Kodak

The Eastman Kodak Company, known simply as Kodak, is a major American corporation.

It is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated in New Jersey. Kodak is most famous for its role in photographic film. The company brought film photography to the mass market for the first time. This changed how humans record their personal history. For much of the 20th century, Kodak held a dominant global position. Their influence was so large that the term "Kodak moment" became part of common language. This phrase describes a special event that deserves to be recorded for posterity.

The company's success began with a shift in how cameras worked.

Early photography relied on heavy, fragile glass dry plates. George Eastman wanted to replace these with a more flexible system. In 1885, Eastman and William Walker patented a practical film roll holder. This allowed cameras to store multiple exposures on a single roll of film. Eastman also patented "American film," a type of paper film, that same year. Later, in 1889, he patented nitrocellulose film. This development moved the industry away from glass and toward flexible celluloid tape. This transition made photography much more accessible to the general public.

The original Kodak camera was a simple but effective device.

It was a box camera featuring a fixed-focus lens. It did not have a viewfinder to help aim. Instead, two V-shaped silhouettes at the top helped the user aim at a subject. To operate it, the user pulled a string to set the shutter. Then, they pressed a button on the side to expose the film. After taking a photo, the user rotated a key at the top. This action advanced the film to the next frame. The camera cost $25 and came with a roll of 100 exposures. Users could mail the entire camera to Rochester for processing. For $10, Kodak would return the camera with prints, negatives, and a new film roll.

George Eastman's vision led to rapid global expansion.

He partnered with Henry A. Strong to start the Eastman Dry Plate Company in 1881. By May 23, 1892, the company was incorporated as Eastman Kodak. Eastman focused on a "razor and blades" business model. He realized that selling the film would generate more profit than selling the cameras. This strategy allowed Kodak to control much of the film market. The company grew by acquiring other businesses and building large facilities like Kodak Park. They expanded into Europe and Australia, establishing subsidiaries like Kodak Limited in the United Kingdom. They even became the sole supplier of film to the motion picture industry in 1908.

Research and development were central to Kodak's dominance.

In 1912, the company established the Kodak Research Laboratories. These labs focused on film emulsions for color photography and radiography. This research led to the 1915 release of Kodachrome, a famous two-color film. Kodak also developed duplitized film for X-ray photography. This film had a short exposure time, which reduced radiation doses for patients. By 1922, Kodak was the second-largest purchaser of silver in the United States. This was because silver was a necessary component for photographic film. The company's economic strength was so great that it joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1930.

Kodak also shaped the social landscape of Rochester through welfare capitalism.

George Eastman provided many benefits to his employees to build a loyal community. In 1910, he created a welfare fund for workmen's compensation. In 1912, he implemented a profit-sharing program. Later, the company offered life insurance, disability benefits, and retirement plans. However, these opportunities were not available to everyone. Under Eastman, the company almost exclusively hired workers of Anglo-Saxon backgrounds. They excluded Catholic immigrants, African-Americans, and Jews. These practices remained largely unchanged until after World War II.

In the late 20th century, the company faced significant challenges.

Competition from Fujifilm increased during the 1990s. More importantly, the world began moving from film to digital photography. Interestingly, Kodak had actually invented integral color image sensors. They even built the first self-contained digital camera prototype in the mid-1970s. Despite this, the company struggled to manage the transition. Financial difficulties led Kodak to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2012. The company emerged from bankruptcy in September 2013 after restructuring its business. Today, Kodak provides digital printing products, motion picture film, and still film. They also license their brand to other companies, such as JK Imaging for PIXPRO cameras. In 2020, they even expanded into producing pharmaceutical materials.