Hi all,

I recently came into some sealed packs of old darkroom paper. I'm practiced and comfortable working with modern papers, but I've never used expired paper before. So I have a few questions.

1). First I want to test the paper's sensitivity as well as for any fogging. My plan is to cut three small strips of paper. I'll put one directly into fixer, which should give me a paper base. I'll put one directly into developer and then fixer, etc, which should show me how fogged or "exposed" the paper is after all these years. And then I'll expose the last strip to direct light, then develop it, and that should tell me the dmax. I'm hoping this'll give me a good starting point and show me what I have to work with. Does all of this sound correct?

2) Once I start making the actual prints, f I can't find any information about the old paper online or any info in the packaging sheets, is there a standard for developing older papers? The darkroom I use buys dev chems in bulk. Our general rule of thumb is to dev modern Ilford RC papers for 1 min. Wondering how I might go about finding a starting point for a vintage paper RC paper.

3) Similarly, if I can't find any information about the old paper online or any info sheets in the packaging, what kind of lights should I assume old paper can be used with? I believe my darkroom has amber lights. Is this considered a generally safe light source for darkroom papers? Or do vintage papers have varying sensitivities? Obviously I don't want to ruin the paper just by opening it in the wrong conditions.

Thanks very much for any info and advice.