The only way to avoid having film exposed to X-rays is to ask.
Luggage gets X-rayed (some say with greater intensity), and lead-lined pouches you may’ve seen on sale may only cause trouble. Sissi’s design includes multiple languages, which may not always be necessary as many agents around the world will speak English, but it can’t hurt either. I’ve had a few language-caused misunderstandings that led to unwanted X-ray scans of my film stash.
“The original pouch design included just the language of the city I was flying into. But when I decided to introduce this product to a wider market, I asked both my friends and the online film community which countries they travelled to most often with film—and I ended up receiving over 30 different languages and dialects.
To keep the design clean and readable, I had to narrow it down to the seven most frequently mentioned destinations. But I didn’t want to leave any languages out, so I created a bonus travel card that comes with each pouch. It includes translations in 21 additional languages!”
Dmitri Apr 21, ‘25