Dicing and freezing papers

[Rich Ullsmith]

I have a large amount of lith paper in large sizes, too big for the chest freezer. It may be years before I get to it so the plan is to chop it up and freeze it . . .probably retain some amount in large format in case a project ever presents itself.

I do not have bags or boxes, so the plan is to make some bags out of 6mil black plastic, double bag everything and tape it tight . . .is there anything special about the black bags that paper is normally packaged in, other than opacity? The 6 mil plastic is opaque, as far as I can tell.

My concern is, the amount of paper I will be packaging, I cannot afford to screw this up on something that was not considered.

See any problems with this?

 

[Rick A]

After rebagging, put them in something like this for added protection.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Insten-Tr...ression-Bag-Pack-of-3-with-Hand-Pump/46686380

 

[AgX]

I would use PE foil and seam-weld it. But I would not know where to buy small amounts of foil.

 

[Rich Ullsmith]

I think the 6mil plastic I have is polyethylene, not sure, check tonight at home.

 

[FritsM]

I'd definitely store your homemade black bags inside a stiff box with a lid. Keeps them flatter too, no creases.
Handling floppy bags is a pain, and if they tear, rupture, or simply open up because the tape gives out in the freezer, you're SOL. You could include a sheet of 1/8" foam core to give them some rigidity.

PE should be safe for the emulsion, I'm quite sure that's what Ilford/Kodak uses. Watch out for static as it could cause sparks and leave "black" streaks.

Double check for light tightness of the material by putting an LED flashlight inside the bag and check for pinholes etc. in your darkroom.