Tuesday, March 13, 2012

drupa 2012 - The elephant in the yellow room

Last week, Kodak previewed its drupa-presence for the international worldwide graphic arts trade press, gathered in Lisbon. Although the new 'Yellow changes everything'-slogan did not go down well with everybody, the technology announcements for the show in May managed to impress the audience. But what about the elephant in the room?

It was Kodak's first major press conference since it filed for Chapter 11 on January 19. As could be expected, Kodak focused on what Chris Payne (Director and VP Marketing) referred to as 'building the future of Kodak' and its ongoing commitment to the print industry.

The Q&A session at the end of the meeting featured many interesting questions, about growth markets, applications, technical specifications and even the environmental issues (that, by the way, really need further follow up). It was only the next morning - talking to Chris Payne - that I realized that nobody mentioned the Chapter 11 situation. "That surprised me too", said Payne: "I was ready to answer any question about the subject."

http://wtr.mn/zCqmk7 

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