8mm Forum: How long till they wear out?

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Posted by Tony Milman (Member # 7) on October 07, 2003, 05:40 PM:

So ladies and gents help me with this one.....

How many times can you run a film before it really shows significant signs of wear? Ok Ok I know "how long is a piece of string" but if we assume a clean well maintained projector and lubed film as standard.......

Does it make any difference if say the film is an acetate or a polyester based one?

Any views? What is the record for showing a print?

Tony [Smile]

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on October 07, 2003, 07:15 PM:

I have a clever solution to this dilemna:

Own so many films that you go a long time between repeats!!

(It works!)

Posted by John Whittle (Member # 22) on October 07, 2003, 08:33 PM:

Well there will be slight differences between prints, but to do an accurate forcast for your equipment you can do a simple test (yes kids, it's ok to do this at home).

Take a piece of film of about ten feet or so, splice it into a loop and thread it up on your projector. Start the projector and start counting. You'll probably have to go through fifty to 100 rounds before you start seeing problems if the projector is clean and the tensions are all good.

In short, we used to set up endless loop super 8 and regular 8mm projectors in stores and run them for weeks without problems. They do get scratched if you pick up dirt and a little oxide will wear off the stripe, but you'd really be amazed how long they'll last.

35mm prints in theatres are fed off of platters and run hundreds of times or even thousands of times. I remember it was a big news event in Seattle when the back up print of "This Is Cinerama" arrived and the show had been running for six months at that point (once a night weeknights and three times on weekends).

So how long is your piece of string?

Posted by Tim Christian (Member # 48) on October 08, 2003, 02:00 AM:

Those are very intresting figures. I saw somewhere that Kodak expected K40 prints to have a life of 200 plays. No doubt clean, smooth projector film paths might push this figure.

I asked a guy I know who runs a video rental shop how many times a video tape can be played. Allowing for the fact that most renters will play a film twice, he did not expect a life in excess of 200 plays.

Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on October 08, 2003, 01:17 PM:

The oldest film that is still in my collection (since 1976)is a Blackhawk print - Little Rascals "Moan & Groan". I've probably run it about 60 to 70 times and it still looks great! The magnetic sound track is good as new. There are a few lines in it though (I didnt know or care anything about cleaning films or film gates until the late 80's- Soooo Immature!). But, again, the film plays very well and still very enjoyable. With proper care and storage, most films will probably out-last the collector. Nick.

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