Stability of paper over time

[drgoose]

Hello, I just stated doing bromoil prints and apparently the number of papers available that will work with bromoil is dwindling fast. There is a supplier of paper specifically made for bromoils (David Lewis at www.bromoil.com) so before I invest a lot of time and effort into this technique just to find out that no more papers are available I would like to make a little stash of this paper and freeze it. So the question is do photographic papers kept frozen eventually get fogged or can they be stored frozen for ever?

Thanks in advance

 

[kreeger]

Forever is a long time. That said...my experience with frozen when new/first purchased and stored unopened, you are probably safe for 8-10 years, but it can still vary based on manufacturer and type. Somebody here may have more experience with longer time frames.
Today, I strongly believe that Kentmere/Ilford papers purchased new in 2016 would likely meet that challenge and be good in 2026.

All others are suspect -- just my opinion -- it's all about quality product and consistency in manufacture.
In my experience, paper as it age loses it's original contrast to varying degree and/or the base changes from white to pale grey. This effect varies by manufacturer and type of paper. Sometimes the grey can be avoided with additives to paper developer like a Benzotriazole solution.
I have been using several types of old stock bayrta type silver based paper that have been frozen for 5-8 years or more with good results. So far, 21st century made Kodak Polymax Fine Art, and Zone VI VCII that are still fine.
Unopened 10 year old Agfa MCC110 looks great. Kodak Elite, from late 1996 is loosing some of it's zip as a Grade 3..

Some of the original mid 90's Zone VI Brilliant graded paper is great, but turning flat quickly. Grade 3 is a grade 2, and the Grade2 is 1ish at best.

 

[drgoose]

Thks

 

[K-G]

Forever is a long time. That said...my experience with frozen when new/first purchased and stored unopened, you are probably safe for 8-10 years, but it can still vary based on manufacturer and type. Somebody here may have more experience with longer time frames.
Today, I strongly believe that Kentmere/Ilford papers purchased new in 2016 would likely meet that challenge and be good in 2026.

All others are suspect -- just my opinion -- it's all about quality product and consistency in manufacture.
In my experience, paper as it age loses it's original contrast to varying degree and/or the base changes from white to pale grey. This effect varies by manufacturer and type of paper. Sometimes the grey can be avoided with additives to paper developer like a Benzotriazole solution.
I have been using several types of old stock bayrta type silver based paper that have been frozen for 5-8 years or more with good results. So far, 21st century made Kodak Polymax Fine Art, and Zone VI VCII that are still fine.
Unopened 10 year old Agfa MCC110 looks great. Kodak Elite, from late 1996 is loosing some of it's zip as a Grade 3..

Some of the original mid 90's Zone VI Brilliant graded paper is great, but turning flat quickly. Grade 3 is a grade 2, and the Grade2 is 1ish at best.

From my experience the original Agfa MCC 111 is to old , even the last batches. It was never really stable against ageing undeveloped but fortunately ADOX is now producing an almost identical copy , ADOX MCC 110 . The whites are slightly brighter than on the old Agfa MCC but it is still just as superb as its predecessor.

Karl-Gustaf

 

[M Carter]

Keep in mind that Bromoil can work with extremely fogged paper - not fogged black, but fog that would make you reject it for straight printing.

Agfa MC118 was considered by many to be a top-choice for bromoil (I believe it was Gene Laughter's favorite??); I've purchased a lot of it on ebay (I do mainly lith and it's a nice lith paper). I've gotten some with heavy fog, but plenty with maybe 1/2 stop or no fog - it seems to hold up well. Lith printing has caused me to buy lots of old paper from eBay. it's a crap shoot, but lith and bromoil do give me some leeway as far as fog and contrast goes. But I do have quite a collection of pure-black paper...

Bromoil is pretty "personal" as far as how it responds to your specific process and inking techniques. I imagine you could google and hit some bromoil groups and get opinions on currently manufactured papers (some say current Ilford MG fiber - not warmtone - is a great Bromoil paper, but I couldn't get good ink density with it).

But if the Lewis paper works well for you, you should have no issues freezing it. I'd say re-pack it in smaller lots, like 5 or ten sheets to a bag. I think it only comes in 8x10 so space isn't a big issue... I'm thinking of getting a freezer for my very-large stash of 16x20 lithable (and irreplaceable) classic papers... still hunting around for that item!

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Forever is a long time. That said...my experience with frozen when new/first purchased and stored unopened, you are probably safe for 8-10 years, but it can still vary based on manufacturer and type. Somebody here may have more experience with longer time frames.
Today, I strongly believe that Kentmere/Ilford papers purchased new in 2016 would likely meet that challenge and be good in 2026.

All others are suspect -- just my opinion -- it's all about quality product and consistency in manufacture.
In my experience, paper as it age loses it's original contrast to varying degree and/or the base changes from white to pale grey. This effect varies by manufacturer and type of paper. Sometimes the grey can be avoided with additives to paper developer like a Benzotriazole solution.
I have been using several types of old stock bayrta type silver based paper that have been frozen for 5-8 years or more with good results. So far, 21st century made Kodak Polymax Fine Art, and Zone VI VCII that are still fine.
Unopened 10 year old Agfa MCC110 looks great. Kodak Elite, from late 1996 is loosing some of it's zip as a Grade 3..

Some of the original mid 90's Zone VI Brilliant graded paper is great, but turning flat quickly. Grade 3 is a grade 2, and the Grade2 is 1ish at best.

just wondering how you know that it looks great if it is unopened?

 

[kreeger]

In my own experience I bought extra of what I liked (in this case Agfa MCC100) and froze it immediately after purchase. I used some today that I purchased 8 years ago, and it looks the same as other I used in the same batch, in 2010.
Sorry Ralph, I only meant to imply that if you just want to buy more of the same type of paper you already using.