Buy 2 year old FB paper ?

[joop]

Hi,

Some one offered me a good deal on some agfa Fiber Based paper.

Apparently it's 2 years old and has never been opened.

What is the storage lifetime of FB papers?

 

Also, usually I print on RC paper, is this a lot more trouble

getting the prints properly fixed and washed?

 

Thanks, Joop

[lex_kreffer]

Hi Joop,

it's not important if it was opened or not, it is how it has been stored. If it was in a refrigerator -perhaps even frozen-: no problem. If not: hmmmm... Paper (either FB or RC) acts like wine or any other organic material: it takes some time to "ripen" and stays that way for some time. After that it deteriorates, the "softer" the grade (0-2) the earlier it will lose it's capacity to get really black and white. Storage time (at a constant 15deg C) is about 5 years.

Furthermore: the shorter the fixation (minimum: 30 seconds, in fresh fixer) the less time it needs to be washed. Wash in handwarm water for about 15 minutes (not the hours that are sometimes described, costs far too much water). And as it it FB and spotyentially able to produce beautiful prints with rich blacks, loooong gray tones and pristine whites, the real trouble is in developing. But that is another story...regards, Lex

[lex_kreffer]

Make that: potentially...

[working camera]

10% pot Bromide solution added to dev works wonders with old paper.

[ronald_moravec1]

I have some 40 year old paper that works fine. Some modern emulsions have chemicals in them that sharten the shelf like to 2 or 3 years tops and they fog. Freezing does NOT help.

 

The Agfa RC papers I have purchased in the past ten years are among the ones with short life. So are Kodak and Ilford.

 

I don`t know if the anti-fog mentioned above will help the problem. I would not buy it or would try a small quantity before committing. Then use it ASAP.

[john_layton]

I got my start at the age of 13, in 1967, with some circa 1945 (exp. date) Dupont Defender

paper which belonged to my father (put himself through med school with a camera!).

Yeah, a little grey perhaps - but still not bad.

 

Right now I've got a variety of papers in my darkroom - which tends to run on the cool

side when I'm not using it, and the over two year old stuff is still fine. I find that the

graded papers are a little more stable than VC, and also that a little benzotriazole can

work wonders in restoring any "snap" which has been lost due to age (gee, maybe I should

drink some!).

[Rob F.]

Two years is not really very old. Assuming that it has been stored in a cool place, and you are going to use it soon, it should be fine.

[joop]

Thanks for the responses.

It is Multigrade paper. I'm going to take the risk.

If nessecary, I'll try your bromide solution or the benzotriazole suggestions. Thanks again for your answers.

[stephen hazelton]

Can you test a sheet first? Or can they? That would be the obvious thing to do.

 

I had a pack of RC paper go bad after a couple of years. It's not just "fogged", where you can adjust some in printing- it's blotchy.

[frederick_muller]

Fiber based paper is the absolute freaking best. Only it is so tough to wash the chemicals out of it to get really good permanence. My best stuff I printed on Kodak Royal Bromesko paper back in the '70s and early '80s. They stopped making it and my supply dried up. I still have prints made on that stuff, but like I said, you have to wash those prints for hours to get the acid out.

[skeeter]

actually if you use hypoclear the wash time is dramatically shortened.

[eric evan lee]

I purchased 2 yr old Kodak N surface RC paper. I could live with the gray. It was the

mottled effect that caused me to use it for note paper. Too bad. I liked that paper.