Kodak to discontinue black-and-white photo paper

"Ending a century-old tradition, Eastman Kodak Co. will soon stop making black-and-white photographic paper, a niche product for fine-art photographers and hobbyists that is rapidly being supplanted by digital-imaging systems.

"Kodak said Wednesday it will discontinue production of the paper, specially designed for black-and-white film, at the end of this year. But the world's biggest film manufacturer will continue to make black-and-white film and chemicals for processing.

"As the industry shifts rapidly from chemical-based to digital imaging, demand for black-and-white paper is declining about 25 percent annually, Kodak spokesman David Lanzillo said.

"John Eoff, owner of Photo-Lab Inc., said his 91-year-old shop in Schenectady, N.Y., still sells 'a fair amount' of black-and-white paper to photography students and enthusiasts, while professional photographers have mostly gone to digital printing systems already.

"'What we assumed was going to happen is the traditional black-and-white paper processing was going to remain more an art form than a commodity,' Eoff said. Other companies, led by Ilford Imaging of Britain, still make paper and there will be demand for it, he predicted."

This is a scan of my first print
taken for the Ohio State
photography program,
14 years ago.