STRIPPING films have been in use since 1875. Kodak patented a paper
negative with a stripping emulsion in 1884 and commercialized it the
following year.
The TRANSFEROTYPE was a silver bromide emulsion on paper coated with a
soluble gelatin, from which it could be separated and transferred onto a
wide variety of supports of different shapes. This was available in the US
from 1888 until 1895, and until at least 1964 in England. Several other
firms made similar materials.
In recent years, Kodak made strippable transparency films that could be
assembled for camera ready layout and "gang separated". I don't know
whether this is still available commercially or not. This technology is
now, for all practical purposes, obsolete, thanks to powerful computers and
sophisticated software that have taken over the graphic arts industry.
I have used extensively the carbon transfer process, but I have been
curious about transferring ordinary black and white emulsions to other
surfaces, including plain paper, without the use of nasty solvents. If you
can do that, I personally would like to hear about it. For that matter, I'm
sure this list would like to hear about any new technique that is
relatively safe to use.
Luis Nadeau