How should i store my film?

jonahr · May 31, 2008

Just wondering how i should store my film to keep it in optimal condition, before and after exposure.

christopher walrath · May 31, 2008

It should be stored refrigerated to prolong its life and effective exposure. However, I keep mine in the kitchen cabinet above the sink. I KNOW that's gonna peave some people, but sometimes you don't always have to be a perfectionist. If you have stored it one way for a while now and had no problems, no reason to change.

jonahr · May 31, 2008

would it be best to keep it in a fridge or a freezer?

christopher walrath · May 31, 2008

Some people say freezer for keeping it for a long time. Some say fridge if you might need it within a couple hours notice. One thing I would do, kep it a freezer bag. If you put it in the freezer, then make sure you give enough time for the air to come up to the temp of the fridge after being in the freeze. Same, if taking out of the fridge, wait until it raises to room temperature before using. And put a couple of silica gel packs in each bag to reduce moisture and combat condensation. Or just keep it with the bug bombs and chaffing fuel.

Josh66 · Jun 1, 2008

I keep mine in the freezer. I take it out the night before I plan on using it.

K_Pugh · Jun 1, 2008

Keep mine in the fridge although i've just bought a 30m roll of film and trying to find a place to keep the Watson bulk loader wasn't easy lol.. photography first, food later!

Helen B · Jun 1, 2008

The answer depends a lot on where you are, what sort of film it is and how long you might keep it.

There is a Kodak document that has general guidelines: E-30, Storage and Care of Kodak Photographic Materials Before and After Processing.

Kodak give recommendations for individual film types in their literature for the film. Their advice about keeping T-Max P3200 below 24 degrees Celsius is not the best, I believe. From my experience this film does seem to need cooler storage to get the maximum sensitivity out of it.

E-30 includes recommended warm-up periods before opening packages that have been removed from a fridge or freezer.

I keep most of my unexposed film in the fridge, some in the freezer and some at room temperature. The film in the freezer is mainly the stuff that might be there a while - mostly my store of discontinued films like High Speed Infrared (HIE), Scotch 640T, Ektachrome 320T and some of my Technical Pan. Tech Pan probably doesn't need such treatment, and most of it is in the fridge.

For film that is still in the sealed manufacturers packaging I just keep it as it is, with no extra protection, in trays or plastic food containers for convenience. You can remove the cardboard packaging to save a little space, but I generally don't bother. I've never used silica gel - in fact silica gel may dry the film out too much if it is in the same enclosure as the film itself.

When I work in the tropics I keep exposed, undeveloped film in the fridge if possible, if I am not going to process it in a day or two. I try to keep the amount of air enclosed with the film as low as possible, because of the high ambient humidity. Putting 135 cassettes back into their little plastic containers has worked OK so far. I put exposed 120 and 220 into plastic bags, with no air space.

The shadow detail is probably the first to suffer if prolonged storage occurs between exposure and development. The latent image centres consisting of only a few silver atoms are not as stable as those with many silver atoms. This seems to be particularly important with high speed film.

Best,
Helen

AndrewG · Jun 2, 2008

Ilford XP2 should be stored at below 20C; it says so on the carton. Check yours, it should tell you.

epatsellis · Jun 3, 2008

jonahr said:
Just wondering how i should store my film to keep it in optimal condition, before and after exposure.

Lots of variables, but the biggest one, IMHO, are you married/living with or single?

I keep about a years worth of film on hand, and as a result of pretty much filling the freezer in the refrigerator, bought my wife a nice freezer, now she has more room for food, of all things.(and I have an overflow when I find 100 rolls on sale...)

erie