Testing old paper with Ilford DDx, Ilfostop, Rapid Fixer

I was able to get my hands on some old paper that the person didn't know much about regarding purchase date etc. It is Ilford Multigrade IV RC Deluxe so possibly quite old, but also possibly not that old aas multigrade generation V was released in 2019 afaik.

Anyway, I went into the dark, tore a strip off, folded it in half. I ran the one half through DDX at 1+4 (I know, not ideal, but it's all I have at the moment until I can get some proper paper developer) for about 3 minutes, then I stopped that half for about 30-40 seconds, finally I fixed both halves for around 30-40 seconds. The result is both halves are white, with maybe a slight discoloration on one half, but neither are anywhere close to grey or anything like that.

So my question - is this a reasonable test and a "success"? Or should I do something different?

Second quick question - do the 100 sheet packs have several "sleeves" in them? When I was feeling in the dark in there there was clearly at least two packages within the box. The package I took my sheet from only had a few sheets in it.

Welcome to Photrio.
Second question first - no. There is just one package of wrapped/enveloped paper in a 100 sheet box. So the possibility exists that the paper inside doesn't match the label on the box. However, it also might just be a case of a user being extra careful - dividing the contents of the box between two or more envelopes, to help minimize damage if one such envelope is accidentally opened in the light.
As for your test, it is a bit problematic.
Film developers like DDX are definitely less active than paper developers. So it is possible that development in DDX won't reveal problems with fog that paper developers would reveal.
In addition, even if the paper passes a "fog" test, it is possible that its maximum density/black will be affected by age, and/or its contrast behavior will be affected by age.
That being said, even if there have been age related changes, the paper may still be capable of making good prints. If that is the case, it just means that if you try to reprint a negative on newer paper, you might have to adjust for the differences.
Paper like that is great for contact proof sheets

I just tried a really rough contact sheet with a piece of glass laying on a binder and underneath sandwiched a print file page between the glass and some of the paper. Turned the light on in the room for 2 seconds and then did 3 minutes ddx, 1 minute stop, 1 minute fix. The contact sheet came out dark looking and double exposed (i wasn't sure which side was the emulsion side so flipped it over and did again when I was exposing), but it did produce images. I later figured out the "tacky feel" test to find the emulsion.

I have access to a proper dark room in my city so I'll have to get some multigrade developer and give it a try there. Looks promising though. If anything, as suggested I can make some contact sheets with these.

I have found all second hand multigrade IV paper I have either bought, or had for a long time, has printed absolutely fine with a decent maximum black. Prints look inferior to Multigrade V though. However, I will not go near Multigrade III paper though which seems by popular consensus to not be viable anymore

oxcanary said:

I will not go near Multigrade III

Click to expand...

That is definitely true. I have a stack of unusable packs of MGIII paper - all hopelessly fogged.

MGIV has been holding up very well. Chances are, if it hasn't outright been exposed to light, it's still good.