TMax in the deep freez

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O.K. Now that Kodak has discontinued T Max in the 25 sheet boxes, and I know have to buy 50 sheets at a time, maybe I should keep the film in the fridge / freezer? I expect to use about 6 sheets a week. My question is, fridge or freezer? When I take the film out, should I load the holders right away, so then I can put the rest of the film back. quickly? Should I take out what I need and put it in a light tight box and put the rest back quickly? Or is it not even a big deal to keep the film cold at all. Ofc ourse, there will be the hot summer months to contend with. Thank you for the info.

-- Raven (mtand13@netreach.net), May 26, 2002

Answers

You will probably cause more damage to the film by taking the box in and out of the fridge/freezer. This because of moisture build-up.
B/W film in general is not that sensitive to ageing, at least not before its expiration date. Age will most certainly NOT be a factor if the time is less than a year. I have recently successfully used TMax film that was stored on a shelf and it expired in -95. I've read many "success stories" with film that was much older. On the other hand I've also read some stories where film had gained a lot of base fog soon after expiration date so nothing could really be taken for granted.

-- Björn Nilsson (b.w.nilsson@telia.com), May 26, 2002.

If you're buying the film fresh and using up a box in just over eight weeks, I wouldn't consider even the refrigerator unless ambient temperature in your house is approaching 100 degrees F. In that case you have bigger problems than sheet film degradation!

-- Sal Santamaura (santamaura@earthlink.net), May 26, 2002.

Raven,

Unless you are going to store film for years, you do not need to freeze it. If you plan on using it before the expiration date, all you need to do is keep it around room temperature. If that is not possible, simply pop your unopened film into a quart-size zip-loc type bag and toss it in the fridge (you don't really even need the plastic bag for unopened film, but it's good protection against in- fridge spills). Just be sure to give it time to warm up to room temperature before opening it and loading the film holders.

If you wish to store a partial box of film, i.e. the inner foil bag has been opened, and you live in a dry climate, you can also just put the box into a zip-loc, squeeze out as much air as possible and refrigerate. However, if the ambient humidity and temperature are high, you could get condensation on the film if you put it in the fridge due to the moisture content of the warm air. In this case, I would let the film box sit in an air-conditioned environment for a day or so to reduce the humidity and temperature and then refrigerate. If you are travelling around with film very much in the heat, a cheap cooler (no ice!) is good for keeping film holders and spare film cool.

I imagine the new Kodak packaging comes with two 25-sheet foil pouches, so it is possible to load one and then toss the other in the fridge for later use without worrying about condensation.

I have refrigerated partial 100-sheet boxes for years without problems. Hope this helps ;^D)

-- Doremus Scudder (ScudderLandreth@compuserve.com), May 26, 2002.


if you do continue to freeze/refregerate your film, go to an army surplus store and pick up an ammo can (make sure it has a good rubber seal), put the open film box in that so you can pull the can out of the freezer and let it get to room temp before opening, takes care of the condensation problem.

-- mark lindsey (mark@mark-lindsey.com), May 27, 2002.

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