What to do with old paper?

[henpe]

I have been given a pile of paper:
+ Ilford MGIV RC, 7 x 9.5", 500 sheets
+ Agfa MCP, 12x16", 200 sheets
+ Agfa Brovira Speed RC, 12x16", 400 sheets
The papers are old and I suspect them to show a great deal of fog. I don't have access to anti-foggants such as benzotriazole, so my question:

Is there any creative use of old paper (RC) or should I just pass them to the trash-bin?

 

[locutus]

perhaps useful for non critical contactprint proofs?

The 12x16 stuff cutdown might also be fun to try for in camera negatives.

 

[Anon Ymous]

I have been given a pile of paper:
+ Ilford MGIV RC, 7 x 9.5", 500 sheets
+ Agfa MCP, 12x16", 200 sheets
+ Agfa Brovira Speed RC, 12x16", 400 sheets
The papers are old and I suspect them to show a great deal of fog. I don't have access to anti-foggants such as benzotriazole, so my question:

Is there any creative use of old paper (RC) or should I just pass them to the trash-bin?

You may not have any benzotriazole, but you can always buy some! No need to buy large amounts, small quantities are used as a developer additive. Apart from that, you can test some sheets from the middle of the boxes. You might be surprised that you get less fog from them, than from the top of the stack (I've seen that happening). Above all, you can bleach back the fogged highlights. You'd need some chemicals for this (potassium ferricyanide and potassium bromide or sodium thiosulfate). That's a lot of large size paper to throw away without a second thought. Then, there's always the possibility to use them as paper negatives...

 

[GregW]

Seconding the recommendation for a small purchase of Benzo. You might try TAF-1 from Photographer's Formulary that's what I use. 99% of the paper i use is expired. I printed on some very expired Ektalure last night and a few ml of TAF-1 brought out the brilliance of the highlights perfectly. Perfectly clear borders, gorgeous paper.

 

[bsdunek]

I love old paper for Lumen prints. Seems to work far better than new. Might try that.

 

[Bob Carnie]

Ship them to Ginette Clement in Montreal she will make magic out of them.

 

[RauschenOderKorn]

First of all, you should test the papers for fog. I have MGIV which I suspect is more than 10 years old and it is not significantly fogged, although storage conditions were poor.

If there is fog - and you do not want to suppress it chemically or it cannot be achieved - you can always use the paper for lith printing.

If all that is too much of a hassle, I am sure somebody in this forum will pay the p&p to relieve you of this burden. So trash-bin would just be waste.

 

[LAG]

Is there any creative use of old paper (RC) or should I just pass them to the trash-bin?

Do not pass them to the bin? (I am sure here on APUG some people would be interested) Do not worry about the fog! much better if you have a creative intention to use them. Indeed, I would use them as negatives (or contact positives) as a starting point ...

Best

 

[darkosaric]

If they are foggy - then use them for Lith printing.

 

[MattKing]

Does the MG1V RC indicate it was manufactured by Ilford Imaging or does it indicate Harman Technologies?
If Harman, it isn't all that old!

 

[Vaughn]

Final support material for carbon prints, but I do prefer fiber paper for that.

 

[Fraunhofer]

The Brovira paper does lith! I have used some successfully which is 20+ years old, so if you come to the conclusion that you don't need it any more, send me a PM.

 

[Cholentpot]

I print on old paper. I don't really mind some fog or oddness. If you're tossing them hit me up first...

 

[cliveh]

Use them for Lumen printing.

 

[Agulliver]

How old are they? I've been using some Tura VC paper which must be more than 10 years old as the brand disappeared in 2006. Other than requiring a longer exposure under the enlarger, they are fine. Certainly no fogging.

When I first got my enlarger circa 2003, I used Agfa Brovira paper which had been stored in a shed since the mid 80s...and it worked fine.

I'd say try a sheet or two of each. Other than possibly time, what have you to lose?

 

[Konical]

Good Afternoon, Henpe,

Fix and wash some of the blank paper. It can be used, of course, as focusing sheets. Another use I have found handy in the past is to dry-mount blank paper back-to-back with prints which may be handled frequently. The stiffening makes for a longer life is such cases, especially with 8 × 10 or larger sizes. ( think that, some years ago, this topic came up on APUG; a search may yield some additional ideas.)

Konical

 

[pentaxuser]

Just bear in mind that the henpe, the OP, appears to be located in Sweden and a small amount of benzo from anywhere other than Sweden or at least Europe may be very expensive

pentaxuser

 

[ChuckP]

If it's only a light fog try it with any very high contrast negatives you might have. I've found that this can make some nice prints of hard to print negatives. Similar to flashing the paper.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

MGIV RC? I have printed on older one, like III, no problems.
I also printed and printing on old AGFA RC papers. With correct light and quick developing (around 30 seconds) they are as good as new Ilford.

 

[kerrpanda]

Lith or Lumens!!!

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Final support material for carbon prints, but I do prefer fiber paper for that.

They make great tissue supports, too!

 

[removed account4]

sunprints and retina prints work well with expired paper, like their cousin lumen
and seeing regular photo paper can be high-contrast for papernegatives
using older/expired paper works well because it can be less "contrasty"
i'd test the paper first, i've been using 15-20, even 30 years old photo paper
that doesn't really exhibit a lot of fog, blacks are ink-black and white looks like
the paper pre-exposure...

 

[blindpig]

In-camera negatives are a great way to use older paper(in fact old slightly fogged paper works best IMO).These negatives have an old style and creamy look not gotten from film negatives.

 

[henpe]

Thanks a-lot for all great ideas. I did not know that the Agfa papers are useful for lith; in fact I have read that they do not. I will definitely give them a try with lith! I have been doing some lumen prints in the past and that is also a great advice.

 

[HiHoSilver]

The good ideas & good will never cease to amaze me. Bravo, gents.