8mm Movie medium care and life expectancy?

[Bill Morehouse]

Can anyone provide information on the life expectancy and care of 8mm movies? I have lots of family films that were taken in the 60s up through the 70s. Do these need to be kept in a humidified environment to avoid becoming brittle? How can these be preserved--but still continue to be viewed? THANKS!

[Steve Klare]

They say in some respects that film is a lot like people: that if you store it in conditions where human beings are comfortable, films will generally do pretty well. When things start to get too hot, too cold, too dry, too damp, bugs, mice, dirt, floods: now we're asking for trouble.

I think a lot of the problems old film has these days is when they were superseded as media, the next stop was the garage shelf and even worse: the attic!

Kodachrome is said to have a shelf life of over a century, but it has to be stored properly to get there.

[Osi Osgood]

Well then, Kodachrome should be interesting in the next twenty or so years, as, it first appeared around 1938, (?), And that still looks great after 80 years. Kudo's to agfa/anscochrome as well, as it still looks great after 70 years.

[Joe Caruso]

Experimenting in the last years, have cured VS with baking soda placed strategically within the reels, sheets placed over and under the films proper and other approaches that have yielded good results - Shorty

[Janice Glesser]

[QUOTE]... baking soda placed strategically within the reels

..

Shorty...what does "strategically placed" mean? Can you describe an example please?

[Philip Hamilton]

For my home movies - I just had them all scanned at 2K and part of the service is including some color balancing etc. This way they are digitized and should last until an EMP takes them out. Also, I am storing the original films the best way I know how.

[Joe Taffis]

It’s also a good idea to not keep them in airtight cans or boxes. Film needs to “breathe”

[Joe Caruso]

Janice, placing a dab in the holes of the reel, changing it after 7 days and turning the reel of film over, then repeat. For more incisive work, that's another chapter - Shorty

[Thomas Dafnides]

I recall reading a technical paper by Kodak in the 80's that stated motion picture film, properly stored, has estimated a lifespan of 400 years.

[Shane C. Collins]

Is it true the newer Ektachrome films, using E6 process, should yield good colors in the decades ahead?