On Thursday, February 9th, Kodak announce it will discontinue manufacturing digital cameras, after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, after the first half of this year and will refocus its attention on its desktop inkjet retail-based and online printing market. Although it will discontinue its digital camera lines, it will still be offering camera accessories such as batteries, which are usable in other brands of digital cameras. Well known as one of the best camera companies on the market, print franchises will miss this technology.

The company had filed for protection back in January of this year hoping to boast its liquidity aboard and throughout the United States, to monetize its intellectual property, and to resolve its liability issues. This filing took place so the company could develop its business lines with the hope of a profitable future.

All of these decisions were based on creating a profitable company after restructuring money-losing divisions. Today’s focus has become on improving margins through scaling back on retail locations and is considered a logical extension after analysis of industry trends. Market trends change quickly and companies that do not stay on top of them often find themselves in trouble.

Once the scale back is complete, Kodak will maintain retail kiosks, digital dry labs, the inkjet printers for retail consumers, Facebook applications, and its film capture and photographic paper divisions. Although this is sad news for the printing industry, this may give franchise companies the opportunity to buy out this division of Kodak and roll it over into a new profit making enterprise. Who knows what will happen between now and mid-year?