Following exposure, the paper is processed to reveal and make permanent the latent image.

The process consists of four major steps, performed in a photographic darkroom or within an automated photo printing machine. These steps are:

Optionally, after fixing, the print is treated with a hypo clearing agent to ensure complete removal of the fixer, which would otherwise compromise the long term stability of the image. Prints can be chemically toned or hand coloured after processing.

Kodak Panalure is a panchromatic black-and-white photographic printing paper. Panalure was developed to facilitate the printing of full-tone black-and-white images from color negatives – a difficult task with conventional orthochromatic papers due to the orange tint of the film base. Panalure also finds application as paper negatives in large format cameras. It is generally not suitable for conventional black-and-white printing, since it must be handled and developed in near-complete darkness.

Kodak has announced that it will no longer produce or sell this product. However, as of early 2006, it is still available from various online retailers.

Colour papers require specific chemical processing in proprietary chemicals. Today's processes are called RA-4, which is for printing colour negatives, and Ilfochrome, which is for printing colour transparencies.