Bell & Howell Punch Tapes

The Bell & Howell type punch tape has been in use for over 40 years.  The tape has 8 holes plus a row of tractor holes.  The first six holes are used to carry numerical information, whether for light value or frame count. 

           

RGB Tape                       FCC Tape

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The first hole carries a value of 1, the second 2, the third 4, the fourth 8, the fifth 16 and the sixth 20. The seventh & eighth holes are used for fades, stop and start, and frame count identification information.  The information for numerical information and fades is punched in blocks of three with a single space between.  The light values are for the red, green and blue light valves.

 

There are three basic types of Bell & Howell punch tape:

An RGB only tape.

An FCC  only tape.

A combined RGB and FCC  tape.

There are two types; Feet & Frames or Frames only.  The above system was specifically designed for use on Bell & Howell printers but has been universally adopted by printer manufacturers.

 

There are other similar systems that have been used in the past and still used with different values for the holes.  For example Technicolor Ltd uses tapes that were BGR rather than RGB.