What is the shelf life of B&W film?

[ch1]

The other day I purchased two rolls of Ilford HP-5+ at a local camera store. This store is in midtown Manhattan near many hotels so it probably has rapid inventory turn.

I noticed that the rolls were "fresh" with a Jun 2009 expiration date. This suggests that Ilford considers this film to be "in spec" for at least 3-1/2 years.

Does anyone know the actual shelf life of B&W film measured from the date of manufacture to the expiration date?

No big burning issue about this - just curious.

 

[desmo]

about a zillion years if kept in a dark fridge.

in the open sun: maybe a week

in a drawer in someones home: maybe 20-30 years with some loss of contrast.

I've pulled old film out of cameras that had been exposed 20 years earlier and developed them to find quite printable negs.

heat and humidity are the film killers. i bought about 200 rolls of Velvia 120 about 8 years ago that had been kept in a fridge all their life and I am using them up slowly in my 6x12cm back. They look as good as new ones.

 

[kaiyen]

Only thing I can add is that faster films will fog more quickly than slower ones. This is actually due to cosmic radiation, though. So even if you keep it in the fridge, Delta 3200 that's 2 years old might be already unusable in terms of increased base fog, whereas Pan F+ might last a good 20 years.

allan

 

[Dracotype]

A small example from the empirical/real world side of the fence. Some 5x7 Tri-X film that is 28 years old was found in one of our closets. I shot two rolls, developed normally and lo and behold there it was. Admittedly very faint, but there. And it had been stored at room temperature too. So never underestimate the staying power of film, especially in the fridge.

Drew

 

[ch1]

Hi,

Thanks for replies. I know that if properly stored (e.g. in a fridge or freezer) B&W will last a long, long time. However, what I am curious about are the manufacturer's specs.

I would think that buying a roll of film with nearly 3-1/2 year's of "shelf life" remaining on it, as I did the other day, suggests the roll is very fresh. But that's just a speculation.

Please allow me to rephrase my query, if I could purchase brand-new, high-end B&W film (e.g. Ilford HP-5+) at the factory door just made today - does anyone know what would be the expiration date on the box?

Regards,
George

 

[kaiyen]

I still think it would depend a bit on the speed of the film. 3.5 years seems actually kind of long for 400 speed, but then that probably means that's about as far as as they'll "guarantee."

The rule I've heard with TXT is that you should add a stop of exposure for every 10 years or so. So that 28 year old film from Drew's post might have benefitted from an exposure at EI 100 or 125. Based on that, and assuming that such an increase in base fog in TXT is consistent with all 400 films and not just TXT (admittedly a rather significant assumption), 3.5 years would put HP5 at about EI 320, which wouldn't be noticeable to most people.

That's my theory 🙂

allan

 

[titrisol]

That's a very good question... I guess 3-4 years for 400 film is about right
For slower film maybe 4-5 years.

Hi,

Thanks for replies. I know that if properly stored (e.g. in a fridge or freezer) B&W will last a long, long time. However, what I am curious about are the manufacturer's specs.

I would think that buying a roll of film with nearly 3-1/2 year's of "shelf life" remaining on it, as I did the other day, suggests the roll is very fresh. But that's just a speculation.

Please allow me to rephrase my query, if I could purchase brand-new, high-end B&W film (e.g. Ilford HP-5+) at the factory door just made today - does anyone know what would be the expiration date on the box?

Regards,
George

 

[ch1]

That's a very good question... I guess 3-4 years for 400 film is about right
For slower film maybe 4-5 years.

Good to know.

For my purposes, what it mainly says is that this shop is turning over film frequently enough that they have really fresh stuff. And since they only charge $4 for a roll of 36 exp. that's a darn lot better than buying nearly expired bricks on eBay (espescially since the S&H cost usually equals about the sales tax to buy locally).

 

[kaiyen]

$4 a roll? Have you considered bulk rolling?

Ugh. That would get pricey for me in a hurry.

allan

 

[ch1]

$4 a roll? Have you considered bulk rolling?

Ugh. That would get pricey for me in a hurry.

allan

Funny you should ask - last night I caught myself looking at bulk loader and changing bag listings on eBay! 😀

 

[lynn]

Well. There was the 1968 Svemapan that came with an *Bay purchase: I shot it with great trepidation, but was surprised at what I ended up with. I posted some results here on the forum, but also on my website:
http://www.two-muses.com/arch/2006_01.html#000650
38 years old, imagine. And no way was it kept cool all those years....