Storing B& W film and paper in refrigerator.

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I have always been told that B&W film and B&W paper is good indefinitely if stored in freezer. How about just storing in the referigerator? Good for a couple of years at least? Or is the freezer ablsolutely necessary? Thanks.

-- Mei Leng Lau (bohl-lau@erols.com), February 19, 1999

Answers

Refrigerator storage should be more than adequate for all your paper. Unless you use only a few sheets a year, it isn't critical for paper. Some film, is a little more of an issue. Certain professional films, and some specialty films - especially infrared- do need refrigeration until used. The problem is heat. For both paper and film, heat is the enemy. It causes loss of sensitivity, fogging, etc. I am not familiar with any paper which is espceially sensitive to heat, so that keeping it at room temp or below should be fine. Certain films, as mentioned, are more sensitive and do need to be kept cold. Freezing isn't necessary except under unusual conditions, such as storage for over a year. Whether frozen or just kept cold, remember to let the paper/film come up to room temperature before using, keeping it covered to prevent condensation.

-- Richard Newman (rnewman@snip.net), February 20, 1999.

Keeping it cold is half the story; the other half is background radiation. The faster the material, the worse the problem. Kodak T- Max 3200 only lasts about 6 months (for me), even in the fridge.

-- Alan Gibson (Alan.Gibson@technologist.com), February 22, 1999.

Professional films should be kept in a fridge. When these films leave the factory, they are ready to use. Amature films are not. They need to age for a while untill they are at their best. Heat helps (most of the times) a chemical process. So, amature films can be stored at roomtemp. Pro-films need to be kept at a low temp to avoid the chemical process to run out and killing the film.

-- Benny Adriaenssens (benny.a@startrekmail.com), March 21, 1999.

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