SIC 3861 Photographic Equipment and Supplies

Encyclopedia of American Industries | 2005 | Copyright

SIC 3861
PHOTOGRAPHIC EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES

This classification includes establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing photographic apparatus, equipment, parts, attachments, and accessories utilized in both still and motion photography. Also covered in this classification are establishments primarily involved in manufacturing photocopy and microfilm equipment, blueprinting and diazotype (white printing) apparatus and equipment, sensitized film, paper, cloth, and plates, and prepared photographic chemicals.

Those establishments involved in manufacturing products that are related to the photographic industry, but are not grouped in the photographic equipment and supplies classification, include manufacturers of unsensitized photographic paper stock, and paper mats, mounts, easels, and folders utilized for photographic purposes. These establishments are classified within the paper and allied products industry. Photographic lens manufacturers are classified in SIC 3827: Optical Instruments and Lenses, and manufacturers of photographic glass are delineated in the stone, clay, glass, and concrete products industry. Also excluded are manufacturers of chemicals produced for technical purposes that are not specifically prepared and packaged for use in photography and those manufacturing photographic flash, flood, enlarger, and projection lamp bulbs. The former are classified within chemicals and allied products, and the latter are classified in SIC 3641: Electric Lamp Bulbs and Tubes.

NAICS Code(s)

333315 (Photographic and Photocopying Equipment Manufacturing)

Industry Snapshot

There are more than 400 establishments manufacturing photographic and photocopying equipment who shipped over $9.1 billion worth of merchandise in 2000. About 31 percent of these establishments employed at least 20 people. The largest concentrations of facilities in this classification were in California, Illinois, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Growth in the photographic equipment and supplies industry was usually fueled by the introduction of new products that featured innovative technology. In addition, when people bought still and motion camera equipment, they also tended to buy film and related supplies. Because most photographic equipment and supplies were considered leisure or nonessential goods, the industry was particularly sensitive to economic conditions. The industry produced such a broad range of goods, however, that it was somewhat insulated from market fluctuations. For example, still picture film and photocopying equipment typically sold consistently despite economic downturns.

The driving factor in this sector in the early 2000s was digital, with digital cameras getting ever smaller, simpler, more powerful, and less expensive. In 1999, there were 2.2 million digital cameras sold compared to 17.8 million conventional cameras sold. By 2002, digital was catching traditional cameras fast, with approximately 9.4 billion digital cameras sold, compared to 14.2 million conventional cameras. People embraced digital for a number of reasons, including never before offered options like previewing or erasing photos, the ability to download photos directly to a computer for e-mailing or storing to an online album, and capturing high resolution, quality images. Digital camcorders and printers were also getting more advanced, less expensive, and more popular.

Organization and Structure

The photographic equipment and supplies industry was comprised mostly of small manufacturing operations. In the late 1980s, most of the facilities had been concentrated in the mid-Atlantic states, but by the early 1990s the industry was beginning to spread out across the country.

Background and Development

Although photographic equipment and supplies first became available to consumers in the 1880s, it was not until the 1950s that the industry's sales grew rapidly. This was a defining decade for the photographic industry, characterized by a significant increase in consumers' disposable income, the emergence of photocopying and microfilming products as lucrative components within the industry, and the development of still cameras that were easy to operate.

Many of the technological achievements that eventually led to this growth surge were accomplished by Eastman Kodak Company. In the late 1870s, Kodak's founder, George Eastman, had adapted a photographic process that replaced wet-plate developing chemicals and equipment with a dry-plate process. Cleaner to operate and generally easier to use than wet-plate cameras, Eastman's dry-plate system was the first step toward making photographic equipment available to all consumers. Eastman said he intended to make the camera affordable and "as convenient as the pencil." Next, Eastman began widespread marketing of roll film, a product that had been developed by film and camera manufacturer Reverend Hannibal Goodwin.

To interest consumers in photography, manufacturers of this era improved the performance of cameras and the quality of film. A giant leap toward this goal was taken in 1900 when Kodak introduced the first model of its popular, inexpensive, and easy-to-operate Brownie line of cameras. Retailing for $1, the first Brownie signaled the beginning of affordable cameras with massmarket appeal. Kodak later developed products to diversify the applications of photographic equipment. The first 8 millimeter (mm) motion picture system designed for the amateur photographer entered the market in 1932, followed by color film three years later.

Additional products that were intended to spark interest in amateur photography soon emerged, but after World War II they were overshadowed by the introduction of film that could be developed instantly. The inventor of this new film-development process was Dr. Edwin H. Land, the founder of Polaroid Corporation. Launched in 1947, the first instant camera and film marked the beginning of...

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