Kodak
History
Kodak is the first photography and camera
company in England and was founded by George Eastman in 1880, beginning with a
small office in Rochester developing dry plates for sale. Eastman’s vision was to create photography an
everyday happening, in an easier and simpler way or as he stated ‘to make the
camera as convenient as the pencil’ (Kodak, 2012).
The dry plates began in 1880 where a
businessman Henry A. Strong took a liking to Eastman’s ideas and invested numerous
funds into the newly founded company.
As the company grew it encountered some
difficulties namely total collapse as a result of dry plates being placed in
the wrong hands. As Eastman continued with many experiments with different
materials and light sources. At first he used photographic paper that was loaded
into a roll holder to be used in view cameras instead of glass plates as was
previously used. As the first film advertising was established in 1885 so did
the use of a new sensitive type of film to be used as a substitute for glass
dry plates. This idea was immediately influential and became extremely popular.
The use of paper films arose another
setback, as the quality of the paper was minimal the texture would be
reproduced onto the image after being developed. Eastman again developed a
solution for this problem, firstly using a soluble gelatin layered on the paper
then with a layer of light-sensitive material on top. When the paper was
exposed to light, the image would leave the paper and transfer to a sheet of
clear gelatin that was layered with collodion creating a tough and flexible
film similar to the plastic film we use today. (Kodak, 2012)
After the first Kodak camera was developed
using film rolls, consumers would purchase a camera with 100 exposures at a
cost of $25. When the film was used the camera was returned to the company where
the film was developed and a new film roll was placed into the camera at
another cost of $10. This enabled a large amount of revenue to come into the
company.
This new development enabled an opening of
the Eastman Dry plate and Film Company to opened in 1889 but later changed to
the Eastman Company in 1884 and changed again to the Eastman Kodak Company in
1892.
The company was based on four principles
that encompassed every aspect of the company.
·
“Mass
production at low cost
·
International
distribution
·
Extensive
advertising
·
A
focus on the customer” (Kodak, 2012)
He wanted to produce products at low cost
both for the company and its consumers to make the cameras available for
everyone no matter what social class they came from.
After this he began to develop advertising
material for his new photographic camera introduced in 1885 to the public.
During this time the trademark ‘Kodak’ developed by Eastman himself became the
official symbol of the company in 1888. He states (Kodak, 2012) the letter K
was used because of its strong and incisive portrayal and wanted the word to
start and end with this letter.
Eastman continued to develop this iconic
brand and products until his death in 1932 at age 77. The Kodak products continue
to be one of the most iconic photographic brands in society today. Without
George Eastman’s influence there would be minimal photographic and camera
development. He enabled everyone to become a photographer in their own home,
city or country.
Since the early 20th Century
Kodak has been distributed worldwide enabling everyone to have the opportunity
to produce their own photographic prints.
Kodak 2012, History of Kodak, http://www.kodak.com/ek/US/en/Our_Company/History_of_Kodak/Evolution_of_our_brand_logo.htm,
viewed 18th February 2012
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