Kodak will quit the printer business

IMAGING COMPANY Kodak is continuing its bad year with the announcement that it intends to pull out of the printer market.

The firm, which is dancing around US bankruptcy court, says that it is steadily working its way towards its reorganisation and would like an extension that will allow it to complete it.

Kodak says it has made substantial progress towards its phoenix-like reemergence and stabilisation, but just needs a little more time to do it. It says its bankruptcy case is large and complex but so far it has managed to make operating improvements, cut costs and increase customer and vendor relationships.

Part of its plan is to sell of its digital imaging patents, though that did not go as well as planned and bids were lower than expected. Another part, it now says, is to sell off its remaining hardware operations, as in printers, and close the doors on that part of the business.

It will however continue to sell ink, known occasionally as black gold. Unless you are in Texas or Alaska and don't work at HP, or Kodak.

"Kodak is making good progress toward emergence from Chapter 11, taking significant actions to reorganize our core ongoing businesses, reduce costs, sell assets, and streamline our organizational structure," said Antonio Perez, Kodak chairman and CEO.

"Steps such as the sale of Personalized Imaging and Document Imaging, and the Consumer Inkjet decision, will substantially advance the transformation of our business to focus on commercial, packaging and functional printing solutions and enterprise services. As we complete the other key objectives of our restructuring in the weeks ahead, we will be well positioned to emerge successfully in 2013."

In the extension motion presented to the court this week, Kodak said that it has stabilised its global business and shed 2,700 employees, with plans to cut a further 1,200,

"The actions we are taking are significant steps toward our successful emergence," added Perez.

"We are committed to take the remaining steps required for our emergence in 2013 as a profitable, sustainable company." µ