How to develop old film

I recently was asked by a friend to develop 5 rolls of old pictures
that were taken by his mother, and then put away in a drawer and
forgotten. There were 4 rolls of Verichrome (not Verichrome Pan), and 1
roll of un-named "panchromatic film" (the only identifier). The
changeover from Verichrome to Verichrome Pan apparently took place in
about 1954, so 4 of the film rolls were about 50 years old. The other
roll is probably about that old. I tried several different methods with
these rolls, and checked the densities on my Kodak Color Densitometer
Model 10-k. The results were somewhat unexpected, so I thought I would
share them.

I checked development recommendations for Verichrome, and found the
prevalent recommendation was 17 minutes in straight D-76. I processed
the first Verichrome roll this way. The result was extremely high
background, but some picture detail was observable in the
freshly-processed film. However, as the film dried (I hung it in my
darkroom and left if for a week), it got progressively darker. At this
point almost no detail is observable. I measure an optical density (OD)
of 1.84-2.05 pretty much everywhere. Comparing this with zone system
densities I found on the net, this corresponds to approximately zones
XI-XIII, and is approximately the maximum achievable negative density.


The next roll of verichrome I processed in straight D-76, but added on
Kodak anti-fog tablet to 1 quart of developer (as prescribed in the
directions on the anti-fog bottle). Here I followed the previous
procedure. Some detail was initially observable, but the negatives got
progressively darker with drying. After 1 week I found OD of 1.95-2.0.
Again, approximately zone XIII. The antifog tablet did nothing to
reduce fog.

The next roll I processed in straight D-76, but reduced processing time
to 13 minutes. Again, some detail was initially observable, but the
negatives got progressively darker with drying. After 1 week I found OD
in the base +background (fog) of 1.62. The darkest area has OD=1.90.
Here some detail is observable, with a density range in the negative of
about 0.3. This is about 1/3 the density range in a "properly exposed
and processed" negative, encompasing about 2 zones. A good negative
should have about 7 zones.With high contrast paper I may be able to get
decent prints.

I processed a 4th roll using the same parameters as in the paragraph
directly above. I found OD of base +background =1.44. The maximum
density is 1.70. Again, approximately 2 zones range.

The panchromatic roll I couldn't identify, so I followed my usual
procedure and processed it in Diafine (which processes all films the
same, 3 minutes in each of 2 developer baths). Here I found base
+background = 0.67. Maximum OD=1.08. This density range of 0.41 is
about 2 1/2 zones, only a slight improvement in tonal range. However,
the overall background level is greatly reduced. I believe these
negatives will produce acceptable (not great) prints. I'm uncertain
whether the film is much newer (I doubt it), or whether the Diafine
produces much less background (the view I favor).

I'm uncertain at this point how to recommend processing of old
verichrome. I definitely wouldn't use 17 minutes in D-76. I would use
either 13 minutes in D-76, or Diafine. I have several rolls of old
unexposed Verichrome 122 that I want to try in a Folding Pocket Kodak
3B, and several rolls of expired Verichrome Pan 620 that I want to
shoot in my Kodak Medalist. If I resolve the issue I will publish the
results here.

"Bob" <Robert.Meyer RemoveThis @xerox.com> wrote in message
news:1107305223.514695.286830@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
 >I recently was asked by a friend to develop 5 rolls of old
 >pictures
 > that were taken by his mother, and then put away in a
 > drawer and
 > forgotten. There were 4 rolls of Verichrome (not
 > Verichrome Pan), and 1
 > roll of un-named "panchromatic film" (the only
 > identifier). The
 > changeover from Verichrome to Verichrome Pan apparently
 > took place in
 > about 1954, so 4 of the film rolls were about 50 years
 > old. The other
 > roll is probably about that old. I tried several different
 > methods with
 > these rolls, and checked the densities on my Kodak Color
 > Densitometer
 > Model 10-k. The results were somewhat unexpected, so I
 > thought I would
 > share them.
 >
 > I checked development recommendations for Verichrome, and
 > found the
 > prevalent recommendation was 17 minutes in straight D-76.
 > I processed
 > the first Verichrome roll this way. The result was
 > extremely high
 > background, but some picture detail was observable in the
 > freshly-processed film. However, as the film dried (I hung
 > it in my
 > darkroom and left if for a week), it got progressively
 > darker. At this
 > point almost no detail is observable. I measure an optical
 > density (OD)
 > of 1.84-2.05 pretty much everywhere. Comparing this with
 > zone system
 > densities I found on the net, this corresponds to
 > approximately zones
 > XI-XIII, and is approximately the maximum achievable
 > negative density.
 >
 >
 > The next roll of verichrome I processed in straight D-76,
 > but added on
 > Kodak anti-fog tablet to 1 quart of developer (as
 > prescribed in the
 > directions on the anti-fog bottle). Here I followed the
 > previous
 > procedure. Some detail was initially observable, but the
 > negatives got
 > progressively darker with drying. After 1 week I found OD
 > of 1.95-2.0.
 > Again, approximately zone XIII. The antifog tablet did
 > nothing to
 > reduce fog.
 >
 > The next roll I processed in straight D-76, but reduced
 > processing time
 > to 13 minutes. Again, some detail was initially
 > observable, but the
 > negatives got progressively darker with drying. After 1
 > week I found OD
 > in the base +background (fog) of 1.62. The darkest area
 > has OD=1.90.
 > Here some detail is observable, with a density range in
 > the negative of
 > about 0.3. This is about 1/3 the density range in a
 > "properly exposed
 > and processed" negative, encompasing about 2 zones. A
 > good negative
 > should have about 7 zones.With high contrast paper I may
 > be able to get
 > decent prints.
 >
 > I processed a 4th roll using the same parameters as in the
 > paragraph
 > directly above. I found OD of base +background =1.44. The
 > maximum
 > density is 1.70. Again, approximately 2 zones range.
 >
 > The panchromatic roll I couldn't identify, so I followed
 > my usual
 > procedure and processed it in Diafine (which processes all
 > films the
 > same, 3 minutes in each of 2 developer baths). Here I
 > found base
 > +background = 0.67. Maximum OD=1.08. This density range of
 > 0.41 is
 > about 2 1/2 zones, only a slight improvement in tonal
 > range. However,
 > the overall background level is greatly reduced. I believe
 > these
 > negatives will produce acceptable (not great) prints. I'm
 > uncertain
 > whether the film is much newer (I doubt it), or whether
 > the Diafine
 > produces much less background (the view I favor).
 >
 > I'm uncertain at this point how to recommend processing of
 > old
 > verichrome. I definitely wouldn't use 17 minutes in D-76.
 > I would use
 > either 13 minutes in D-76, or Diafine. I have several
 > rolls of old
 > unexposed Verichrome 122 that I want to try in a Folding
 > Pocket Kodak
 > 3B, and several rolls of expired Verichrome Pan 620 that I
 > want to
 > shoot in my Kodak Medalist. If I resolve the issue I will
 > publish the
 > results here.
 >
This is an instance where development by inspection might
have been useful. Because Verichrome is orthochromatic it
can be developed under a dark red safelight (Wratten No.2).
The published charts for Verichrome show that the
contrast for 17min @68F is pretty high, a gamma on the order
of 0.85. Contrast is now more often measured by Average
Contrast (Bar-G) or Contast Index, either of which will
usually give different values from gamma but a gamma of
around 0.7 is more like what films are developed to now.
Guess what, that corresponds to a time of 13min for D-76.
Obviously the problem is age fog. Increasing the amount
of Benzotriazole in the developer will reduce the fog
density, but at some point, it also begins to destroy the
latent image.
There are people who specialize in developing old filmm,
for instance <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.filmrescue.com/." target="_blank">http://www.filmrescue.com/.</a> I don't know for
certain what technique they use because it is proprietary
but I suspect it might be the use of a very active developer
used at very low temperatures. There is just not much in the
literature about this.
The stability of the latent image depends on many
factors. Formost is the emulsion itself. Additives are put
into emulsions to stablize them and to stabilize the latent
image. Age fog is much dependant on storage conditions.
Exposure to heat and to moisture are bad. Roll film tends to
survive well because the tight wrap tends to protect the
emlusion from oxidation and polutants.
I don't have any better solutions than what you are
trying.
I also don't remember when Verichrome Pan replaced the
original Verichrome but it must have been close to the date
you remember. I used lots of Verichrome when I was first
starting out. There must be billions of family snapshots
which were photographed on it.


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Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA
dickburk RemoveThis @ix.netcom.com<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->