Discolor of film leaders

[minh0204]

This is quite difficult to explain in words, so I hope some photos will do. Basically the leader parts of my films (the part that's exposed) have some discoloration. I store them in a lower shelf of a wardrobe. Any idea what's going on with my films and whether they're still good to use?

 

[drpsilver]

04 June 2018

Minh0204:

I agree it is hard to tell what is going on here. These are guesses (so take them as such), it looks like either (1) the leaders were exposed to enough light to "print out", or (2) the emulsion was exposed to some condensation and got moist then dried. In either case it is interesting that the effect did not pass the light trap on the cassette. From you photos the emulsion looks ok to use. I might suggest that you shoot a roll, or partial roll, on an unimportant subject then process it to see what the negatives are printable. I must confess that I have not ever seen this effect in 35 mm film. I have observed (1) above with sheets of 4x5 scrap film that I have left on my desk.

I look forward to learning if the film i s usable.

Regards,
Darwin

P.S Ron (Photo Engineer), what do you think might cause this effect?

 

[John Wiegerink]

I have had this happen on occasion, but it was usually on rolls that had been sitting around for longer than normal such as a misplaced roll. The film processed fine in my case. Hope it does in yours. Oh, just a thought. You didn't have the cassette stored by smelly shoes or socks did you? Could be a chemical reaction??? Just joking about the shoes and socks thing. JohnW

 

[Saganich]

Yea the leaders discolor after a while, don't know why (probably the anti halation dyes fading from air/light exposure) but film should be fine

 

[Patrick Robert James]

The leader is just light struck. No need to worry about it.

 

[Agulliver]

I don't see anything to worry about.

That looks like what happens to every film (colour and B&W) after a while. The leader is exposed not only to light but to the atmosphere and likely there is a very slow chemical reaction or reaction to light. The film inside the cassette should be perfectly fine.

 

[bdial]

The film is sensitive to light, the processing chemistry just magnifies the effect.

 

[mnemosyne]

I see this all the time ... I agree it is nothing to worried about ...