Agreed. And what Kodak should be doing is cashing in on that reputation. Rather than spending to try to make a new one based on products that could take a decade to get a foothold.
Seems to me the best way to put the film brand to rest is to make a formal commitment to provide certain products for 5 years. This is not a commitment to keep prices constant, on the contrary. But it is a reaffirmation that they see need for their product and they will stand by it. That would stop the migration to other brands and raise funds for more orderly scaledown.
Probably too late for this approach though
Longer term, Kodak needs a company like Apple or RIM to help them get into the social network arena, they are going to be absolutely screwed if they keep throwing investment into print-at-home media.
Very short term, I don't see why they couldn't land a big fat contract to provide printers to public schools or such. I am a card-carrying free-market Libertarian, but when it comes down to keeping people's jobs and preserving our competitiveness, this is what it takes. This is now an issue of national defense, the way I see it.
This country does not need one more subsidized company.
We need to see how things pan out. I was reminded today while taking my mother to the opticiansd that Kodak have many other market segments.
A surge of 3D films last year obviously impacted movie film stock sales but at the same time the industry is realising that film may be a bettr way to archiv films than digital.
What's really needed from our point of view is new owners of the coating division who retain an interest in film and allow the division to thrive again. More importantly a new sales & distribution structure needs to be put in place. Visiting two shops selling colour & B&W films this week there was no Kodak to be seen, and that's in the UK.
Ian
Again, I am as pro-free-market as they come, but at some point we'll be back in the alphabet soup of the 1930s, looking for any job we can find, if we don't quickly act to preserve what little sci & tech manufacturing base that what we have.
And my suggestion is not to create a handout for Kodak. A contract such as I describe is not a subsidy. A contract would be configured to pay market price for what Kodak does, and the bid would be competitively reviewed. And if Kodak's printer offerings do indeed represent a big potential cost savings for government, then it is totally appropriate for agencies to look at that and proceed with an investment in all due haste.
Just a real shame. I've always been a Kodak fan and supporter. One would be hard pressed to find better products of such consistent quality. Just a shame.
It seems to me such a contract might help save Kodak, but will it stimulate the market toward Kodak printers? I doubt it. Without the buying public creating demand for Kodak products, government contracts aren't going to help them. And besides, what if HP or some other brand competes for the contract, and they come in lower/better? Now where does that leave Kodak?
There is no better way to archive a motion picture then to digitize it. A motion picture has an exceedingly better chance of surviving the coming ages in digital form. Archiving of motion pictures is not going to be a boon for film.
It matters little how keen an interest the coating division has in film. What matters more is what the buying public and potential market for film think. The film industry needs to find a way to provoke desire for film in the public.
Does anyone want to hazard a (realistic) guess to a worst case and best case scenario for Kodak?
I am still a big fan of reala, which available in 120 size.
Reala in 120 and in 35mm are very different films.
There is no better way to archive a motion picture then to digitize it. A motion picture has an exceedingly better chance of surviving the coming ages in digital form.
Please say more. I have been shooting it in 120 and have been very happy, don't have experience with it in 135.Reala in 120 and in 35mm are very different films.
Please say more. I have been shooting it in 120 and have been very happy, don't have experience with it in 135.
They are actual images, not code, which will be reproducible by whatever methods exist at the time.
Used to call that a Kodak Moment.
Yer kiddin', right?
Film originals are archived as color separations on B+W stock which has an ISO certified life of several hundred years, properly stored. All data will be there. There will not be the problems with archaic digital formats or bits and bytes going poof. They do not need to be re-copied to stay in good shape or keep up with hardware or format changes. They are actual images, not code, which will be reproducible by whatever methods exist at the time.
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