To provide a photographic element which is used in determining the position of linear defects on the photographic element, has a useful imaging width and in which the linear defects align in the longitudinal direction of the photographic element.

The photographic element has a useful imaging width and the linear defects align in the longitudinal direction of the photographic element in the method of determining the positions of the linear defects on the photographic element. This method consists of exposing the region of the photographic element so as to form approximately uniform latent images across the useful imaging width of the photographic element, developing the latent images so as to form density signals, sampling the density signals by a photometric device and analyzing the sampled density data in order to find the presence of the considerable deviations aligned in the longitudinal direction of the photographic element so as the determine the positions of the defects. Further, the element has the useful imaging width, contains approximately uniform latent images along the imaging width, and the latent images are used for determining the position of the linear defects aligned in the longitudinal direction of the photographic element.