Boxoffice (Jan-Mar 1945)

No Decision Yet on the Film Damage Situation (Continued from preceding page) jectors with resultant increase in the useful life of motion picture films. “The wasteful effect of worn sprockets, tracks, tension shoes and improper tension, and the various other destructive effects of worn and improperly adjusted equipment has been publicized to theatre own ers and projectionists and an effort has been made to have the proper remedies applied so that those receiving the film after them may benefit just as they expect to benefit from like precautions that may be taken by their predecessors. “There remains another kind of film damage and perhaps the most destructive of all: That of brokeji film edges incurred in ship-ping. These broken film edges not only shorten the life of the film but constitute a very definite and dangerous fire hazard. It is easy to dispose of this damage as a result of careless rewinding either in the inspection room or the projection room and look no further, but the cause goes deeper than that. If the rewinding equipment were constructed with the precision of a lathe, the uprights as solid as if they rested on a lathe bed, perfectly parallel, with spindles true and operating on perfect bearings properly lined up, the reel hubs with a tight bearing fit on the spindles and a uniform motor or cranking speed, then a smoothly wound reel with no film projecting beyond the body of the reel would still be impossible either in the inspection room or projection room when using the general run of exchange reels now in use. “Much money, time and engineering skill has been devoted to developing a reel that would stand the service to which reels are subjected in shipping, but the problem has not been solved in that manner and the best of exchange reels will not stand up very long. “Admitting that most rewinds cannot be kept in line, that spindles will wear, that constant speed cannot always be maintained, that projectionists have a show to watch while rewinding and above all admitting that shipping reels are not always the best and shipping cases get a lot of banging around, there is still a solution to the film edge damage in handling and shipping motion picture films. That solution lies in the provision of a protective reel band. “My Pro-Tex reel band, as illustrated here, is simple and quickly explained and demonstrated. It is a plastic band, 40mm wide, .040-inch thick, and of sufficient length to wrap around a large reel, and with a suitable metal spring clasp so that when placed around a reel of film it gives support to the periphery of the reel just as the hub supports the inner edge. This prevents crushing of the film in handling, packing and in shipping. Also this support protects the reel itself and insures a longer life. “The life of this reel band should equal or exceed that of the film. It may be made in colors and imprinted as desired. In the quantities needed for exchange work, the cost will be very small, particularly in view of the postwar production capacity of the plastic manufacturers. The band also is made for 16mm reels and for the larger sizes of reels. It is even more important for 16mm film protection than for 35mm.” * * * Okay, Tom. We hope you sell plenty of your reel bands to the producers and exchangemen. The idea should click with projectionists and exhibs who find frequent occasion to crab about the inadequacy of paper reel bands. * * * Proj. Lloyd Cullens of the Isis Theatre at Lucas, Kansas, favors the state licensing of projectionists. He puts it this way: “I have been a reader of your section W HETHER for the government or the motion picture industry, the keynote of the success of this company is its ability to pioneer and bring into reality electrical equipment which ever meets new needs. As with the Transverter, the leading motorgenerator in the motion picure field, our engineering staff, given a definite need by the customer, immediately applies its talent in creative engineering to design and supply such electrical products. Your inquiries on the Transverter and kindred equipment will be welcomed. The IransVerteR manufactured exclusively by HERTNER NATIONAL For further details consult mu In Canada. General Theatre Supply Co. THE HERTNER ELECTRIC COMPANY 12690 Elmwood Avenue Cleveland 11. Ohio. U.S.A. 28 The MODERN THEATRE SECTION