Prior to sending your film and before you even contemplated questions such as how to view cine film, we recommend that you follow these steps to prepare your films in order to attain the optimum results.

The preparation process starts by eradicating your media of decades of dust and grime, which can be damaging to your tape. This can be done with a can of compressed air. Don’t physically blow on it as your saliva can be very damaging to the film.

If the compressed air doesn’t give you satisfactory results then you can use a lint-free cotton cloth to wipe away any remaining oils or fingerprints. Please ensure that the cloth is lint-free as the lint will damage the film.

If you are still not quite there then using a cotton swab of 98% Isopropyl alcohol will help. Don’t try using lower grade alcohol as it could leave streaks on the film and the remaining water content may leave a mark on the film, possibly causing damage.

Once the media has been cleaned, make sure the area that it’s being stored in is properly ventilated, cool and also dry so that the alcohol can evaporate.

Once you’ve followed these steps, you’re ready to send in your film to be digitised!

Here at Supaphoto, we offer affordable and efficient digitisation services