Kodak dismatling an unused film coating building

[Photo Engineer]

Jerry;

But now there is no backup smaller machine assembly, nor any room for downsizing production anymore. It is gone. All they have is one big high-speed machine.

PE

 

[Prest_400]

Sad to hear this news. This morning I read on the newspaper an article about archiving motion picture and it assumed that in 2015 it would be all gone (film). Being a general newspaper one doesn't expect total information yet it is sad to see they are forcing all cinemas to go digital (which according to many articles is very difficult for small theaters). No choice at all, digital or die.
Last time I went to the theater they even put some mobile phone ads... It seems youtube (well, it is, with a huge screen at 4K).

Jerry;

But now there is no backup smaller machine assembly, nor any room for downsizing production anymore. It is gone. All they have is one big high-speed machine.

PE

I was thinking about this too. Bldg 38 seems huge for what the market is now, so I get they got rid of the building and the coating machine too... If they ever need to downsize, there will be no way.

 

[cmacd123]

I was thinking about this too. Bldg 38 seems huge for what the market is now, so I get they got rid of the building and the coating machine too... If they ever need to downsize, there will be no way.

I assume that the building they are Junking is the one where the second coating line that is mentioned in "Making Kodak Film" was located. Were there other coating lines in that location? The Book says that in some ways the backup line was even more up to date?

 

[lxdude]

Jerry;

But now there is no backup smaller machine assembly, nor any room for downsizing production anymore. It is gone. All they have is one big high-speed machine.

PE

Well, it's been a long time now since the honchos at Kodak were accused of making well thought out decisions...

 

[Gerald C Koch]

Jerry;

But now there is no backup smaller machine assembly, nor any room for downsizing production anymore. It is gone. All they have is one big high-speed machine.

PE

Didn't know that. I thought the new machine was more flexible in its output.

 

[Photo Engineer]

Didn't know that. I thought the new machine was more flexible in its output.

Oh, it is, it is. You just shut it down for a few days or weeks and production goes down to meet demand!

And if it breaks down, then you just fix it and run more often to catch up!

See? Perfectly flexible.

Oh well, what is done is done. They may have some stuff in mothballs and the KRL machines can make up to 4x5s or if J9 is still there, they can make 11x14s. I didn't see any big cranes near B59, nor did I see a hole in the side of the building so if J9 is gone, it went in pieces or was just mothballed.... J9 was the only KRL machine capable of curtain coating at high speed IIRC.

PE

 

[StoneNYC]

Oh, it is, it is. You just shut it down for a few days or weeks and production goes down to meet demand!

And if it breaks down, then you just fix it and run more often to catch up!

See? Perfectly flexible.

Oh well, what is done is done. They may have some stuff in mothballs and the KRL machines can make up to 4x5s or if J9 is still there, they can make 11x14s. I didn't see any big cranes near B59, nor did I see a hole in the side of the building so if J9 is gone, it went in pieces or was just mothballed.... J9 was the only KRL machine capable of curtain coating at high speed IIRC.

PE

I thought the new machine only had to run for one 24 hour period a year to meet demand?


~Stone

Mamiya: 7 II, RZ67 Pro II / Canon: 1V, AE-1, 5DmkII / Kodak: No 1 Pocket Autographic, No 1A Pocket Autographic | Sent w/ iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[StoneNYC]

Well, it's been a long time now since the honchos at Kodak were accused of making well thought out decisions...

Then did they ever make well thought out decisions? Haha


~Stone

Mamiya: 7 II, RZ67 Pro II / Canon: 1V, AE-1, 5DmkII / Kodak: No 1 Pocket Autographic, No 1A Pocket Autographic | Sent w/ iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MattKing]

Then did they ever make well thought out decisions? Haha


~Stone

Mamiya: 7 II, RZ67 Pro II / Canon: 1V, AE-1, 5DmkII / Kodak: No 1 Pocket Autographic, No 1A Pocket Autographic | Sent w/ iPhone using Tapatalk

I think, young man, you need to know a bit more history before you say things like that.

There is a reason that they were once one of the most successful companies in the world.

And one of the best places to work, as well.

 

[OzJohn]

How old is that photo?

Kodak is long gone in Melbourne. So is Agfa, who's warehouse/factory was nearly as big in Nunawading...

Ilfords factory has gone too

Pretty old I'd say maybe sixties - it is from the Museum Victoria website which is the repository of a lot of interesting stuff from Kodak Australasia but like all museums it will probably take a decade or two for everything to be catalogued. I'm not a Victorian but I did visit Kodak and Ilford some years ago but not Agfa. I knew they had a processing lab at Nunawading but did not know they actually manufactured anything in Australia. OzJohn

 

[StoneNYC]

I think, young man, you need to know a bit more history before you say things like that.

There is a reason that they were once one of the most successful companies in the world.

And one of the best places to work, as well.

You mean because they were the ONLY film company ... Haha

You're right of course, but they did do a lot of things like GE ... Buy already researched things proven successful (like Kodachrome). That certainly still works to an extent, perhaps they should have done more of that and when film sales suddenly dropped, they should have sold that off entirely.

In an ironic sense, sticking WITH their photographer client base is what actually hurt them long term.

Well I don't know a lot about Kodak, you're certainly right about that.

I also want to read that Kodak history book that the APUGer wrote but I don't want to buy/own it, maybe we can start a share/pass along and all learn more


~Stone

Mamiya: 7 II, RZ67 Pro II / Canon: 1V, AE-1, 5DmkII / Kodak: No 1 Pocket Autographic, No 1A Pocket Autographic | Sent w/ iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[OzJohn]

I also want to read that Kodak history book that the APUGer wrote but I don't want to buy/own it, maybe we can start a share/pass along and all learn more

You really should try to get yourself a copy of Robert Shanebrook's book because I doubt that anything like it, particularly the photos, could ever be done again owing to a lack of extant colour film coating facilities. As we here know, film, particularly colour film, is a product of sophisticated chemistry and precision engineering - this book illustrates that point better than any other I've read. OzJohn

 

[StoneNYC]

You really should try to get yourself a copy of Robert Shanebrook's book because I doubt that anything like it, particularly the photos, could ever be done again owing to a lack of extant colour film coating facilities. As we here know, film, particularly colour film, is a product of sophisticated chemistry and precision engineering - this book illustrates that point better than any other I've read. OzJohn

Well want to lend me your copy?


~Stone

Mamiya: 7 II, RZ67 Pro II / Canon: 1V, AE-1, 5DmkII / Kodak: No 1 Pocket Autographic, No 1A Pocket Autographic | Sent w/ iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

Mr. Shanebrook deserves fair compensation for his creation, as do we all. Send him the asking price, and he'll send you a copy. It's a win-win proposition. I did it. And I actually think I came out ahead in the transaction.

It's a really good book. And the best come-back I know to anyone who says that modern film is old-school and low-tech.

Ken

 

[StoneNYC]

Mr. Shanebrook deserves fair compensation for his creation, as do we all. Send him the asking price, and he'll send you a copy. It's a win-win proposition. I did it. And I actually think I came out ahead in the transaction.

It's a really good book. And the best come-back I know to anyone who says that modern film is old-school and low-tech.

Ken

Oh it's not that I don't think he deserves his due return for the investment, as a photographer I totally understand that part, it's more that I can't justify spending the cash at this time when I have 20 rolls of undeveloped color film in my fridge because I can't afford to develop it yet... Lol


~Stone

Mamiya: 7 II, RZ67 Pro II / Canon: 1V, AE-1, 5DmkII / Kodak: No 1 Pocket Autographic, No 1A Pocket Autographic | Sent w/ iPhone using Tapatalk