Freezing film ?'s

xjken99 · Oct 16, 2010

I work at a grocery store and last week they discontinued all their Fuji film and marked down all their old stock. 4 pack 200 multipacks were $3.78 and single rolls were $1.78. They also had 4 rolls of 400 speed marked down to $1.97 so I bought every roll. The 200 expires 10/2011 and the 400 expires 11/2011 but with 20 rolls I am not sure how to store it.
So far this year I have shot about 6 or 7 rolls so my new stash could last me three years. I have heard about storing film in your freezer but, I am not sure what steps to take to do this. Do I just throw the boxes in the freezer? or can I just throw the plastic containers in? Should I put the film in a ziplock bag to prevent moisture? Or is three years not long enough to worry about the film degrading?

BetterSense · Oct 16, 2010

Do I just throw the boxes in the freezer? or can I just throw the plastic containers in? Should I put the film in a ziplock bag to prevent moisture?

Any of the above is fine.

When you pull it out of the freezer into a humid environment, condensation is going to form on whatever outside surface there is. So it's best to leave the rolls of film in the plastic canisters or boxes, that way the condensation forms on the boxes or canisters and not the film. Although I've yanked film out of the freezer and stuck it directly in the camera and never had any trouble as a result.

Or is three years not long enough to worry about the film degrading?

In 3 years at room temperature the film won't be degraded too much, but it will be 3 years old then. If you freeze it, in 3 years it will be practically like new. Then you could leave it sit around for another 3 years probably.

dehk · Oct 16, 2010

Personally I leave them in their canisters or boxes if permitted, Zip lock it and throw it in the freezer.

Sirius Glass · Oct 16, 2010

Black & white film can easily go ten years in the freezer without a problem. A few color films might have some color shift after ten years. I have never experienced any problems with either black & white or color film that has been stored in the freezer for that long. IR films may fog in the freezer, but certainly less then if they were left at room temperature.

I put all my film in the freezer right after I purchase it. As stated in post 2 let it come to temperature before opening.
If it take film out of the freezer and it has not been opened, it goes back in the freezer.
If it take film out of the freezer and it has been opened, it goes back in a zip lock bag and then the refrigerator.

Steve

mopar_guy · Oct 16, 2010

You might want to keep the film in the boxes. The expiration date is on the box and if you throw the boxes out it might be hard to remember how old the film really is. You might be curious later.

Anscojohn · Oct 17, 2010

Sirius Glass said:
Black & white film can easily go ten years in the freezer without a problem. A few color films might have some color shift after ten years. I have never experienced any problems with either black & white or color film that has been stored in the freezer for that long. IR films may fog in the freezer, but certainly less then if they were left at room temperature.

I put all my film in the freezer right after I purchase it. As stated in post 2 let it come to temperature before opening.
If it take film out of the freezer and it has not been opened, it goes back in the freezer.
If it take film out of the freezer and it has been opened, it goes back in a zip lock bag and then the refrigerator.

Steve

*************
This has been my approach for going on fifty years. Thus far it has worked well. I do the same with paper, except once it is out, it is out of the freezer and opened, I keep it in the darkroom.

MattKing · Oct 17, 2010

I use Tupperware containers (or cheaper knock-offs) rather than ziplock bags. I prefer the extra protection they provide to unboxed 120 or 220 film, and I trust them more in the case of a power failure or liquid spill.

They also stack better than bags.

xjken99 · Oct 17, 2010

Excellent advice, thanks everyone.

ozphoto · Oct 17, 2010

I do the same as Matt and include expiry date inside the Tupperware box. I just write with a Sharpie on a piece of thin PVC plastic - old stationary binder dividers work well.

perkeleellinen · Oct 17, 2010

I don't think I'd bother. The films are in-date for another year, you may need three years to finish them up so by the end they could be two years out of date. I suggest leaving them out where you can see them, this may make you shoot them quicker which is good because it means you're taking more photos. I think you'll have no issues with 2-year out of date film, save the freezer space for food.

Kisatchie · Oct 17, 2010

perkeleellinen said:
...I think you'll have no issues with 2-year out of date film, save the freezer space for food.

Film is food for the soul. I say, put it in the freezer where you know it'll be safe.

Galah · Oct 18, 2010

I looked up the Fujicolor data charts the other day, and -if I remember rightly- it actually says 10 years of cold storage (zero to 10 degs C) produces no detectable ageing effect.

clayne · Oct 18, 2010

Personally, I freeze it all.

j-dogg · Oct 18, 2010

Sirius Glass said:
Black & white film can easily go ten years in the freezer without a problem.

Steve

Oh good.....I got 16 rolls of Tmax 3200 B+W free dated 2001, freezer/refrigerator kept the entire time. Been shooting at 1000, 1600, 800, things like that.

How about in refrigeration? I had been told they were in both but I pulled them out of a refrigerator.

clayne · Oct 19, 2010

High speed film even when frozen will still pick up cosmic rays.

But still. Freeze it.

j-dogg · Oct 19, 2010

Okay, cosmic rays sounds like fun, what am I looking forward to out of the darkroom

Freezing film ?'s

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