STEP 1
Taking the pressure plate away from the gate, make sure the counter claws and the gate correspond to each other and to the distance between two sprocket holes in your film. (here with the Wittner Super 8 test film)
STEP 2
The gate being back on the printer, with the pressure plate away from the gate so it doesn’t interfere, make sure the sprocket holes in the film stop in front of the holes in the silver metal plate when the film stops for each frame. If they don’t, the counter claws, when put back in place, will damage the film. This is when you adjust the two sprockets by unscrewing the two little screws that locks them to their shafts. The film shouldn’t be too tense of course.
STEP 3
This time put back the pressure plate in action. Notice that the counter claws arrive in the sprocket holes. The pressure plate should do just this : stop the movement of the silver metal film path when it moves back to the left. That means that the black pressure plate should touch the silver metal piece when it arrives it its final position at each frame. If it doesn’t, it might not stop exactly at the same position. However, it the pressure plate stops the film path too early (too much to the right when you look at the printer) , then it might trigger a second frame, because the micro switch behind the scene that stops the motor at each frame will be defeated.
STEP 4
This is why the exact position of the pressure plate can be adjusted with the little screw at the top, so that it is right : the film paths is stopped by the pressure plate, the counter claws are well engaged in the sprocket holes and only one frame is triggered at the time.
