Environmental factors and proper processing procedures are paramount to film longevity.
Also, some films were notoriously bad for dye instability. So, here are my "rules for not being forced into scanning your film to save it". 1) Buy film stock that has a known history, or of a brand name that has a good reputation. In general, my experience has been that films produced by Kodak, and Fuji (over the last 15 years at least) are stable. Agfa had a bad run in the early 1980's (yes, it was twenty years ago), but their slide films faded on my a long time ago. It might have been processing errors, but they were process at Agfa Germany, so I expected better... ;-) 2) Try to find a repultable processor who doesn't cheat with their chemistry by under replenishing, etc. Misuse or lack of use of hardening agents in the fix, and lack of use of fungicidal agents (Formaldehyde used to be the chemical of choice, but more environmentally and health safe chemicals are now used). 3) If you live in a high humidity or hot climate (or both) buy or build a proper storage system for film, with dessicant or a dehumidifier. Dampness is probabaly more damaging than heat due to mould growth, but both are potentially hazardous. These types of storage systems are not that costly to make. Dessicants like silica gel are cheap and reusable, as they can be "recharged" by just heating in a microwave or oven until they let go of their moisture. Using dessicant with an indicator is a good idea, although they often turn to "recharge" color long before they become non-functional. In my experience, with proper environmental controls, (including darkness, and not projecting images in slide projectors for more than a few minutes at a time, and as few times as possible (or using duplicates)), most film stocks remain quite stable. My Kodachrome images of the 1970's are as close to identical to how they were returned from the lab as I can recall. My E-6 films of the same era are slightly faded, but nothing scanning and manipulating can't repair. Most everything from 1980 or so on looks fine (except the Agfa as previously mentioned.) Some of my very early color negatives have faded considerably (1960s and even 1970s), but even most of them can be repaired in scanning. Your film originals are always going to be the best source of information, if they can be kept stable. No consumer scanner can currently capture them fully, and in terms of space and storage, film is still more reliable as a medium than nearly any digital format. Art Rob Geraghty wrote: > "Mário Teixeira" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >>"Arthur Entlich" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >>| Personally, I trust my film to maintain most of its integrity for many >>| years to come, so I'm not panicking to get everything on CD-R. >>Me too, I trust my color slides longevity -- I am scanning slides with >> > near > >>thirty years that are in perfect conditions. >> > > I have slides that are much more recent which have been attacked by mould. > :( That's what I get for living in a subtropical area! > I have colour negs which are completely destroyed by heat and humidity. > > Rob >