With a few exceptions, the use of the term dry plate is a reference to glass plates coated with gelatin/silver salts and used in a dry condition. Replacing the wet plate method known for all of the tedious last minute preparations it encumbered, the ready-made dry plate technology proved to be a convenient improvement. By the late 1880′s, dry plate enabled photographers to purchase dry emulsion-coated glass plates from vendors such as Kodak for their camera.