The ferrotype, also called the tintype or melainotype, is a photographic process developed in the United States in the 19th century. It superceded the ambrotype by the end of the Civil War and went on to become the most common photographic process until the introduction of modern "film"-based processes. Ferrotypes continued to be made until the 1950s.

The ferrotype was a minor improvement to the ambrotype, replacing the glass plate of the original process with a thin piece of black enameled, or japanned , iron (thus "ferro") or tin. The new materials reduced the cost of the productions considerably, and the image, trapped between the metal and varnished surface, has proven to be very durable. Like the ambrotype, the image is a negative, but appears to be a positive image when viewed against the black background.