Lipsner-Smith Excell 1100 Alternative

[Joe Wendling]

The company I work for handles on average 700,000 feet of 16mm film a year.  We clean the film using the Lipsner-Smith Excel 1100 and scan using the Lasergraphics ScanStation.  Our Lipsner keeps breaking down on us and we are looking for an alternative machine.  We have looked at the Kodak P-200 but Kodak’s cleaning solution required for the machine is not cheap. Great thing about the Lipnser is that it is relatively cheap to operate and is very eco-friendly.

Is there anything on the market that is a good alternative to the Lipsner-Smith?  Is there a good service tech located on the East Coast (New England) that works on these machines?  

[Joe Wendling]

We went with Cinetech BSF Hydra.  

 

 

[Dan Baxter]

Nice. A big selling point for those is the fact they're tri-format as most cleaners can't do 8mm, so they're suitable for labs that are focused on small format as well as 35mm.

[Robert Houllahan]

That seems like a nice machine and kind of similar to but updated XL1100 buffer style cleaner.

I have had two XL1100 Lipsners and they have been reliable aside from some of the questionable engineering in a few areas, things which can be remedied with some work.

Most places run an Ultrasonic cleaner for all negative scans and there is a new HFE replacement which is less costly.

[Dan Baxter]

It's similar to the San Labs Prista:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/234334902645

Except much more compact and supports 8mm. I think those Pristas can be had for about $2,000 - they're also designed for the same chemical (Isopar-G) but they're not in working condition so you need someone who can repair them and get them running, if you need the contact details just send me a DM and I'll get them for you. The Hydras are very expensive as you might imagine.

[Robert Houllahan]

The Hydra looks really nice but I could build that in conjunction with my friends with CnC machine shops etc for what I imagine would be allot less than their asking price.

The Lipsner XL1100 can pretty easily be made to run 8mm and lots of labs do that, the XL1100 has some "prototype" like engineering but again with some mods and an updated PLC it can be made to basically operate like the Hydra and even could be modded to have a variable gap etc. Got me thinking about mine and mods now...

The newer Lipsner 8200 HFE ultrasonics have a PLC and arguably do a better cleaning job than any buffer only type cleaner and they can be run with the newer solvents.

We had an early San Labs cleaner and it was pretty bad, the newer Prista cleaner is better but also not great but a good basic and inexpensive to buy platform to build off of IMO.

[Daniel D. Teoli Jr.]

Is the Kodak P-200 machine still being produced?

 

 

Do these P-200 rollers hold up? Looks like they would deteriorate.

The cleaner? B&H has it for $800 a can...special order.

 

 

The machine itself looks pretty nice.

 

 

 

 

[Daniel D. Teoli Jr.]

On 3/7/2024 at 12:47 PM, Robert Houllahan said:

The Hydra looks really nice but I could build that in conjunction with my friends with CnC machine shops etc for what I imagine would be allot less than their asking price.

The Lipsner XL1100 can pretty easily be made to run 8mm and lots of labs do that, the XL1100 has some "prototype" like engineering but again with some mods and an updated PLC it can be made to basically operate like the Hydra and even could be modded to have a variable gap etc. Got me thinking about mine and mods now...

The newer Lipsner 8200 HFE ultrasonics have a PLC and arguably do a better cleaning job than any buffer only type cleaner and they can be run with the newer solvents.

We had an early San Labs cleaner and it was pretty bad, the newer Prista cleaner is better but also not great but a good basic and inexpensive to buy platform to build off of IMO.

 

Wow, you've gone through a lot of gear over time, Robert. That is what is nice about being in biz. If you make mistakes and have a decent profit margin, mistakes can be absorbed under the guise of research and development. 

Do the machine cleaners, clean as well or better than hand cleaning, Robert?

[Daniel D. Teoli Jr.]

On 3/7/2024 at 12:47 PM, Robert Houllahan said:

The Hydra looks really nice but I could build that in conjunction with my friends with CnC machine shops etc for what I imagine would be allot less than their asking price.

The Lipsner XL1100 can pretty easily be made to run 8mm and lots of labs do that, the XL1100 has some "prototype" like engineering but again with some mods and an updated PLC it can be made to basically operate like the Hydra and even could be modded to have a variable gap etc. Got me thinking about mine and mods now...

The newer Lipsner 8200 HFE ultrasonics have a PLC and arguably do a better cleaning job than any buffer only type cleaner and they can be run with the newer solvents.

We had an early San Labs cleaner and it was pretty bad, the newer Prista cleaner is better but also not great but a good basic and inexpensive to buy platform to build off of IMO.

 

What was wrong with your earlier cleaning machines, Robert?

San Lab Systems Prista 16mm 35mm Film Tape Reel Cleaning Machine | eBay

 

 

Sidenote...

eBay used to offer half-ass decent JPEGs as auction photos. Now they are pretty much all WEBP lo-res crap. I have an eBay archive with +/-40,000 images in it. Glad I grabbed what I did when they offered something better.

 

Edited March 11, 2024 by Daniel D. Teoli Jr.

[Justin Lovell]

We have a p200 Kodak about to go up for sale. It is modified for 8 mm 16 mm and 35 mm. A very good machine.