B&W Paper and Airport X-Ray Machines

[hywel]

I'm running a bit short of paper and haven't managed to locate any more here in Malaysia. In the next couple of weeks I'll be popping out of town and it had occured to me that I could pick some up whilst abroad. There's no way I'm going to get any serious amount of it in my hand luggage but it's a short trip so I should have a half empty suitcase. I know that one never lets film go through the checked luggage X-Ray machines but what about paper? Has anyone tried it or is it just a non-starter of an idea?

Thanks

Hywel

 

[kaiyen]

Well, on the one hand, paper is way, way slower than film (think about a 20s exposure at f8,l which isn't abnormal for paper). However, I don't know if anyone has tried it to see if it's slow enough...

allan

 

[bmattock]

Personally, I think you'd be fine - as Allan says, paper is way slower than film. X-rays damage photo-sensitive materials, I would presume it would damage paper as well, but it only becomes visible after repeated exposure or high doses.

I would NOT put it in your checked luggage - that would kill it, I'm guessing - it does film.

I recall reading once that some LF photographers have had trouble explaining why they can't 'show' their film to the TSA agents in the USA airports; I would hate it if the inspectors wanted to open the box of paper.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

NOTE: Let me ammend that - my fault, I didn't read the original post well enough. No, I think checked luggage would be a bad idea. Carry on could work, though. Sorry!

 

[hywel]

Thanks for the replies. I was hoping that someone would say, yes, no problem, I do it all the time. But without such an endorsement it looks like I shan't be buying lots of paper. Perhaps, in the spirt of investigation, I shall buy a couple of sheets and see what happens. If I do I shall let you know.

Hywel