Safe to transport black & white film in check in luggage?

Greetins- Soon to be flying home from vacation (in the US - not overseas) with

a load of B&W film and don't have a leaded bag to protect it from x-ray. I use

to not have a problem carrying film in my (check in) non-carry on luggage. In

the post 9/11 world, I imagine they are x-raying a lot more. Should I mail the

film home instead? Has anyone had any problems with carrying film on check in

luggage? Regards-C

It's pretty well accepted that any film in checked-in luggage will be damaged. I'd send it Fed-X.

Mail it, or if you don't have sheet film(have roll film) and not too much, carry it on--have it

hand checked or even send it thru the gate security screen, it does fine there--I do both,

depending on whether it is a job or personal work. But I ship sheet film or when i have large

quantities of roll film.

 

Check in x-ray will destroy your film.

No, it is not safe to put your unprocessed film in checked baggage. Sometimes checked baggage is inspected with CAT-scan style x-ray machines which use a strong beam that will ruin unprocessed film. See http://www.kodak.com/global/en/service/tib/tib5201.shtml for more information and examples. USA airports with these machines have signs warning passengers to remove film from their checked baggage. Sometimes your film might pass through without being x-rayed, or without passing through the intense beam, and so not be damaged, but putting unprocessed film in checked baggage is risky.

 

Conversely, your film won't be damaged by a few passes through the machines used for carryon luggage. I also prefer carryon for valuable items because of the risk that checked baggage can be lost.

You can carry it on and just put it through the machine used to Xray carry-on baggage. You may even get a hand inspection if you ask nicely and you're not holding the line behind you up too much.

DO NOT PUT ANY UNPROCESSED FILM IN CHECKED LUGGAGE (exposed or not).

 

Your options:

 

-Take your film in your carry-on, have it go through the carry-on x-ray (no damage except maybe if you have ISO 3200 film), and you'll be OK.

 

-FedEx your film back home, clearly marking the package as "photographic film, do not X-ray" and hoping that no accident happens.

 

-Have the film processed locally and pick the processed film before you leave or have the lab send you the processed film.

Thanks guys- I will just take my film with me in a plastic bag for carry on. I will ask them nicely to hand inspect it. Thanks again- Carlos

you can also check the tsa webpage and print it. just in case.

Yep ... I have had film damaged in the checked in luggage. Don't do it.

 

I still try to have it hand inspected, and as others have suggested, if there's no crowd to be held up, security will usually comply.

 

Interesting though, with one film type, Agfa Copex (Marketed in Europe as Gigabit, and I think is the so-called "Bluefire Police" from Canada.) which has a clear base, it should only be handled outside of it's cassette in very dim light, because the clear base can act as a "light pipe", especially from the edges of the perferations. Because this film is only 25ASA, one pass through the "Film-safe" hand luggage x-ray should do no harm, whereas hand inspection under bright light could be a problem. (It's amazing stuff, by the way.)

 

Cheers, Kevin (Oslo & Newcastle upon Tyne)

Another tip I read recently (can't remember where) is to carry a couple of 'sacrificial' rolls of ISO3200 film. If you have any problems when you ask for a hand check you can then point out that the 3200 would be damaged by the scanner - hopefully they'd be more willing then.

 

HTH

Checked ( hold ) baggage = problem

 

Carry-on baggage = no problem upto 800asa ( people have claimed there is but nobody has ever produced proof ).

 

If you can get a hand inspection then so much the better but attitudes to this vary from airport to airport.

 

Do not know what the rules are like in US but watch out for problems with over-size hand luggage being refused and stuffed in the hold ( check with your airline ).

 

Rob - my experience is that they have got wise to this and are not amused/impressed and can become unhelpful. Additionally it makes it more difficult for the genuine cases. I think playing by the rules here is in all our best interests.

A positive experience does not imply that next time will be the same. Scanners at the airports can be adjusted at different scales of power; it depends on the critery of the person who is checking. At the maximum power, even an EI 25 film can be totally fogged.

<i>Scanners at the airports can be adjusted at different scales of power; it depends on the critery of the person who is checking</i>

<p>

Unsubstantiated Rubbish!

Film does not get damaged by X-ray scanning of carry-on luggage. Read the following

contribution, "How Safe is Film Airport X-ray Scanners":

www.underwaterphotos.com/Filmsafe.html

Not all the scanners at the airports are of the same type and not all the airports have the same degree of security. For this reason, many times, you will not have a problem with the film but one time, it will.

 

Here you are an example of a new type of scanner that, perhaps, is working in some airports of the world:

 

http://www.democratherald.com/articles/2003/06/26/news/nation/nat01.txt

Never mind about can be's; might be's; could be's; should be's.

 

Do you have any evidence of material damage to low and medium speed film from hand-baggage X ray scanners at airports? Do you have any evidence that operators can affect the power of the machines? If you do, let's have it. If not, then please stop raising totally unnecessary scares about something that most of us that actually travel do very frequently without incident.

 

So lets see really what you have in your hand, not a snow-job to justify something that it looks like you shouldn't have said.

Here you are another link of a big scanner for containers. It works with high power X-Ray

 

http://www.dsxray.com/cargoscreen/cx-450p.htm

Here you are a link to ilford web page with this content:

 

"AIRPORT SECURITY: PHOTOGRAPHIC FILM

The very recent changes in airport security requirements mean that under the present circumstances, films cannot now be carried on board the aircraft. However, as a reminder, we do not recommend placing film in checked luggage. Extensive testing carried out by the industry, and with the cooperation of the security authorities, has shown that all films, colour and B&W, stand a strong chance of being severely fogged after passing through the scanners currently in use in airports around the world for checked luggage. As a result we strongly advise customers wherever possible to purchase film at their destination and have it processed locally."

 

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/products/faqentries.asp?n=15&t=Airport+Security

Sorry, Josep, but I cannot help but think that you are (temporarily) unable to follow the

discussion here!

Your quotations are pointless. Everybody knows by now that the big scanners for checked-

in luggage are capable of fogging film badly. And the Ilford text is mainly about what to

do when you can NOT carry on your film into the cabin.

 

Of course, there are 'stronger' and 'weaker' scanners used for carry-on baggage checking

(depending on model/maker). However, close to NONE of these feature tweakable x-ray

output (look up several old threads on the topic!)

 

So your first post is, as Craig already pointed out, completely unsubstatiated, and has

remained so up to now. Maybe get some sleep?

Cheers, P.

I think there has been a misundestanding with my previous posts. I was responding to the original question: "Safe to transport black & white film in CHECK IN LUGGAGE?".

 

I'm not a native English speaker and, perhaps, I'm wrong, but I understand that CHECK-IN LUGGAGE is the one that is allocated in the cellar of the plane, outside the cabin.

 

So, for this reason, I was referring to scanners that are for the luggage allocated outside the cabin.

 

After reading your comments, I realise that, perhaps, I misunderstood the meaning of "CHECK-IN LUGGAGE". I'm sorry if this is the case. I didn't want to create any confusion.

 

Thanks,

Josep

Josep is right about check-n cargo luggage being subjected to strong x-rays. For example, if you put a "x-ray" shielded film holder in the luggage is will appear as a white block on the scanner screen resulting in (if the inspector is paying attention and doing what they are told to do) the baggage passing a second time thru the scanner with the x-ray level increased considerably to saee into the shielded bag. The bags only attenuate x-rays, they don't completely block it. Other baggage on the same belt gets blasted good.

 

The carry-on scanners have limited x-ray levels mostly due to (without a major redesign of the machine) scatter x-rays accumulative effects being a problem to the personal that are near them all day. However, scans are acumulative. For example, if the same rolls of film are passed on several plane trips then damage begins to be visible. I've had the same carry-on baggage re-run through the scanner 3 times on one plane trip so I'm glad my film wasn't in the bag. I would think 3 times is typically borderline for moderate speed films.

 

Plastic bag inspection is the way to go. Light pipe damage on 35mm film can be avoided by running a black marker around the edge of the film leader before you get to the airport.

In Kodak website, there's another link about scanners at the airports:

 

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/service/tib/tib5201.shtml#SEC43

I think you, Craig and PCB, are totaly wrong with your answers.

 

It seems that you didn't read the original question of the thread but... you have no problem in saying that my answer is "unsubstantiated".

 

Have you ever thought that, perhaps, the unsubstantiated are you, my friends?

 

In Spanish is said: "que valiente es la ignorancia!"

 

Regards,

Josep