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Freezing recans - what can go wrong?


Marc Roessler

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In general it's agreed upon it's not a good idea to freeze stock that already has been opened (i.e. recans).

 

Have any of you ever used freezed re-cans? Any negative effects? What would be the worst effects to expect? Little droplets forming on the neg during warming up because of elevated humidity levels in the can, making the neg sticky? Anything else? Has anyone actually ever encountered such problems or is this rather a "this could happen if several factors come together"? Would you be able to detect such problems when rewinding the neg to 100' reels in the dark?

 

I'm asking because I own two 16mm 200' re-cans which (unfortunately) have been freezed and I don't feel like dumping them just because of that.

 

By the way, wouldn't packing the film with Kodak's molecular sieves (those extract humidity and acid) help some? Pack the film with the sieves, wait a few days, freeze...

 

Greetings,

Marc

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Freezing will do nothing to the film provided the film is wrapped in the black bag it comes with, placed in the can and taped accordingly. When you wish to use the film, allow 24hr to 48hrs for thawing in room temperature. I've never had a problem.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Freezing should not be a problem as long as film is protected from moisture. You should, however, expect to use the film as soon as possible after it is unfrozen.

 

Btw, we sell ends and recans of 16mm film stock. While film on hand is of course less expensive, prices have dropped as filmmakers move to digital.

 

If you are interested in finding out what is available, please contact me.

 

Richard Kaufman

Comtel Pro Media

tel: 818-450-1122

richard@comtelpm.com

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Using Sieves might help but you shouldn't leave them in the can as they will continue to dry the film out. Also if there is a lot of moisture around they will eventually become saturated which would defeat the object of using them.

The FICA system for storing film archivally takes 2 weeks to acclimatise the film at the ideal humidity before sealing into bags and freezing them. Obviously more difficult with film that has to be kept in the dark.

The most important thing is to allow the film plenty of time to warm up after freezing - at least a day before opening the sealed can.

 

Brian

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