ANOTHER RAY OF LIGHT

NZ Truth, Issue 1141, 13 October 1927, Page 6

ANOTHER RAY OF LIGHT

Directors Claim No Shadows In Reid's Color Process The directors of Reid's Color Film Process write to "N.Z. Truth.'' "The article m your issue of October 6 written round the investigation of the process by your representative, may be roughly divided under two heads, viz : — "Criticism of (a) The process and method of production, and (b) What the Company has to offer to investors."

«T\EALING with (a).— Your repreU sentative was given entry into all details of the process, while his questions were freely answered. "Investigation of a process such as this is work for the technical expert and the layman cannot be expected to grasp the intricacies of a system which is essentially advanced photography. "A statement m connection with negatives, for instance, requires correction. "He states: 'After each exposure the negative is re-sensitized and everything visible to the naked eye is lost.' "This is incorrect. There Is, In cionnection with this process no treatment of negatives whatever (beyond, of course, ordinary development). "All negatives remain m their original condition and are always available for the production of as many copies or positives as may be desired. The whole treatment is confined to the positives. This is an important point and should not be overlooked. "A considerable portion of your article is taken up with criticism of the system of registration, your representative creating difficulties which, however, only exist m the lay mind. "He speaks of reglstra tion as 'one of the great- ' est difficulties yet to be mastered before the world can get its films m natural colors,' and then goes on to infer that it is proposed to meet this by a device of Reid's, stating, 'The Reid process promoters claim this can be met by the ordinary sprockets. . . plus special pins.. . . Reid says it can be done. It is proposed to leave the actual doing of it, though, to the potential company.' "Quite wrong. "The registration of film has long ceased to be a difficulty eCnd a special film printer for registration is m common use m those centres where color cinematography is produced. The method of registration thus obtained is entirely mechanical and the passage of the film through the printer is identical whether it takes place once or fifty times. "Reid did not invent this method of printing and m no wise does he claim to have done so. "In point of fact, the one real difficulty which has always attended the search for color has been a process which would chemically produce the whole colors of the spectrum. Evolve the process and the rest is merely a matter of mechanics and optics. "Your representative also makes 'spoils' a vital question. Actually the question of spoils is negligible. Even with slides, which obviously must be prepared with the naked eye, without mechanical aid and with the human element predominating, the spoils are not worth considering. "As to film — with the wholly mechanical treatment which attends the manufacture of colored film under other methods and which will also attend the manufacture under the Reid process, the matter of spoils, far from being vital, is of little moment. "Here is a brief reference to the adaption of Reid's process to paper. This is an entirely new departure, evolved since the formation of the company. The directors have continually stressed .the existence of imperfections m the specimens presented. Your representative saw the first experiment of what might be termed a

new principle and to adversely criticise such initial effort is, m our opinion, unfair. "Indeed, this portion of your article is somewhat incomprehensible. Your representative refers to the sample as a "weak, washy affair,' while at the time of his investigation he Stated that it gave 'moderately good results even at the first experiment.' "Under the second head , (b) : What the company has to offer to investors. You write: 'If those behind the Reid Color Film Process are making claims that they can produce moving pictures m natural colors, it is up to them to deliver the goods.' "Now, what exactly does the company claim? ... It claims (1) That the process produces natural color by the means described, viz.: (a) The color is produced wholly by chemical means and on one side of the film or slide, (b) There is no stripping, (c) The whole range of color families is available without faking' or artificially coloring the subjects photographed. . "2. That Mr. Reid has designed a camera which the directors have reason to believe to be applicable to the production of colored moving pictures m conjunction with the chemical process. These are the ' claims made, and it is upon these claims that the shares under offer are being sold. "Both the process and the camera design have been submitted to expert investigation and the written report is open for inspection by all interested. "The exhibits of the company today are confined to slides and short lengths of film. All that the company is demonstrating is the attainment of natural color, and that is proved without fear of contradiction. But you ask why we do not produce a few hundred feet of film. "The claims upon which we seek capital must be realised; also it must be realised that m order to carry the project to completion the company must have money; that the object of any company formed to exploit an invention is to supply the funds necessary for the carrying out m effect of the product of the inventor's brain. If the company had the camera and plant at their hand to produce a "few hundred feet," the same could produce any number of thousands of feet — and the collection of capital would be entirely unnecessary. "The company has to-day ample evidence to justify the claims made on its behalf, and it is upon these claims that capital is offered and being taken up. "The directors of this company will not allow any claims to be made on their behalf which cannot be fully justified. "You ask, inter alia, Is there any firm m the world who would take over the formula at a price?* The directors are already m possession of an offer from England under which an English company will be formed to take this company over on terms which, if confirmed, will be wholly satisfactory. "Under the heading of 'Looking Back' you refer to a previous effort to exploit this process. With thatyou, we feel sure, will freely admit the directors of this company have no concern whatever. "It may be observed that while this company is not concerned with the late syndicate, the mistakes of the latter are monuments of what to avoijL"

Registration