John, if 2600 feet of film will overfill a shipping reel to 15.1 inches in diameter, then perhaps I was testing with Fuji film or something. I know I wound just shy of 2800 feet onto a generic clip together reel with a 4 inch core as a test one day. Any idea what Fuji's specs are for thickness? How about the no-name film stocks commonly used for rolling stock ads?

(EDIT: I remember what I was rolling now, it was recycled film that had the emulsion stripped from it for interlocking.)

Here's my original posting:

35mm triacetate print film had a nominal base thickness of 0.0056 inches (142 microns). Kodak VISION Color Print Film (ESTAR) base has a nominal thickness of 0.0047 inches (119 microns). Print film emulsion thickness is about 0.0006 inches (15 microns).
The roll diameter can be calculated from the following equation:

D = Squareroot [ ( (48 x L x t) / Pi) + (C x C) ]

Where:
D is roll diameter in inches
L is length of film roll in feet
t is film thickness in inches (about 0.0053 for Kodak VISION Color Print film)
C is core/hub diameter in inches
Pi is 3.14159...

So for a shipping reel with a 4-inch core, and a film thickness of 0.0053 inches, 2000 feet of film will have the following diameter:

D = Squareroot [ ( (48 x 2000 x 0.0053) / Pi) + (4 x 4) ]

= 13.3 inches

2600 feet of film will (over)fill the same shipping reel to 15.1 inches diameter.

As Brad notes, it should just be possible to fit a two hour movie (10,800 feet plus leaders) on five shipping reels, although six reels would be more typical.
------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

 |  IP: Logged

FPC even has an on-line store:
http://www.fpcfilm.com/US/en/motion/FPC/support/ordering.html
------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

They have a name, and it usually begins with "A".

On the other hand, 35mm Kodak VISION Color Print Film now has complete magenta-colored edgeprint identification, including Kodak's name, and the complete identification of year, film type, emulsion batch, roll number, strip number and other tracking information.

For example: 2383 743 074 0 27 20 K.ODAK 2002
http://www.kodak.com/country/US/en/motion/support/h1/sizesP.shtml

BTW, magenta dye is used to print the edgeprint ID to avoid interfering with the red-sensitive digital sound readers, which "see" only the cyan dye.

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

 |  IP: Logged

 |  IP: Logged

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

Polyester prints were widely used for special venue (e.g., 70mm IMAX, theme parks) and small format films (e.g., film prints shown on airplanes), but Kodak discouraged widescale use for 35mm theatres because of the need for proper tension-sensing failsafes and issues with static and abrasion.

The NATO Technical Advisory Committee requested a conversion to polyester in the early 1990's, as well as distributors who wanted a thinner film to fit longer movies on "tower" and mini-platter systems and reduce shipping costs and perforation damage. Other film manufacturers encouraged the conversion, despite the known concerns expressed by Kodak in several public presentations. While increasing the production of older ESTAR base print films (SO-337, SO-396, 2386) to meet customer demand, Kodak began working on the VISION Color Print technology to address the concerns of projector abrasion and static. A new base-making plant was built at a cost of over $200 million dollars. The VISION Color Print films were introduced about three years ago, and improvements are being made on a continuing basis. Print film on triacetate base is no longer manufactured, and the triacetate facilities and equipment have been reassigned to other product lines.
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/newsletters/reel/september98/visionFilms.shtml

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

 |  IP: Logged

 |  IP: Logged

As a start, there is much information on the Kodak website:
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/support/h1/
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/support/

You can also read the many technical papers Kodak has published, mostly in the SMPTE Journal. In particular, Dr. Frederick Kolb of Kodak has published numerous papers on the physical properties of film and how they relate to projection.

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

No Kodak lawyers are involved in what I say. It is simply unfair to comment or provide data on other manufacturers products based on limited sampling.