1. DO NOT USE a splicer type that wraps sticky tape around the film ends and supposedly punches out the sprocket holes.  The holes are inherently smaller than they should be and with sticky edges, as the punch stretches the tape a bit before punching. This prevents the pulldown claw from entering the hole fully, causing the film to be shoved over to the right in the film gate, and jam in the gate or lose the loops. Also the film is over-wide with sticky edges. Some projectors are able to pass such splices some of the time. The Bell & Howell mechanisms that we can actually get do not appear to be designed to accept this type of splice as the pulldown claw is nearly the full height of a normal perforation, and we will not guarantee that the TVT machines will work with them, or accept them for repair or exchange because of this.

2. Cement Splices. We recommend that splices be made using film cement. The film cement must be fresh and the film ends properly scraped to make the solvent weld. A small 1 oz. bottle of film cement will not last forever; when it gets slightly thick, yellow or cloudy it must be replaced or the resulting splices may hold for a while but then fall apart. The cement may go bad in a day or a month depending on how often it is used. It is replaced by dumping the old remaining cement, rinsing out the bottle with acetone, and refilling the small bottle from a 16 oz. or gallon can of new cement which is kept tightly sealed in the meantime. A beveled splice such as made by an Agfa or Bolex splicer keeps almost the normal thickness at the splice so it will pass cleanly through the mechanism. Any splicer must properly align the ends so the next perforation will be where the TVTs claw expects to find it. Film cement can be bought directly from Kodak or from some dealers. Film cement will however not work with Fuji Single-8 or K-Mart Focal film which was made on a polyester base (not acetate) and is immune.

3. Tape Splices. The only pre-cut splicing tapes that are widely available any more are the Kodak Presstapes. These have holes that are pre-punched the right size. The splicers are not currently made but often show up on Ebay. The ends are cut with a built-in blade, and a Presstape laid over them and over the pins and held down with a finger. While holding it over the pins, pull out the tab on each end while rolling your finger aside a little and push the tape down over the pins. Pull the film off the pins and press the Presstape down fully. Then turn the film over and apply another Presstape to the other side. Needless to say, the holes in the Presstape must align with the holes in the film. The Presstape splicer is for 8mm and 16mm while the Presstape Universal model is also for super-8. Presstapes can be bought directly from Kodak or from some dealers. They may also work with some other brands of splicer.

Film cement makes a solvent weld, it is not a glue. No glue that we know of including super glue, white glue etc. will adhere well to movie film. Film cement and Presstapes, also film leader and reels, can be obtained from sources listed in the back of your TVT instruction manual.

Note on Splicing for Transfer.pub 3-27-08

The super-8 transfer machines and movie projectors are much more sensitive than 8mm to splicing technique. This is why we recommend in the instructions that cement splices be made when winding the film right to left, so the outgoing roll emulsion is scraped instead of the incoming roll. This puts the sharp leading edge of the usually warped film away from the picture aperture so it won't catch. The super-8 film is pushed through the gate instead of pulled, so it tends to buckle and jam in the aperture opening if there is anything protruding and sharp like the warped leading edge of a backwards splice. If you make cement splices correctly you should have no trouble.
Alternatively, if you make a beveled splice with a Bolex or Agfa splicer, the film is no thicker at the splice and should go through fine.

TVT Super-8 Splicing.pub