World Economic

Eastman Kodak Co., the photography pioneer whose Kodachrome film inspired Paul Simon’s 1973 hit of the same name, said it will retire the 74-year-old product this year after sales dwindled and most labs stopped processing it.

Revenue from Kodachrome represents a fraction of one percent of Kodak’s total sales of still-picture films, the company said Monday. Kodachrome became the world’s first commercially successful color film in 1935, Kodak said.

The Rochester, N.Y., company has seen its profitable film business evaporate as digital cameras gained dominance. The company lost $4.53 billion in market value in 2008 as it struggled to show investors it had a place in the new technology.

"The majority of today’s photographers have voiced their preference to capture images with newer technology — both film and digital," said Mary Jane Hellyar, Kodak’s outgoing president of the film, photofinishing and entertainment group. Kodak derives 70 percent of its revenue from commercial and consumer digital businesses, the company said.

Photofinishing labs that process Kodachrome film have dwindled to one worldwide, Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, Kan cashadvance., Kodak said. The lab will offer processing for the film through 2010, and Kodak estimates Kodachrome film supplies will last until September or October of this year.

"I love to take a photograph," Paul Simon sang in "Kodachrome," which reached second place in 1973 on Billboard’s Hot 100 list. "So mama don’t take my Kodachrome away."

Taking Kodachrome away means taking 20 percent of Dwayne’s Photos annual sales away as well, said Grant Steinle, whose father founded the business in 1956. Steinle, vice president of operations at Dwayne’s Photo, declined to say what the firm with 60 employees makes in annual revenue.

"We’re very sad to see this," Steinle said. "Kodachrome has really been an icon of the 20th century."

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