Film Splicer for Developing Machines

The splicer to be described was developed for use on high-speed, sprocketless, 35-mm developing machines. Above all else, such a splice must be dependable; that is, it must not catch on guards or blow-offs, and must not pull apart in spite of passing around hundreds of small pulleys. Metallic fastening devices localize the stresses which are apt to start tears. By using a special adhesive tape to make the splice, the stress is distributed over the full width of the film. To prevent the tape from being soaked loose in the developing solutions, its “linen” base is waterproofed, and a hole is punched through the center of the film at each edge of the tape. The tape thus sticks to itself through these holes, preventing the edge of the tape from lifting when the emulsion swells. The ends of the film to be spliced are placed end-to-end with a space of 1/16 inch between, and the tape is passed tightly around both sides, overlapped in the center of the film, and pressed down firmly. The splice will withstand a pull of 50 pounds, is smooth, and thus will not catch in the machine, Being quite thin, it will pass through blow-offs, and as many as forty splices have been taken up in a 2000-ft, roll without damaging the film or making the roll badly out of round.

Print ISSN

0097-5834

Published

1940-03

Content type

Original Research

DOI

10.5594/J10100