5x7 TMY - Great Holiday Deal at B+H!

[John Layton]

...just sayin'! :)

[Kiwi7475]

That is a really good deal… making me wish I shot 5x7….

[Sal Santamaura]

Did you order any, John? If so, what was the expiration date on the film you received?

[John Layton]

Ha! As I suspected - not out of date...but getting close at 5/24. In fact, its from the same batch as I'd purchased last year and am now almost through with...which I'd never frozen but have stored where it almost never gets above 20C (68F), and its been great!

So I'll load a couple of holders with this new film and use it alongside my "old" film on my next outing...and if the "new" film looks wonky I'll complain to B+H.

In the meantime, my gut says that all will be well...as I've never had anything but the best service from B+H...and I have a good inkling that they know a thing or two about storing film!

[Mark J]

I still wish it was a bit cheaper to get to the UK, but might buy some once i've tried the 120 pack I bought.

[Serge S]

I ordered a pro pack of Tmax 100 in November
& when I received it & looked at the expiration date it was for November - not technically expired, but it now:)
I was a bit surprised.

[Rayt]

Didn’t see this until this morning. Bought two boxes. Whew!

[paulbarden]

I ordered a pro pack of Tmax 100 in November
& when I received it & looked at the expiration date it was for November - not technically expired, but it now:)
I was a bit surprised.

When B&H is selling TMX pro packs for $39.95, I have to assume it's approaching it's expiration date. I considered buying some anyway, but decided against it. Apparently my intuition served me well.

PS: I did recently buy a few pro packs of both TMY and Tri-X, and both are dated late 2025.

[John Layton]

At the end of the day...with respect to "short dated" (within date, but close to "expiration") films...I've always found them to still provide me with the specific properties and advantages over other films which drew me to them initially, so long as I am able to compensate for any perceptible "losses" in performance due to age. The only exceptions to this would pertain to short or outdated films which had also been subject to inappropriate storage conditions. Then again, even films used well within their "use by" dates can, if subject to adverse storage conditions, fall far short of what I would consider acceptable performance.

[paulbarden]

At the end of the day...with respect to "short dated" (within date, but close to "expiration") films...I've always found them to still provide me with the specific properties and advantages over other films which drew me to them initially, so long as I am able to compensate for any perceptible "losses" in performance due to age. The only exceptions to this would pertain to short or outdated films which had also been subject to inappropriate storage conditions. Then again, even films used well within their "use by" dates can, if subject to adverse storage conditions, fall far short of what I would consider acceptable performance.

The real problem is with modern backing papers on 120 format films: they do not age well and I've found that most films are subject to "backing paper marks" as they exceed their best-before date. Sheet films I do not worry about, but with 120 films, I do not keep more on hand than I expect to use before they start developing backing paper flaws. Refrigeration helps, of course, but it doesn't eliminate the problem entirely.

[Greg]

The real problem is with modern backing papers on 120 format films: they do not age well and I've found that most films are subject to "backing paper marks" as they exceed their best-before date.


With unopened rolls of 120 film stored in the refrigerator, I've experienced "backing paper marks" with Kodak films one year after their expiration dates. Ilford films 10 years after their expiration dates and no problems except once with Delta 3200.

[Drew Wiley]

No 120 backing paper problems for me ever, past-date frozen or not. I do of course rotate my inventory, and use up older film first. But high speed films are inherently subject to faster emulsion aging due to cosmic rays, and so don't store well long-term even frozen.

[tax888]

With unopened rolls of 120 film stored in the refrigerator, I've experienced "backing paper marks" with Kodak films one year after their expiration dates. Ilford films 10 years after their expiration dates and no problems except once with Delta 3200.

The newest Kodak 120 backing paper is almost plastic looking, and all indications are that it is much more resistant to wrapper offset than the problematic batches.

[paulbarden]

The newest Kodak 120 backing paper is almost plastic looking, and all indications are that it is much more resistant to wrapper offset than the problematic batches.

This is likely because they're using a different varnish to finish the paper, and it appears glossier - more "plastic". It probably seals in the numbering inks better, avoiding the backing paper offset issue.

[Drew Wiley]

There is a parallel thread over on Photrio right now, surmising the proprietary trade secret nature of Kodak's current backing paper. And yes, it does feel more slippery or "plasticky". What Ilford happens to be using is a slightly different question.

Sheet film, fortunately, is immune from such issues.

[Sal Santamaura]

Didn’t see this until this morning. Bought two boxes. Whew!

Originally, B&H listed this sale as "expiring December 31, 2023." A day or so later, the price hadn't changed, but that note was gone. As of today, B&H still has 12 boxes at the discounted price, likely expiring 5/24 as John Layton reported above. :)

[Serge S]

The real problem is with modern backing papers on 120 format films: they do not age well and I've found that most films are subject to "backing paper marks" as they exceed their best-before date. Sheet films I do not worry about, but with 120 films, I do not keep more on hand than I expect to use before they start developing backing paper flaws. Refrigeration helps, of course, but it doesn't eliminate the problem entirely.

I've had backing paper issues with cold stored Fuji NPH.
I recently shot a roll of tmax100 (120 roll film) I had frozen in my freezer since 2001.
Processed normally. It was perfectly fine!