Fifty-year-old undeveloped film

<p>My granddad was having a clearout and found a roll of undeveloped film.<br>

The box says:</p>

<p>Kodak Verichrome Pan Film<br>

Black and white panchromatic film<br>

VP120</p>

<p>and has a stamp on it saying "Develop before July 1964".</p>

<p>I said I would try to get it developed if possible in case it has something on it he would like (pics of family members who have since passed on etc) - but is there any point in trying, or is it sure to be too old to develop? (Some of the places I've found online charge £50 even if they can't salvage anything). If it is possible, who should I send it to? (I'd rather it was in the UK). Thanks.</p>

<p>I shot and developed a roll of Plus-X that expired in 1962. I got images that weren't too bad. VP is known for it's miracle power not to age. Get it developed.<br>

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jokerphotography/sets/72157641271975163/</p>

<p>Fellow photo.netter Gene M. has made sort of a specialty hobby of developing old forgotten film. Check out <a href="http://www.westfordcomp.com/"><strong>his website</strong></a> for results. As far as I know, all or most of his found film was developed in Kodak HC-110. Seems to have a reputation for low fog. His results look as good as any I've seen.</p>

<p>And keep your expectations realistic. Sometimes getting even a faint image at all counts as success. On the plus side, if the film wasn't underexposed it may turn out remarkably well. The latent image is more stable with most films when they haven't been underexposed.</p>

<p>Some folks occasionally try to ease the processing by using very dilute Rodinal for stand development (usually 1+100 or more dilute), or Diafine, which is less critical regarding time. But both tend to exaggerate both fogging and grain, so I'd advise against those for old film.<br>

<br />Restrainers can be added to developers to minimize fog, but it's probably easier to just use a developer that already works for this stuff. If you can't find Kodak HC-110 concentrate or the more common European version that's pre-diluted, try the Ilford variation, Ilfotec HC, which should be available in your neck of the world. I've had good luck with Ilford Microphen, but some folks find it too foggy for their taste.</p>

<p>If I'm recalling correctly, Gene typically uses HC-110 Dilution B for 10 minutes. Sounds about right. Developing old film is mostly voodoo and luck, so the manufacturer's recommendations for optimal development usually don't apply after a few decades.</p>

<p>Or, if you use a competent pro lab they'll probably be using Ilford DDX in large batches, possibly Kodak T-Max or Xtol, maybe a Speedibrews developer. A truly competent pro lab will understand the challenges of minimizing fog with older film, and should be able to find a soup that won't exaggerate fog and grain.</p>

<p>You may not be familiar with roll film. It looks different unexposed and exposed. The backing paper will say "EXPOSED" if it has been exposed, and it will be sealed with a white paper band. By 1964, that end of the backing paper is also all red. If it's sealed with a yellow paper band that says "remove before loading", over mostly yellow backing paper it's unexposed.</p>

<p>Verichrome Pan usually does well for its age. The only outdated roll I ever processed that was badly fogged was a 126 cartridge that I suspect had been subjected to extreme heat.</p>

<p>It is common for a roll of exposed film to be in the box of the roll that followed it. <br>

Make sure that the paper on the roll itself says VP120 and, as noted above, "EXPOSED".<br>

I developed a roll of VP122 from 1957 a few weeks ago. <br>

If it wasn't kept unusually warm, and I believe that is rare in the UK, it should be fine.<br>

It usually costs more than color (C41) film, but should be a lot less than £50. (Well, for the negatives. Printing is separate. You can tell looking at the negatives if there is any chance at printing.)<br>

You might find someone, like readers of this forum, that will do it for you for free, and the fun of seeing what comes out. Especially if they are close to you.</p>

<p>Just to hammer it in, there rarely is such a thing as not having images there anymore. And you can probably find some professional near your area who will develop it for a fraction of that price. Even if the negatives come out with little contrast, that may be solvable in Photoshop. That said, don't expect very very good pictures, because even if they had been developed in 1963 they might not be tack sharp or well composed. I'd say to consider also the hypothesis that they might contain things that people don't want to see, but in that case I doubt the roll would be left unguarded in the box.</p>

<p>Verichrome (not Pan), most color film, Infrared film, and higher speed film, don't tend to have any visible image after that many years.<br>

I did expose and develop a V116 roll dated to 1945. There was enough fog that no pictures were visible.<br>

I developed my own roll of VP126 a few years ago, that was about 40 years old. That was from one of those cameras that snap onto a 126 cartridge, no back, cheap lens, etc. The pictures came out about as well as one might expect. (That is, from 8th grade.)</p>

<div></div>

<p>This is one that I took 40 years before developing it, on VP 126. <br>

It is about what I expect you will get from your.<br>

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3611541049465&l=8430063090</p><div></div>

Best develop in D76, stock dolution

diluted 1:3. Develop for the

manufacturers specified timeplus 50%.

Agitate continuously and don't develop

at warm temperatures. (i.e., keep as

close as possible to 20C - 68F) and

wash with water at the exact same

temperature. Use 100% fresh fixer.

(240gms thiosulfate with 50gms sodium

sulfite in 1 liter of water. You have

to dissolve the thiosuphate in water

at 50 centigrade but ensure that the

fixer has cooled to 20 C before you

use it. The extra sulphite will assist

with stabilzing the emulsion). Only

fix for 4 minutes, agitating

continuously. Do not use an acid stop

bath at any stage. Wash for a short

time, use two drops of washing up

liquid to improve wetting of the

emulsion. Dry in a shower cubicle that

has had the hot water running for a

while and generated a lot of vapor.

 (This reduces drying marks on the

film) It's very important to weight

the end of the film. Old film is

notorious for curling

 

The images will still be somewhat

"flat" - low in contrast - but at

least there will be separation of

tones. You'll have to either play

around with the scanner settings or

use a hard grade printing paper to get

a reasonable image. The film will be

very grainy but, at least, usable. 

 

Do take note of the temperatures. Old

film developed at warm temperatures

usually comes out either blank or

black. - nothing in between. If you

can, reduce the temperatures to 18C of

all fluids. The results will be better

still. 

 

Once you've made your prints or scans,

washing the film again for a long(ish)

time will reduce the likelihood of

degradation. Bear in mind that old

films had much thicker emulsions than

modern polyester b/w films. Thick

emulsion can wrinkle badly if the

fluids used are at different

temperatures. - sometimes poor

temperature control  even causes

cracks to appear. That effectively

ruins everything. 

 

You are much better off developing the

film yourself. Labs invariably give

poor results, since they get the same

money whatever effort they put into

the exercise. Be prepared for sub

optimal results anyway. 50 years is a

long time for a latent image to hang

around. (But I have used this

development technique, with success,

on many occasions). The temperature

and humidity that the film has been

subjected to over 50 years will

dictate the outcome. The use of D76 is

quite important. A hydroquinone

containing developer is important.

Beutler or Rodinal developers will

give  grain the size of coal. Pure

Metol, Vit C or caffeine developers

are almost certain to fail. Continuous

agitation has to be taken into account

when working out the developing time.

A good rule of thumb is that

continuous agitation  equates to about

75% of the time of "normal" (i.e., 2

seconds of agitation every 30 seconds

of development).

 

Let us know how you get on. 

 

Ian

<p>Hello, I have some Minox outdated BW films that I would like to develop:<br>

I have: a couple of TMax 100 dated about 1986. I also have a very old PlusX (from the 60s.) and I also have a couple of not so old Agfa 100. I like Ilford Microphen. How many minutes I must develop my film on each above described emulsions? Thanks</p>