I recently found some old partly exposed 35mm film from between about 10 and 14 years ago. There's a mixture of Plus-X, Tri-X, TMax 100 and TMax 400. I suspect there's nothing worthwile on them and I was tempted to throw them out, but the curiosity is too great. I'd appreciate some advice on what adjusments to normal development times I should try when developing these old rolls to get the most reliable results, considering their age. I now normally use Perceptol, but I also have a new bottle of Ilfosol-S I recently purchased to try. The films whilst not stored in ideal conditions such as a refrigerator, were kept in a box in a cupboard over the years.

-- Frank Alvaro (falvaro@ozemail.com.au), January 16, 1999

Answers

Hi. 10-14 years is a very long period, so I believe that you wont be able to get printable (if any) negatives. However, my guess will be to extend the development times by 30-50 % in a high speed yeld developer such as Microphen or Ilfotec. To keep the fog levels down (as possible) you can try adding a few grams per liter KBr to the working strength developer Evgeni. PS: if you decide to try this, I will be interested to hear about the results.

-- Evgeni Poptoshev (evgeni.poptoshev@surfchem.kth.se), January 18, 1999.

I'm in the process of developining negs from the early 70's. Mine were not stored properly either. Have done 6 rolls of Tri X at 15 min in straight D-76 with a 3 min pre soak. So far they look pretty good. I also used the anti-fogging agent from Kodak. I just snipped a little for a few tests. Started at 9 min. Next is a roll of Pan X and then 4 Plus X. Try it you might be surprised. I was. Good luck!!

Richard

-- Richard B. (richardb@virtual-cafe.com), May 21, 1999.