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REEL DEALS

PUBLISHED BY – MIKE TRICKETT 245 CHURCH ST. GEELONG WEST 3218

The curtains are about to close on yet another year of our lives. Modern life
seems to make its demands on our time to the point that there is not enough
time to enjoy some of our hobby interests.
With the Holiday Season about to hit us, perhaps there will be the time to relax,
dust of the projector and watch a few reels of film. That is my intention anyway!
If like me, its been a while since you last inspected your film collection, now
might be a good time to start, Vinegar Syndrome and Color Fading can creep
up on you, and in the case of VS, can spread from on film to another.

In my experience, Vinegar Syndrome has overtaken color fade as the number
one problem for film collectors. At least our good old black and white prints don’t
suffer from Color Fade, but they are not immune from Vinegar Syndrome.

The frustrating thing about VS is that it may effect only part of a reel of film, or
only one reel of a multi-reel feature. That makes it doubly hard to junk the film
if the section effected is beyond screening.

I have found that the effects of VS can be slowed done by firstly, isolating the
effected film, placing it is an aired area out of its can. Rewinding the films every
few days to allow air to circulate will also help. Various potions have been
recommended, but in the long run, if a film has VS, you may get a few more
screenings out of it, but its end is near.

On that distressing note, may I wish, all readers a happy Holiday Season and
the best of health for the new year.

Mike & Barb Trickett

2 REEL DEALS December 2018