Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Something must be done about these $^%&*&@#! reels!

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Topic: Something must be done about these $^%&*&@#! reels!

John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 03-13-2003 08:18 AM

Leo wrote:

quote:
One of the few positive things I'd say about polyester release prints...

As an archivist, you certainly should appreciate how archivally stable Kodak ESTAR base is as well. Over 40 years of experience shows that it does not suffer the hydrolysis degradation that nitrate and acetate film base could have if improperly stored. It is also very stable dimensionally, and shows little aging shrinkage. Kodak has developed technology that addresses the earlier static and abrasion issues on prints. ESTAR prints are very strong and durable --- so strong that you definitely should be using a tension-sensing failsafe.

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Stephen Furley
Film God

Posts: 3059
From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England
Registered: May 2002

posted 03-13-2003 08:59 AM

Any suggestions for what do do with short lengths of film, nitrate and various forms of safety, which have been wound wery tightly without any form of core, with a centre hole of maybe 6 to 8 mm. The film is in good condition, and can be unwound without cracking etc., but has this very tight wind set into it. I want to get it into a condition where it would run through a printer. The film is all wound emulsion in, I did think of trying to wind it emulsion out onto some sort of cylinder of large daimeter, and leaving it that way for a few months, but the set on the film is so tight that I think that winding it the other way might damage it.

Anything done to this film has to come out of my pocket, so I can't use some very expensive lab service.

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 03-13-2003 09:07 AM

If you have severe core-set, the best way to relieve it is to wind the film on a large diameter core or reel hub. At normal room conditions (24C, 50% RH), the film should "relax" after a few weeks. I agree that winding severely core-set film with the opposite orientation would risk some damage if the film is brittle.

A "rewash" process could also be used to clean the film and relax any core-set:

http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/support/processing/operating7.shtml#rewashing

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Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 03-13-2003 09:16 AM

quote:
As an archivist, you certainly should appreciate how archivally stable Kodak ESTAR base is as well.

I do - my comments were specifically apropos release prints for projection in cinemas for which, IMHO, the drawbacks outweigh the advantages. All the indications so far is that polyester is by far the best film base ever invented for the application of long-term preservation.

The cruelly ironic thing about polyester is that the one sort of element that really should be taking advantage of poly's long term stability - original camera negatives - is the one sort of element which is still produced exclusively on acetate.

With very severely shrunk elements our procedure is to gradually increase the core diameter over one-month gaps, starting with a 2" core (if the element was originally on something smaller), then moving up to 3" and finally 4". I find that diacetate and propionate are generally the worst for brittleness, and need the most careful handling.

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