Storing Film

Baby, it's cold in here!
And that's the way many photo-graphic materials like it. Film, printing paper, and batteries may benefit from storage in the fridge or the freezer. But which ones? And for how long? And how cold? Here's a general guide.

• Professional color films:
Films designated "professional" are generally manufactured to closer tolerances, so that they're near their optimum color balance shortly after the time of sale. As a result, professional films have a shorter expiration window. Storage at 50-55°F or less is recommended to slow down shifts in color balance. That means refrigeration. Note, how-ever, that Kodak has modified some pro films (such as Ektapress) to give more leeway in storage for photojour-nalists and other professionals who may not have access to refrigeration for extended periods of time. It's still not a bad idea to refrigerate these films when possible, though. Professional films can be frozen to further extend their life.

• Amateur color films:
These are shipped before their peak to accom-modate for a period of storage. These shouldn't be refrigerated, right? Surprise! The general rule now is, it can't hurt. Kodak tech mavens explain it this way: The effects of film aging are cumulative, and these effects take place whether the film is in the camera or in its box on the shelf. Many-if not most-amateur photographers tend to leave film in the camera a long time. If you tend to do this, it's a good idea to keep unexposed film in the fridge. Amateur films can also be frozen.

• Batteries:
Cold temperatures slow down the chemical reaction that produces current in a battery. (That's why battery-driven devices can become sluggish in cold weather.) The good news is that by slowing this reaction down, the cold also reduces the self-discharge that will eventually run batteries down while they're sitting on the shelf. All types of batteries commonly used in photo devices-mercury, silver oxide, alkaline, lithium-do well in cold storage. Note that some, like alkalines and lithiums, have quite long shelf lives without refrigeration, so you needn't be so persnickety with these. But as we said before, it can't hurt. Batteries should never be frozen. Freezing them can cause leakage or full-scale rupture.

• Photographic printing paper:
Color printing papers will keep better (read: maintain good color balance) if kept in cold storage. Black- and-white papers have considerably greater toler-ance for less-than-ideal storage condi-tions. But if your darkroom tends to be hot and you're not going to be printing for a long time, that box of paper will do better in the fridge. Photographic paper can be frozen, but it requires a few hours to come back up to temperature. (See below.)

STORAGE TIPS
• Always keep films snapped tight in their plastic cans (or, with 120, in their intact foil wrapping). Allow 35mm films an hour to come up to room tempera-ture before opening the container; frozen film, 1 1/2 hours.
• If you want to keep films in their cardboard boxes, wrap them up tight in food storage bags, with some silica-gel packs inside, to keep the boxes from getting soggy. The same holds for printing paper, which should get three hours of warm-up for a big box.
• Batteries, too, should be wrapped in airtight bags with silica-gel dryer packets. Keep them in there while bringing them up to room tempera-ture-an hour is a good time.

REFRIGERATION MYTHS
1. Professional film ages faster than amateur film. Wrong. Professional films are shipped closer to their peak, but they age and change characteristics at a similar rate to amateur versions of the same emulsion. They don't go bad within 12 minutes of removal from the fridge!
2. Professional films must be kept refrigerated. Wrong. Some people think that it's impossible to use professional emulsions for, say, the safari in Africa unless they bring along a refrigerator and portable generator. Ridiculous! Use fresh film, store it in as cool a place as possible when not in the field, have it processed promptly, and you should have no problem.
3. Old batteries will have more oomph if kept in the refrigerator. Wrong. The battery bought new at a high-turnover store will like-ly be in better shape. Buying when you need is a much better idea than storing for the future-at least for photographic mate-rials. Wine is another matter.