid Plus | |||||||||||||||||
| Agfa-Gevaert | Perutz Primera, Agfacolor | |||||||||||||||||
| :: |
::data[format=table title=""]
| No. | Assignee | Product(s) | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Konica Minolta | ||||||||||||||||||
| Agfa-Gevaert | Agfacolor Optima | |||||||||||||||||
| Konica Minolta | Monochrome, Centuria, XG, LV, VX, JX | |||||||||||||||||
| Agfa-Gevaert | ||||||||||||||||||
| Eastman Kodak | Ektachrome | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastman Kodak | Ektachrome | |||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| China Lucky Film | Color Chrome | |||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| :: |
::data[format=table title=""]
| No. | Assignee | Product(s) | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastman Kodak | Plus-X, Tri-X | |||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 (was 3M) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ferrania | ||||||||||||||||||
| Eastman Kodak | T-MAX | |||||||||||||||||
| Era Photo | Era Color | |||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Eastman Kodak | ||||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Konica Minolta (APS) | ||||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Konica Minolta | ||||||||||||||||||
| Eastman Kodak | B&W+, Gold, Proimage, Profoto | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastman Kodak | BW400CN, Kodacolor, Portra | |||||||||||||||||
| :: |
::data[format=table title=""]
| No. | Assignee | Product(s) | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastman Kodak | ||||||||||||||||||
| Eastman Kodak | ||||||||||||||||||
| Eastman Kodak | Max, Gold, Ultima | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastman Kodak | ||||||||||||||||||
| Eastman Kodak | Kodachrome | |||||||||||||||||
| Ferrania | Imation Color | |||||||||||||||||
| Ferrania (APS) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ferrania | Color FG | |||||||||||||||||
| Shanghai General | Shenguang, Shanghai, Seagull, Rainbow | |||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| China Lucky Film | B/W SHD | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastman Kodak (APS) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Eastman Kodak | ||||||||||||||||||
| Eastman Kodak | Plus Digital | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastman Kodak (APS) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Eastman Kodak | Professional, High Definition, Traffic | |||||||||||||||||
| :: |
::data[format=table title=""]
| No. | Assignee | Product(s) | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 100 | 101 | 102 | 103 | 104 | 105 | 106 | 107 | 108 | 109 | 110 | 111 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastman Kodak | MAX, Portra, Gold, Kodacolor | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastman Kodak | B&W, Color Negative | |||||||||||||||||
| Xiamen Fuda | Pan, GA | |||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| China Lucky Film | Color Super | |||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ilford Photo | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ilford Photo | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ilford Photo | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ilford Photo | Universal, Delta | |||||||||||||||||
| Ilford Photo | Pan, Delta, HP5, FP4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Ilford Photo | XP1, XP2 | |||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| :: |
::data[format=table title=""]
| No. | Assignee | Product(s) | 112 | 113 | 114 | 115 | 116 | 117 | 118 | 119 | 120 | 121 | 122 | 123 | 124 | 125 | 126 | 127 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastman Kodak | Portra | |||||||||||||||||
| Agfa-Gevaert | Agfacolor HDC / Vista | |||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Agfa-Gevaert | Perutz SC / Primera | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastman Kodak | Kodachrome | |||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 (was ORWO) | ||||||||||||||||||
| ORWO Media | Color CNS | |||||||||||||||||
| ORWO Media | Color CNS | |||||||||||||||||
| ORWO Media | Color CNN / OCN | |||||||||||||||||
| ORWO Media | Orwopan | |||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| colspan=2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| :: |
Encoding
DX film canister barcode
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Kodak_400_color_film_DX_code.jpg" caption="DX CAS and barcode (315223, corresponding to DX number 95-2) on this 24-exposure roll of Kodak High Definition ISO 400 [[color print film"] ::
The DX film canister barcode is printed in human-readable text and also represented as an Interleaved 2 of 5 barcode, located between the electrically read silver and black DX Camera Auto-Sensing Code and the film cartridge exit lip. The size and position conform to the ANSI/NAPM IT1.14:1994 standard. Some film-processing machines optically scan the barcode when the cartridge is inserted for developing.
This film canister barcode is a six-digit number in the format PHHHHE, where:
- P = proprietary prefix ranging from 0 to 9, assigned by the manufacturer
- HHHH = hashed DX number
- E = suffix identifying the number of exposures
For 135 film cartridges the DX number is hashed to produce the four-digit code HHHH. To generate this code, the combination code (aka DX Number Part 1) is multiplied by 16 and added to the specifier number (aka DX Number Part 2). The result is prefixed with zeroes, if necessary, to make four digits. For the Agfa film assigned DX number 115-4 above, the hashed 4-digit code would be 1844:
16 \times 115+4 = 1844
The DX number can be recovered from the hashed code by dividing by 16, which gives the Part 1 number as the largest whole integer and the Part 2 number as the remainder:
\frac{1844}{16} = 115+\frac{4}{16}
The suffix digit E is a code digit for the number of full-frame exposures: 1 is for 12 exposures, 2 for 20 exposures, 3 for 24, 4 for 36, 5 for 48, 6 for 60, 0 for 72 and 7 for non-standard lengths such as 24 + 3.
DX film edge barcode
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Kodak_Telegraph_negativ23a.jpg" caption="chromogenic]]) film, DX number 79-15"] ::
Most film produced since 1983 contains barcodes along the bottom edge of the film, recorded in two parallel tracks. The upper track (closer to the sprocket holes) is called the "clock track" and the lower track (along the edge of the film) is called the "data track"; the data track contains the unhashed DX number. However, unlike the film canister DX number bar code, each frame or half-frame's data track code does not provide information about the total number of frames available in the roll.
The data track consists of:
- A six-bit entry code
- A seven-bit film product class identification array (DX Number Part 1)
- One unassigned bit, left blank
- A four-bit film specifier array (DX Number Part 2)
- A six-bit frame number
- One bit to indicate if the position is a "half-frame"
- A second unassigned bit, left blank
- A parity bit
- A four-bit exit code This information identifies manufacturers and chemistry associated with their various film types. If the manufacturer and type of film negative is unknown, the data track can be examined to identify this information. The frame number and half-frame indicator are extensions to the original data track, added by Kodak in 1990.
::data[format=table title="Sample data track code"]
| Position: |
|---|
| 1 |
| 1 |
| Entry code |
| :: |
For each of the three encoded numerals, the most significant digit is on the left and the least significant digit is on the right; for example, the film class is a seven-bit number encoded in positions 2 through 8; position 8 is the least significant digit, and position 2 is the most significant digit. In this example, the binary number encoded (1001111) for the film class is equal to 79 (base-10). The parity bit is set or left blank to ensure the total number of "1" bits in positions 1 through 12 plus the parity bit is even. In this example, there are nine "1" bits in positions 1 through 12, so the parity bit is set.
References
References
- (February 2008). "DX Codes for 135-Size Film". International Imaging Industry Association, Inc. (I3A).
- "Expanded film cartridge bar code".
- "Film latent image bar-code (LIBC) reader".
- "Photographic film with latent image multi-field bar code and eye-readable symbols".
- (2000). "ISO 1007 {{!}} Photography — 135-size film and magazine — Specifications". International Organization for Standardization.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::