Eastman Kodak Company

• Date Founded: 1880
• Industry: Film, Digital Imaging, and Materials Science
• Corporate Headquarters: Rochester, New York
• Type: Public

Eastman Kodak Company (Kodak), headquartered in Rochester, New York, is best known for its innovation in photography and imaging. The company was founded in 1880 by photographer and inventor George Eastman. Under his leadership and until his death in 1932, Kodak introduced groundbreaking products, such as the first portable camera and the first film for developing and printing photographs. Over time, the company manufactured other models of cameras and more sophisticated film. The company also began diversifying by producing slide projectors, inkjet printers, scanners, and chemicals, among many other products. Its investments in research throughout its history yielded many valuable patents.

Kodak’s many successful innovations provided steady sales and profit growth through the 1980s. Nonetheless, downturns in its business over the last decades of the twentieth century and the early decades of the twenty-first century have threatened Kodak’s financial stability. Despite inventing the digital camera, Kodak was slow to capitalize on this new technology. Sales of Kodak film started a steady decline in the 1990s, and shrinking profits eventually led to losses. The company’s lowest point came in January 2012, when it filed for bankruptcy. It emerged less than two years later as a smaller and more streamlined company focused on imaging technologies, catering primarily to businesses rather than to consumers.

As part of its efforts to rebuild, by 2017, the company had expanded increasingly into territory that was proving more profitable each year: flexographic packaging printing solutions, especially for use by printers in the food packaging industry. Additionally, that same year, Kodak released its Ektra smartphone in the United States (it had hit UK markets the previous year). Designed to serve as a simpler phone that emphasizes the camera more prominently, the device received mixed reviews.

In 2019, the company was able to pay off its remaining debt from bankruptcy, and it continued to innovate new products, including those for the packaging industry. After the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020, Kodak increased production of isopropyl alcohol, a main ingredient in hand sanitizer, which was used to bolster supplies in New York state. At the same time, the company attempted to transition into the pharmaceutical industry, recognizing the US's reliance on other countries for generic drugs. After applying for a federal loan during the pandemic, however, the company became mired in controversy as it encountered allegations of insider trading, among other charges, and the loan was put on hold. In April 2023, two pharmaceutical executives were charged with insider trading related to Kodak. Meanwhile, the company continued to invest in its Advanced Materials and Chemicals group, including preparing to open a new manufacturing facility in Rochester focused on the production of pharmaceutical ingredients in late 2024.

History

During the early days of photography, the recording and printing of images was a cumbersome and time-consuming process. Nineteenth-century photography required the use of large, heavy cameras that were difficult to handle. George Eastman’s passion for photography inspired him to improve the process of taking and developing photographs. He invented an easier way to make dry glass photographic plates. This development led to the formation of the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company in 1880, which mass-produced these plates.

By 1884, Eastman had rendered dry plates obsolete by inventing film for photography. In 1888, he created a market for film by introducing a portable, handheld camera that was sold at a very reasonable price. The company enhanced the value of its products by processing and developing the film used by its cameras. In fact, Kodak’s very first portable camera was sold preloaded with film. Once the roll of one hundred exposures had been used, customers returned the entire camera to the company for the pictures to be developed and printed. The camera was then reloaded with more film and sent back to the customer. The name of the business was shortly thereafter changed to Eastman Kodak Company. The name Kodak was one that Eastman made up. He was looking for a strong, identifiable sound that people would remember.

Photography became increasingly popular starting in 1900 with the introduction of the Brownie, a small handheld camera priced at $1.00 that was even smaller than the company’s original portable device. The Brownie was so successful that it became an iconic object in American culture. Kodak’s marketing strategy consisted of naming the Brownie after a character from a popular children’s book expressly to appeal to a young audience. The campaign was a triumph, resulting in sales to consumers of all ages.

Shortly afterward, Kodak conceived another breakthrough: film for motion pictures. Thomas Edison used this film to make the first motion picture. As the movie industry grew, Kodak continued to refine its film, capturing several Academy Awards for scientific and technological achievement starting in the 1930s.

Kodachrome was a brand of color film designed for both still photography and motion pictures. Its reputation for high-quality pictures brought acclaim from professionals and amateurs alike. Kodak sold Kodachrome from 1935 to 2010 when it was phased out due to sharply lower demand for film of any kind due to the rise of digital photography. In its heyday, this brand became renowned throughout the world.

Kodak invented the first digital camera in 1975, eliminating the need for film altogether and spawning important advancements in computer imaging. Other companies were quick to exploit this technology, whereas Kodak failed to do so until after digital cameras were well established. Ultimately, Kodak built a digital camera that it dubbed the EasyShare, which offered customers integrated software to save, manage, and share their pictures.

George Eastman was also adept at using effective business strategies. He understood and pursued opportunities to create markets, develop advertisements, launch brands, set up distribution networks, invest in research, set attractive prices, focus on convenience, secure patents, license inventions, and expand internationally.

Eastman took advantage of the burgeoning interest in photography in Europe, setting up offices in many countries there during Kodak’s early years. This move was the start of the company’s expansion to countries around the world. Eastman valued research and development by the company to nurture ideas and technologies needed to create new products. The company regularly secured patents for its innovations, a tradition that has continued throughout its history.

Following the days of George Eastman’s leadership, Kodak greatly expanded its range of products to scanners, pocket video cameras, inkjet printers, medical imaging equipment, photochemicals, slide projectors, and photocopiers. It also developed advanced printing equipment, touch sensors, and a limited range of specialized films. Additionally, Kodak provided sophisticated techniques for imaging and printing, along with software and services to manage these processes. The company built up service businesses by writing software for imaging applications, implementing customized printing systems, and applying nanotechnology for a variety of uses. Kodak augmented its revenues by leveraging its many patents and licensing proprietary innovations to other companies.

Eastman Chemical, a subsidiary formed by George Eastman in 1920 to provide Kodak with chemicals, was spun off as a separate corporation in 1993. At that time, Eastman Chemical alone was large enough to become part of the Fortune 500 list of the largest US companies. Though Kodak declined in profits and technological importance in the twenty-first century, by the early 2020s, it remained a cultural touchstone and a publicly traded company.

Impact

Although George Eastman did not invent photography, he revolutionized the industry by creating consumer-friendly products that made it easy to use cameras to take pictures and convert exposed film into photographs. Eastman Kodak’s innovations in photography launched widespread interest and a host of applications in many fields.

The company’s marketing efforts included large-scale advertising campaigns that ultimately made Kodak a household name. The Brownie camera’s success was the result of an early campaign. Over time, the word snapshot was coined by owners of the Brownie. Arguably, Kodak’s most famous advertising campaign generated the tagline, "A Kodak Moment" encouraging customers to capture the details and mood of special occasions using the company’s cameras and film.

George Eastman was an active philanthropist during his lifetime. He is estimated to have donated more than $100 million, with a focus on educational institutions, including the Rochester Institute of Technology, the University of Rochester, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Bibliography

Baig, Edward C. "The Next Kodak Moment: A Smartphone?" USA Today, 24 May 2017, www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/baig/2017/05/23/next-kodak-moment-smartphone/102037630/. Accessed 19 Apr. 2018.

Collins, Douglas. The Story of Kodak. H. N. Abrams, 1990.

Deckert, Andrea. "Kodak Reports Increase in Q3 Profit, Readies to Open Manufacturing Facility in Rochester." Rochester Business Journal, 13 Nov. 2024, rbj.net/2024/11/13/kodak-reports-increase-in-q3-profit-readies-to-open-manufacturing-facility-in-rochester/. Accessed 18 Nov. 2024.

Gandy, George, and Dan Gross. “Former Pharmaceutical Executive and Cousin Charged with Insider Trading Related to Kodak.” WROC, 24 Feb. 2023, www.rochesterfirst.com/crime/former-pharmaceutical-executive-and-cousin-charged-with-insider-trading-in-kodak. Accessed 29 Apr. 2023.

"George Eastman." Biography, 22 June 2020, www.biography.com/inventors/george-eastman. Accessed 18 Nov. 2024.

Hardy, Quentin. "At Kodak, Clinging to a Future Beyond Film." The New York Times, 20 Mar. 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/03/22/business/at-kodak-clinging-to-a-future-beyond-film.html. Accessed 13 June 2015.

Kain, Erik. "Kodak Ceases Digital Camera Production." Forbes, 9 Feb. 2012, www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2012/02/09/kodak-ceases-digital-camera-production/#dffe76e5a265. Accessed 19 Apr. 2018.

Klara, Robert. "How One Man Hopes to Restore the Legacy of Kodak." Adweek, 20 Oct. 2014, www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/how-one-man-going-restore-legacy-kodak-160863/. Accessed 13 June 2015.

"The Last Kodak Moment? Kodak Is at Death’s Door; Fujifilm, Its Old Rival, Is Thriving. Why?" Economist, 14 Jan. 2012, www.economist.com/node/21542796. Accessed 13 June 2015.

Thompson, Clive. "The Invention of the ‘Snapshot’ Changed the Way We Viewed the World." Smithsonian, Sept. 2014, www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/invention-snapshot-changed-way-we-viewed-world-180952435/. Accessed 13 June 2015.

Tiffany, Kaitlyn. "The Rise and Fall of an American Tech Giant." The Atlantic, 16 June 2021, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/07/kodak-rochester-new-york/619009/. Accessed 8 July 2022.

Weissmann, Jordan. "What Killed Kodak? Eastman Kodak Is on the Verge of Bankruptcy, and Not Just Because Film Is Dying." The Atlantic, 5 Jan. 2012, www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/01/what-killed-kodak/250925/. Accessed 13 June 2015.