Colour negatives/slides storage

[nightwolf75]

okie... i admit this sounds like a 'DOH' question... :embrass:

does anyone store their negatives/slides in the freezer? i once told a fren dat we shldn't store our films in the freezer cos the cold will damage the silver halide. however, recently when i talked to a film-only user, he told me dat he puts them in the freezer as the freezer's coldness 'lengthens' the life-span of the film.

i know there's an optimal storage temp range printed in all film boxes, and certainly i never saw them printing 0-degs and below... so, is there any harm in putting my negs into the freezer from now on? :dunno:

 

[jnet6]

i'm not sure,but i keep them in a small "cold room". at least cooler temp from room.

 

[hondasleeper]

Normally, you put unprocessed film in the freezer to prolong their lifespan. But prior to use pull them out of the freezer and place them in the fridge to thaw out. At least 24 hrs to actually loading them into you camera, take them out at let the film thaw out to room temperature.

As far as storing processed negatives, I would probably put them in a dry cabinet. The thing is in this climate is the humidity. You want to prevent any kind of fungus growing on your film. The dry cabinet keeps the climate at a humidty level that prevents fungus from growing.

I hope this answers your question.

Dude, there are no stupid questions, the only stupid thing is not asking questions and going and doing something really stupid that you'll regret.

 

[nightwolf75]

Normally, you put unprocessed film in the freezer to prolong their lifespan. But prior to use pull them out of the freezer and place them in the fridge to thaw out. At least 24 hrs to actually loading them into you camera, take them out at let the film thaw out to room temperature.

As far as storing processed negatives, I would probably put them in a dry cabinet. The thing is in this climate is the humidity. You want to prevent any kind of fungus growing on your film. The dry cabinet keeps the climate at a humidty level that prevents fungus from growing.

I hope this answers your question.

Dude, there are no stupid questions, the only stupid thing is not asking questions and going and doing something really stupid that you'll regret.

haha... thanks for the enlightment!

me really know nuts abt film cos back in the days of 35mm compact cameras (borrowed from my dad), i only know go to the neighbourhood colour lab and buy kodak 200 Gold. only now, then i know abt all the different grades of colour negs/slides available out there and their proper storage. believe it or not, i used to put my unprocessed negs in the dry cabinet until a fren told me to put them in the fridge... oppss.. :embrass:

 

[doug3fflux]

lol! nightwolfd question not answered yet leh....haha..anyone? me also want to noe..

 

[ricohflex]

Super industrial freezer techniques for long term storage may be for film manufacturers. Anyway the freezer may be too costly.
Not applicable to home user and hobbyists.

Adorama advertises that they store Professional Films at 55º Fahrenheit "chill" temperature. It must be an optimal temperature.

That is 12.8º Centigrade.

I presume that for everyday usage, it is not ok to store it too cold.

 

[doug3fflux]

Super industrial freezer techniques for long term storage may be for film manufacturers. Anyway the freezer may be too costly.
Not applicable to home user and hobbyists.

Adorama advertises that they store Professional Films at 55º Fahrenheit "chill" temperature. It must be an optimal temperature.

That is 12.8º Centigrade.

I presume that for everyday usage, it is not ok to store it too cold.

hmm that makes our house fridge a great place for film!

 

[kiumjoon]

i have been using expired b/w films that were stored in freezer by previous owner for 1 or 2 yrs. So far, the results are not too bad. And i am storing all my films in freezer too.

 

[kisin]

Hmm, I suppose the cheapest solution would be to store the film/negatives in a dry box inside the household freezer!

 

[yeocolin]

Same thing here. I keep my unprocessed film in freezer. No space to store in fridge anyway. My processed negatives/slides are kept in my dry box. Processed film is more stable than unprocessed film, cos after all they are treated with stop bath, so temperature isn't a problem. Humidity is the enemy instead.

I guess freezing processed film shouldn't be too much of a problem either, but I don't think it would result any significant deterioration over decades in our local weather since temperatures indoors are only about 25-28 degrees.

 

[Sausage]

How should we prepare slide film for storage in our home refrigerators? Is it alright to just bag them in a ziploc and squeeze all the air out of it?

 

[yeocolin]

You don't have to squeeze air out of ziploc bag. Are you thinking of avoiding creation of ice crystals on emulsion? No worries cos you can never avoid it. Air in refrigerator is dry, so that's not a problem. Do you think you can really get rid of the humid air from a squeezed ziploc bag without vacuum packing it? I doubt so. If so, you may like to worry about condensation cos its a cold emulsion with humid tropical air when you take cold film out.

Bottomline is I keep my film without their plastic casing in a bag/container just to seperate it from food in refrigerator. Without plastic casing and box is to save space, ie can store more film within limited volume of my container.

When taking film out to be used, just make sure you give about 2hr between taking out and loading it into camera. We are trying to avoid condensation not just on film, but also in camera.

Just another point since we are talking about condensation. The same problem arises when taking camera from cold environment to warmer environment. Condensation occurs on lens and film. Camera books teach us to keep camera warm (eg. in jacket next to your body). Ultimately, experience helps.