Rising Price of Raw Materials Could Kill Traditional Photography

Kodak's CEO, Antonio Perez, warns that the company might have to raise the price of its photographic paper and chemicals by as much as 20 percent over the forthcoming weeks as the demand for raw materials cause the costs to soar.

Prez said that the entire traditional photography market would be effected by rising prices as aluminium, silver and oil, vital ingredients for the sector, shot up in the last year.

This, added to other costs related to distribution, logistics and shipping expenses, is putting extra pressure on Kodak's bottom line.

The forthcoming price raise could prompt photographers to either rush to deplete existing stocks at current prices or switch to the digital alternative which would be yet another blow to the ailing traditional photography industry.

The rise of cheap quality digital photography equipment means that only a few hardcore aficionados still trust traditional, chemical-based photography for their shoots.

Kodak has already shed more than 55,000 employees in the past years, down to 29,000 and Fujifilm has already increased prices on its products such as slide films and photographic papers.