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» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Operations   » Film Handlers' Forum   » Film Gloves - Latex or Cloth (Page 1)

 
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Author Topic: Film Gloves - Latex or Cloth
Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004


 - posted 07-08-2005 03:02 PM      Profile for Monte L Fullmer   Email Monte L Fullmer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Okey, I'm going to open a topic (and if there is already a thread on this, please re-direct and close this one) on film handling gloves.

Does one uses the cloth, or does one uses the latex gloves when assembling prints?

I remember of Brad's recommendation of using the latex due to the lint that cloth can leave on splice tape edges when sealing down the tape across the film.

I use neither, for I can't produce a good splice with gloves on. Thus I keep my hands washed to reduce the skin oils and handle the film by the edge.

Just curious on this area.

thx-Monte

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Bruce McGee
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1776
From: Asheville, NC USA... Nowhere in Particular.
Registered: Aug 1999


 - posted 07-08-2005 03:18 PM      Profile for Bruce McGee   Email Bruce McGee   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I've used cotton gloves for over 30 years. I always wash new gloves before use. This helps to get rid of most of the lint issues for me. I used to edit 16mm negatives for a friend of mine in Nashville, TN. There was never an issue of white specks in the finished prints.

When I finish an editing session, I will toss the gloves into a plastic bag. I wash them, and use them again, and again, until they get holes in them.

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99


 - posted 07-08-2005 03:53 PM      Profile for Brad Miller   Author's Homepage   Email Brad Miller       Edit/Delete Post 
For the record, I've never recommended using latex gloves. I would think that would be quite difficult to inspect with and could scratch the film. I always recommended inspecting bare hands, since you shouldn't be touching anything but the edges of the film anyway.

Recently I have forced myself to learn how to inspect with cotton gloves, because the semi-cuts in my fingers got annoying. I figure it was probably about as hard for me to convert as some of the older guys learning how to thread from the bottom up, but just like that, give it a little time and if you have the right attitude, anything can be done.

Currently, I would recommend cotton gloves, but mainly for hand damage reasons. I also ALWAYS remove them before splicing. [Wink]

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004


 - posted 07-08-2005 04:26 PM      Profile for Monte L Fullmer   Email Monte L Fullmer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
True on that. I remember doing inspections with old acetate prints on a rewind bench and catching a cut sprockethole or a slit section, and with the sharp edge that film will produce when torn........ [Eek!]

(..sorry on the misunderstanding. Somewhere then I heard that latex were better than cotton for the lint situation...)

As for reverse threading - as you say - basically try it out and work with it. It's not bad to do. The big thing is to develop a system that works with you on new practices and procedures.

thx-Monte

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Adam Wilbert
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 590
From: Bellingham, WA, USA
Registered: Mar 2002


 - posted 07-08-2005 04:27 PM      Profile for Adam Wilbert   Author's Homepage   Email Adam Wilbert   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
A co-worker of mine used to snip the index finger tips off of his cotton gloves so that he could make clean tape splices without having to remove his gloves every time. All of the actual film handling was done with his middle finger and thumb. Seemed to work pretty well. I often wondered if there were some sort of liquid latex that could be painted on the fingertips to prevent this annoying edge cuts. Don't sewing shops sell liquid thimbles?

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Dan Lyons
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 698
From: Seal Beach, CA
Registered: Sep 2002


 - posted 07-08-2005 04:48 PM      Profile for Dan Lyons   Email Dan Lyons   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I've started using cotton gloves when inspecting polyester prints. This started after my fingers got chainsawed by a print of KINSEY that had about 500' of perfs ripped off, leaving the film looking like a steak knife. Blood all over the place.

For acetate I still do bare handed, as a glove can catch and tear the film if you hit a cracked sprocket or a notched perf.

No gloves for splicer, ever. I don't need a lint ball on screen.

Latex gloves have no place in the booth. If exposed to an petrol based chemicals they will disintegrate and tear. Use only vinyl gloves if you'll be working with chemicals by hand.

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Randy Stankey
Film God

Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 07-08-2005 11:53 PM      Profile for Randy Stankey   Email Randy Stankey   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Just try handling a piece of sticky tape while wearing a latex glove! It's not an easy thing to do when the tape sticks to the glove.

I vote for cotton gloves. The heavier kind & not those cheap disposable ones. Wash them in fragrance-free detergent and rinse them twice.

When they start to get dirty during use, swap hands. When both sides are dirty... wash, rinse & repeat.

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Dominic Espinosa
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1172
From: Boulder Creek, CA.
Registered: Jan 2004


 - posted 07-09-2005 04:18 AM      Profile for Dominic Espinosa   Email Dominic Espinosa   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I prefer cotton gloves.
Washing before use helps immensely.

I havn't actually used gloves though for the most part and don't really have any problem.

With the gloves I find it harder to get small cuts or burns from the film.

I do however recommend anyone who has clammy hands to use gloves. For the love of all that is Kodak Vision film, use gloves if you're greasy!

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Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000


 - posted 07-11-2005 08:40 AM      Profile for Leo Enticknap   Author's Homepage   Email Leo Enticknap   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I agree with Brad on bare hands (between finger and thumb on the film edges) for initial element examinations. When working on archival elements, you're winding so slowly that finger cutting isn't a problem, anyway. However, some of the repairs we find ourselves needing to do (e.g. repairing torn perforations with Permacel or scraping away the residue from dried out cement joins) make fingers on film virtually unavoidable, and in those cases I prefer latex. I've never been able to find a brand of cotton gloves that doesn't leave deposits either on the film itself, or, more likely, on the Permacel. Furthermore, after about 10-20 minutes I find that sweat from my hand seeps through the cotton and also starts to contaminate the film. With latex it's all trapped inside and you can just keep working until you feel uncomfortable, at which point you simply replace the gloves.

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Jason Greek
Film Handler

Posts: 21
From: Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, Canada
Registered: May 2005


 - posted 07-11-2005 10:33 PM      Profile for Jason Greek   Email Jason Greek   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I find with the cotton gloves you can find factory splices and imperfections that much easier, and yes, definitely easier on the hands!

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Mark J. Marshall
Film God

Posts: 3188
From: New Castle, DE, USA
Registered: Aug 2002


 - posted 07-12-2005 07:55 AM      Profile for Mark J. Marshall     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I wear one cotton glove on my left hand, and keep my right hand glove free. I'm right handed, so I can make splices easily by pulling the tape with that hand, and can also handle the film on its surface if necessary with the left at the same time. I only handle the film by its edges with the right hand.

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Olivia Coleman
Film Handler

Posts: 53
From: Bend, OR USA
Registered: Jun 2005


 - posted 07-12-2005 09:13 AM      Profile for Olivia Coleman   Author's Homepage   Email Olivia Coleman   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I was trained with cotton gloves. I only use a bare hand for the edge marking, cue marking, and removing splicing tape from used prints. I actually prefer to splice with the gloves on, the trick is to only touch a small part of the tape that ends up at the other end of the splicer and not on the film. I don't like how my finger sticks when trying to smooth down the tape, it's much easier with the cotton gloves! Just my preference...

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John Hawkinson
Film God

Posts: 2273
From: Cambridge, MA, USA
Registered: Feb 2002


 - posted 07-12-2005 09:25 AM      Profile for John Hawkinson   Email John Hawkinson   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Hey Leo, what about cotton over latex? [Big Grin]

Personally, I'm a fan of cotton as well. I also agree with Olivia that a glove works wonders to smooth down tape. Though if I'm doing a lot of splicing in rapid succession, I'll just pick up the glove in my hand and wipe it over the splice, rather than putting it on to take it off a few seconds later.

--jhawk

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Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 07-12-2005 09:35 AM      Profile for Scott Norwood   Author's Homepage   Email Scott Norwood   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I don't like wearing gloves at all when handling film. I have a much easier time when working with bare hands, and haven't noticed any negative effects of doing so. The cleanliness of the work surface is important, however. Clean hands are extremely important, too, and clean hands are better than dirty gloves.

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John Hawkinson
Film God

Posts: 2273
From: Cambridge, MA, USA
Registered: Feb 2002


 - posted 07-12-2005 09:42 AM      Profile for John Hawkinson   Email John Hawkinson   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
It's a good question -- are clean hands better than dirty gloves?

I've gone back and forth on it several times, and I'm not really sure.

A: On the one hand, I have the sense that gloves will tend to pick up dirt and sweat and oil, but they will distribute less onto the film than they pick up; also, that clean hands quickly become dirty and sweaty hands.

B: On the other hand, a glove is more absorbant than a hand, so some kinds of crud may stick to a glove that wouldn't stick to a hand, and might thus be redistributed to the film.

At the moment, I lean towards (A), but I'm really not too sure about it.

--jhawk

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