Developing expired Film

technopoptart · Oct 2, 2012

I have been on a break from regular film shooting for a while after moving cross country. I just shot 5 rolls of plusX 125 that expired 7/09 . I also have film that i shot from april 09 to april 10 that expired 7/09 that i also need to develop.

how should i go about this?

I have to buy a whole new supply of chemicals as i did not bring them 3500 miles with me. What would be a good developer(s) for getting back in track and processing this expired film?

Also this is 120 film.

rawhead · Oct 2, 2012

I develop expired B&W film from 20 years ago without changing anything

removed account4 · Oct 2, 2012

i wouldn't worry too much about it, a couple of years isn't much
especially with iso 125 ...
as for a developer, not really sure what you like,
but if you can find some sprint chemistry - film developer, stop, fixer and fix remover
it works as a system. when your stop indicates the whole series is spent

its like a d76 replacement, all liquid, great with tons of different films
and you can buy direct from sprint if you can't find it locally

http://sprintsystems.com/

good luck !

john

ps i have shot plus x ( and other films ) expired in like 1990 and earlier souped in ansco 130 with very little or no fog

technopoptart · Oct 2, 2012

Thanks, in the past i have used HC110, D76, and a second hand bottle of (vintage) rodonal.

nickrapak · Oct 2, 2012

Shoot at 100, develop for 8:30 in D-76 1:1. The 100 is not due to expiration; I shoot all my Plus-X at 100 to pull a bit more out of the shadows.

Andre Noble · Oct 2, 2012

Are you kidding? Plus-X with those dates is as good as new.

jordanstarr · Oct 2, 2012

I'm still developing plus-x from 02-06 at normal developing times for hc-110. For older film that is fogging, I give it a half or full stop over exposure in the camera, because the first thing you lose is the speed of the film. You can always give it a little extra time to up the contrast too, but you really need to just develop a roll and print it to see what adjustments to need to make as they all have different characteristics. There's no formula for this -all experimentation and adaption to taste.

Slixtiesix · Oct 3, 2012

I wouldn´t worry at all with black and white film of this speed. Even if they had been stored in a drawer they will be nearly as good as new. I once developed a roll of FP4+ that had been exposed two years before with best results.

RalphLambrecht · Oct 3, 2012

while film ages , it loses speed and contrast, therefore you want to expose fully and possibly extend development a bit to boost contrast. other than that process normally.

Richard S. (rich815) · Oct 3, 2012

I've bought loads of expired or near expired B&W films when many people were going digital and dumping their stocks about 4-5 years ago. Those were the days! Most b&w films could be foud in ebay for 50 cents to $1 a roll max. Neopan 400! Plus X! Even got a bulk roll of APX25 for $19 once! Anyway, I develop as normal anything expired in year 200X with no problems and even find little issue with 199X expired films too. Had some base fog issue with some Tri-x once but t was a bulk roll from 1998 that arrived to me with an obvious previously wet box so past storage was suspect. I did win a bulk roll of HP3 that I had to have since its expiry date was 07-1963, my month and date of birth. Am finding I have to expose that at 12 or even less to get a useable negative!

Developing expired Film

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