What are the implications for archival film elements stored in preservation vaults?
Black and white prints (with silver tracks of various formats including variable-area and variable-density types) have been reproduced in tests using red LED sound readers with excellent quality, indistinguishable from that produced by white-light readers. Color prints with redeveloped silver-plus-dye sound tracks may experience a little distortion when reproduced with red LED readers, as is the case with current release prints with reveloped silver-plus-dye sound tracks (hence the reason for introducing the compatible High Magenta sound track format). The printing of archived sound negatives, intended for making redeveloped silver-plus-dye sound tracks, to produce cyan dye sound tracks, is currently being evaluated and will be reported on to the Dye Track Committee in due course. It is anticipated that some film processing laboratories will retain the facility to print redeveloped silver-plus-dye sound tracks for some time, to provide this service for film preservation clients.
