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Thread: Signs that Kodak won't discontinue film soon?

  1. #1

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    Oct 2001
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    Signs that Kodak won't discontinue film soon?

    I just saw this AP article on Kodak's difficulties in conquering the digital market so far. I thought I'd share it with the group because it includes a line which seems to give a glimpse at the near future of Kodak's film production, to wit:

    "Kodak is hoping film, its cash cow for a century, will continue to bring enough cash as it steadies on its new bearing. But the clock is running down. Third-quarter revenues from traditional businesses fell 20 percent to $1.66 billion, and film sales could drop more than 30 percent in the United States this year."

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051021/ap_on_bi_ge/kodak_s_future

  2. #2

    Signs that Kodak won't discontinue film soon?

    I'm going to go online and order a few boxes of TMX Readyloads. I hope that helps.

  3. #3

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    Signs that Kodak won't discontinue film soon?

    I just got my 3 pakets of readyloads!
    Dont buy any digital from them just buy traditional, we have to learn them to produce the right staff!
    They should produce a 8x10 readyload holder and TMX 100+ 400 and Trix for it and one it color!
    They could sell thad staff very good, they would be heros like to Eastman times!!
    They would be the only company with it for a while!

    GO FOR IT YELLOW ONE!!

    P.S. Greatings to the shareholders of Kodak!!!

  4. #4

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    Signs that Kodak won't discontinue film soon?

    It sounds as if Kodak is just too big----they've had the lions share of the market for so long that thier expectations aren't likely to be met in the post digital imaging world unless the market for 35mm grows dramatically---which it its not. With Agfa folding, thats got to send a shiver up the spines of Kodak investors.

    Which dosen't spell the 'end' for film, only for big film companies.
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  5. #5

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    Signs that Kodak won't discontinue film soon?

    Do you really think that our buying from Kodak is going to convince them to continue in film? What's a piddling few more orders going to do? They work from the bottom-line up. If you want to encourage a good effort, buy from J&C where it makes more of a difference.

    Let Kodak die. It won't even be a dignified death. There's nothing we can do, really.

  6. #6

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    Signs that Kodak won't discontinue film soon?

    It's just amazing to me how totally clueless Kodak sometimes seems to be. There's an article in the current issue of Photo Techniques about Kodak's problems (and Polaroid's). The article says that Kodak is trying to position itself as the only company that can help amateurs and pros make the big change from film to digital. What a great strategy - if only they had adopted it ten years ago. But today? They're going to help people make a transition that has already occurred (with the help of companies much smarter than Kodak was)?

    The same article says Kodak is going to convince consumers that it knows digital photography. Good idea since so many people think they don't. But how are they going to do that? With a new ad campaign! Sure. Throw enough money at a new ad campaign and nobody will remember their past digital fiascos. I think they'd be better advised to spend their ad campaigh money on R&D so they can bring out better products than the competition's.

    I've never been a knee-jerk Kodak basher, I buy their products whenever there's not a clear choice otherwise just to help out a company that was synonomous with traditional photography for more than a century. But if they aren't more digital-market-savvy than this strategy would indicate then I think they're in even worse trouble than we thought.
    Brian Ellis
    Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
    a mile away and you'll have their shoes.

  7. #7

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    Signs that Kodak won't discontinue film soon?

    Kodak is too big. It can't change properly because it's hauling around corporate structure that proves the saying that "All of us is dumber than one of us."

    Frankly, I hope they do go 100% digital because they sure as hell are not willing to invest in film R&D any further, and (IMHO) their latest great R&D product promoted T-Grain films which was clearly targeted to the B&W studio photographer, and neither the consumer nor the outdoor photographer who might struggle with realistic daylight contrast issues. T-Grain was a "smart" decision in terms of the literature of technology, but completely unjustified in terms of making the market. It put them into the hocks with new production equipment, technical support; it is a hugely stupid product. Had Kodak left the tgrain technology to Ilford (for example) it would not have hurt Kodak's overall profitablity as much as making it did.

    Kodak had a World-Class intellectual center of photographic expertise, and like most huge companies, the expertise exists among a handfull or two of individuals. On the other hand, they have thousands of engineers making more of the same, marketeers, bean-counters, obsolete hangers-on, managers and support people. I hope they go 100% digital, go back to their intellectual center, listen to the best engineers and put the bean-counters back in the closet where they belong and get on with GREAT digital products - probably specialized, high-end, world-class peripherals... as a small company.

  8. #8
    Jim Ewins
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    Signs that Kodak won't discontinue film soon?

    I visited the Kodak plant in Rochester two weeks ago and was told by a guard that the acetate plant (35mm) was down 90%. No more tours for the public. The Paper plant down. Building #2 being dismanteled. More to follow. It is sad.

  9. #9
    Big Negs Rock!
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    Signs that Kodak won't discontinue film soon?

    The highest profit margin in Kodak is the Motion Picture Imaging division. The new stocks they've introduced show their commitment to that division, unfortunately that division does virtually no B&W, so there is little spill over to what we do.

    Kind Regards,
    MW
    Mark Woods

    Large Format B&W
    Cinematography Mentor at the American Film Institute
    Past President of the Pasadena Society of Artists
    Director of Photography
    Pasadena, CA
    www.markwoods.com

  10. #10

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    Signs that Kodak won't discontinue film soon?

    Like a series of falling dominoes, all the major cash cows f0r Kodak have fallen to digital while they kept their heads in the sand hoping it would never really happen - medical imaging, police, military, scientific and so on. The only cow left is motion picture - and that really is only a matter of time

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