The Rise & Fall of Kodak
A Brief History of The Eastman Kodak Company, 1880 to 2012
“You press the button, we do the rest.”
— George Eastman, 1888, introducing the first simple camera.
George Eastman’s goal was “to make the camera as convenient as the pencil.” Overwhelmed by the size and weight of photography equipment he needed for a planned vacation in 1877, Eastman set about inventing ever lighter and easier gear, thereby almost single-handedly creating the field of amateur photography.
“What we do during our working hours determines what we have; what we do in our leisure hours determines what we are.”
— George Eastman
Eastman brought us roll film, movie film, daylight film, the 35mm format, the Brownie camera, non-flammable photographic film, and 16mm and 8mm home movies. Following his death in 1932, his company brought us Kodachrome, Ektachrome, Tri-X, 35mm slide film, color negative film for prints, Instamatic 110 film, the APS format, the carousel projector, Super 8, the PhotoCD format, and, of course, photography. All this from one company: Kodak.
“I devised the name myself. The letter ‘K’ had been a favorite with me — it seems a strong, incisive sort of letter. It became a question of trying out a great number of combinations of letters that made words starting and ending with ‘K.’ The word ‘Kodak’ is the result.”
— George Eastman, on creating the name Kodak
The Rise of Kodak | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Event | Description |
| 1854 | Born | In Waterville, New York state, George Eastman is born. |
| 1859 | Rochester | The Eastman family moves to Rochester, N.Y., the future home of Kodak. |
| 1869 | Work | After the death of his father, George is forced to leave school at age 14 and started work as a messenger boy for an insurance firm. |
| 1877 | Photography | Planning a vacation to Santo Domingo, George buys a camera, which was the size of a microwave and required an equally heavy tripod. He described the complete outfit as “a pack-horse load.” |
| 1877–1879 | Invention | Frustrated with the mess and weight of photography’s wet plates, Eastman spends three years developing a gelatin emulsion for dry plates. |
| 1879 | Patent | George goes to London (the center of the photographic and business world) to get a patent of an emulsion-coating machine which can mass produce dry plates. |
| 1880 | Start | George Eastman makes and sells photographic plates in Rochester, N.Y. |
| 1881 | Full-time | Forms the Eastman Dry Plate Company with Henry A. Strong, a family friend and buggy-whip manufacturer. Resigns as a bank clerk at Rochester Savings Bank to work full time. |
| 1883 | Roll film | Invents film in rolls instead of plates. The company moves to a four-story building at what is now 343 State Street, Rochester, NY, Kodak’s worldwide headquarters. |
| 1884 | 14 shareholders | The partnership of Eastman and Strong is changed to a $200,000 corporation with 14 shareholders, the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company. EASTMAN Negative Paper is introduced. |
| 1885 | Photo film | The first transparent photographic “film” as we know it today is introduced with EASTMAN American Film |
| 1888 | Kodak | The name “Kodak” is registered as a trademark and the Kodak camera is marketed with the slogan, “You press the button, we do the rest.” “This was the birth of snapshot photography, as millions of amateur picture-takers know it today” according to Kodak. |
| 1889 | Movie film | Kodak introduces the first commercial transparent roll film, making possible Thomas Edison’s motion picture camera in 1891. The Eastman Co. is formed from the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Co. |
| 1891 | Daylight film | Kodak sells its first daylight-loading camera, so a photographer no longer needs to load film in a darkroom. |
| 1892 | Eastman Kodak | The company becomes Eastman Kodak Company of New York. |
| 1895 | Pocket photography | The Pocket KODAK Camera is announced, with roll film and a small window for exposure numbers. |
| 1896 | 100,000th camera | Manufactures the 100,000th KODAK camera. Introduces the first film for motion picture use. |
| 1898 | 35mm | Introduces the Folding Pocket KODAK Camera, “now considered the ancestor of all modern roll-film cameras” according to Kodak. The camera used a 2.25-inch x 3.25-inch (35mm) frame negative, which remained the standard size for decades. |
| 1900 | Brownie | The first Brownie camera is introduced. Selling for $1 and using film that costs 15 cents a roll, it brings hobby photography within financial reach. “For the first time, the hobby of photography was within the financial reach of virtually everyone.” (Kodak) |
| 1902 | Developing machine | Introduces the KODAK Developing Machine which allows photographers to process roll film without a darkroom. |
| 1907 | 5,000 employees | Kodak employs over 5,000 people worldwide. |
| 1908 | Safety film | Creates the world’s first commercially practical safety film using cellulose acetate base instead of the highly flammable cellulose nitrate base. |
| 1913 | Professional sheet film | Introduces the EASTMAN Portrait Film, allowing professional photographers to use sheet film instead of glass plates. |
| 1923 | 16mm movies | Kodak makes amateur movie-making possible with 16mm reversal film on cellulose acetate (safety) base, the first 16mm CINE-KODAK Motion Picture Camera, and the KODASCOPE Projector. |
| 1927 | 20,000 employees | Kodak employs 20,000 people worldwide. |
| 1928 | Color movies | 16 mm KODACOLOR Film introduced, making color available for amateur movie makers. |
| 1929 | Movie film | The company introduces its first motion picture film for sound. |
| 1932 | 8mm | The first 8 mm amateur motion-picture film, cameras, and projectors were introduced. |
| 1932 | Death | George Eastman kills himself at age 77, frustrated by a progressive disability. |
| 1935 | Kodachrome | Kodachrome film is introduced and becomes the first commercially successful amateur color film. |
| 1936 | 35mm slide | Kodachrome offered as 35mm slide film. |
| 1942 | Color print film | Introduces KODACOLOR Film for prints, the world’s first true color negative film |
| 1946 | Ektachrome | KODAK EKTACHROME Transparency Sheet Film is Kodak’s first color film that photographers could process themselves |
| 1948 | Safety movie film | Introduces a 35mm tri-acetate safety base film for movie film to replace the flammable cellulose nitrate base. |
| 1950 | Colorama | Unveiled the first KODAK COLORAMA Display transparency, an 18 feet high and 60 feet wide picture in New York’s Grand Central Station. |
| 1951 | Brownie 8mm | The low-priced Brownie 8mm movie camera is introduced, followed by Brownie movie projector in 1952. |
| 1954 | Tri-X | Introduces TRI-X Film, a popular high-speed black-and-white film. |
| 1961 | Carousel projector | The KODAK CAROUSEL Projector is introduced, with a round tray holding 80 slides. |
| 1962 | $1B | The company’s U.S. consolidated sales exceed $1 billion for the first time. Its work force tops 75,000. |
| 1963 | Instamatic | Kodak introduces a line of easy-to-use Instamatic cameras with cartridge-loading film (selling more than 50 million by 1970). |
| 1964 | Tower of Photography | New York World’s Fair featured the Kodak Pavilion and the “Tower of Photography”" the largest outdoor color prints ever exhibited. |
| 1965 | Super 8 | Introduced the Super 8 movie format with cartridge-loading KODACHROME II Film. The four-bulb flash debuts on KODAK INSTAMATIC Cameras |
| 1966 | $4B | Combined sales of all Kodak units surpasses $4 billion, and Kodak employment exceeds 100,000. |
| 1972 | Instamatic 110 | The KODAK 110 Film Cartridge is introduced. The line was so popular that more than 25 million KODAK Pocket INSTAMATIC Cameras were produced in slightly under three years. |
| 1973 | Home movies | Amateurs can make sound home movies with the introduction of two super 8 sound movie cameras and cartridge-loading super 8 film, magnetically striped for sound recording. Worldwide employment exceeds 120,000. |
| 1975 | Digital | Kodak invents the world’s first camera. The toaster-size prototype captures black-and-white images at a resolution of 10,000 pixels (.01 megapixels). |
| 1976 | Market peak | Kodak commanded 90% of film sales and 85% of camera sales in the U.S., according to a 2005 case study for Harvard Business School. |
| 1981 | $10B | Company sales surpass the $10 billion revenue mark. The next year, hometown payroll peaks at 60,400. |
| 1982 | VR 100 | KODACOLOR VR 100 Film was introduced, utilizing a new T-GRAIN Emulsion Technology, which represented a major break-through in silver-halide emulsions. |
| 1984 | Video | Kodak enters the video market with the Kodavision Series 2000 8mm video system and introduces Kodak videotape cassettes in 8mm, Beta and VHS formats, along with a line of floppy disks for computers. |
| 1988 | Employment peak | Global payroll peaks at 145,300. |
| 1989 | Disposable cameras | The one-time-use KODAK STRETCH 35 Camera produced 3 1/2 x 10 - inch prints for panoramic scenes. The one-time-use KODAK WEEKEND 35 Camera was an all-weather camera capable of taking pictures underwater down to a depth of 8 feet. |
| 1991 | DCS | The KODAK Professional Camera System (DCS) was introduced, enabling photojournalists to take electronic pictures with a Nikon F-3 camera equipped by Kodak with a 1.3 megapixel sensor. |
| 1993 | PhotoCD | Introduced PhotoCD for photo storage. |
| 1994 | Royal Gold | KODAK ROYAL GOLD Film introduced. |
| 1996 | Peak | Kodak commands over two-thirds of global market share. Revenues reach nearly $16 billion, its stock exceeds $90, and the company is worth over $31 billion. The Kodak brand is the fifth most valuable brand in the world. |
| Sources: Kodak, Wikipedia, The Wall Street Journal. | ||
The Peak
From its inception, Kodak dominated the American photography industry.As late as 1976, Kodak commanded 90% of film sales and 85% of camera sales in the U.S., according to a 2005 case study for Harvard Business School. By 1988, Kodak employed over 145,000 workers worldwide.
1996 was the peak year for Kodak. The company had over two-thirds of global market share. Kodak’s revenues reached nearly $16 billion, its stock exceeded $90, and the company was worth over $31 billion. The Kodak brand was the fifth most valuable brand in the world.
Downfall
Despite helping invent and lead the photography revolution with cameras and services, Kodak never found a cash-cow to replace film. From 2003 to 2011, Kodak shed 47,000 jobs, 13 manufacturing plants and 130 processing labs. It has not made an annual profit since 2004 and its cash reserves were soon depleted.
In July 2011, Kodak started trying to sell its many patents but found no immediate buyers. On January 19, 2012, Kodak chose to enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy and its formerly blue-chip stock was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.
“After 132 years [Kodak] is poised, like an old photo, to fade away.”
— The Economist: The Last Kodak Moment
The Fall of Kodak | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Event | Description |
| 1996 | DC-20 | Introduced the DC-20 and DC-25 cameras, with 0.2 megapixels. |
| 1996 | APS | Introduces the Advanced Photo System format was introduced. Features included drop-in film cartridge loading, mid-roll change enabling the film to be removed before being completely exposed, and three different picture formats (Classic, Group, and Panoramic). Unveils the campaign “Take Pictures. Further.” |
| 2001 | Digital #2 | Kodak has the second-largest U.S. camera sales (behind Sony) but loses $60 USD on every camera sold. |
| 2000 | Kodak Theater | Signs a $74 million deal for naming rights to the new Hollywood theater that will host the Oscars. Following bankruptcy twelve years later, host Billy Crystal calls it “the beautiful Chapter 11 Theater.” |
| 2001 | Ofoto | Acquired Ofoto, Inc., a leading online photography service, later rebranding as Kodak Gallery. Launches the KODAK EASYSHARE System, a line of cameras and docking systems. |
| 2004 | Leaves Dow Jones | Kodak begins makeover, the same year it gets ejected from the 30-stock Dow Jones industrial average. It cuts tens of thousands of jobs as it closes factories and changes businesses. |
| 2005 | Digital leader | Kodak ranked No. 1 in the U.S. in camera sales that surged 40% to $5.7 billion, according to BusinessWeek. |
| 2007 | #4 | No. 4 in U.S. camera sales with a 9.6 percent share |
| 2008 | Patents | Kodak begins mining its patent portfolio, which generates nearly $2 billion in fees over three years. |
| 2010 | #7 | 7 percent of U.S. camera sales, putting Kodak in seventh place behind Canon, Sony, Nikon and others. |
| 2010 | Sues Apple | Kodak sues Apple Inc. and Research in Motion Ltd. before the U.S. International Trade Commission, claiming the smartphone makers are infringing its 2001 patent for technology that lets a camera preview low-resolution versions of a moving image while recording still images at higher resolutions. Global employment falls to 18,800. |
| 2011 | Patents for sale | Kodak offers for sale its 1,100-imaging patents. Agrees to sell its gelatin business. |
| 2012 | Bankruptcy | Kodak files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Says it will stop making cameras, pocket video cameras and picture frames, and will sell its personalized imaging businesses. Sells its online photo service business to Shutterfly for $23.8 million. |
| Sources: Kodak, Wikipedia, CBS News (from Kodak and Associated Press research), The Wall Street Journal. | ||
Pictures from Wikipedia
Kodak headquarters in Rochester, New York, United States
An original Kodak camera, complete with box, camera, case, felt lens plug, manual, memorandum and viewfinder card
A Brownie No 2. camera
Pictures from Kodak
A Brownie, 1900Eastman Dry Plate, 1884George Eastman and Thomas Edison, 1928George Eastman in his libraryGeorge EastmanSelf-portrait of George EastmanThe Kodak Camera, an adThe evolution of the Kodak logoNext page: Nikon D600 coming Sept 13?
Comments
Reply by Hmlohse
April 20, 2018
Sources and author of this article? I would like to cite your work in a research paper.
Reply by Anonymous
February 8, 2018
Worked for them from 1965 to 1980. The problem was inbreeding and myoptic vision. The rule, unspoken and unwritten was: If you are not wasp and from the New England states, you have no future here in any place of prominence. The Murphy’s Law rule was invented here resulting a management devoid of original thought and creative ability. They all retired wealthy and comfortable. The company, lost forever.
1. Dr. Land, inventor of the Polaroid camera offered it to Kodak. They said nobody would buy it. Somebody did.
2. The creator of the Xerox machine: same story.
3. In the early 1980s, Kodak Engineers invented the world’s first digital camera. When asked by management where does the film go and hearing, it doesn’t need any, it was shelved.
Classic case of inbred failure.
Reply by Locaste
October 1, 2017
As a twelve year EK veteran, I can say that Kodak’s entire MO was one that hinged from keeping people in bondage to them. They never quite learned how to function profitably in a competitive environment. Their culture, philosophies and attitudes up and down the chain of command continued to metastasize until the point in time where they became obvious to everyone.
When they saw the end of silver halide film coming, they jumped onto their horses and galloped into every direction. Becoming involved in competitive markets that their monopolistic attitudes guaranteed failure. Promoting people up through the ranks whose ingrained cultures provided only more of the same.
Much like cheap flashlights were a tool to sell batteries, cheap cameras were a tool to sell Kodak film. Why get involved in developing a competitive 35mm SLR camera line when you’re making so much money selling 35mm film to owners of Nikon and Canon SLR cameras? This ended with digital photography, as much as Kodak tried to stave it off.
When the increasingly sophisticated customer base was marching forward with their desire for more sophisticated, higher quality photography formats, Kodak’s response during this period was their Disc camera which was very quickly seen as junk, a worthless diversion.
When Kodak lacked an instant camera to compete with Polariod, the decision was to steal Poloroid’s technology. This resulted in a 900.4 million dollar patent infringement judgement. Beyond the monetary amount of the judgement, this case was an illustration of their attitude to the world, their customers and their employees. What an embarrassment! Re: SCOTUS: Poloroid Corp. v Eastman Kodak Company
When a customer makes the decision to purchase a Kodak high-performance copier off an existing lease, Kodak still owns that customer because it had a virtual lock on all service, repair and replacement parts for that copier. Consider the frustration and hopelessness that their customers felt. However ineffective your repair representative was, essentially, you were stuck with that person. Re: SCOTUS case: "Eastman Kodak Company v Image Technical Services"
The business model that worked up until the 1960s cultivated their death spiral in the 1970s. In summary, God stepped in and has been closing their show. Society is the profound benefactor of this ongoing collapse. We should be rejoicing in the freedom that is now evident!
"Let the redeemed of the Lord say so whom he has delivered from the hand of the adversary." Psalm 107.2 AMP.
God is great:
Locaste
Reply by Sam Welbeck
November 27, 2016
They should have let go of the idea that you have to print. They had a web-based photo site called Ofoto or something, but it was to send photos to be printed. They also spent a lot in digital camera R and D - to print; and later on they spent a lot on photo printer design. They forgot their own moto "you press the button...we do the rest" - that should have translated as a picture made simply and ready to share - by ANY means. If they had kept to this they would probably have been the owners of Instagram.
Reply by Fambrogio
August 13, 2015
That reminds me of the rail companies in the beginning of last century. When the first cars began to appear in the market, they considered them an extravagant toy for rich people. How blind they were.
Reply by Anonymous
July 6, 2015
Fascinating, I learned a lot from this but it doesn’t clearly explain by Kodak failed. The Fall of Kodak section lists many of the right actions, driving invocation in digital camera, electronic photo sharing, etc. What should they have done differently?
My first digital camera was a $50 Kodak (1 MPixel?) that I bought for my son. It worked great for a while then started having trouble. By the time that we figured out it wasn’t operator or storage error, it was a couple weeks out of warranty. Kodak would fix it for $70-80 so I threw it out and never bought another Kodak camera.
Reply by Anonymous
May 26, 2015
So sad...... Other companies are in a similar position, but they don’t see it yet.
Reply by Anonymous
May 5, 2015
What a great summary, concise and accurate. Thank you!