Vacuum Seal The Film?

[wjlapier]

I have some Fujifilm color and B&W for my two land cameras stored in the fridge since last spring. I have another batch on the way. I've been vacuum sealing my 35/120 film before I put it in the freezer. Can this help the film packs last longer in the fridge?

 

[Rayt]

I have never vacuum sealed my film but it does make sense at least when comes to keeping out moisture. I don't store them in their plastic canisters to save space so I double zip lock. I can imagine vacuum would be more effective than zip locks.

 

[Bill Clark]

I have a little freezer to store film. It has wire baskets that work quite well and the freezer part is secondary. Not all of it fits and I also use a cabinet in my office. To tell you the truth I don't notice any difference. I have film with an expiration date of 2004 in my office desk cabinet and it still works just fine. But I do have to say it is all black and white film as all color photographs I make are with digital.

Thought I'd share my experiences! Maybe I'm just too old to notice a difference!

 

[majid]

It may help the gelatin layer retain moisture and prevent fungus, but it won't help with the self-fogging of the emulsion due to chemical processes (slowed down but not stopped by freezing) and background radiation.

 

[wjlapier]

The reason I asked about the vacuum seal is for keeping the film as fresh as possible for a longer time. I might buy more FP3000 to stock up. The other thing I noticed with regular film is that the boxes the film comes in collapse under the pressure of the vacuum sealing. So, I'm wondering if the crushing of the box might have an adverse affect on the film cartridge.

 

[Lauffray]

I just chuck everything in the freezer in their boxes, maybe I'm a bit careless but I've never had any problems

 

[sevo]

The reason I asked about the vacuum seal is for keeping the film as fresh as possible for a longer time. I might buy more FP3000 to stock up. The other thing I noticed with regular film is that the boxes the film comes in collapse under the pressure of the vacuum sealing. So, I'm wondering if the crushing of the box might have an adverse affect on the film cartridge.

I do seal 135 before deep freezing it, as its packaging is not perfectly sealed - humidity can get in through the plastics lid of the canister, even more so if the film goes through a change between deep freeze and room temperature. Brand name medium and large format film as well als Fuji instant film however are already inside vacuum sealed plastics bags - there, the outer cardboard box is the only thing you could protect by sealing.

 

[f16sunshine]

Hi Bill

I think a Zip lock is enough.
Since it's polaroid and slightly larger and you are thinking of buying bulk, you could get one of those re-usable vacuum bags meant for packing away clothing (amazon, target, Costco etc... ).
You quite literally attach the vacuum to it and suck out the air.
This way you could keep things loose and not crush the boxes and, re-seal after taking out packs of film to use unlike food storage vac packs.

I'm sure you know but I'll say it for others maybe....freezing is a no-go for instant film. It should only be refrigerated.

 

[x-ray]

I vacuum seal sheet film but nothing else.

I'd be concerned the vacuum would cause the chemical pods to rupture. If I remember correctly it ok to refrigerate polaroid type film but not freeze it. I'd contact Fujis tech department before risking ruining a load of film.

 

[sevo]

Oh, and instant film should not be frozen - it can cause the chemistry to crystallize.

 

[wjlapier]

The instant film is not in the freezer. The 35 and 120 stuff is and a lot of it is vacuum sealed since I got a sealer for food.

I initially started with ziplock bags--two boxes of 5 pak 120 per bag. Purchased a lot of Velvia/Provia in 35 and 120 recently and that got vacuum sealed. But the ~200 rolls of Arista Premium is still in their boxes.

 

[ABrosig]

The reason I asked about the vacuum seal is for keeping the film as fresh as possible for a longer time. I might buy more FP3000 to stock up. The other thing I noticed with regular film is that the boxes the film comes in collapse under the pressure of the vacuum sealing. So, I'm wondering if the crushing of the box might have an adverse affect on the film cartridge.

I might be concerned about the developing gel weeping under the negative pressure. All the instructions I've read caution against crushing the box/envelope/pack front the top and bottom, I think to avoid rupturing the chemistry bubbles inside.