I can’t say I am too surprised to learn this news, but it is still sad. Although Kodak has not completely stopped production yet, it sounds like they may soon. It will be the end of an era.

 

Is the rich-hued Kodachrome era fading to black? – Ben Dobbin, Associated Press

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – It is an elaborately crafted photographic film, extolled for its sharpness, vivid colors and archival durability. Yet die-hard fan Alex Webb is convinced the digital age soon will take his Kodachrome away.

…Only one commercial lab in the world, Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, Kan., still develops Kodachrome, a once ubiquitous brand that has freeze-framed the world in rich but authentic hues since it was introduced in the Great Depression.

Eastman Kodak Co. now makes the slide and motion-picture film in just one 35mm format, and production runs — in which a master sheet nearly a mile long is cut up into more than 20,000 rolls — fall at least a year apart.

Kodak won’t say when the last one occurred nor hint at Kodachrome’s prospects. Kodachrome stocks currently on sale have a 2009 expiration date. If the machines aren’t fired up again, the company might just sell out the remaining supplies, and that would be the end.