storing & developing film

[prince loui]

how long can you keep exposed film without deterioration & what's

the best way? I was told better in cool dark place and not in the

fridge.

 

also, for say, fuji acros 100 & ilford delta pro 100 & higher

speeds, what are the relative merits/demerits of d-76 & ilfosol s?

and am I right in thinking you can't re-use ilfosol s?

[miss pentax]

Storing exposed film without deterioration depends greatly on the environment it has been exposed to and the one in which it will be stored. Your two main enemies are heat and humidity, both of which should be avoided as much as possible. You'd want to avoid the fridge after exposing film because it's moist in there and it can cause damage.

 

There isn't a real numerical answer to this question (or I don't know of one) but aging is a constant process and usually the sooner you develop the film, the better.

 

As for the question about D76, hopefully someone else can answer that. :)

[mike_earussi1]

Since deterioration is accelerated by temperature, the best way is to put it in a plastic bag and freeze it. I've been doing this for years and it works fine.

[stephen sullivan]

Ilfosol S: Haven't used it.

 

D76 w/ Fuji's Acros 100 & Ilford's Delta 100. Fuji Acros w/ D76 1:1 @ EI 64 or 80 Great.

Ilford Delta 100 w/ D76 1:1 and Xtol Stock @ EI 80 & 100 Incredible.

 

Plus: Until you hear different, no need to stock up on Acros 100 or Delta 100. Both films

should be around for a while. When you hear something different (i.e. They're going to stop

making), then stock up on said film and put away in your freezer.

[gaius1]

1) You shouldn't put film back in the fridge without its airtight canister, otherwise condensation will cause you problems. Allow it an hour or two to return to room temp before opening the canister and processing it. Some people worry about days between exposure and development, personally I have never waited longer than a few weeks, tho' not due to worries about latent image keeping, but because I want to see what I've shot!

<p>

2) Ilfosol S is quite nice but it doesn't keep worth a damn. I wouldn't use it unless I had enough film to develop to use an entire bottle within a couple of days. <a href="http://www.photo.net/photo/2534987">HP5+ in Ilfosol S</a> has a not-unpleasant grain, but generally stick to ISO 100 and lower with this developer.

[discpad]

Film is like food: If you freeze it, it will last for several years while halting any color shifts. However, gamma ray damage is cumulative, so high speed and (especially) infrared films will fog faster [(base+fog)/fog], so that will be your upper limit for storage time.

[profhlynnjones]

Chill it or freeze it, however, exposed but undeveloped fil m will deteriorate

over time no matter what. It should be OK for a few weeks frozen.

 

Lynn

[larrydressler]

I have frozen film for years with no problem. And even high speed film will be OK of the freezer is in a basement. believe me the house and basement walls will block almost 99% of cosmic rays.

 

I am about to expose a roll of 1000 speed color film 120 size that has been frozen for over 15 years in a basement in Canada then shiped to the U.S. in 3 days then refrozen we shall see if My theory is correct.

 

Larry

[gaius1]

I would be very surprised if any latent image deterioration was visible after 6 months of "reasonable" storage. Freezing is for years or decades worth of storage.

[lex_jenkins]

Latent image integrity depends as much on exposure as on storage conditions. In my experience with most contemporary film types, properly exposed film will retain the latent image for at least a year at 70-80F. While I try not to make a habit of it there have been occasions when I've overlooked a roll of exposed color slide film for a year before having it processed. Ditto some b&w films I've developed myself.

 

However underexposed film will lose the latent image much more quickly. For example, if an ISO 400 film is exposed at 1600, intended for push processing, it needs to be developed immediately. In one test I observed that in as little as one month, perhaps less, the latent image deteriorates. You can test this for yourself by exposing a roll of 400 film at 1600 in two stages: expose half the film (in conditions typical for pushing film - low available light), then wait a month and finish the roll. Process immediately. You should see a distinct difference between the two halves. The most recently exposed frames will show detail in the lower midtones; the older frames will have little or no detail in these areas.

 

A few generalities about the developers you mentioned...

 

D-76 is generally regarded as a solvent developer best suited for normally exposed film when one wants fine grain. A more dilute solution, 1+2 or 1+3, will give a little more acutance. In stock solution D-76 should keep for up to six months. Once diluted, it needs to be used right away. I wouldn't use diluted D-76 more than 12-24 hours old unless it was on unimportant film.

 

Ilfosol-S is a peculiar developer that defies easy classification. In my experience it's closer to an acutance developer than a solvent type. It's best suited for slower films but can produce interesting grain on ISO 400 films. It's not suitable for pushing but can give results similar to Rodinal on Tri-X and HP5+ exposed at 800 and given a little extra development. The main difference I see between Rodinal and Ilfosol-S (other than the obvious chemical differences) is that fogging greatly increases with Ilfosol-S when used for extended development. So Tri-X at 1600 in Ilfosol-S will be pretty murky and difficult to print.

 

Ilfosol-S has a repuation for poor shelf life. In reality I think this repuation isn't entirely deserved. If Ilford's storage recommendations are followed the concentrate should be good for up to 24 months. This means minimal air space in the container holding the concentrate. Otherwise if the concentrate is exposed to air, which occurs when the original container is not topped up or the concentrate decanted to smaller containers to minimize air space, it'll go bad pretty quickly, probably within six months. Once diluted it needs to be used immediately. I wouldn't wait even 12 hours.

 

After several years of reading comments about Ilfosol-S from various users I get the impression that this developer is most popular with students in high school and college settings. There's a perception - deserved or not - that it's "safer" than other developers because of the ascorbate component. I'm betting that instructors like it because as a one-shot developer it avoids the complications of maintaining D-76 using the replenishment method (which inevitably failed in every public darkroom I used as a kid and student - somebody would eventually pour in too much water, or even kill it with stop bath or fixer). And unlike HC-110 and Rodinal, which can be tricky as one-shot developers because of the minute amounts of concentrate used, Ilfosol-S is pretty foolproof. And unlike some concentrates, it's not terribly expensive. But outside of the public darkroom/school setting, I don't see any particular advantages to Ilfosol-S. It's not a bad developer, but it's not very flexible and not well suited to ISO 400 films, which are the most popular types used in schools.

[prince loui]

thanks for the v. useful responses. looks like d76 is the favourite. given a 14.6 oz bag of d76 that makes 1 u.s. gall., what's the best/most economic way of using/storing it for somebody like me who doesn't hv a big quantity of films to dev & can it be re-used effectively if so how often?