Kodak is bringing back Ektachrome in 35mm format

Kodak said they are bringing back their Ektachrome film in 35mm. Photo / Getty Images

It is a modern contradiction that more photographs than ever are taken on smartphones and digital cameras, yet no one ever prints them out.

But photography giant Kodak is bringing back traditional 35mm film - thanks to overwhelming consumer demand.

The company said it plans to start selling its Ektachrome brand before the end of the year, with others to follow. It was phased out in 2013 but among professionals there has been a 'resurgence' in interest, Kodak said.

The turnaround is just the latest instance of old technology coming back. Earlier this month it emerged that three million vinyl records were sold in Britain last year - the highest number for 25 years - as listeners shun digital formats.

While an element of nostalgia may be partially behind the latest revival, photographers also find that traditional film can do things digital machines cannot.

Kodak executive Steven Overman said it was a 'privilege' to bring back Ektachrome film. It is known for a particular look with very fine grain, good contrasts and clean colours.

The brand was developed in the 1940s and allowed photographers to perform processing techniques in their dark rooms, particularly for slides.

Kodak is currently working on a new kind of emulsion that meets new environmental regulations before it relaunches the film. Mr Overman said: "We are seeing a broad resurgence of excitement about capturing images on film.

"Kodak is committed to continuing to manufacture film as an irreplaceable medium for image creators to capture their artistic vision. We are proud to help bring back this classic." Dennis Olbrich, president of the imaging, paper, photo chemicals and film division at Kodak Alaris, which took over Kodak's film photography businesses, told Time magazine said that he was not sure if its most famous brand, Kodachrome, will be brought back - but conceded it was "much more likely" others would return first.
He said that the rise in sales "gave us some confidence to start to look at what films would we consider to bring back into the marketplace".

Kodak was founded in 1888 in Rochester, New York, by inventor and entrepreneur George Eastman, with its famous slogan "You press the button, we do the rest".

In 1963 the hugely successful Instamatic camera was released.But it was unable to adapt to the digital age and in 2012 filed for bankruptcy.

It launched its first digital camera in 2015 - but it failed. Last year Kodak tried again with the Kodak Ektra - a £449 smartphone running Google's Android operating system with all the functionality of a digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera.

In 2016, British vinyl record sales rose 53 per cent, according to the British Phonographic Industry. Some record shops have even started stocking cassettes again - as consumers want them back.