Orwo 200 ft can - What to do?

[stig_dahlin]

Orwo 200 ft can - What to do?

Recently a good friend gave me a never opened 200 ft can Orwo NP55. It turned out that it had been in his freezer since 1997, when he got it from one of his friends who had kept it in his freezer for many years. I have absolutely no idea how old it is, but it seems that Very Old might be a close approximation. At first I thought of making a testroll or two, which would be fun, and then just use it, but now I'm not so sure. Maybe it's just too old. I have vague memories from the '60-s and '70-s of Orwo beeing a cheap and not so very bad film from East Germany. But surely it can't be that old. But who knows. Should I place it on the shelf with my '60-s cameras rather than use it? Is it a collectible item? Are there such things as Film Collectors? Internet didn't give me any info on this particular film.
If it is of no historical or collector's interest I might as well try to use it I suppose, free as it was.
Any comments or information appreciated!

Stickan

 

[MartinP]

You could ask Orwo (now Filmotec) with the details of the label and see what they can tell you ? As no-one seems to have direct experience of the film here, the company might be the best bet. 🙂

http://www.filmotec.de/English_Site/Contact/contact.html

 

[sreed2006]

While doing a Google search for "Orwo NP55," I ran across this site:

http://www.kamat.com/colophon/

The page says that they took a lot of B&W with Orwo NP55. The site was recently updated, and there's a way to contact them. So, they may have an answer on how to process the film.

Hope that helps.

 

[Leigh Youdale]

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ORWO was an East German manufacturer of photographic film and magnetic tape. The basis for ORWO was the Agfa Wolfen plant, where the first modern colour film with incorporated colour couplers, Agfacolor, was developed in 1936.
On 20 April 1945, following the fall of Nazi Germany in World War II, the plant was taken over by US forces and important patents and other documents regarding the Agfacolor process were confiscated and handed over to Western competitors, such as Kodak and Ilford. As the plant was located in what was to become the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, the US forces then handed it over to Soviet Military Administration, which dismantled large parts of the plant and moved it, with key German staff, to Soviet Union, where it formed the basis for the Soviet colour film industry.
In 1953 the plant became the property of East Germany, and in a trade agreement settlement, the East German company, VEB Film- und Chemiefaserwerk Agfa Wolfen, was given the right to sell its products under the Agfa brand in Eastern Europe, while the newly re-established Agfa in West German Leverkusen had the right to the name in the rest of the world.
As the trade agreement seriously hampered the East German company's abilities to sell in the West, the ORWO trademark (for Original Wolfen) was introduced in 1964. ORWO branded 35mm colour slide film became available in the United Kingdom in the 1970s through magazine advertisements for mail order suppliers. It was a cheaper alternative to the mainstream brands available at the time.
Following the merger of East Germany and West Germany, the company was privatised in 1990. After two bankruptcies a new company, FilmoTec GmbH, was formed in 1998, which continues to manufacture a reduced range of former ORWO products, specialising in cine film. Some products are re-branded and sold by Maco.

 

[Leigh Youdale]

There are references to the film being used in laboratory work in 1984 and 1986, so your film could be 25-30 years old - or more. I'd try the contacts on their (FilmoTec) web site. They could probably tell you when that film was last made in 200 ft rolls.

 

[Leigh Youdale]

Oh yes, the laboratory write-ups gave the film speed as 20 DIN or 80 ASA.

 

[stig_dahlin]

Thank you all for tips and facts! I have mailed Filmotec and hope for an informative answer. I have finally decided to open the can and unwind enough for a simple test. It just might be usable, who knows?

Stickan