First and foremost, (even though it is claimed that they play for 3 1/2 hours) they ran out aproximately 2 hours and 45 minutes into our print of "Sunshine," a 9 reel movie with a running time of 3 hours even. Only 3 previews are on the beginning, along with some other odds and ends that add up to 9 minutes of pre-feature. Thats 3 hours and 9 minutes total, well under the three-and-a-half hour "minimum" play time.
Secondly, the standard keyed rewind core design makes it very difficult to rewind the media. You simply cannot insert the rewinding key into it without damaging half a roll's worth of media. I do not encounter this problem with Kelmar media, be it white or green, and I'm sure that it occurs because the media is so soft that it collapses in to the cut out area. The core should be redesigned to allow the key to contact only plastic - imagine a core with a second layer of plastic around the outside of it, but retaining the cut out portions in the inner "ring" of the core. Something like this would make it tremedously easier to rewind the media, and also eliminate any damage that occurs when inserting the key.
Thirdly, 12 out of the 16 rolls in the box had winding defects. For the most part present towards the end of the roll, I encoutered creases and ripples that I have never encountered with Kelmar media.
Finally, at $24 a box, they do not even come close to being as cost effective as Kelmar's top-of-the-line green media. Both the Film-Tech and Kelmar media contain 16 rolls per box and even though the Kelmar is $29 a box, one roll contains more than enough media to divide two or even (if you do not have any 2 1/2 hour+ movies) three ways. Thats more than twice as much media for only $5 more.
It is said that the Film-Tech media is ideal for use with FilmGuard and I do not doubt that it is. I do like how soft it is and also how it is slighty wider than the core (and the Kelmar media) putting a touch more tension on the media between the supply and the takeup. But, until I am convinced that these other issues have been resolved, in particular the length issue, I will not buy another box.
The core design was a situation we faced a year and a half ago where we had to come up with something that would adapt to Christie and Kelmar cleaners already on the market. It would have been foolish to make a product that was not fully backwards-compatible.
The media was specifically designed to be extremely soft and to a certain absorbency level to make using FilmGuard easier and most cost efficient. You probably didn't notice the core coupling problem you spoke of with Kelmar pads, as they are extremely stiff and thick. They also tend to soak up an incredible amount of FilmGuard that is completely unnecessary and much FilmGuard is wasted. Oversoaking a print is also a definite possibility when using those pads. Of course, Kelmar never designed their pads with FilmGuard in mind, so it is most certainly not a defect in their design. As for a solution to the core design, your suggestion is a good one I wish someone had come up with before we had the master injection mold created. However, we have recently come up with a fantastic solution, which will be unveiled as soon as it is fully tested and ready for production.
Please email me so I might get a better idea of your particular system. (Platter mount or projector mount...also what vintage cleaner you have.) I would also be interested in knowing the dealer you bought it from, so I can track their case orders to one of those initial cases to verify there is not a continuing problem I am unaware of. I am always open to suggestions for improving a product and your input could prove very helpful. Regardless, we DO back our products 100% and I will arrive at a suitable solution with you once I get your email.