Kodak announced two new stocks of color film on Wednesday, in a move that has excited the photography world and which indicates that the photography giant is directly distributing still photography film again.
“To help meet the growing demand for film, Kodak is excited to announce the launch of two color-negative films, KODACOLOR 100 and KODACOLOR 200, in 135 format rolls,” Kodak said in an Instagram post. “For the first time in over a decade, Kodak will sell these films directly to distributors, in an effort to increase supply and help create greater stability in a market where prices have fluctuated. These films are sub-brands of existing Kodak films and offer the same high quality you’ve come to expect from Kodak.”
That quote is key—there are various types of Kodak film on the market right now. Those films are all made by Eastman Kodak (the legendary 133-year-old photography company) but they are sold through a totally separate company called Kodak Alaris, which is a UK-based company spun off from Eastman Kodak in 2012 as part of its bankruptcy. Since then, Kodak Alaris has had the sole right to distribute the still film stocks that Eastman Kodak manufactures. The sense in the photography community is that this arrangement is, at best, annoying and that it has perhaps led Kodak to not focus as much on making new film stocks as it should; there was further concern last year after Kodak Alaris was sold to a private equity firm.