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» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Operations   » Film Handlers' Forum   » How much tape to use to secure the end of a print? (Page 2)

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Author Topic: How much tape to use to secure the end of a print? Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-12-2004 06:23 PM                        To find out what happens to cans of film being shipped across the country: 1. Fill up two reels full of old trailers - use 1" of old tape to tape down the ends. (Be sure to use reels that are falling apart for best realism.) 2. Put the two reels in a 3-reel TES can (to simulate the trailers that have been removed by the first-run theatre) 3. Close the can 4. To simulate handling by DHL/Airborne, toss the can down a long flight of concrete stairs 5. Repeat step 4 6. Repeat step 4 again 7. Open can (use pliers, wrench, screwdriver or blowtorch if necessary). Check results.  |  IP: Logged Christopher Seo Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 530 From: Los Angeles, CA Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-12-2004 07:10 PM                     I can definitely attest to the fact that tiny 1-inch bits of tape will come loose and allow rolls of film to form spaghetti. Good tape tends to have weaker adhesion than garden-variety stuff, so more must be used. Also, the tape can (and certainly will) be reused a few times, so again more is better. I use about 5-inch-long pieces of 3M Scotch 2090, which is a medium-adhesion tape. It's nice, except for the blue color. Available at places like Home Depot and paint stores. Pull-tabs not only make it easier to remove the tape, they make it easier to remove the tape cleanly. I put tabs on both ends because I'm a nice guy.  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 04-12-2004 07:33 PM                        I usually do about 8 or 9 inches (never measured.... honest!) of white permacel tape (the best!) with a courtesy tab (or "pull tab"). I like it when others start using the pull tabs as well, but what really chaps my ass is when they put it on the wrong side. It should be on the side where the leader is closest to its end, not the other. If you put it on the other side and pull, the leader still remains attached to the tape. I hate that! With the tab on the other side, the tape comes off completely. That may be what Brad was trying to say, but I said it better. Hmmmm...(looks at my own explanation)... maybe pictures are needed.  |  IP: Logged Chris Hipp Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1462 From: Mesquite, Tx (east of Dallas) Registered: Jul 2003 posted 04-12-2004 07:56 PM                     You should put the tab on in the oppisite direction of the tail. you should pull the tape forward over the tail. That way it just comes off. I guess it is kinda hard to explain  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 04-12-2004 09:34 PM                        But what if my reel is heads out?  |  IP: Logged Phil Hill I love my cootie bug Posts: 7595 From: Hollywood, CA USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 04-12-2004 11:46 PM                  Joe, sometimes your are sooo damn dense! You NEED to rewind the film 1st before you can remove the tape... >>> Phil  |  IP: Logged Mark J. Marshall Film God Posts: 3188 From: New Castle, DE, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 04-13-2004 12:15 AM                    quote: This is why rolls of film that are not perfectly tightwound from shitty platters (Strong, etc) end up getting edge-damaged and cinch scratched in transit back to the depot. All of my Strong Alpha platters produce a perfect tight wind.  |  IP: Logged Carl Martin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1424 From: Oakland, CA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 04-13-2004 05:21 AM                        i'd say i use about 4". i put the "friendly tab" on the wrong side apparently... just to chap joe's ass. well actually, i figure there are instances when you want to check something on the leader, or see if heads are out or whatever, and then re-secure the end. not for shipping, but just until you're ready to deal with the reel. and frankly, it's not a big deal to completely remove the tape after that. but what i want to know is, what width tape do y'all use? i use 3/4", which is great for labeling things with lots of information. it seems like most people use narrower tape, though. carl correction: i use 15/16" tape. rulers are neat. [ 04-19-2004, 12:40 AM: Message edited by: Carl Martin ]  |  IP: Logged Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 04-13-2004 03:31 PM                        In the Cantor booth at the Brooklyn Museum, there is a policy sheet posted on the wall and in the SOP book that explains that because we get lots of foreign prints that come in every manner of packaging, the majority of which rarely have the kind of protection we are used to here in the US, it behoves us to add as much protection as we can when sending out prints. The policy goes on to state to use rolled hand towel paper to make a collar around film rolls that are sloushing around in the 2000ft metal cans so as not to have them hitting the metal sides (usually badly bent) and to apply hold-down (artists) tape a full 4 inches on either side of the film end, IOW, 8 full inches across the film end. I follow this to the T. Uh..oh...I forgot....I wrote the policy.  |  IP: Logged Matt Zeiner Expert Film Handler Posts: 146 From: Windsor, CT USA Registered: Sep 2003 posted 04-13-2004 05:44 PM                     I got a print of "Pirates" last summer that was held down with 8" of real cheap clear splicing tape. Double layered. Reel 5 (I think) was a shorty - impossible to get off without scratching the film . Oh yeah - the heads and tails were loose in the bottm of the can. It's that kind of total lack of common sence that necessitates this kind of conversation.  |  IP: Logged Bill Enos Film God Posts: 2081 From: Richmond, Virginia, USA Registered: Apr 2000 posted 04-13-2004 06:08 PM                     My print of "Monster" must have come from the same theatre as Matts copy of Pirates. It also had about a foot of splicing tape. Heads and tails were on though. I get a lot of prints that were not secured at all. I send 'em all out with 5.2347 inches of tape with a pull tab for the convenience of the next user.  |  IP: Logged David M. Dorn Film Handler Posts: 35 From: Hartford, CT USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 04-13-2004 06:51 PM                     Why not put a pull tab on each end....the the next person would have a choice! Couln't take more than 30 secs. more.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 04-13-2004 07:09 PM                     I'd rather get a print with a pull tab on each end than no pull tab at all, but you asked why. The reason is because if I have a print with two pull tabs, then I have to look closely at which one to pull. Yeah it's super anal and nitpicky, but it's no worse than getting a print with a reel band on backwards of the rotation of the reel. You know what I'm talking about. You pull the reel from the can, see which way the reel band is placed on the reel and mount it to the shaft accordingly. Then after removing the band you see the dunce who mounted that band put it on backwards, so you have to flip the reel around. Nitpicky of me, sure. Super annoying on a busy night, absolutely.  |  IP: Logged Pete Wolla Film Handler Posts: 71 From: Tioga, ND, USA Registered: Jan 2003 posted 04-13-2004 09:44 PM                     i use at least 6 inches of tape but i put the tab so the tape stays on the head . i like to use the tape to hold the head as i roll it up to put in the reel.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-13-2004 09:50 PM                     Working as a tech I don't make up up or tear dowe very much film but if I did and taking into consideration to all the grief I read on this site about Technicolor I think I'd use a whole roll of duct tape per reel!!! Mark  |  IP: Logged

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