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This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
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Author
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Topic: Why do IB prints smell so bad?
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John Hawkinson
Film God
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Posts: 2273
From: Cambridge, MA, USA
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 11-22-2002 07:42 PM
Recently we ran Apocalypse Now, and this weekend we're running Rear Window. Both were nice relatively recent Technicolor IB prints on polyester stock. And both have smelled rather nasty. I'm not sure how to describe the smell. It's certainly not vinegar, but it is pungent, though it becomes less noticable after the cans have been open to the air for a while, but as you turn over a fresh wrap from a reel, it's still noticable.
So, what's the smell, and what causes it? It implies to me that something isn't stable about the IB process, and that there's still a reaction going on. Clues?
--jhawk
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Stephen Furley
Film God
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Posts: 3059
From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England
Registered: May 2002
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posted 11-24-2002 02:55 AM
John Wrote:
quote: That odor may be camphor, which was one of the plasticizers used during the days of cellulose nitrate prints to make the film more flexible. Smells kind of like "Vicks VapoRub"?
No, it's not camphor, most of the nitrate I have handled does smell of this, especially if you warm it up a bit by projecting it; there is usually a noticable smell of camphor in a projection box where nitrate is being run. This print does indeed smell slightly of camphor, but the other smell is different, and stronger. I have never smelt anything like it on another print, on any type of base.
When you first open the can the smell is quite strong, but almost disappears if the can is left open to the air for an hour or two; it comes back if the can is left closed for a few weeks, but is now much less strong than it was when I acquired the print. I think it may be something that the print has been treated with at some time in its life, and which is gradually being lost by evaporation. Apart from some dirt and scratching in the first minute or so, the prnt looks like new.
I don't keep this material at home, all the nitrate which I have, one feature, two shorts and a few short clips, is stored for me by an archive, in a proper nitrate vault. They also have most of the safety material that I no longer have room to store, they store it for me free of charge, I have access to it when I need it, and, in return, they can use it when they want to, subject of course to negotiations with whoever owns the rights. The film gets preserved, it is accessible to people who may want to see it, and it doesn't cost me anything. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.
In my original post I should, of course, have said 1920s, not 1020s. I know colour film goes back a long time, but not that far!
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John Pytlak
Film God
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Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000
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posted 11-24-2002 08:24 AM
Stephen Furley wrote: "I don't keep this material at home, all the nitrate which I have, one feature, two shorts and a few short clips, is stored for me by an archive, in a proper nitrate vault. They also have most of the safety material that I no longer have room to store, they store it for me free of charge, I have access to it when I need it, and, in return, they can use it when they want to, subject of course to negotiations with whoever owns the rights. The film gets preserved, it is accessible to people who may want to see it, and it doesn't cost me anything. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me."
For those who have historically significant films, especially flammable nitrate, this is the proper way to keep them for posterity. Nitrate should NEVER be stored in an occupied residence or public place like a theatre, and belongs in a recognized film archive that properly stores nitrate films.
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