Buying out of date paper

I thought I would post an update to this thread. A fellow apugger graciously offered me a bunch of back dated paper for the cost of shipping. Apprx. 1000sheets of Kodak Polyfiber single weight, 1000 sheets of PolymaxRC and some Agfa Brovia G4.

The RC was fogged beyond use but to confirm what Ian stated, the Polyfiber is good. The Brovia also appears to be OK although I did not make any prints, just processed a couple of blank sheets.

The neat thing about the polyfiber is unlike some other kodak papers it has no kodak logo faintly printed on the back side. So this might be perfect for in camera negatives. Easy to load and the single weight thickness should provide for better contact prints.

I've printed a fair ammount on "previously owned" paper and have a couple thoughts on it. I think wether a person should use it or not depends on where they are in their experience level and what they're hoping to get out of a printing session. I read about an idea that in order to rise to level of accomplishment in any area one must spend roughly 10,000 hours practicing or participating in the activity. I think if you want to save some coin getting through your 10k hours of printing sure, use expired paper. As much as it can be frustrating and at times problematic, it can also be fun and exciting. If printing is still relatively new to you and you haven't yet developed and set-in-your-ways preferences, go for it! You just have to know that you're managing extra variables and set your expectations accordingly.

Also I think if you're on the backend of your 10k hours (or perhaps completed them) and just want to try something different, why not pick up a box of something exotic and see what can be done with it?

I've found that benzotriazole in the developer is also good at reducing age fog though it can increase development times. If too much is used it can make a print look muddy. As was stated before, I've had some success at lithing fogged paper that I thought was beyond saving.

Jim Chinn said:

I thought I would post an update to this thread. A fellow apugger graciously offered me a bunch of back dated paper for the cost of shipping. Apprx. 1000sheets of Kodak Polyfiber single weight, 1000 sheets of PolymaxRC and some Agfa Brovia G4.

The RC was fogged beyond use but to confirm what Ian, stated the Polyfiber is good. The Brovia also appears to be OK although I did not make any prints, just processed a couple of blank sheets.

The neat thing about the polyfiber is unlike some other kodak papers it has no kodak logo faintly printed on the back side. So this might be perfect for in camera negatives. Easy to load and the single weight thickness should provide for better contact prints.

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Jim

Are you talking about paper negatives. I like that technique a lot, but I have never heard it referred to as 'in-camera negatives'. Seems strange to me, because this doesn't really differentiate them from film negatives.

RalphLambrecht said:

Jim

Are you talking about paper negatives. I like that technique a lot, but I have never heard it referred to as 'in-camera negatives'. Seems strange to me, because this doesn't really differentiate them from film negatives.

Click to expand...

Yes paper negatives.

Regarding old paper, I've received recently a few boxes of 25+ years old Ilford Ilfospeed RC and some Ilford FB papers and they are in excellent condition, despite being stored under less than ideal conditions (bookshelf with temperatures often exceeding 27 C). Actually, these papers are a joy to use. I haven't experienced fogging to be an issue.

My 2c.

Aron