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Author
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Topic: Print Numbers
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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today
Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99
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posted 11-04-1999 12:15 AM
About 2 years ago when I worked for United Artists, most of the prints that we got at the theatre we numbered 10 or less. Many of them were print #1. Some of these had been around the block many times when we got them, so they looked horrible. But most of them were brand new. To be honest, I could not really tell a difference. But I was watching them with 8 footlamberts of onscreen light, which was all that we could get out of those STRONG lamphouses (Kodak recently bought that theatre brand new high gain screens for the 2 houses that have 45 foot screens, which really helped out).We recently got a show print of "The Basket" which is an independant film being test marketed here currently. This is a 1.85 FLAT movie shown on a Christie projector and it is absolutely ROCK STEADY! I hope somebody from Christie is reading this, because they probably don't get too many praises, but this film is proof that you can get a damn good image out of that projector. Now if all labs printed this well, I would jump for joy all day long! Alpha Cine Labs, I think it was.
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John Pytlak
Film God
Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000
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posted 11-04-1999 02:01 PM
The large labs don't usually print one complete copy of a feature at a time. They print a few hundred copies of reel 2, then a few hundred of reel 4, then reel 3, etc. Often, the first and last reels are the last to be printed, as final approval of the opening and closing credits sometimes delays finishing the negatives for those reels. So having print number 0123 does NOT mean that you have the 123rd copy of each reel printed. The reels that make up print 0123 may have been printed and processed over a period of several days or weeks.The print number is assigned strictly for tracking purposes at the lab, at the exchange and in distribution. The lab can usually track which film batch, equipment and operators were used to make the individual reels of a print by their internal record-keeping. Print numbers are also used for tracing illegal copies made from prints that have the MPAA Coded Anti-Piracy (CAP) code. As noted, certain sequences of print numbers may be reserved for "special" prints, such as "EK" show prints or dye transfer prints. But even having print 0001 does not guarantee that it was not damaged in a previous showing, so all incoming prints should be inspected. ------------------
John Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Professional Motion Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Eastman Kodak Company
Rochester, NY 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Fax: 716-722-7243
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John Pytlak
Film God
Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000
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posted 11-05-1999 08:04 AM
A "premier print" or "EK print" is usually a direct print made from the original negative. Very few are usually made, as any printing operation puts the original negative at some risk for dirt, scratches or damage each time it is handled. They are made on a printer at fairly slow printing speed (e.g., 240 feet per minute). Some may even be made using a "wet gate" printer, where the negative is immersed in a solvent to optically hide scratches and surface defects.Most "release prints" are made from a duplicate negative, printed at speeds ranging from a few hundred feet per minute, to several thousand feet per minute. The original negative is printed to a "master positive" which in turn is printed to make the duplicate negatives used for release printing. The multiple stages of printing usually introduce some unsteadiness and sharpness loss, compared to a direct print made from the original negative. ------------------
John Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Professional Motion Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Eastman Kodak Company
Rochester, NY 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Fax: 716-722-7243
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