Kodak hopes bankruptcy filing will give it a fresh start

— -- The picture of what Eastman Kodak's future will look like remains blurry despite its Thursday filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Even after failing spectacularly to re-invent itself over the past decade, the iconic film manufacturer is pressing ahead with its current strategy for rejoining the ranks of leading technology companies. The plan: persuade consumers and small-business owners to try out its line of digital printers and software.

But Kodak's best chance for a big rebound post-bankruptcy might actually be in the emerging global market for giant commercial inkjet printers that can sell for $1 million or more a pop, analysts say. "They are definitely going after this market," says Pete Basiliere, research director at Gartner, the tech industry research firm. "These are home inkjet printers on steroids."

There's a bit of irony in Kodak's future being intertwined with the growth of these cutting-edge inkjet printers. Their rising importance has been driven by a modernization push at large commercial printing plants around the world that often involves replacing aging off-set printing presses, which use Kodak film, with inkjets.

Worldwide shipments for the largest of these massive digital printers held steady at more than 7,000 each year from 2006 through 2010, despite the global recession, according to Gartner. The market is expected to grow steadily for years to come, driven partly by an expected wave of advancements in inkjet printing technologies, says Basiliere.

Kodak's success is far from a given. The company must prove it can execute a winning business plan in the face of withering competition, something it has repeatedly failed to do in the past few decades.

Yet CEO Antonio Perez is not ready to throw in the towel. He said in a statement that Chapter 11 gives Kodak the best chance to succeed in tapping more value from its treasure trove of imaging patents while continuing to compete in the dynamic inkjet imaging market. Breakthrough technologies give "Kodak a competitive advantage in our growing digital businesses," he says.

The company has 120 days to submit a plan for becoming viable again. Company spokesman Christopher Veronda said Kodak will take "a series of many steps over a number of months." In court fillings, Kodak indicated it will do more of what it has already been doing, including selling patents, cutting spending on retirees and putting more emphasis on its existing product lines.

Meanwhile, Bob Volpe and Arthur Roberts, board members of Kodak retiree group EKRA, said the group will seek a seat on a creditors' committee that will review Kodak's reorganization plan; retirees will push to retain benefits.

Successful Chapter 11 reorganizations typically take a year or more. However, if the company's plan falters, court proceedings could shift to breaking up Kodak and selling the pieces to pay off creditors, says bankruptcy consultant Larry Perkins of Conway MacKenzie. That breakup process can be carried out in a matter of months.

For the moment, Perez seems committed to reviving Kodak. "He's the incumbent guy doing his best," says Perkins. "Realistically, he inherited a lot of problems that have been brewing over a long period of time."