HGR
Hello,
Is it actually possible for the black bag in which the black-and-white sheets of paper
are packed to have a hole at the fold, through which the paper receives
exposure in advance and ends up with a black mark on the edge?
That’s what happened to me with a pack of 30x40 sheets, which had spent two years in the fridge, unopened and with the
cardboard sealed shut. Very annoying.
Or to put it another way: should the cardboard packaging of black-and-white paper only be opened under darkroom
lighting?
Kind regards,
Hans-Gerd
Renate
shit happens
?
Every company produces rejects. That’s perfectly normal. If they’re spotted in time, they sometimes end up with me and I try, together with others, to figure out what caused the fault. That’s life in the lab.
?
I only ever open boxes of photo paper in the dark. Better safe than sorry.
?
Best regards
?
Renate
jonny
The answer to your second question is written on the outside of the box.
€
"Open only in a darkroom"
€
In other words, although the black film is, in principle, light-tight, it isn’t 100% sufficient on its own in a bright environment.
€
On the other hand, the black film should of course have no holes (apart from a large one for removing the paper), especially as ‘envelope-style’ boxes tend to get punctured around the corner folds due to knocks, allowing light to potentially get in. Slip-on boxes are generally more robust in this respect. Either way, both together make up the light-tight packaging. There shouldn’t be a hole in the film, but it’s not usually a huge problem unless the box is also full of holes. That’s why, in your specific case, it’s still not clear to me how the light got onto the paper. Did you actually remove the black inner packaging outside the darkroom, or did you leave it lying around in the darkroom under ‘normal light’? The way you’ve phrased your question seems to suggest that. In that case, you’ll hardly be able to demand a replacement from the manufacturer or seller, as I assume the packaging in question states that you shouldn’t do exactly that. However, if that wasn’t the case – i.e. the inner packaging was only taken out under darkroom lighting – the only conclusion is that (1) the outer cardboard box was also damaged, or (2) light reached the paper whilst it was being packed at the manufacturer’s premises. In that case, I would send the material to the seller and make a complaint.
€
€
HGR
You’re both right, my mistake: as I went through the enlargements, I always used to leave the
black bag in the light when removing individual sheets, rather than putting it back in the box each time. That’s over now; for 20x30 I already have a
light-tight box for removing individual sheets, but for 30x40 I’ll have to think of something...
Many thanks for the tips
jonny
Yes, to save yourself the rather fiddly business of removing sheets, there are the "DuKa Safes", which I think are a worthwhile investment. There are also instructions online on how to make one yourself. If you buy a 30x40 safe, you’ll naturally be set for smaller formats as well.
highscore
I often just use the black bags.
So far, touch wood, no damage.
:-):-):-)
