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keeping films in good condition.


henko

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Ilford say their unopened films won't degrade at room temperature for fifteen years, so the fridge is a long term plan, although I do by habit store mine there, in amongst the food. The exception is opened boxes of 4x5 etc. where I'm worried about condensation although friends do keep their opened boxes in the fridge without any problems. This insecurity does go back a long way when my student house refrigerator was a very crude device.

 

Steve

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I remember I read somewhere, that Ilford recommends not to freeze film but can't find the reference. In their data sheets, they mention 10-20°C or 50-68ºF as best storage temperatures.

 

Kodak recommends freezing film, although they mention that high-speed films can still be fogged by cosmic and gamma radiation when frozen.

 

I still have an older Agfa publication, where they recommend freezing as well for long-term storage.

 

My theory was, that Ilford film appears to have a plastic base, where Kodak films appear to have a gelantin base.

 

Stefan

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My theory was, that Ilford film appears to have a plastic base, where Kodak films appear to have a gelantin base.

 

All films use gelatin, except perhaps Polaroid self-developing stuff.

 

.

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All modern films that I am aware of use acetate for the base and gelatin as part of the emulsion.

 

 

I think there are films that use polyester as a base.

 

It fascinates me that no synthetic substitute for gelatin has been found for emulsion making.

 

 

 

Sent from my Etcha-sketch.

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  • 5 weeks later...
What about self-rolled HP5, or film that's sitting in a bulk loader unused.

 

As I said above, Ilford say 15 years at room temperature, so a cool place will be OK, but don't freeze it or put it into the fridge as it is exposed to the air already.

 

It is exposed film that can't be stored for a long time because the image degrades.

 

Steve

Edited by 250swb
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The loader should protect it from fogging, which is a bigger concern than reciprocity. Find an excuse to load some cassettes and use it up.

 

 

Thank you,

 

If it helps matters, the loader's spend all their time in a pitch black darkroom, with a dim light on occasionally.

 

Yes I need to use it up and was one of the reasons I got the M2, which I'm really getting back into.

 

Cheers,

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Thank you,

 

If it helps matters, the loader's spend all their time in a pitch black darkroom, with a dim light on occasionally.

 

,

 

Beware of leaving film or paper in a darkroom. Any chemicals gassing off or old fix and developer gradually evaporating through dodgy bottles can chemically fog film.

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I put my bulk film loaders into ziplock bags before putting them back into the film freezer.

 

Chris

Thus sealing in all the moisture ready to freeze.

Not a good idea IMHO, and unnecessary for anything but extreme climates. Surely part of the process of deciding on bulk versus preloaded is that bulk is only worth the hassle if you are using a lot of a film in a relatively short time.

 

Gerry

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