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Mama Finally Takes Your Kodachrome Away

Jeanine Poggi

Simon and Garfunkel warned us that this would happen.

As 74 years of production, Eastman Kodak(EK Quote) announced today that it will discontinue Kodachrome, its iconic color film, as sales of the product have fallen dramatically in recent years due to digital competition.

The news sent shares in the company tumbling 7% to $2.65 in afternoon trading.

Kodachrome currently accounts for less than 1% the company's total sales of still-picture films. About 70% of Kodak's revenue comes from commercial and consumer digital businesses.

It is a complex film to manufacture and develop, and today there is only one lab left in the country that processes the film.

It also faces competition from Japanese rival Fuji Film.

Kodak expects current supplies of Kodachrome film to last until early fall before it simply becomes a memory in the company's scrapbook. It will donate the last rolls to George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film in Rochester, N.Y.