Digital BW, The Print

I have developed hundreds of rolls of old film during the last ten years.
These have come from dozens of sources with film dating back to the 1940s.
i also have indexed technical articles about this subject published in
photography trade magazines from 1920 to the present time.

Fog is the primary problem.  A secondary problem is mottling caused in
medium format films by uneven contact with the backing paper and exposure to
high humidity.  A third problem is basically the silver in the emulsion
"tarnishing".  

In 1994, I ran comparative tests of most leading developers with sixty rolls
of 120 b&w EK that were exposed 1958-1962.  A sample roll was cut and each
developed in a different developer.  Best performance was D-76.  Worst
performance was Rodinal.  The image was satisfactory but fog was a big
problem.  Most sources recommended Kodak anti-fog #2 as treatment.  First I
mixed a saturated solution of it, then added the anti-fog to the D-76 in
progressively greater quantities.  It did not take very much anti-fog to
achieve a good balance between fog reduction and image loss. The resulting
negatives print acceptably, and are publication quality.  Some cropping was
necessary because there is more fog on the film edge than in the center.

So, to advise you, start with a clip test of your favorite developer on the
leader of the film.  if you get high fog, then switch to the D-76 modified
developer.  If you have mottling, use a 3 minute pre-soak in a balanced
alkali.

Tom Robinson