Film storage

rdelung · Feb 28, 2013

Looking for a way to store my 8x10 film when I put the rest in the freezer. Has anyone come across anything other than the box in which the film came in to store it until I can use it? Thanks, R.W.Delung

cliveh · Feb 28, 2013

rdelung said:
Looking for a way to store my 8x10 film when I put the rest in the freezer. Has anyone come across anything other than the box in which the film came in to store it until I can use it? Thanks, R.W.Delung

Why freeze it? If it's colour film kep it in the fridge and if it's black & white don't bother, unless you live in a very hot part of the world.

Sirius Glass · Feb 28, 2013

I put opened boxes or loaded film holders in zip lock plastic bag before I put them in the freezer.

Film keeps better when frozen with the exception of Polaroid type films.

BrianShaw · Feb 28, 2013

... and, of course, there is a contrarian experience:

I put opened boxes or loaded film holders in zip lock plastic bag before I put them in the refrigerator.

Film keeps better when refrigerated with the inclusion of Polaroid type films.

J Drew · Mar 1, 2013

I've wondered about refrigeration & freezing of film. Isn't the humidity higher in the colder air? Will unopened 35mm cassettes keep out the higher humidity. I've been meaning to took up the formula for humidity & temp? Personally, I keep all my film in the veggie & meat bins @ the bottom of the reefer @ ~37F. For decades I've read that one should freeze film; one shoud not freeze it. I don't know. I'm assuming that that 37F is adequate.
I don't know of anyone who thinks that @ least it shoulden't be refergerated.
Jay Drew

David Nardi · Mar 1, 2013

I've been refrigerating mostly colour slide and colour neg film and have never had any problems that I can tell. I store all my film in a mini bar fridge.

Gerald C Koch · Mar 1, 2013

I always go by the fact that Agfa kept its uncut rolls at -10C. I understand this to be the best compromise between storage life and energy usage. I always freeze film that I will not be using in a few months.

Relative humity is the amount of water present divided by the maximum amount that air can hold at a given temperature. So a relative humidity of 50% says that the air is holding half the amount it could possibly hold. Warm air can hold more moisture than cold air.

Boxes of paper should be placed in ziplock bags. Film in original containers (cans or sealed packages) can also be bagged but this is not necessary if they are unopened. Whether film or paper has been refrigerated or frozen it should be allowed to come to room temperature before opening the package.

Sirius Glass · Mar 1, 2013

J Drew said:
I've wondered about refrigeration & freezing of film. Isn't the humidity higher in the colder air? Will unopened 35mm cassettes keep out the higher humidity. I've been meaning to took up the formula for humidity & temp? Personally, I keep all my film in the veggie & meat bins @ the bottom of the reefer @ ~37F. For decades I've read that one should freeze film; one shoud not freeze it. I don't know. I'm assuming that that 37F is adequate.
I don't know of anyone who thinks that @ least it shoulden't be refergerated.
Jay Drew

I freeze unopened film. I rarely freeze opened film, I tend to refrigerate opened film. I also live in Los Angeles where the humidity is almost always low.

rdelung · Mar 19, 2013

Thanks all for your information. I think I'll try the best of both worlds, and freeze half of my 4x5 and 8x10 film. The other half i'll put in the refer. crisper tell needed, and allow to come to room temp. before loading. I don't think there will be any problem if I put the unused film back in the crisper. Does anyone have any thoughts on that? Thanks again for the reply's
R.Delung a re-born again large format guy.

PhotoJim · Mar 19, 2013

The only downsides to freezing film:

1. It takes space. My wife routinely makes comments about how full our chest freezer is.
2. You need to warm your film before removing it from packaging (ziploc bags, canisters, foil wrappers, etc.). The rule of thumb is 4 hours to ambient temperature, though if you're going outside in winter to shoot it, it might be a little shorter.

Slow emulsions keep nearly indefinitely if frozen. Faster ones keep better enough to still justify the bother. Refrigeration is better than nothing and a good compromise for film you will use soon but not immediately.

Film storage

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