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How do I make paper last longer?

athanasius80

Member
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Dec 22, 2004
Messages
645
Location
Huntington B
Format
Multi Format
I don't print as often as I'd like. How can I store my FB paper so that it'll last a year without fogging?
Thanks!
 
Same as for film, as you decrease temperature, you decrease most aging processes' speed. Just stick it in the fridge/freezer if you are concerned. Paper is so slow anyways that generally you don't have to worry as much about it going bad compared to film.
 
A year? You don't have to worry about the timespan of a year at all if it's stored in reasonable conditions.
 
I usually store paper in my closet which is adjacent to a bathroom. I've had two different packages of Arista Ultra.edu that went bad on me in a 6-12 month window. I don't know if its the humidity of living near the ocean, but the waste and expense is getting old.
 
How do you mean "went bad on you?"

Are you sure you're not fogging the paper unintentionally? That's way too short for paper to last.
 
Can't think of anything off hand. Tonight I even developed a sheet in total darkness and it still had fogging.
 
Radon

athanasius80 said:
I usually store paper in my closet which is adjacent
to a bathroom.
Click to expand...

Radon. It accumulates in confined areas. Might want
to check that out. Here in the NW we now and then
hear of a problem with Radon gas. Dan
 
Wirelessly posted (BBBold: BlackBerry9000/4.6.0.297 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102 UP.Link/6.3.0.0.0)

I'm printing on Arista that has been in the 'darkroom box' sitting in the front room since February. It doesn't seem to be so mission critical.
 
athanasius80 said:
Can't think of anything off hand. Tonight I even developed a sheet in total darkness and it still had fogging.
Click to expand...

Try again with a sheet from the middle of the stack, you might get different results. Additionally, any sepia toning with the smelly sodium sulfide kind of toners near the paper boxes could also cause fogging. H2S fogs emulsions. In any case, a year is just too short to cause any problems. It's just too strange.
 
I know that you should keep colour paper in the freezer. I usually keep B&W paper in the refrig if I know I won't use for a while.

Jeff
 
What paper are you using, what safelights...

I have all manner of papers stored as is in boxes for ~1 yr and I see no fog. A very basic thing you must do is develop a piece of unexposed paper per your usual process in your darkroom and satisfy yourself that there is no fog from your safelight or other sources. Id id once have a safelight filter with a barely perceptible gap in the material and it was contributing fog, so...
 
Paper is Arista.edu Ultra. My safelight is a Japanese triangular thing from Eb-y, I have it set on yellow or "Bromide" setting for now.
 
This completely sounds like a safelight issue in my opinion.
 
Radon Again

athanasius80 said:
Can't think of anything off hand. Tonight I even developed
a sheet in total darkness and it still had fogging.
Click to expand...

Total darkness and still fogging. No fog producing fumes?
Then radon is a possibility. Continued exposure to the
gas can be dangerous. Dan
 
Radon is a big alarmist. It's quite possible the paper has already been fogged by repeated exposure to an unsafe safe light. Developing in darkness won't change anything.
 
I wasn't aware that Radon would affect photographic materials. Does anyone have any information or studies on this? Not that we have a Radon problem in our basement, but I am curious.
 
I'm concerned about Uranium fogging in my darkroom - how do I test?
 
Radon or any radioactive material will fog photosensitive materials if you have enough of it, but if there was enough to fog paper, anyone who had lived in that house for a few years would probably be dead from the effects of radiation overdose.
 
"All Homes Should Test for Radon"

clayne said:
I'm concerned about Uranium fogging in my
darkroom - how do I test?
Click to expand...

That quote from the EPA. Search from Google for,
epa radon . Lots of information. Just checked their
USA radon map. May have high levels where I live.

IIRC, it is uranium > radium > radon. Dan
 
Emulsions are good for 2 to 3 years. Buy fresh and you will be ok.

Emulsions used to last for decades, but now chems are added so the paper need not be aged before being sold as a cost reduction. Thats good for paper manufactures bottom line, bad for photographers.

Just before Ilford went nearly backrupt, the Ilford rep told me freexing will not significantly slow the aging process like it used to do. Yes they actually had reps, so did Kodak. So did Leica and he did not have to cover 12 states either.
 
Just as an FYI, I have noticed that my test strips (Ilford MGIV) tend to fog after a year or so. When I cut up a sheet of paper to make test strips, I put them in an old photo paper envelope like you get when you buy a 25 sheet package of Ilford paper. I then put it in my light safe. My guess is that the cardboard envelope is fogging the paper by some very slow chemical reaction that doesn't happen when the paper is wrapped in its normal black plastic bag. When this happens, I just cut up a new sheet (from the bag stored in the original box) and the new strips are never fogged. I've had this happen a few times. And no, the test strips are not from an older box of paper. I've always just assumed the envelope may not be acid fee or something. I know it probably sounds lame, but I just calls 'em like I sees 'em. Since its rare and I have an easy solution, it's not exactly high on my list of things to investigate further.

My point is that, if you remove the paper from its original wrapping and store it in a box without the plastic wrapping, perhaps the box is contaminating the paper in some way.

Taking a sheet from the center (as someone already suggested) might at least tell you if some of it is salvageable.
 
I've had a box of Ilford MGFB sitting in my basement for around 5 years. I just started using it and there's no fogging at all.

Dan
 
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