Is it OK to freeze Polaroid Film?

[Magpie]

Hi,

With the demise of Polaroid 655 I was wondering if it freezes OK, I have a few packs in the fridge that are getting close to end of date and would like to try and extend their life as far as possible.

Anyone had any experiences good or bad with this :confused:

Regards

Brendan

 

[Soeren]

NO
http://www.polaroid.com/service/userguides/photographic/packfilms_guide.pdf

Somewhere it says "Do not freeze"
It will probably freeze ok but it will probably not develop afterwards.
I read somewhere that the chemicals cant take it.

Regards Søren

 

[Magpie]

Thanks for that, anyone know how long it will last past use by date just in the fridge?

Regards

Brendan

 

[Paddy]

I'll check out the fridge option tomorrow; we keep a fair bit of it in the cooler at the college where I work.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Polaroid doesn't age particularly well. Color materials are prone to color shifts, and with both B&W and color the developing pods seem to dry out, so you're much more likely to get undeveloped corners with old Polaroid film. I'd recommend using it while it's fresh or within a year of going past date.

If you end up with old type 55 and have development problems, then the best solution is to shoot it as negative film, remove the neg in the darkroom, and process it like Panatomic-X. With 665 it's a little more complicated, because you would have to remove sheets from the pack as they were exposed (in a changing bag, for instance), without running the sheet through the roller.

 

[Magpie]

Hi David,
Thanks for the advice, I think I will just aim at using it all within a few months of expiry and use the freezer option for my sheet film!

 

[Donald Qualls]

Good plan, Magpie. I'll second those whose experience suggests that Polaroid more than a few months past expiration is a crapshoot. That goes double for the integral films that incorporate a battery; I've seen a few cases where the battery outlasted the film, and some where the film outlasted the battery (I suspect the difference was determined by the type of flash and how often/long it was charged).

 

[hka]

Don't freeze Polaroid Film just put it in the fridge between 3 and 5°C this will be safe for years.