The scratch moves up the image slowly (6-10 seconds to scan up the picture) The scratch is maybe 8 inches to a foot wide when projected on a 40 foot wide screen, but has negligible height. After a number of runs, there are multiple of these scratches which becomes very noticible.

I have checked the pad rollers and sound drums, loop size, I have even replaced a number of platter rollers that the base side runs over. The problem remain, but the new scratches are fainter.

This does sound like something related to the platter more than anything else. Do you run off of all three platters regularly, or mainly off of two disks? Does the scratch show up as pretty continuous, or intermittently with the gaps between the first scratches filled in as the number of runs increases? Are the scratches curved or fairly straight?

Initially it sounds like the film is getting abraded on the take-up side of things. I'd check the last roller assembly that feeds film onto the takeup platter very closely. Is one of these rollers particularly hard to reach for any reason?

See the recent thread on "MUT Question" started by Dave Bird a few weeks ago to see how misguiding the film as it winds onto the platter during makeup or takeup can cause the rotating platter to rub across the surface of the print, causing nearly horizontal scratches.

Your example of the scratch moving slowly up the image in 6-10 seconds indicates a "roller repeat" that puts the scratches an exact distance apart on the film, usually related to the circumference of the guilty roller. If you can, measure the exact distance between each scratch on the film --- then look for roller(s) having that circumference. It's likely the film was misguided up the flange of one of those rollers, and the roller scratched the print once per revolution. For example, film riding up the edge of a 3-inch diameter roller will have a mark every 3 x Pi = 9.42 inches, and will appear on-screen about twice a second, seeming to move up the image. A burr or rough spot that scratches the film as a 1-inch diameter roller rotates would cause scratches 3.14 inches apart.

Let us know what you find.

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

Anyway, see what you can do to possibly re-aim that roller up a little to prevent the scratches.

I have also seen those exact scratches on a Christie projector with too large of a lower loop, but on a Christie they would be emulsion scratches. (Christie now makes slap guards that screw into place under the Ultramittent to prevent this.) I cannot think of anything on a Simplex that would make that mark on the base side of the film.

But getting back to the point, those motors on an Alpha platter can be positioned lower to allow for more film clearance away from the platter's surface. The only problem with this is that the positioning is how the platters are actually timed! You could end up throwing prints if you move it very much. In the end, I always drill new mounting holes for the rollers on that kind of platter to protect the film from such marks.

Before I forget, take a look at the first reel of the film. Then take a look at the last reel of the film. Do the scratches go away as the movie progresses? If they do, then it is absolutely this last roller. If the scratches are uniform throughout a 2 hour film, then it is something else.

I've seen some people who mess up on this roller.

Literally within 2 minutes of that discovery I was told that our maintenance man (originally hired as a projectionist when the theatre opened) had found a screw in the failsafe was a little loose and the film occaisionally hit the screw. The inspection also showed that the scratch was a hole size scratch that was (duh) stretched into a short horizontal line by the anamorphic lens.

It goes to show that we cannot assume anything when looking for the cause of a scratch. Now I must go follow the advice of my green mentor and force myself to unlearn some more.

The right side of the screen would be the non-sound track side of the film. The lower portion of the pay-out fingers of the pay-out head could be causing that. Is the film tracking properly through the fingers and the rest of the pay-out head rollers without climbing or chafing?

Since you have discovered the scratch is on the emulsion side, It leads me to this question:

What kind of fail-safe/cue detector are you using? I have seen some new style proximity detectors adjusted too close to the film, where the film was actually rubbing on them. If you have those style detectors, look at the detectors themselves and see if you can see a wear pattern on them. (There should be NO wear pattern at all!)

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion