The demise of KODACHROME

R.I.P. KODACHROME Film 1935-2009.

It lived a long and busy life, but Kodak’s world-famous color print film has officially been retired after 74 years on active duty. 

For me, it’s kinda like a death in the family. My father was an avid amateur photographer who shot thousands (and I mean, thousands) of Ektachrome slides back in the 1950s and 60s. They are gathering dust…and hopefully not mold…in a closet somewhere at my sister’s house. Then, as the quintessential AV nerd at my 1970s junior high school, I spent every dime I made mowing lawns to finance processing Kodachrome…and purchase a warehouse of cameras, too.

But, that’s all history now, having switched to digital cameras at the turn of the century…like millions of other photographers amateur and professional. So, if anything, I guess I’m also partly to blame for the death of Kodachrome. As Kodak explained on its Website  back on June 22, "It was a difficult decision, given its rich history." 

At the same time, though, business-wise, Kodachrome represented a fraction of one percent of Kodak film sales. And all products face retirement sooner or later as technology changes.

In a wider sense, though, what does the passing of Kodachrome mean for the converting field…and coating and laminating in particular? How many more products that require these processes may become extinct in the coming decade? On the flip side, how many new products will be invented distinctly because coating and laminating make them possible? Let me know what you think.

For more on film making, coating and laminating, go to the Substrate Secrets blog 

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