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===Nitrate===
===Nitrate===
'''Nitrate''' base is the infamously unstable and flammable stock that most release prints were made of until the early 1950s. Discontinued in 1951 and replaced with acetate "safety film". Look for the word "nitrate" written along the edge of the film, though make sure it's not printed in from the original negative, as many nitrate prints were later re-struck on acetate or polyester stock. If you see "safety film" printed in black text that means it is acetate stock. You want to look for black text, text printed in from the negative will appear white. Be '''very careful''' when handling a film print you suspect may be of nitrate stock. It's considered a hazardous material and becomes more dangerous as it deteriorates. Make sure you know the proper storage specifications for nitrate if you have any!
'''Nitrate''' base is the infamously unstable and flammable stock that most release prints were made of until the early 1950s. Discontinued in 1951 and replaced with acetate "safety film". Look for the word "nitrate" written along the edge of the film, though make sure it's not printed in from the original negative, as many nitrate prints were later re-struck on acetate or polyester stock. If you see "safety film" printed in black text that means it is acetate stock. You want to look for black text, text printed in from the negative will appear white. Be '''very careful''' when handling a film print you suspect may be of nitrate stock. It's considered a hazardous material and becomes more dangerous as it deteriorates. Make sure you know the proper storage specifications for nitrate if you have any!
*[[Film gauges]] smaller than 35mm were not made of nitrate stock (with a few very rare exceptions). Films larger than 35mm (like 70mm) made before the mid-1950s may be nitrate, but these are also fairly rare.   
*[[Film gauges]] smaller than 35mm were not made of nitrate stock (with a few very rare exceptions). Films larger than 35mm (like [[70mm]]) made before the mid-1950s may be nitrate, but these are also fairly rare.   
* 35mm film was no longer produced after 1951 but films produced up until the mid-50s may have been printed on older stock and should be checked.  
* Because Safety film was introduced in 1948 and nitrate was discontinued in 1951 but older nitrate stock may have still been used for prints up until the mid-50s, you won't be able to identify the stock by production date alone during these "overlap years".  
*''Fun fact'':  Nitrate is made from cotton!


A guide to identifying and handling nitrate film stock can be found here on the [https://amianet.org/wp-content/uploads/Resource-Nitrate-Identifying-and-Handling.pdf Association of Moving Image Archives website].
A guide to identifying and handling nitrate film stock can be found here on the [https://amianet.org/wp-content/uploads/Resource-Nitrate-Identifying-and-Handling.pdf Association of Moving Image Archives website].

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