8mm Forum: FILM PERFORATING MACHINES?

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Topic: FILM PERFORATING MACHINES?

Chip Gelmini
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1733
From: Brooksville, FL
Registered: Jun 2003

posted December 16, 2008 10:22 AM

I was wondering about these. Can anyone explain how they work, manual or electric; size, shape; if they are available.

Or, if anyone can tell me if I had non-perforated film and I wanted to have it perforated, who could do it...who do I contact?

Yep, I am working on an idea. More details soon.....

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Bart Smith
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 228
From: Hackney, London
Registered: Feb 2007

posted December 16, 2008 12:11 PM

Pro8mm in Burbank perforate film, though I doubt they would tell you much about the process.

Wittner in Germany have just bought a machine.

http://www.wittner-kinotechnik.de/neu/grafiken/2008/tisch-sf.pdf

You can see 35mm stock being turned into Super & Standard 8 if you click on the link and open the PDF.

Unfortunately my German is about as good as my Serbo-Croat, so I can't personally tell you much more.

Looking at the complexity of the machine and the quality of the engineering involved it does not look like the sort of thing one might casually purchase on a whim, unless of course you are prepared to sell your house and live in a cardboard box. In which case you would probably have nowhere to put it anyway.

Maybe a German speaking forum member could provide us with a brief summary of what the article says?

Bart

--------------------
www.bluecinetech.co.uk

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Winbert Hutahaean
Film God

Posts: 5468
From: Nouméa, New Caledonia
Registered: Jun 2003

posted December 16, 2008 08:37 PM

It is always my question every time I see this sort a machine (I mean, a very segmented and customized machine). How many person/companies are actually going to purchase (or have purchased) it.

If only one of a kind...can the manufacturer get his ROI (return on investment)?

cheers,

--------------------
Winbert

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John Whittle
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 791
From: Northridge, CA USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted December 18, 2008 02:07 PM

Bell and Howell made perforators starting back in the 1900s. They were a pedestal device that looked a little like a J or D printer. The unperforated film was loaded on the left and then pulled under a set a dies that cut the perforations and than advanced the film and set it on a dead register pin to cut the next set of holes.

These machines were very stable and rebuilt and used over the years by virtually all the labs in Hollywood. All the the 16mm Technicolor B prints (those with blue tracks) were printed on 35mm film down the middle and then run through the 16mm perforator and then slit.

This machine finally wound up at Magnacraft (the Technicolor Division that did magnetic sound striping) and was used to perforate 16mm full coat which was coated on the center of 35mm stock and then perfed and slit.

At one time in the distant past, ESO-S offered a reperforation service that would change 16mm single to double perf or 16mm single to double 8mm.

These results were often variable since these machines require the constant attention of highly trained mechanics with fully equipped machine shops.

Kodak makes all of their own perforators and I'd guess that Agfa-Gevaert either made their own or had them made by Arnold and Richter.

The Bell & Howell machines were slow and had to be operated in total darkness. You need a set of dies for any type of perforation you wanted to make such as 35mm KS 1870 or 35mm BH 1866 or 35mm DH 1866 etc as well as 16mm 1R3000 or 2R3000 or Super 8 double rank on 16mm as 2R1667.

The last perforator I saw was when a sound striper shut down and went out of business in Pacoima due to the So Calif Air Resources Board restrictions. They had to capture all the air from the plant and chill and remove any solvents that might have escaped during striping and it just because too costs to run all that air handling equipment and maintain records and meet ARB Inspections.

John

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