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Author Topic: Technicolor to stop using reel bands Bill Gabel Film God Posts: 3873 From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA Registered: Jan 2002 posted 04-08-2004 12:08 PM                     Just got this fax from Technicolor. Attention: Theatre Managers and Projectionists Technicolor will no longer be using reel bands to secure prints, and will instead use a specialized tape which has become the industry standard. This change will be effective in mid-June.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-08-2004 12:14 PM                        This is probably thanks to all the idiots who couldn't be bothered to reattach the reel bands properly when shipping out prints.  |  IP: Logged Erica Peterson Film Handler Posts: 26 From: Toronto, ON, Canada Registered: Jul 2003 posted 04-08-2004 12:16 PM                        Has anybody seen the new "industry standard" tape? Does it cover and protect the same surface area as a reel band?  |  IP: Logged Jeremy Fuentes Mmmm, Dr. Pepper! Posts: 1168 From: Corpus Christi, TX United States Registered: Jan 2004 posted 04-08-2004 12:22 PM                     Would the new tape be able to be used to tape the other end of the head or tail without leaving residue from regular tape, or having to put a one-sided splice that has to be peeled off later.  |  IP: Logged Erica Peterson Film Handler Posts: 26 From: Toronto, ON, Canada Registered: Jul 2003 posted 04-08-2004 12:25 PM                        I just talked to Technicolor Customer Service. They said this is a "cost-effective thing" and that it will just be a little piece of white tape, similar to what is often used now to tape the end of the film to the reel band. It will begin when their current inventory of reel bands is depleted, which they estimate as mid-June.  |  IP: Logged Chris Hipp Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1462 From: Mesquite, Tx (east of Dallas) Registered: Jul 2003 posted 04-08-2004 01:03 PM                     Well it is about time. I have never had damge on an ETS print because it didn't have a paper band around it. I dont see how they really help with anything, especially considering that half of the time the bands come loose in the cans. If you ask me the paper bands are one of those "we care enough to make it look like we care when we really dont" kind of things. It would be much more effective to just not have the cardboard liners in the cans, they are the cause of most of the dirt inside the can anyway.  |  IP: Logged Mitchell Dvoskin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1869 From: West Milford, NJ, USA Registered: Jan 2001 posted 04-08-2004 01:11 PM                     The original "old" style reel bands that were in use up until the 1980's were great, made out of a thick paper material and strong rivets for the string. They were ideal for reuse without leaving any sticky tape residue on the film. The new reel bands that are in use today are junk, we are better off without them. /Mitchell  |  IP: Logged Darryl Spicer Film God Posts: 3250 From: Lexington, KY, USA Registered: Dec 2000 posted 04-08-2004 01:26 PM                    I liked the reel bands years ago when they were made with better quality. Strings were better and the fasteners didn't fall off when you tried to re-attach them. They also wrote the information in the places it was supposed to go. Now they just put the bands on there and slap a sticker on it that is usually placed over the end of the bands were the string attaches and laps over the side touching the edges of the film leaving sticky goo on the edges. In my opinion if you can't use the bands the way they were supposed to be used then good ridence to them all.  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-08-2004 01:29 PM                     Are paper reel bands acid free? I can imagine that deteriorating paper would off-gas and cause the film to deteriorate faster. Or, are they supposed to be taken off when the film is in storage? I guess it would be a "Hobson's Choice", no?  |  IP: Logged Jeremy Fuentes Mmmm, Dr. Pepper! Posts: 1168 From: Corpus Christi, TX United States Registered: Jan 2004 posted 04-08-2004 01:30 PM                     I recently found an old damaged reel of Ice Pirates in our storage room. It had an older reel band around it, and it was still in pretty good condition.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-08-2004 01:32 PM                        Chris and Mitchell, obviously you guys have yet to see the latest type of TES reel bands. They are actually better than the old style cardboard bands (they're made from a better quality of paper) and the string is nice and thick just like the old style. Since they started using these newer bands, the problem of film falling off the reels in shipments has disappeared, at least for us. Going back to a "little piece of tape" is a recipe for disaster. The piece of tape will be good for ONE use and after that the film will be cascading all over the place, just like it used to, because people will be too lazy/cheap/stupid to put a new, LONG piece of tape on. This is bad news. Just when I thought TES was actually listening to the film community, they have proved me wrong.  |  IP: Logged Thomas Procyk Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1842 From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 04-08-2004 01:40 PM                     Good. It will save us from taking the trash out of the booth more often. Honestly, I didn't see the point of them anyway. Most of the time, the leader was taped to the reel band anyway leaving the catastrophic "sticky residue" that the customers will see when you project the leader. Or better yet, the bands carefully and meticulously protected the oil-soaked, masking taped and emulsion scratched print, (Integrity Inspected, of course) when it was shipped to sub-run theaters. I began to think they put new reel bands on to actually make you think, "Hey! We got a decent print for once." Now if we can get DTS to quit sending discs in shattered DVD cases and go back to the strong half-reels, we'll be set. =TMP=  |  IP: Logged John T. Hendrickson, Jr Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 889 From: Freehold, NJ, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 04-08-2004 07:27 PM                     This news doesn't bother me in the least. Just today I received one of those precious orange cans with the string hanging out. Sure enough, upon opening it up I discovered those strings had been torn off the bands. On another print, one of the bands was placed on backwards (print side down) and fastened with tape. That's not the first time it's happened, either. Obviously, some of the folks who ship these prints don't give a as long as they get the job done fast. I've also had instances where the string is run through the core. What's the sence in having reel bands if they come damaged on brand new prints?  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 04-08-2004 07:47 PM                        I've always hated the TES reel bands. This is a good thing.  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 04-08-2004 10:33 PM                       Remember when UA did this years ago? The "tape" was a sheet of labels that didn't stick well anyway, so I refused to waste my time with them. Everyone just stuck the reels back in the can with nothing on them. I agree, the Technicolor bands were too thin, they were made of the wrong material, and the strings were just useless thread -- what were they thinking?!  |  IP: Logged

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