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Orwo Chrom UT18 35mm film

Orwo Chrom UT18 36exp - Expired 1988

£9.99
Sale price  £9.99 Regular price 
Only 1 left!

Attention analog collectors, historical archivists, and extreme darkroom experimentalists: This is a rare opportunity to own a piece of iron-curtain photographic history. ORWO Chrom UT18 (Umkehr-Tageslicht / Reversal Daylight) was the definitive color slide film produced in Wolfen, East Germany behind the Berlin Wall. This specific batch expired in 1988—just a year before the wall fell.

The Highlights

  • Cold War Artifact: Produced by VEB Filmfabrik Wolfen in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The distinctive vintage box and cassette are a time capsule of communist-era design.

  • Radical Lo-Fi Potential: When successfully processed, this nearly 40-year-old emulsion delivers an otherworldly, deeply surreal aesthetic. Expect heavy, wild color shifts, intense grain, and a gritty "found-footage" look that is completely unique to old Soviet-bloc films.

  • Pure Experimental Alchemy: This is not your average expired consumer film. It is an artifact meant for seasoned darkroom hobbyists who want to push the absolute boundaries of alternative development.

Quick Specs

  • Format: 35mm / 36 Exposures

  • Type: Color Reversal / Slide Film (Originally ORWO C-9165 Process)

  • Original Speed: ISO 50 / 18 DIN

  • Expiration Date: 1988

  • Best For: Alternative darkroom experiments, Lomography, and historic camera collection displays.

CRITICAL PROCESSING & WARRANTY WARNING (PLEASE READ BEFORE BUYING)

This is an advanced-level experimental stock. Please note our standard expired film guarantee does not apply to this roll.

  • The Original Process is Dead: This film was designed for the proprietary East German ORWO C-9165 chemistry, which has been completely discontinued for decades. It cannot be processed as standard E-6 slide film or by standard high-street labs.

  • Emulsion Melting Risk: Modern color processes (like standard C-41 and E-6) run at high temperatures. Because this vintage East German emulsion was not chemically hardened for modern processing, subjecting it to standard lab temperatures will completely melt the emulsion off the plastic base, ruining the film and potentially damaging lab equipment.

  • Cross-Processing Only: This film can only be developed via home darkroom cross-processing (usually in highly diluted C-41 or dedicated black-and-white stand development) at strict low temperatures (maximum 20C to 25C / 68F to 77F_ for an extended duration.

  • No Guarantee of Results: Due to its extreme age (38 years expired) and highly volatile chemical nature, we sell this roll strictly as-is for experimental use or display. We cannot guarantee any image retrieval, color fidelity, or successful development.

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