Nitrate film storage?

[mikemgb]

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Some of you may have seen on the I Love Film thread that I was recently given three rolls of WWII vintage film. One of them is nitrate. Currently it is a complete roll stored in a metal can. I am going to cut the roll to scan it but will then want to preserve it as best as I can.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions for nitrate film storage?

[semi-ambivalent]

Some of you may have seen on the I Love Film thread that I was recently given three rolls of WWII vintage film. One of them is nitrate. Currently it is a complete roll stored in a metal can. I am going to cut the roll to scan it but will then want to preserve it as best as I can.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions for nitrate film storage?

Best to run this past the folks at apug.org. There's a member there (photo engineer) who used to work for Kodak. He might hit your post. Don't keep this stuff in your house until you get a thorough understanding of it.

 

s-a

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[tobey bilek]

It can self ignite.  Keep in sealed metal container.  Thats why the new stuff is called safety film!

[pico]

It can self ignite.  Keep in sealed metal container.  Thats why the new stuff is called safety film!

 

Tobey, is it more unstable than nitro-cellulose ammunition?

[Doug A]

It can self ignite.  Keep in sealed metal container.  Thats why the new stuff is called safety film!

 

There is a lot of information about safe handling of nitrate film online. In the United States the primary source is the National Fire Protection Association's Standard NFPA 40. All of the reliable sources in the US I have read agree that it must _not_ be kept in a sealed container. My father's nitrate negatives - just eight 36-exposure rolls of 35mm - are in individual ventilated metal cans in sealed plastic bags in the bottom of a chest freezer in a detached garage. Most importantly, the insurance company knows they are there.

 

The best thing to do with nitrate negatives is to digitize them and dispose of them safely. I have not been able to bring myself to do that yet.

[StS]

This link might be helpful.

 

This article explains the historic background.

 

Edit- in case it starts to burn, I've just seen a youtube video, where a projectionist commented, that the only way to fight burning celluloid would be to "bury it in lots of sand". I would link it, but the film is in German.

 

Stefan

Edited November 12, 2017 by StS

[StS]

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...quite some stuff also on on youtube. The making of this film for demonstration purposes would in itself be seen as dangerous these days.

 

How nitride film is stored these days.