How long can unexposed 4x5 film remain in its holder?

[C Jones]

Hi everyone,

Just wondering if I could get some advice. I have about a dozen holders with unexposed 4x5 sitting quietly in a box for about a year now. I completely forgot there was still film in these holders. Any thoughts on whether or not I should chance exposing it or should I bin it?

Thanks very much for your input!

Best,

Charla

[C. D. Keth]

Shoot it. It is probably fine.

[C Jones]

Thanks Chris. Much appreciated.

[paulr]

Do you live in a humid area?

A year is probably fine, but to be on the safe side it wouldn't hurt to take them in the dark and make sure the film still slides out freely.

I had some holders with film sitting in them for several years here in NYC. I haven't been using 4x5, and mostly forgot about them. The film got glued into the holders, and some of it actually got moldy. It was nasty. I ended up pulling some of the black paint of my holders getting the worst pieces out.

The tmax wasn't so bad, but I had a few sheets of color film (portra maybe?) that really made a mess.

[C Jones]

I'll be sure to check that. Sounds nasty.

[Peter Gomena]

I've used b/w film stored in holders for up to a couple of years without a problem. My holders are kept in my "office", which is heated in winter and not air conditioned in summer. Humidity here in Oregon gets pretty high in winter, but in a heated house it's not a problem.

[Kodachrome25]

I have 30 film holders and two 6x12 backs that are almost always loaded, color coded with small placements of gaffers tape to signify film type and live in dedicated anti-static mylar ziploc bags in my film fridge. I even keep a couple of spare Hassy backs with Infrared double bagged in the freezer, let them warm up for 24 hours before using them.

It's all good....

[Heroique]

When I return home from the field, I store loaded holders in a dark place, even if I think I’ll head out again the next day. For sometimes, the next day arrrives after a week, a month, etc. And given a chance & enough time, light is like dust. It knows how to “get through.” I’ve waited to use loaded holders for longer than a year, and the film came out fine, but I didn’t plan it this way.

[Professional]

I asked it before and i will ask it again in same boat, how long i can keep an EXPOSED sheet film or remain in its 4x5 holder and stored in a dark place? What if i store the holders with the film inserted inside a fridge?

[C. D. Keth]

I asked it before and i will ask it again in same boat, how long i can keep an EXPOSED sheet film or remain in its 4x5 holder and stored in a dark place? What if i store the holders with the film inserted inside a fridge?

The same answers apply to that as apply to unexposed film.