dk nkf - Nordisk Konservatorforbund Danmark

Table 1: Comparably prices for analog printing and digital
scanning. Prices are inclusive of ultrasonic cleaning, 2 hours of
preparing, and sound to film or video. Analog printing includes
one hour of 16 mm polyester duplicate positive [4] and one
release print [5]. Digital scanning includes one hour of film at
HDcam-SR-tape [6].
One hour of original material Analog
printing
EUR
The low price for scanning a screening copy is due the
fact that it is already graded and no sound mastering
is required afterwards. Grading is adjustment of
the overall density and color balance. In the case of
original negatives every scene must be graded, so the
light in the film looks even though the whole film. The
sound from a screening copy can be transferred to the
tape in the scanning process, where sound to original
film materials must be transferred afterwards.
No price is given for analog printing of 16 mm copies
due to the fact the image quality will be quite low and
it is rarely used.
The prices for printing 35 mm nitrate and acetate
negatives are more than three times higher than the
price for a digital scan. The price for printing 16 mm
negatives or reversal films is one and a half times higher
than of a scan, but when it comes to A & B rolls, digital
scanning is more expensive than analog printing.
Advantages and disadvantages
When speaking of communication and/or preservation
of film, the choice between printing analog film
material and digitization is often discussed. In Table
2 some of the biggest contrasts are listed:
Permanence
The most alarming difference between analog
printed preservation materials and digitized films is
the expected lifetime of the material. 35 or 16 mm
polyester film can be preserved for centuries if stored
correctly [7]. Long-term preservation of digitized
films on the other hand is combined with massive
92
Digital scan
EUR
Nitrate negative, 35 mm 11,650 3,450
Acetate negative, 35 mm 9,600 2,700
A + B rolls, 16 mm 3,900 5,550
Negative or reversal film, 16 mm 3,700 2,360
Screening copy, 16 mm - 830
problems. Preservation of digitized films must deal
with the durability of tapes (tapes must be converted
every 10-15 years), access to and functional playback
machines, updated software and functional and
compatible computer hardware.
Costs
In Table 1 prices for both scenarios 1, 2 and 3 are listed.
But the prices in Table 1 are only today’s expenses.
If the films are only digitized (scenario 2) a
preservation plan for the digitized information must
be worked out. Preferable, the digitized information
must be stored both on tapes and on hard discs. It
is extremely difficult to predict the cost for digital
storage. Calculations between 6666 EUR (50,000
DKK) and 533 EUR (4000 DKK) for one terabyte
(=one hour of film) per year have been suggested
[8]. The prices for digital storage also depends on the
size of the digital archive, if the data is stored on two
geographically separated discs and on backup tapes,
how metadata is handled, conversion plans, etc.
In comparison the cost for storing analog film
material in cold storage for one hour of film a year
is approximate 15 EUR (about 100 DKK) [9].
Whatever the prices for digital storage are going to
be, the expenses compared with storage of analog
films will be astoundingly high.
Availability
The data in analog film material will always be
available independent of technology. The pictures
can be seen with the human eye, and it will only
require a minimum of engineering skills to screen the
film. Digitized films will always demand complex
and high-technology play-back machines.
Resolution
Another issue, which is often being discussed in
connection with digitization, is image resolution.
Digitization is expensive and it is therefore
important to digitize in a resolution, which will also
meet future demands.
35 mm negative films are still the media, which
have the highest resolution; it is possible to separate
6000 lines in one picture. A HDcam SR tape the
number of lines is 1080 [10]. Today, digitization