Emulsion No & Expiry Date

Thanasis · Jul 18, 2007

Hi there,

Does anybody know of any way of determining the expiry date of film from the Emulsion No printed on the film itself?

I did a bit of a search on the forums but could not find any posts on this topic.

Thanks & regards,
Thanasis

Brac · Aug 2, 2007

Manufacturers use codes which are only decipherable by themselves. Look at the Ilford ones - they are really complex and meaningless to people outside the factory. But why would you want to know - if the emulsion number is printed on the box, then surely the expiry date is too? Though come to think of it, I did back in the 80's come across a batch of 120 Agfapan that only had the emulsion number!

Thanasis · Aug 2, 2007

Brac said:
Manufacturers use codes which are only decipherable by themselves. Look at the Ilford ones - they are really complex and meaningless to people outside the factory. But why would you want to know - if the emulsion number is printed on the box, then surely the expiry date is too? Though come to think of it, I did back in the 80's come across a batch of 120 Agfapan that only had the emulsion number!

The problem lies with ebay 35mm film sellers that quote an expiry date on their ebay listing but "for ease of shipping the film will be sent without the box" which is where the expiry date is printed.
So, If i buy from these sellers, i would receive film that does not have the expiry date on it anywhere except maybe if I knew how to trace it back from the emulsion number.

I was hoping that there may have been a published list from different manufacturers (its Fuji that I am interested in this case) that linked emulsion data with expiry date.

bdial · Aug 2, 2007

All the film I'm familiar with has the emusion number on the box too. Sounds like these sellers are selling film that never was in a individual box.

Brac · Aug 2, 2007

I've personally never come across sellers on ebay who say that that & I've bought a lot of film there, even from China and Taiwan! I must admit I would be extremely suspicious of sellers who do that. I don't see that removing the packaging makes much difference at all. And I've sold small lots of unwanted film myself.

Unfortunately I don't think any manufacturer publishes this information. If you bought a roll of the emulsion you're after locally (assuming it's available) you would then know the expiry date & emulsion number for that. Then when you got the films from ebay & had one developed, you could make some kind of assuimption about its expiry date by whether the number was higher or lower than your locally bought film. To complicate matters I seem to recall that only 3 digits of the 6 digit Fuji code on the box actually appears on the film rebate. With Ilford what appears on the rebate is quite different to what's on the box and I think (from memory) the same is the case with Kodak. With Agfa box & rebate were the same.

Really I would look closely at those ebay sellers, particularly their feedback. There are plenty of genuine sellers of Fuji film on ebay who do send the product out boxed. I'd stick with them!

Brac · Aug 2, 2007

bdial said:
All the film I'm familiar with has the expiry date on the box too. Sounds like these sellers are selling film that never was in a individual box.

I've never heard of Fuji film leaving the factory unboxed. It can come in individual boxes or boxes of five or twenty. Maybe they are splitting up 20 packs into smaller but that doesn't appear to be what they're saying which is why I'm suspicious. The film could be several years old and it could be perfectly OK, but personally I'd like to know that but I guess it's being sold as indate film. Mmmm!

copake_ham · Aug 2, 2007

I can easily see (with 35mm) how this situation could occur.

Some 35mm film can be purchased in cartons containing 20 rolls of 36-exp film. These cartons have two layers of cannisters in their plastic containers. The containers are not individually boxed

The film expiry date is on the carton. So, if someone is breaking up a carton - she will not have them in individually dated boxes.

I know of this because several times I've purchased cartons of Fujichrome this way.

Here's an example of a seller offering the entire carton (20 rolls):

http://cgi.ebay.com/20-Rolls-FUJI-P...ryZ74919QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I don't know how you would tell the expiry date of each roll in the OP's case since I've only bought sealed full cartons this way.

Thanasis · Aug 2, 2007

Yeah...I always check the seller's feedback but I just don't feel right not having any way to verify the seller's claims that the original Velvia 50 they were selling was still fresh.

In the end, I didn't buy any of it for the reasons stated above. Though I made sure to politely let the seller know why I was not buying.

removed account4 · Aug 2, 2007

i always get film without a box shipped to me in a bag.
no exp date or emulsion numbers .. it has been both fuji and
xp2 .. but i know it is mildly expired and very inexpensive.
i think some dealers remove the box because they can ship a sleeve of
50 rolls easier than they can in 50 boxes.

maybe the seller has a box lying around he can look at and tell you the dates
if you need them. i have been using expired color and b'w film for years,
stored on a basement or studio shelf, no extra-ordinary conditions -
and can't really see a difference between them and new film i buy (and use as a control).

Thanasis · Aug 2, 2007

I asked for dates and emulsion numbers of the film but was told by the seller that he did not have that information. I'm pretty cautious with ebay. I hate being misled when I buy anything. It's not so much the principle of the matter (though this certainly plays a part) but more the money that I've forked out.

rgds,
Thanasis

copake_ham · Aug 2, 2007

Thanasis said:
I asked for dates and emulsion numbers of the film but was told by the seller that he did not have that information. I'm pretty cautious with ebay. I hate being misled when I buy anything. It's not so much the principle of the matter (though this certainly plays a part) but more the money that I've forked out.

rgds,
Thanasis

Well cautious folk never get burned but they often miss out on opportunities too.

If you consider eBay to be populated by rapacious vipers - then you were wise to do as you did. With some wizened experience there - I tend to feel confident that I can spot the fraudsters from the honest sellers, although nothing is perfect.

Yes, if I were selling off a "broken" case of film - I would probably have the expiry date, provided I hadn't already tossed the carton. But I sure as heck wouldn't even know what you mean by emulsion number?

But, no problem, someone else got the film, you didn't get screwed and the seller has moved on. So everyone's happy. And that's all that really matters.

Thanasis · Aug 3, 2007

copake_ham said:
But, no problem, someone else got the film, you didn't get screwed and the seller has moved on. So everyone's happy. And that's all that really matters.

I see it the same way.

I've been using ebay for about 4 years now. I've not yet come across any "rapacious vipers". I have come across many sellers, though, who will advertise aspects of an item that neither I nor they can verify. Some sellers are apologetic in this and won't mind answering questions that attempt to prove the veracity of their claims, others take it as a personal affront that you so much as doubt what they have described in their listing.

Thread derailment now complete.

regards,
Thanasis.

eddie gunks · Aug 3, 2007

buy from the guys in the above link. ultrafineonline. they got some good deals.

eddie

PHOTOTONE · Aug 4, 2007

I have purchased many "bulk-paks" of 35mm slide film, both Kodak and other brands. They come in a plain paper carton with each film in individual cannisters, but the only coding and expiry date is on the outside of the master carton. I have several 50 roll cartons right now. I am not sure of the purpose of packaging film like this, but most manufacturers do package films like this.

Emulsion No & Expiry Date

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