Kodak paranoia is over

[jp]

At least in my house.

I'm no longer paranoid about Kodak making more bad moves and taking my favorite films away like polaroid, agfa, etc...

I just got a box from B&H to complete my 3-5 year supply/stash of sizes I use. I'll vacuum bag it and put it in my freezer tonight.

Of course if Kodak remains in the film business or sells it to a worthy steward, I'll still buy some and keep probably a 2+/- year stash as a hedge against silver/film prices or product changes.

If Kodak goes away, I'll have a couple years to figure out Ilford film real good, and film to make nice photos with in the mean time.

[Tom J McDonald]

I've read a few times to steer clear of vacuum-bagging film in the freezer. I forget the reasons.

[vinny]

I've read a few times to steer clear of vacuum-bagging film in the freezer. I forget the reasons.

I'd be interested in the reasons too.
As long as you don't crush the boxes, I can't see any reason why keeping air/additional moisture away from your film would be a problem. Ziplocs aren't very airtight.


Jp, thanks for relieving all of us.

[rguinter]

I've read a few times to steer clear of vacuum-bagging film in the freezer. I forget the reasons.

I bought a 25-sheet box of Tech Pan 4x5-inch film from an auction site seller several years ago. When I received the box it was crushed to about 1/2 it's original thickness from being vacuum sealed to a heavy vacuum.

I didn't think it was a good idea to put all that pressure against the pack of film sheets so I contacted Kodak and asked for their opinion on vacuum sealing.

They basically advised against it saying there could be changes in the emulsion from the uneven contact pressure. Under atmospheric pressure the box crushes flat at the center but not at the edges. This places uneven contact pressure on the interior film stack.

Regarding the Tech-Pan I repacked the film in a different box and that's the way I have it stored now. I did shoot a few sheets and I didn't notice any damage on the negatives from the crushing. But frankly I haven't shot enough of the box to know if the center sheets were affected.

Anyway, my current procedure for long term storage is to use the vacuum sealing bags but without pulling a vacuum. I put each box of film I want to store in a sealing bag, press as much of the air out by hand that I can, and just use the heat-sealing mechanism to seal the bag.

Works for me and keeps out excess moisture but doesn't crush the box from heavy vacuum pressure.

Bob G.

[Drew Wiley]

All depends on the ambient temp and humidity when you seal the film up. For critical
work I built a dessication chamber to moitor the humidity per hermetic encapsulation
of prints, but could also use it for sealing film. More often, I just don't freeze or refrig
open film boxes, period. Even new ones I double bag with plastic. For fussy work one
can acquire sheets of poly sandwiched to aluminum, which can be sealed with a tacking iron. It's a much better barrier than plastic alone.

[ConnorR]

All depends on the ambient temp and humidity when you seal the film up. For critical
work I built a dessication chamber to moitor the humidity per hermetic encapsulation
of prints, but could also use it for sealing film. More often, I just don't freeze or refrig
open film boxes, period. Even new ones I double bag with plastic. For fussy work one
can acquire sheets of poly sandwiched to aluminum, which can be sealed with a tacking iron. It's a much better barrier than plastic alone.

I can just see this being the new expired film selling point.

"Sealed in a dessication chamber."

I'd buy it.

[Helcio J Tagliolatto]

It's interesting to know in this forum how many Americans do not really know Ilford films.
Ilford has more expertise in black and white products than Kodak, and always had better papers. Except for TriX, that is unique, Ilford's B&W films have the edge.

[Howard Tanger]

It's interesting to know in this forum how many Americans do not really know Ilford films.
Ilford has more expertise in black and white products than Kodak, and always had better papers. Except for TriX, that is unique, Ilford's B&W films have the edge.

You are joking arn't you or just playing the fool? Howard Tanger

[John Conway]

Hey MWitmann, I would like to share my feelings about the future of film and what is happening now on the large format photography scene. There will be constant change on the horizon. The film business will get smaller and we will have much less choices when it comes to products available to us. We must deal with it. My recent return to large format photography, after about three years, has been a pleasure but I was shocked to see how fast things have changed. So, I said to myself, either I'm going to dwell on the negative, or not give a hoot and have fun enjoying my large format photography, I decided to not give a hoot and be positive. Many great photographers used one film and the same system their entire career. Have fun, there will always be film.

[MWitmann]

It's interesting to know in this forum how many Americans do not really know Ilford films.

it's intresting to read how many photographers praise their self and their possibility to invest k of $ in all kind of stashes of film.

It sounds like "you know, i'm feeling safe because i have the money to buy 1000 boxes of film".

For a student like me, and probably also for others, sounds a bit.... you know