Kodak
ends production of black and white paper
June 18, 2005
-from various news sources
Kodak announced that it will no
longer be producing black and white photographic paper. The
production of black and white papers will continue until the end of
2005 and then will be discontinued in 2006.
"Kodak will discontinue the
production and sale of black and white photographic papers as part
of its worldwide digital growth strategy," said a company
statement. "As the imaging industry transitions from film to
digital technologies, demand for B and W paper is declining by 25
percent per year and no longer represents an attractive market for
Kodak." Kodak indicated that this move did not come lightly for
the company but for years watched as profits from black and white
papers declined sharply.
"Kodak is not exiting the B and
W film or B and W chemical market. We are concentrating on growth
areas and helping/enabling the professional imaging markets to
innovate and grow through digital capture, digitization of film
images and thermal output solutions."
The company added that it will
continue to produce both film and chemicals, a move that's bound to
confuse the consumer at least a little bit. This puts the
professional black and white photographer who has relied on Kodak
papers in a bit of an odd place, as they can continue to buy black
and white film from Kodak as well as the chemicals to process that
film, but will either have to turn to other manufacturers for their
paper-based output or begin scanning their film and printing it
digitally.
Photographers in some areas are
decreasingly able to find E6 processing facilities, forcing a move
to digital for some and a move to C-41 workflow for others. This
announcement is seen as notice as to the decline of the roll of film
in the professional photography world.
While company representatives
indicated that a release would be posted to the Kodak.com website,
none is available that can be found as of this posting.
If you wish to call and voice your
opinion about this in the US, call 1-800-242-2424 ext. 19. Other
numbers can be found at this web site here: www.kodak.com/global/en/service/contactKodak/kodakPhoneNumbers.jhtml |
