Preserve your Family Films
Forever
 The
first step in preservation is to accumulate all of your movie film.
Check with any other family members who may have film that they would
like to include with your collection.
Now you should re-label
everything and add new information you may have. Add dates, locations,
events, names anything that comes to mind relating to that particular
reel of film. The reason for this is the original information will become
harder to read and existing labels have a tendency to fall off, not
to mention failing memories forgetting specific dates or other pieces
of valuable information.
This is also a good time
to do an inspection of your collection before you attempt to do any
8mm film transfers to any other medium. Take the time to determine if
there are any obvious signs of deterioration. The sooner you catch it
the better, however some problems get to the point that they can’t be
fixed.
The first thing that you
should do is to smell your film. If it has a strong odor of vinegar,
it is an indication that the film is in an advanced stage of deterioration.
If this is the case, you should immediately separate your reels. This
“vinegar syndrome” can spread and contaminate other reels of film that
is stored together with good or healthy films. So be sure to keep them
separated.
The vinegar smell is also
an indication that acid is present. The acid attacks the film base and
accelerates image color fading. This acid reaction destroys films and
is irreversible. The biggest cause of this is temperature fluctuations
along with high humidity. This also promotes mold and mildew, which
actually grow on the emulsion of the film.
Here is what Kodak has to
say about this problem. “The mere presence of this odor does not mean
that the film in question has significantly deteriorated; but, it does
mean that a breakdown reaction is taking place. Excessive moisture and
acetic acid are the prime catalysts for the reaction.
Once started, the reaction
produces more acid, becoming "autocatalytic". Once the reaction
begins, it can't be stopped. In fact, it speeds itself up, growing faster
and faster. Moreover, the acid produced can also react with dyes in
color films, causing deterioration and damage to the image as well as
the base.”
There is good news on this
front however. Research personnel from Kodak recently announced “Molecular
Sieve” technology, which appears to be an effective deterrent to the
effects of vinegar syndrome and improves dye stability significantly.
These are similar to the little silica packages that you find in various
packages when shipped from their destination. They are placed in the
packages to absorb moisture. In addition, they are specially designed
to absorb the unique chemicals that help facilitate the deterioration
of film.
Again according to Kodak
“combined with current recommended practices, Molecular Sieves extend
the life of the film far beyond what is now considered normal.” Also
tested were certain physical properties of the film samples to see what
effect molecular sieve would have on film brittleness, viscosity, tensile
strength, pitch shrinkage, etc.
In general, all these physical
properties were better in the samples stored with molecular sieves.
In my business of transferring 8mm film to DVD, I include these molecular
sieves with all returned film to my customers to insure their film will
last as long as possible.
Living and working in the
high dessert of Southern Utah, I have never seen a case of “vinegar
syndrome” in any film transfers I have done for the local residents.
I do however receive requests for film transfers from throughout the
USA for conversion to DVD and found that it can run the gamut from a
strong smell with minimum negative effects, to a melting glob of plastic
that beyond anyone’s ability to restore it.
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