Holographic grating with good storage life in poly(vinyl alcohol) based photopolymer film, prepared by gravity settling method, with reduced concentration of the dye was found to give good diffraction efficiency without crosslinking. The material was found to show good diffraction efficiency and sensitivity (75% diffraction efficiency at exposure energy of 80 mJ/cm2). The shelf life of the photopolymer solution could be improved by storage at a temperature similar to 4 degrees C in refrigerator. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012