Photographic Equipment and Supplies
SIC 3861
NAICS 333315
Manufacturers of photographic equipment and supplies provide the world's cameras, film, developing and enlarging equipment, photographic chemicals and papers, and related supplies. Industry output includes both still and motion cameras, but not video cameras, which are discussed in a separate article, Audio and Video Equipment.
The photographic equipment and supplies industry's products include five general categories:
•still picture equipment
•motion picture equipment
•photocopying and microfilming equipment
•sensitized photographic film, plates, paper, and cloth, and
•prepared photographic chemicals.
In established markets, growth in the photographic goods industry was generally fueled by the introduction of new products using innovative technology, particularly digital cameras and One Time Use (OTU) disposable cameras. By 2003, digital cameras outsold traditional cameras. As a result, the overall film sector began to weaken, although certain types of consumers were returning to a demand for film prints, this time for prints of digital images. In addition, major industry players began to scale back their Advanced Photo System (APS) camera activities in favor of digital cameras, sales of which were expected to grow 13 percent in 2005 to 20.5 million according to the Photo Marketing Association International (PMAI). The fastest growing sector was digital cameras with four or more megapixels. Consequently, major companies in the industry began to focus less on combating digital technology and more on developing products for the organization and storage of digital images. Industry analysts expected the digital market to level in the coming years, as the sector hit saturation.
In 2004, OTU cameras peaked at 218 million units. That number was expected to remain flat in 2005. Film sales declined to 438 million units in 2004, down 157 million, and further decline to 315 million was anticipated in 2005. 35mm film still had the majority, with 66 percent, while APS trailed with 6 percent. Prints made from digital images increased a whopping 71 percent over 2003 levels. Traditional camera sales remained in decline, with analog camera sales dropping 45 percent and 35mm cameras sales dropping 43 percent in 2004. Despite the continuing decrease in film sales, the market was not dead, and approximately 532 million rolls of film were expected to sell in 2005.
The majority of the photographic equipment industry's products were considered leisure or nonessential goods, and thus industry sales to a degree were sensitive to reduced consumer spending during times of economic stagnation or recession. The broad range of photographic products offered, however, partially insulated the industry from fluctuations in consumer demand. Because it provided an essential service in most business and government offices, photocopying equipment sales were relatively independent of consumer spending levels. In the mid- to late 1990s, photocopying equipment accounted for roughly one-third of industry sales, and high-end photocopiers were one of the industry's most lucrative products.
The industry has grown increasingly globalized. Leading photographic equipment companies had worldwide research and development, manufacturing, marketing, and servicing divisions. Industry leaders operated through a global web of affiliates and subsidiaries that served as business offices and "transplants" (foreign manufacturing sites), providing access to both regional or national consumer markets and to local labor pools. Among international leaders, the industry was characterized by a complex and shifting network of affiliation and cooperation, on the one hand, and competition and rivalry, on the other.
The international circulation of industry products stood to benefit from the economic globalization reflected by political treaties such as the mid-1990s General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). National and local governments, moreover, provided various forms of economic incentives to encourage industry firms to continue or establish operations and facilities within their areas of jurisdiction. In 1993, the regional government of Castilla y Leon in Spain arranged a Pta850 million guaranteed loan through the Argentaria state bank to assist Valca, a local manufacturer of photographic equipment that faced severe financial difficulties. In 1994, the French government granted financial aid for Toshiba to expand its photocopier and toner plant near Dieppe.
National and international courts, in addition, had historically monitored trade, monopoly, and patent issues within the industry. For example, the Eastman Kodak Company was fined US$873 million for infringement of copyrights held by the Polaroid Corporation, and Honeywell won a US$96 million judgment against the Minolta Camera Company for copyright infringements involving autofocus cameras. Further, the European Court of Justice upheld a complaint by European companies against unfair trade practices by Japanese photocopying equipment manufacturers, including Minolta. With the ratification of GATT, the United Nations established the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995 to govern global trade and trade policies. Shortly after its inception, the WTO began hearing complaints from the United States and Europe alleging that Japan's film market was unfairly restrictive. In 1998, however, the WTO found in favor of Japan.
The development of the photographic equipment and supply industry resulted from research and technology from around the world. The precursor of the modern camera was the closet-sized "camera obscura" developed by tenth-century Islamic scientists. In the sixteenth century, the Italian scientist Giambattista della Porta published his research on fitting the camera obscura with a lens to strengthen or enlarge the image projected. In 1727, the German professor Johann Heinrich Schulze took an important step forward by capturing the image produced by a camera obscura in permanent form by discovering that silver salts darkened when exposed to sunlight. As early as 1816, the French amateur inventor Joseph Nicephore Niepce, building on his interest in lithography, obtained an image of Paris on paper treated with silver chloride. By 1827, Niepce had achieved the first permanent photographic image taken from nature, a view of his country estate. Niepce termed his discovery "heliography" (Greek for "sun writing").
In 1826, the French scene-painter Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre, hoping to exploit photographic images in the creation of theatrical backdrops, began corresponding with Niepce about heliography. Working with copper plates coated with silver iodine, Daguerre discovered that a latent image, exposed for the relatively short span of 30 minutes, could be developed by exposing it to mercury vapor. Ignoring the role played by Niepce, Daguerre marketed this discovery as the "daguerreotype," which proved to be a commercial sensation.
During this same period, the English scientist William Henry Fox Talbot, attempting to capture a permanent photographic image on paper, created an early form of negatives (in which black and white tones are reversed). Talbot's photograph of Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire, dating to 1835, is considered the first successful photograph derived from a negative image to be taken from nature. Talbot subsequently developed a portable camera consisting of a wooden box fitted with a lens and partially lined with treated paper. By 1841, Talbot had perfected his discovery and patented it under the name of "talbotype." However, it was not until the early 1850s, when the...
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