How long does untouched C-41 last?

[Shypii90]

Hey

I searched the forums but didn't find a similar thread.

Last December I had bought a Tetenal C-41 kit of 1 litre from e-Bay with the intention of developing a few rolls of film at home.

Life caught up with me before I got a chance to use it and so I stored it in a dark, dry place until now. Now I finished my school and exams and I have a lot of free time to try out developing.

The thing is, would the kit still be valid for developing? :confused:
I haven't even opened the box yet, so the chemicals are still in the bottles, un-contaminated. Could I still use the kit for developing? And would I need longer developing times now or it doesn't matter?

I'm asking because I'd like to use the kit I already have and save a bit of money from buying another C-41 kit from e-Bay just yet.

Thanks
Shawn

 

[Mick Fagan]

Shawn, I don't have a definitive answer, but if I were in your position I would use the chemicals.

I have used, in some cases close to five years after purchasing both C41 and RA4 (colour neg paper), chemicals stored in their bottles, without any noticeable bad effects.

That said, perhaps you should develop one unimportant roll first!

Mick.

 

[Shypii90]

thanks a lot. will do

 

[pentaxuser]

Shypii90. As long as you now have the free time in the future to use the kits soon after you get them, then no problem and if the "old kit" is OK then no problem either but if long storage does end up giving problems and you think it might happen again then Silverprint in London sells powder kits called Celer 41 which have a virtual indefinite life while still in powder form and Silverprint recommend that each kits is only used for 4 films so even a low volume user can use the kits, once turned into liquid, before they deteriorate. I don't know if Silverprint sell outside the U.K. either so this needs checking.

The kits involve blix and not bleach and fix separately and some on APUG may say and they may be right that using blix for C41 is far from ideal. My negs processed in Celer 41 look OK but then again I have always used blix kits including the Tetenal one so can't say whether a bleach and fix processed neg is better. Unfortunately I don't know of any small kits that use a separate bleach and fix process.

pentaxuser