I have 3 boxes of 25 sheets Ilford HP5+ sheet film that are dated 2004 and 2005 - stored at 66F - 73F in my darkroom (dry).

Is it still good!

YES !

Try a sheet and look if you are happy with the result.

If not, add a *very small* bit of exposure.

A drop or two of anti-fog (bromide or benzotriazol) in the developper might help but I wouldn't care with five years.

I'd think it would be. I've certainly seen images shot on film that was decades outdated that looked great, so I'd certainly give it a try. I have some Tri-X in my freezer that expired in the 80's, as well as a box of 9x12cm Ilford HPS glass plates from the 50's. I definately plan to shoot the Tri-X soon, likely with a bit of increase in the exposure, but there are plenty of examples on Flickr showing nice shots from outdated Tri-X, so I'm fairly confident that my freezer-stored boxes will still be ok.

NO, the film is no good but you must send it to me for proper disposal.

Seriously, B&W film stored at normal room temperature up to 10 years beyond expiration date it is doubtful if you will notice the difference between it and fresh, over ten years beyond expiration date one will notice an increase in base fog and may experience some loss in speed. Refrigerating or freezing decreases the loss in speed. Storage above 80 degrees F (26.7 degrees C) shortens the time before base fog increases and or box speed decreases significantly.

The expiration date is the date after which the manufacturer states they can no longer guarantee that the film will preform to specifications provided it has been stored properly.

If in doubt, throw an unexposed sheet into the devloper and see what you get. If you are happy with the result, use it.

I exposed two sheets of film and developed quickly in HC110B - results are fine. Thanks for the advice.

I wonder how good the Efke 50 or Freestyle's store-brand 100 sheet films are in 2x3 size compared to using roll film (FP4+ or Plus-X). I sure like the convenience of not having to burn thru an entire roll to take a few shots and like the flatness of sheet film.

The sheet film format is slightly narrower in width, fortunately I found negative holders for my D5 Omega for both sizes....sheet and roll.

Thanks all for the advice. I have another 75 sheets of usable film.....

pv17vv wrote:

A drop or two of anti-fog (bromide or benzotriazol) in the developper might help but I wouldn't care with five years.

How is the effect of bromide and benzotriazol different for fog reprimation? A link to such a discussion (I'm sure this was largely debated but can't find anything) would be fine.

Greetings,

Eugen