Film processing after exposure How fast should film be processed

[Guest]

Film manufacturers always say that there is a need to process film as soon as possible.

Question: how auickly after exposure will film begin to decline in quality (Of course if kept away from light and in cool, dry conditions)?

Does this differ between slide and negative film? How about pro films and negatives? Black & White?

I've always heard this but have never seen any real technical assessment of this topic with real facts backing it up

Thanks for your help

Mark

 

[Guest]

I just received an answer to my own question from Fuji to whom I wrote, telling them that I was interested to know both for negative and slide film, being a user of Neopan, Velvia and Provia notably.

Fuji replied as follows:

"Approximately 3 months after film has been exposed, it will begin to change in composition causing a decline in the quality of the film and images. Of course, this is assuming that the expiration date is not passed during this time, in which case these changes will occur sooner. The degree of this deterioration varies depending upon a number of factors, including the freshness of the film before exposure and the storage conditions. This applies to all types of color and black and white film, slide and print. Unfortunately, we do not have any published literature regarding this situation, nor do we have a resource to which we can refer you."