what kind of b/w Kodak film do I have?

This probably sounds like a very stupid question... the beginning of the yellow paper backing says Kodak, Black and White, but no hint of the speed! It may have been on the small adhesive white tab that holds the end of the backing in place but I foolishly threw that out. All I know is that the backing says simply Kodak Black and White. It's probably TMax but whether it's 400 or 100 I can't tell. Edited December 21, 2017 by PaulWhiting

Any idea of the age on it?

 

If you unroll the first several inches of backing paper it SHOULD be marked on there somewhere. I'm bad about tossing stuff like that(I never get rid of spools, and often still have the backing paper on them) so will check some when I get home today.

 

With that said, Kodak backing paper has been through a few different designs in the last 10 years-especially after the debacle a couple of years ago. Still, I'm almost positive it's printed SOMEWHERE on the paper.

If you still can't determine the film type, most Kodak films will produce an image that could be scanned or printed if processed in Kodak HC110 dilution B for 5' at 68F. Might not be the optimum time but it should work if you cannot determine the film type.

Ben: I unrolled the film as far as I dared, up to the arrows - the arrows that you line up with the red dots on the inside of the camera body (it's a Rolleicord), but no luck. Let me know what your find out when you get home. Thanks!

 

Mike: I'll be scanning my negs, to print on a modified Epson printer. I'm using D-76 1:1, but I think that's fairly equivalent to the the dilution you suggested for HC-110. Thanks for that thought...

Is there another color on the paper besides black and yellow? Green or blue is what I am thinking. D-76 is an old standard and so is HC-110. D-76 comes in a powdered form that you mix with water and HC-110 you mix a base solution and dilute that as appropriate. I've always been a fan of D-76.

Rick H.

Thanks all ... I'm getting some great answers, here I was ready to delete my post. I was getting pretty embarrassed for such a careless mistake on my part!

 

Rick: actually, there is indeed a third color besides the black and the yellow. It's a grey band about 1/2" wide, and superimposed on the band, in white, is "BLACK & WHITE". Maybe the grey tells us something...

 

Yes, I'm a fan of D-76 too, used to use it at 1:3 for 35mm film exposed at 200. 1:1 worked better for MF, don't know why. Got some prints some took as medium format. I'm leaning toward HC-110 now because I'm doing mostly color digital converted to b/w. I'm told that HC-110 has a longer shelf life, which might be an advantage because I don't shoot b/w often enough for the D-76 to remain fresh.

 

PS to Ben: Forgot to answer your question on age. I don't honestly know but I'm sure it's outdated. I'm not too worried about that, I'm just shooting a roll for my Rolleicord to test the spacing and shutter consistency, I've got 14 days to try it out - got it used on the auction site.

Edited December 21, 2017 by PaulWhiting

All the Kodak films that I know of say the film type in big letters. Even more, they have the film name between the numbers, so you can read it as you wind. Maybe 60 years old they didn't do that, but that is before it was black and yellow.

 

Maybe it is fake Kodak film?

Thanks, Glen, but the numbers aren't visible in my camera, a Rolleicord. However, I developed the film taking a wild guess as to time and dilution. When I turned the lights on and could see the backing, it was Tri-X Pro 320. Negs were good enough to check the spacing between the frames, which is all I cared about.

Oooh, that's an old one if was 120.

 

I think it was discontinued in 2012 in 220(I have some with a 2014 ex.), but the 120 rolls I've seen are a LOT older.

 

I wish they'd cut it in 120...it's really a beautiful film when used correctly, and I use a fair bit of it in 4x5.