Film and Paper Expiration Dates

handled in total darkness or under safelight conditions specified by the manufacturer. Unexposed light-sensitive materials deteriorate slowly with time even when the materials are stored under ideal conditions. High temperatures and high relative humidity accelerate this deterioration. You should protect light-sensitive materials from the harmful effects of temperature, humidity, x rays, gases, and vapors that may be present in darkrooms, transport, and adverse storage conditions. Storage instructions are printed on the packaging materials of most photographic products. Kodak papers and sheet film are packaged in humidity-sealed boxes to protect them from changes in relative humidity (RH). Keep these materials in their original packaging until you are ready to use them. When the RH gets at 60 percent or higher for long periods of time, not only do cardboard packages, labels, and metal containers become damaged, but mold, fungus, and bacteria start to grow. Fungi can destroy film and paper by digesting the gelatin in them. Ideally, film and paper should be stored below 50 percent RH. The usable life of a light-sensitive material varies with the type of material, but generally, color materials deteriorate more rapidly than black-and-white materials, and black-and-white materials with high-speed emulsions deteriorate more rapidly than black-and-white materials with slow-speed emulsions. Cold storage in a refrigerator or freezer is recommended for all light-sensitive materials; however, refrigerators and freezers that contain food or unsealed containers of liquids have a high relative humidity. Therefore, food should never be stored in the same refrigerator as film and paper. Paper and professional film should be stored at about 50°F (10°C) or lower in the original sealed package. All film, including amateur film, must be protected from extreme heat. Never store photographic materials in extreme heat, such as in a glove compartment, trunk, or the back window of a car. Once opened, the original package should be used as soon as possible. After opening, the materials are no longer protected from humidity or chemical fumes. When film or paper, black and white or color, is removed from cold storage into a warmer atmosphere, allow a warm-up time before opening the original packaging; otherwise, moisture condensation may form on the film or paper. The warm-up time for light-sensitive material depends on the type of material packaging, the size of the package, and the amount of material. The warm-up times for packages of paper is considerably longer than for film. Paper is usually packaged in larger quantities, 100 to 500 sheets per box and in rolls up to 1,000 feet long. Short roll film and magazines take 1 to 1 1/2 hours to warm-up. Large packages and rolls of film and paper should be allowed to warm-up to room temperature overnight or about 10 hours. FILM AND PAPER EXPIRATION DATES Each package of film is marked with an expiration date. Ideally, the film should be processed before this date for best results. If the film has not been used by this date, it should be tested photographically to confirm and determine its adjusted film speed and performance. Much of the film and paper found in Navy inventory has, in fact, expired. When not subjected to adverse storage and handling conditions, the film is probably still usable for a reasonable time. You should consider the expiration date as a guide only. Use light-sensitive materials of the same type in the order of their expiration dates. The material with the earliest expiration date should be used first. One exception to this is when you know that a material of the same type with a later expiration date has been subjected to improper storage conditions; for example, if film or paper has been sitting on a pallet on the flight ramp in Diego Garcia for several weeks before being delivered to the ship, you should test the material before using it. Film and paper stored under unfavorable conditions or film that has expired may have a loss of emulsion speed, undesirable contrast changes, stains, color shifts, or high gross fog. 2-11