How long does RC paper take to to expire?

[stone_family3]

I was given several boxes of never opened RC Paper however it was very old but I don't know the exact. Only one pack of 25ct had a date written on it which said 1995. I opened the pack and it appears to be bad. The lady I got them from said she couldn't remember when she bought them but they were kept dry in her basement. The fiber based paper worked wonderfully and I was hoping the other boxes were fiber as well but alas they weren't.

Is there an expiration date?

 

[y0aimee]

If you opened the pack of papers and exposed them to light, then they are all ruined.

 

[ann]

it will depend on the brand, and how they have been stored.
A basement could mean anything.

if the paper is fogged it will be some shade of gray. You could always make photograms for fun from the fogged paper.

 

[Torus34]

The date at which paper becomes perceptably fogged depends upon storage conditions -- primarily temperature.

The classic test for fogging is to place half of a sheet in developer for 2 minutes and then process it and the other half piece through your normal stop bath, fixer, wash and dry procedure. Then compare the two.