Can anyone tell me how to extend the life of photo paper? Can refrigeration or freezing be used similar to film? I would appreciate any help I could get on this matter.

-- john zimbelman (zman@magiclink.com), October 03, 1999

Answers

Yes, refrigeration and freezing do slow down the chemical aging of photographic papers as well as film. The maximum storage time is somewhat shorter for papers that for films since any fogging at all renders a paper useless whereas film fog can be "printed through". I have stored some B&W papers in a frozen state for up to 5 years with no apparent ill effects. a little bit of paper fog can be compenstated for by using an anti-fogging additive such as benzotriazole in the paper developer. Since paper life is shorter than film life I would recommend only buying as much as you plan to use in a short time and storing whatever you are not using in the freezer between printing sessions. Regards, ;^D)

-- Doremus Scudder (ScudderLandreth@compuserve.com), October 03, 1999.