It wasn't what I meant!

My theater will never buy a film cleaner because have already an "human cleaner".
I *personally* bought film-guard because I was very curious to see how does it works.
I will not buy also a cleaner!

I get high on fumes. Dont even have to take the top off the bottle.

You can find BABY QUIET on the shelf next to KITTY QUIET at any good hardware store. One squirt and my cats just get happy and go away.

I'd guess that a Film-Guard hangover would be one of the worst experiences of my life. All that lubrication. Yecch!

Just imagine, waking in the morning after a hard night of guzzlin'. You'll be looking into the lens while a Tech feature is running and asking everyone in the theater where the color went?

Or, you could just become obnoxious and throw FG bombs on the patrons.

I think that you are missing what I mean.

I paid the filmguard's bottle with my money. I'm just the projectionist of my theater, not a manager.
My management will never buy a film cleaner for my theater for many reasons.

I was just curious to see how filmguard works and I bought a bottle. I pay a lot of money because there were a lot of shipping costs.
Now, I'm trying FG on few Dolby trailers, to see how does it works.
I really don't know if I'll try it on an entire film, to have the bottle empty in few time.
I care the composition but I cannot pay for it!!

Ignore anyone who speaks to you about how great FILM GUARD is, and that you should be using it.

If it is as good as they say, they should be sending you sample bottle, after and after.

I work for a very big company in Australia, we have heard of Film Guard, but they are doing us no favours in trying to promote it.
(We are yet to find a way to get a sample)

Perhaps the US market it all they require??

The normal course of running your projection room no problems should accure:

-Brain wrap arounds caused by static (just raise humitity -Open the bio door for 5 mins)

-Prints that look they have been dragged across the floor (simply, vacuum or mop the floor EVERY night - this IS important)

-PTR Rinse in detergent as much as possible run, by-pass if not dry in time.
(If you don't have a by-pass roller 0 make one)

- THINK where and how our prints getting all this crap on them, when they looked rather good at first run.

ANSWER -
AIR-CON filters to bio are always full
of junk - clean them or any air source to bio

MOP/VACUUM floor every night
It would be nice to cover the prints/plate, and get the cleaner to vacuum/Mop the projection room
but as far as I know, it is illegeal to allow cleaners into the projection room.

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Before bashing any product or your efforts to get a sample, how about contacting the manufacturer directly? Guess that never crossed your mind???

Huh?
I use it religiously. The methods you speak of are nice but they don't clean the film or lubricate the gate. If you've never tried this stuff how can you pass judgement like you have?

Yes, I've noted that too much filmguard is not good. However, since I never saw a well filmguarded print, I cannot understand how much filmguatd should stay on the print!!
I will do my best.

Bill,
Your "recommendations" are good. However I really don't think that keep clean the booth is enought. Not all projectors are perfectly aligned, not all prints are perfect-printed.
I agree with you: clean floor and AC filters is important but I really don't think that is enough.
About a sample of Film-Guard... I think that a bottle is cheap enough to doesn't require samples.

You think your prints look good now? So did I.

Throw out the PTR's. The prints will be cleaner without them.

Mark said: "PTR rollers are a joke for theatres. They were designed mainly to keep negative clean on printers in labs."

As one who helped develop PTR (Particle Transfer Roller) film cleaning technology, I take exception to those statements!

PTRs are a very efficient, cost-effective, and low risk film cleaning technology. Unlike other cleaning methods, PTRs do not use solvents or risk "rubbing" contact with the film. They are widely used by labs and film-to-video transfer facilities to clean irreplacable negatives. PTRs are the preferred way of cleaning prints on almost all IMAX projectors.

Yes, with a particularly dirty print, the PTRs can become overloaded with dirt particles, and "transfer" them back to the film (after several cleanings, the dirt level decreases dramatically). No, PTRs cannot clean oily deposits or fingerprints off the film. Yes, you do usually need to wash and dry them before using them for another show (but one set of rollers can clean at least a thousand showings).

PTR film cleaning technology is useful for any film where the application of foreign materials on the film could be detrimental to the use or long-term stability (e.g., negatives, IMAX prints). For general release prints, it is certainly ONE of the good options available.
http://www.fpcfilm.com/US/en/motion/FPC/fpc/ptr_main.html
http://www.fpcfilm.com/US/en/motion/FPC/fpc/ptr_prod.html
http://www.sanlabsystems.com/ptrclean.html
http://www.ebu.ch/tech_t3289.pdf

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

IMAX, well the field flattener design prohibits any kind of solvent from being used and I don't know where exactly a dry media cleaner would be mounted, so I wouldn't use the word "preferred".

Regular theaters dealing with non-clean room environments, PTRs don't do that good of a job. Even brand new prints coming in from the depots are generally quite dirty from the old shipping cans and the dusty clip-together reels. PTRs only seem to be effective in controlled film handling rooms, of which I have never seen a suitabe projection booth meet.

Anyone who has had a chance to perform one of the following tests, feel free to list it below:

Test #1 PTR cleaning vs. dry media cleaner

Test #2 PTR cleaning vs. media cleaner with FilmGuard

I have performed both and the first test clearly beat out a set of brand new PTRs over a one week period. The second test is hands down over PTRs. There really is no risk of abrasion from the rubbing action on a media cleaner when used "wet". Only running the media pads "dry" can cause scratching.