Re: [AV Media Matters] 16mm Film

[ajmasson@gte.net]

Rob Macmorine wrote:

>Can anyone out there tell me if 16mm film was ever printed on nitrate
stock?

Kodak or Eastman 16 mm stock was never manufactured on cellulose nitrate
support, neither camera film nor print film. This was apparently a policy
decision by George Eastman himself. The 16 mm gauge was introduced as an
amateur movie format and the risk of fire from nitrate film was too great
for this material to be put into the hands of amateurs. In fact, 16 mm was
chosen as the film width for this application, rather than 17.5 mm which
could have been produced by slitting down 35 mm nitrate film.

Alan J. Masson
Director of Engineering
Eastman Kodak Company
Hollywood, CA.
Tel: (323) 468-1517
E-mail: alan.masson@kodak.com