Digital Photography Disrupting Film, Photo Paper Sales

More than ever, consumers' preference for digital photography is putting the squeeze on sales of traditional photo supplies, namely film. No better evidence was offered for this shift than yesterday's announcement by Eastman Kodak that it will shed up to 10,000 jobs.

It's not just Kodak that's feeling the pain. Specialty photo stores are selling fewer film cameras and related supplied, and are having difficulty competing with electronics and discount stores for sales of digital cameras. Photo-printing kiosks may help photo stores offset some losses, but even those may not be enough, especially as photo printers become less expensive and easier to use. Plus, since many digital camera owners share and store their photos electronically, not all of them want or need to print them.