Abstract: A system and method of creating transmissive images in a developed photographic film is disclosed. A light-sensitive silver halide emulsion is developed to form an opaque surface layer of fine silver grains with a clear underlayer supported on a transparent substrate. Transmissive images are created in the opaque surface layer by selectively applying an oxidizing solution which oxidizes the silver grains to silver ions which are poor absorbers of light. The underlayer absorbs excess oxidizing solution with little or no swelling. The oxidizing solution may be dispersed by a modified ink-jet printer. The imaged film has high contrast and can be directly used without further processing in color printing plate making systems and other applications requiring a transmissive film or mask.