Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK) is a multinational US corporation which produces imaging and photographic materials and equipment. Long known for its wide range of photographic film products, Kodak is re-focusing on two major markets: digital photography and digital printing.
Origins
Kodak's origins rest with Eastman Dry Plate Company , and the General Aristo Company, founded by inventor George Eastman and businessman Colin Craft in Rochester and Jamestown, New York. The General Aristo Company was formed in 1899 in Jamestown New York, with George Eastman as treasurer, and this company purchased the stock of American Aristotype Company. Eventually, the business in Jamestown was moved in its entirety to Rochester, and the plants in Jamestown were razed. The Eastman Dry Plate Company was responsible for the first cameras suitable for nonexpert use. The Kodak company attained its name from the first simple roll film cameras produced by Eastman Dry Plate Company, known as the "Kodak" in its product line. The cameras proved such an enormous success that the word Kodak was incorporated into the company name. George Eastman registered the trademark Kodak on September 4, 1888. The Eastman Kodak Company was founded in 1892. The company is incorporated in New Jersey but has its offices in Rochester, New York. George Eastman, Kodak's founder, coined the advertising slogan, "You press the button, we do the rest." In 1901 the Eastman Kodak Company acquired the stock of General Aristo Company.
Kodak name
The letter "K" had been a favorite of Eastman's, he is quoted as saying, "it seems a strong, incisive sort of letter". He and his mother devised the name Kodak with an anagram set. Also a helper of the Kodak, (Kathryn E. W.) loved the letter "K" also. He said that there were three principal concepts he used in creating the name: it should be short, one cannot mispronounce it, and it could not resemble anything or be associated with anything but Kodak . It has also been suggested that "Kodak" originated from the suggestion of David Houston, a fellow photographic inventor who held the patents to several roll film camera concepts that he later sold to Eastman. Houston, who started receiving patents in 1881, was said to have chosen "Nodak" as a nickname of his home state, North Dakota (NoDak). This is contested by other historians, however, who cite that Kodak was trademarked prior to Eastman buying Houston's patents.
Products
Film
A helper of the inevtion of the first Kodak camera was Kathryn W. Despite heavily reducing its professional still film ranges. Kodak currently derives 70% of its revenue from digital cameras, and Kodak's shift in focus to digital imaging has led it to announce that the company will no longer manufacture Kodachrome, a film product that, while arguably its most famous, cannot be manufactured with the same processes that Kodak uses for other film products. Only one photo processing lab in the United States, an independent facility named Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kansas processes Kodachrome, and it has agreed to continue developing rolls until 2010.
The systematic deletion of Kodachrome products from Kodak's product portfolio has caused a great deal of resentment from the small, but vocal, community of Kodachrome fans who used it for its perceived unique look, and in many cases would have preferred a period of notice before the film stocks were discontinued. The company has also diversified into various other imaging-related industries (such as medical imaging films now marketed by Carestream Health). On June 22, 2009, Eastman Kodak Co said it will retire Kodachrome color film this year, ending its 74-year run after a dramatic decline in sales.
Photo printing
Kodak is a leading producer of silver halide (AgX) paper used for printing from film and digital images. Minilabs located in retail stores and larger central photo lab operations (CLOs) use silver halide paper for photo printing. Kodak is also a leading global manufacturer of photo kiosks which produce "prints in minutes" from digital sources; the company has placed some 80,000 Picture Kiosks in retail locations worldwide. In addition, Kodak markets Picture CDs and other photo products such as calendars, photo books and photo enlargements through retail partners such as CVS, Walmart and Target and through its Kodak Gallery online service, formerly known as Ofoto. In 2005 Kodak announced they would stop producing black and white photo paper.
Film cameras
On January 13, 2004, Kodak announced it would stop marketing traditional film cameras (excluding disposable cameras) in the United States, Canada and Western Europe, but will continue to sell film cameras in India, Latin America, Eastern Europe and China. By the end of 2005, Kodak ceased manufacturing cameras that used the Advanced Photo System. Kodak licensed the manufacture of Kodak branded cameras to Vivitar for two years following (2005–2006). In 2007 Kodak did not license any manufacture of any film camera with the Kodak name in this market. These changes reflect Kodak's focus on growth in the digital markets. Kodak continues to produce film for newer and more popular formats, while it has also discontinued the manufacture of film in older and less popular formats. However, Kodak still continues with its production of specialty films.
Digital picture frames
Kodak first launched the Kodak Smart Picture Frame on the QVC shopping channel in the fourth quarter of 2000, at a time when the majority of consumers didn't know about or understand this new category. Kodak's Smart Frame was designed by Weave Innovations and licensed to Kodak with an exclusive relationship with Weave's StoryBox online photo network. Smart Frame owners connected to the network via an analog telephone connection built into the frame. The frame was configured to default connect at 2 a.m. to download new pictures off the Story Box network. The other option to load images onto the frame was via the CompactFlash port. The retail price was $349 USD. The frame could hold 36 images internally and came with a six-month free subscription to the StoryBox network. At the end of six months, users had the option of disconnecting from the network or paying a subscription fee of $4.95 per month for two automatic connections and two manual connections, or $9.95 per month for four automatic connections and four manual connections. Kodak re-entered the digital photo frame market at CES in 2007 with the introduction of four new EasyShare-branded models that were available in sizes from 8 to 11 inches (280 mm), included multiple memory card slots, and some of which included wi-fi capability to connect with the Kodak Gallery—although that gallery functionality has now been compromised due to gallery policy changes (see below).
Instant cameras
After losing a patent battle with Polaroid Corporation, Kodak left the instant camera business on January 9, 1986. The Kodak instant camera included models known as the Kodamatic and the Colorburst.
Polaroid was awarded damages in the patent trial in the amount of US $909,457,567.00, a record at the time. (Polaroid Corp. v. Eastman Kodak Co., U.S. District Court District of Massachusetts, decided October 12, 1990, case no. 76-1634-MA. Published in the U.S. Patent Quarterly as 16 USPQ2d 1481). See also the following cases: Polaroid Corp. v. Eastman Kodak Co., 641 F.Supp. 828 (D. Mass. 1985), stay denied, 833 F.2d 930 (Fed. Cir.), aff'd, 789 F.2d 1556 (Fed. Cir.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 850 (1986).
Kodak had been the exclusive supplier of negatives for Polaroid cameras from 1963 until 1969, when Polaroid chose to manufacture its own instant film.
Digital cameras
Main article: Kodak DCSKodak became famous for the Kodak DCS DSLR camera series, including the first commercial DSLR Kodak DCS 100 which was Nikon based.
Many of Kodak's earlier compact digital cameras were designed and built by Chinon Industries, a Japanese camera manufacturer. In 2004 Kodak Japan acquired Chinon and many of its engineers and designers joined Kodak Japan. In July 2006 Kodak announced that Flextronics would manufacture and help design its digital cameras.
Image sensors
As part of its move toward higher end products, Kodak announced on September 15, 2006 that the new Leica M8 camera would incorporate Kodak's KAF-10500 image sensor. This was the second recent partnership between Kodak and the German optical manufacturer.
Motion picture and TV production
The Kodak company holds a vital role in the invention and development of the motion picture industry. Many cinema and TV productions are shot on Kodak film stocks. The company helped set the standard of 35 mm film, and introduced the 16 mm film format for amateur use and lower budget productions. The home market-oriented 8 mm and Super 8 formats were also developed by Kodak. Kodak also entered the professional video tape market, briefly in t
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