The dent in the side of the can has allowed the strong fumes from the deteriorating film base to escape, concentrating to distort the film windings at this point. Interestingly, this indicates that it is the 'out-gassing' vapours that have accentuated the distortion and warping, not 'inward' fumes from affected films stored together.
How To Handle Vinegar Film Prints?
Vinegar syndrome comes by degree and may take many years to develop before a film would be unprojectable and ultimately so deteriorated as to lose its images and sound.
Isolate any film reel that exhibits signs of vinegar syndrome. Allow the film space to ' breath' for a few days in a well ventilated room outside of its original can or cardboard carton. Porous card boxes that have stored a vinegar film should be destroyed. Fibre transit cases and metal cans can safely be reused. Plastic acrylic film transit boxes should be examined closely for signs of contamination, particularly any polythene foam padding should be removed, even if not rotted.
Once the film has had a chance to aclimatise it can be examined. Download a useful sample Film Report Sheet frps2.pdf here. (Requires Acrobat reader). The form may be used to to enter details of print condition.
Is There a Strategy for Vinegar Films?
If you have access to a split spools and rewinds the film can be unwound carefully and taken up on a core by very careful hand winding. The inner windings will now be outside and the outer windings now on the inner side. A loose sagging droop of loose coils may form and it is important as you hand wind to avoid causing the loops to pull against and mark the film emulsion or base. Observe for warpage and 'twisting' and make a note of the number of 'twists' across a measured distance. Replace old film leaders and tails with fresh new ones recording the exact information from the old film leaders.
Allow the rewound film to aclimatise once again for a day or so, and now wind it back noting the degree of warping as before. Wait once again and repeat the wind/rewind process taking note of any improvement in the degree of film warpage and distortion. In this way a film can be stabilised and improved with any loose wind and any sagging droop gradually taken up as the film coils 'relax' back into their original regular shape. The twist should get less over the measured distance and this will indicate any improvement.
Re-spooling a VS film that is on 2,200' ft. reels onto 1,200' ft. reels will lessen shrinkage of the innermost windings at the centre of the reel. The idea is to keep the diameter of the inside coils large to minimise distortion.
Viewing and Projection
With common film prints that have become affected, projection and viewing can continue where warpage and deterioration of the base has not progressed so far as to make the perforations shrunken. Regular excursions through a projector for such prints may indeed extend the useful life. An affected print can run perfectly, and, other than the acid smell continue to remain relatively stable over years without the V.S. worsening. The print will not dwell for too long in a can with the wound film coils transposing V.S. each wind to its neighbour through proximity.
If the film sags and droops as it fills the take-up reel, then an outsize take-up reel may be used to accomodate the uneven wind. Where the take-up spindle self-adjusts through gravity. As the take-up reel fills it gets heavier. The spindle is designed to increase friction grip on the take-up by increments. A steel take-up reel may be used instead of a lightweight aluminium or plastic one which may cause loose winding.
Originals and Master Materials
The above details are a strategy for film prints and non-original elements, assuming VS affected films are not unique and that good prints and master materials exist.
Camera original negative and reversal master material should have received optimum manufacture of film base and processing (extended washing and rinsing). Vault storage and preservation of these original elements make camera master material less prone to deterioration through VS.
Note
No chemical or film treatment is used for the above methods.
There is no cure for Vinegar films. Whatever film treatment is applied will simply mask the vinegar smell. Bear in mind that any perceived improvement in a VS film treated with film cleaner may simply be the VS film being wound back and forth and should not be attributed to the action of any film cleaning agent alone.
A Treatment For Vinegar Syndrome
To conclude; extended re-washing and and rinsing of VS films may work to reduce the VS progression temporarily or over a longer period. Rewashing is effective to inhibit further distortion and warping and can therefore extend the time that film prints are projectable.
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