Laminated photographic film cleaning fabric

A cleaning fabric adapted for use in an apparatus for cleaning photographic film upon movement of the film along a path defined on said apparatus, which apparatus has cleaning means comprising a pair of adjacent support members defining opposed narrow parallel support edges disposed transverse to said path;

• two lengths of said cleaning fabric extending between said support edges, the opposed contact surfaces of the sections of cleaning fabric between said support edges defining part of said path, said support members being positioned to urge the opposed contact surfaces of said sections of cleaning fabric toward each other with essentially equal pressure distribution along said support edges during the passage of a said photographic film therebetween to remove foreign particles from both surfaces of the photographic film, said cleaning fabric being a laminate comprising:
• a non-woven wiping layer of soft fine intersecting bonded fibers defining said contact surface, the fibers in said wiping layer being randomly spaced and disposed to provide openings in the wiping layer for receiving said foreign particles, and the wiping layer being compacted in a direction normal to the contact surface so that few ends or loops of the fibers project past the contact surface, thereby restricting shearing or tearing loose of the fibers by a passing photographic film;
• and
• an open non-woven lofty backing layer adhered to the surface of said wiping layer opposite said contact surface, said backing layer comprising stiff resilient randomly spaced and disposed bonded fibers and being sufficiently thick to be supported in a partially compressed condition by a said support member to evenly press said contact surface into intimate engagement with a said photographic film between said lengths of cleaning fabric and to maintain such contact by expanding or being further compressed to compensate for irregularities in the film.