Mystery Film - Please help identify!

[gunpowdertea]

Hi, can anyone identify this film please? I thought it might be Technical Pan but I'm not sure. Found it in a box so it'll be a few years old, so not sure if it's an old design. Thanks!

 

[loquax ludens]

Are there any numbers on it anywhere? Tech Pan in 120 is film code 6415, CAT 151 1054. The outer cardboard box of my few remaining 120 Tech Pan rolls in my freezer say TP 120 on them, and CAT 151 1054. Sorry, I don't want to open one to see what the paper wrapper on the spool looks like.

Is this an exposed roll?

 

[gunpowdertea]

Are there any numbers on it anywhere? Tech Pan in 120 is film code 6415, CAT 151 1054. The outer cardboard box of my few remaining 120 Tech Pan rolls in my freezer say TP 120 on them, and CAT 151 1054. Sorry, I don't want to open one to see what the paper wrapper on the spool looks like.

Is this an exposed roll?

Hey, no they're no numbers. The paper that usually hugs the waist of the roll came off years ago unfortunately. It's unexposed, and all it says is 'Black and White Kodak 120'.

 

[taskoni]

I would shoot it.

Regards,

Boris

 

[Keith]

If it's been sitting around long in any sort of light without its protective wrapping it will have some serious light bleed around the edge of the film I'd suspect.

Don't Kodak have a department you can contact for information ... or is that expecting a bit much from them at the moment? 😀

 

[gunpowdertea]

I would shoot it.

Regards,

Boris

yeah i've loaded it into a camera, but if it is tech pan than means it's iso 25...if it's not it could be up to iso 800 (i've never bought above that)...so i have no idea how to expose it.
i figured maybe just rate for 200 and stand develop for an hour.

 

[sevo]

It cannot be very old, as there is a barcode on it. It will probably be something common, like Tmax, Tri X or BW400CN. I have never seen any odd 120 film (whether Tech Pan, HIE, or any SOxxxx) with barcode.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Often, new Kodak films sent out for evaluation/review are unlabelled: I've had quite a few. What was introduced when this film was new? TMY2, maybe?

Cheers,

R.

 

[Photo_Smith]

I had a roll identical to that about 6 months back, it was TMY 400 version 1.
I think the band round the middle was the only identifier and is missing on your film, films made since 2007 have an identifier on the paper, other than that the bands at the bottom and the Kodak 120 B&W film are typical for the previous generation of Kodak film.

You could try un-spooling the film in a dark bag put the film in a developing tank and look at the backing paper, note the film.
Then try to re spool and tape the film. It's tough but could be done if you have a darkroom...

 

[oftheherd]

I googled a bit on bar codes and learned a lot. Just not about Kodak 120 codes. (sigh)

But there was one post at http://photo.net/film-and-processing-forum/00QQF0 , which talked about 120 color reversal that might interest some. Doesn't help the OP, but might be of interest.
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Dan Sapper , Aug 07, 2008; 10:34 p.m.

I used to work in the area at Kodak where we specified the "backing paper" for 120/220 color reversal products, so that makes me the proverbial genius. The newer film types each have their own backing paper with the product name printed on it, such as E100G, E100GX, E100VS, E200. The older films such as E64 Daylight (EPR), E64 Tungsten (EPY), EPP 100, and EPN 100 use(d) a common backing paper, such as the one shown in your picture. There are many redundancies in the packaging identification: the roll closure has the product code on it, as does the foil wrapper, and the box it came in. So really, the roll could be any of these products, including LPZ Lumiere, which preceded all the "new" Ektachromes listed above. The printing looks like vintage 1990's.

I'm remembering one other detail, and that is that Kodak added narrow black margins printed on the backing paper around 1996. These would be right next to the flanged ends of the spool. I can't tell from your photo if those black margins are present. If not, then the film is probably older than 1996.

If you're a gambler, shoot it with daylight or flash at EI 100 and see what you get. If it happens to be 64 tungsten, you're out of luck. If it happens to be EPR, then it will be underexposed by 1/2 stop.

There could be other problems with the roll. It could have edge fog by now; since the roll closure is gone - light could have gotten around the edges of the paper. The emulsion could be be damaged by humidity, since the roll is out of the protective foil wrapper. Or moisture could have caused blocking (sticking) of the backing paper to the film, which is never a nice thing to do to a camera winding mechanism or to the lab who has to peel it apart (if it gets wet after exposure).

How much of a gambler are you that you'd consider using an unknown roll of film to save a little money?

__________________________________________________________________________

EDIT: From what I saw of other bar codes and Kodak codes, this doesn't really look like a normal Kodak barcode, so Mr. Hicks may well be correct.

 

[gunpowdertea]

thanks everyone. i emailed kodak as suggested and the reply was (only took an hour btw):

"Please be aware that in about 2001, we switched to non-product-specific backing paper for our 120 and 220 films, so the only way to determine what film you have would be to shoot and process it. The film speeds available at that time ranged from Kodak Professional T-Max 100 Film with a 100 ISO to T-Max 400 Film with a 400 ISO. You might consider shooting the roll at around ISO 200, relying on the latitude of the film, then do a snip test (process a small portion of the film) to be able to see the edgeprint and process the rest of the roll correctly."

so i guess i'll do that! anyway thanks again for the help =)

 

[StoneNYC]

thanks everyone. i emailed kodak as suggested and the reply was (only took an hour btw):

"Please be aware that in about 2001, we switched to non-product-specific backing paper for our 120 and 220 films, so the only way to determine what film you have would be to shoot and process it. The film speeds available at that time ranged from Kodak Professional T-Max 100 Film with a 100 ISO to T-Max 400 Film with a 400 ISO. You might consider shooting the roll at around ISO 200, relying on the latitude of the film, then do a snip test (process a small portion of the film) to be able to see the edgeprint and process the rest of the roll correctly."

so i guess i'll do that! anyway thanks again for the help =)

If it has a bar code, and you have a smartphone (iPhone/BlackBerry/Android) you can use a bar code scanner for say amazon shopping and it will tell you exactly what film it is.

Also, I wouldn't shoot it higher than 100, even lower, if it's 5-10 years old non refrigerated, the. It's probably lost a bit of stop, and being 120 it's probably not above 400, so probably by now it will be a stop slower so 100 is a safe bet, since if it was 100 it's now 50 and 100 is the middle ground, or 160 perhaps, either way it's B&W so it has a lot of latitude.

Good luck!

~Stone~ The Noteworthy Ones - Mamiya: 7 II, RZ67 Pro II / Canon: 1V, AE-1 / Kodak: No 1 Pocket Autographic, No 1A Pocket Autographic. Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

 

[Rangefinderfreak]

First: It says Black & White, second: it says 120. I checked with 400 TX, it is not that:
different set of barcodes from the top/down: thin-thin-bold then four thins, then bold, bold and thin. That was 400TX I guess it is some test or sample 100 asa B&W