Popular Photography Magazine: News: Kodak Leaves Black & White Paper Biz
Basically, Kodak isn’t making any money on their black and white papers any longer, so they are going to stop making them. They sited the rise of inkjets, and ability to print black and white images on color paper.
Really I shouldn’t care about this, hell I don’t even like Kodak black and white paper, I use Ilford. But there is no denying this as a benchmark in the continuing dominance of digital. I will eventually make the investment in going digital, especially with the introduction of products like the V96C, but even then I will still use some traditional darkroom techniques. There are even some things I still want to learn how to do in the darkroom. Luckily, none of these things requires Kodak’s black and white paper.
If I really wanted to be sentimental . . . it was the first paper I ever printed on.
Sign of the times. I’ve gotten less bothered by things like this recently. I guess I see it as inevitable.
It may be inevitable but it makes me sad. Having said that I am currently drooling over cameras like the new Canon EOS Rebel XT. Sure it ain’t the best on the market but its one I could feasably afford.