Optical printer
![A 35 mm optical printer with two projector heads, used in producing movie special effects. Starting from the left, you can see light shining from the lamp house, then at A is the first projector's film gate, at B a lens that projects the film in A onto the second projector's gate C. At D is the lens of the camera, the camera's finder is at E and the adjustable shutter control at F. The heavy base G contains all the electronics needed for controlling the printer.](/Images/godic/202501/31/Opticalprinter5344.jpg")
![Inexpensive J-K 16 mm optical printer using a Bolex camera.](/Images/godic/202501/31/Opticalprinter35344.jpg")
An optical printer is a device consisting of one or more film projectors mechanically linked to a movie camera. It allows filmmakers to re-photograph one or more strips of film. The optical printer is used for making special effects for motion pictures, or for copying and restoring old film material.