Shipping film: is x-ray problem or not?

[kuparikettu]

Hello everyone!

This question has been really giving me some headache during this year. As I live in Finland, where there is no lab capable of processing Super-8 film, reading about the possible dangers of x-ray is something that has bothered me. Shipping film abroad seems to be the only option, and buying super-8 for a bit more comfortable price also seems to require buying films from businesses not located in Finland.

So, Kodak says it isn't good for motion picture films to be x-rayed. This I know. I also know that it isn't possible to ship by DHL, FedEx, normal postal services etc. without airmail being x-rayed at some point. Ground transport such as TNT seems to be a bit too costly and not an open option unless you're a dealing with them more often. Then there are also such companies which do offer airmail with sniffer inspection, but even with them you'd have to have an account and be verified -- and who knows how much that'd cost...

My question would be, has anyone had their film, especially negative film such as Vision3 200T or 500T fogged due to being x-rayed during shipping? Is this only a theoretical issue, or has somebody first hand knowledge? I know that trying to take film on an airplane does pose dangers, but what about parcels and packages shipped, especially here in Europe? Any ruined footage? Grainier films than there where one can process without shipping film first as airmail?

[aj]

Is has been discussed a zillion times.

Mail and airmail is not routinely x-ray-ed. Who should look at all these images?

In EU most mail is not sent per air-mail unless it is tornado-express. Standard mail and ordinary express makes it across EU in 2 two day or far less per lorry or train.

I don't assume this. This what somebody who is well aquainted with transportation of goods (as a owner of a transportation business) told me.

So you can order from EU in confidence and send the films for processing without hesitation. Hamburg and Berlin are'n't all that far away from Finland.

[Blue Audio Visual]

I handle the processing/transfer of an awful lot of Super 8 film, and have done so for years, and seeing X-Ray damage is VERY rare, if not absolutely unknown.

The most recent one I can remember was some footage that someone had taken in SE Asia (Thailand maybe?), it was very apparent that it had been X-Ray damaged. You often see this as a periodic fogging of the film coming in from one side, presumably as the X-Rays has hit one side of the cartridge much more intensely than the other. I assume this might have been because they use older less sensitive machines (stronger X-Rays) in 3rd world countries, and presumably it was in the hold luggage. I hadn't sold them the cartridge, they paid me to get it developed and transferred. Other than that I can count instances of it that I can remember on the fingers of one hand, and I've dealt in Super 8 for 20 years.

I regularly send out film across Europe (and also a fair bit to Australia where it must go by air) and have NEVER had anyone complain to me about X-Ray damage.

I must have posted out many thousands of cartridges abroad, and have had an awful lot posted back to me too.

[8mm]

I also live in Finland and have never had any problems with Super 8 or Standard 8 films being damaged in the mail when sent to a laboratory abroad in Europe. Terveisiä Vaasasta!

[kuparikettu]

Thank you everyone! I have been reading those zillion earlier discussions on this issue on these forums, but none of them really seemed to cover this issue conclusively enough. Not so anymore Thanks!

Ja terveiset kasimilliselle täältä Helsingistä! (Just some greetings here in Finnish!