Ilford 4x5 film packaging

**abhoriel** · 7-Apr-2019, 06:51

Hi,

I'm very new with large format photography and I've just purchased (from amazon) a 25 sheet box of ilford delta 100 film. The film was reduced due to "damaged packaging", which of course is a gamble with film, but amazon are always helpful when it comes to returns so I thought I'd give it a shot.. I kind of assumed any damage wouldnt interfere with light integrity otherwise amazon wouldnt bother selling it.

Anyway, the tape on the box has been cut (so it has clearly been opened already). I opened the box in my dark bag and could feel that there is a "triple box" arrangement with loose film inside. I assumed that the film should also be within a black light-tight bag, like ilford paper and ilford 35mm is packaged, but there is no such bag. Surely this should be there?

I'm fairly sure I will just return the film at this stage, but wanted to see if ilford film normally is packaged with this light-proof bag.

Many thanks

**Michael Clark** · 7-Apr-2019, 06:56

All of the sheet film I have from Ilford has always had the light proof bag.

**abhoriel** · 7-Apr-2019, 07:04

Thanks for your fast reply. My feeling is that the Film has almost certainly been exposed to light and I’ll ask for a return.

**BrianShaw** · 7-Apr-2019, 07:06

Returnnit. It wasn’t worth the gamble in the first place.

**Christopher Barrett** · 7-Apr-2019, 07:41

For multi-day trips on location, I've downloaded thousands of sheets into triple boxes without using the bag and never fogged any film. But, yeah, if you can return it, worth the peace of mind.

**Luis-F-S** · 7-Apr-2019, 07:53

You get what you pay for which is why I always order film new (typically from B&W or Freestyle).

**Two23** · 7-Apr-2019, 08:06

If you process you own film, why not try a sheet?

Kent in SD

**m00dawg** · 7-Apr-2019, 08:50

Yeah I second BH, Freestyle, or any other places than Amazon. I order from them too much as it is but while they can be competitive with many items, I find with film they are not. So I only use them in a pinch (if I need it ASAP).

For me BH is pretty fast. If I order $49 or more I get expedited shipping which is nearly as fast as Amazon. With sheet films spending $49 is not hard for me to do

Freestyle has better selection (e.g. ADOX CHS ii, which is a wonderful film, among others) but non-free shipping (and it's kinda expensive). So I tend to min/max between BH and Freestyle if I'm ordering a bunch of stuff.