What happens to old old photo paper.

[Grandpa Ron]

A friend of mine gave me a photographic enlarger he had not used it 30 + years. With it came a box of "stuff" including a pack of Kodak Tri-chem powered developer, stop and fixer. Buried on the bottom was a partial box of Kodak Kodabromide 4x5, F-3 photographic paper. The used by date is 9/73.

I know from past experience that color film that has been exposed and had set in a camera for 30 years fogs over and almost obliterates the image. But, does any one know what happens to unexposed photographic paper and the powdered chemicals that have set a long long time?

Obviously my first impulse it to "try it" some weekend but it may be more trouble than it is worth. Or, it may be of more value to a photo gear collector.

 

[480sparky]

.......But, does any one know what happens to unexposed photographic paper and the powdered chemicals that have set a long long time?...........

Usually, they get tossed in the trash.

 

[vintagesnaps]

Yes, I do. People like me use it to make lumen (sun) prints.

It's an alternative photographic process that uses expired B&W photo paper exposed in UV/sunlight, with either negatives to make contact prints, or objects to make patterns/designs. I get various colors ranging from gray blue to purple, even orange-ish. I can't remember offhand what I've gotten with Kodabromide, but I think it was a bluish gray.

Exposure depending on if it's done in direct sunlight or cloudy conditions can be minutes to hours to days. I set up on a small table in a window and leave it for a long time (often overnight and come back to it the next day) usually because after exposure you run it thru diluted fixer and depending on the paper and exposure time, you lose color. edit - If it's bright and sunny it will start to expose right away so I usually plan out what/how I'm using objects because it's necessary to work quickly. And then you can't touch it or move it (unless you do so to create a pattern).

Really old paper can be too fragile and/or deteriorating depending on how it's been stored, which may be unknown. I've gotten paper in packaging that looked like it had moisture damage, possibly from a darkroom, and the surface was flaking off. Paper from the 1970s isn't old, it would or should be usable; paper from say the 1930s is iffy at best.

 

[snowbear]

So, Sharon, those are like cyanotypes but we don’t have to play with painting emulsion on the paper?