Weird issue with new Fuji paper

[tjaded]

Hi all--
I am having what I consider to be a really weird, albeit not that important, issue with the new Fuji color paper. More specifically, the box it comes in. For no known reason to me, the boxes for this paper are prone to very visible mold when stored in a fridge! I have it in the same fridge as tons of film & paper and this has not happened to anything else. Has anyone else experienced this? It's kind of driving me crazy and I am unsure what to do about it. If it was just for me, it would be fine, but handing a customer a box with little green mold spots on it will not fly! I've thought about buying one of those vacuum food saver things so I can seal each box but that is a last ditch idea. I'm also considering getting a small freezer for the paper instead of putting it in the "display" fridge. Anyway, just thought I would share!

Adios,
Matt

 

[Bob-D659]

Make sure each box is very dry, then put each one in a clear plastic bag. Cold boxes in a display fridge absorb tons of moisture obtained from door opening and closings which feeds the mold. Not uncommon in humid climates.

Edit, maybe a real good idea to clean your fridge including the evaporator coils and condensate drain pan, household bleach will do a good job on killing the mold spores.

 

[tjaded]

Yeah, that is the plan. The thing that confuses/bothers me is that I have tons of Kodak paper, Ilford/Fuji/Kodak sheet film boxes, etc. and nothing else has anything like that. Seems kinda weird. Maybe I'm just being weird. That is usually the answer!

 

[Photo Engineer]

Mold is very bad for photo manufacturers. If mold takes hold, it can leave blotches on the material that will not come off. Mold loves gelatin! Kodak has bacteriostats in everything as do Ilford and other companies. They are there to combat the growth of mold and bacteria. We had yearly scrubdowns at EK because sometimes mold just took a foothold.

So, something is amiss here, as I know that Fuji uses a bacteriostat. This is a very bad and unusual problem that I would inform the dealer about. If the rest of his stock is contaminated, it can go bad as well.

Watch out for cross contamination of other products you may be storing and watch out for it in any food stored with it as well.

PE

 

[pentaxuser]

A longshot as an explanation but I noticed that on "old" Fuj paper boxes such as MP and CA the boxes were all "raw" uncovered cardboard unlike Kodak and Ilford which has thicker cardboard which is covered by what appears to be water resistant smooth and shiny paper.

In a fridge any water droplets or humidity will stay on the raw cardboard and maybe form mold. Water droplets cannot penetrate the covers on Kodak and Ilford boxes or indeed most other makers' boxes

However Fuji was the odd one out with thinner and uncovered cardboard.

pentaxuser