Press Releases

Sustainable Printing Takes Hold Across the World as Kodak Selects 14 KODAK SONORA Plate Green Leaf Award Winners

ROCHESTER, N.Y.

January 19, 2018
Kodak, a global leader in fostering environmentally sustainable printing solutions, today announced a record 14 winners of its 2017 SONORA Plate Green Leaf Award, nearly double the number of award recipients as last year. The program, now in its fourth year and continuing to expand, recognizes printers around the world whose products, services and operations set an example for sound operational initiatives that reduce their environmental impact.

The 2017 SONORA Plate Green Leaf Award winners are: Alcom Printing (US), Mitchell Press Ltd. (Canada), Druckerei Lokay (Germany), School Lane Colour Press (UK), Litotec (Ecuador), Cartocor S.A. (Argentina), Southern Colour Print (New Zealand), Colour King (South Africa), Zühal Ofset (Turkey), ASCON CO., LTD. (Japan), Hongbo Co., Ltd. (China), Golden Cup Printing Co., Ltd. (China), Changsung P&T Co., Ltd. (Korea), and Vivar Printing Sdn Bhd. (Malaysia).

All of these printers use KODAK SONORA Process Free Plates, putting them at the leading edge in their respective markets by deploying a technology that reduces their environmental footprints.

Beyond that, the companies earned the awards by taking a range of additional energy efficient and resource management measures, from waste management to advanced training and compliance programs. Many were also lauded for helping support sustainability programs in their home countries and communities.

Richard Rindo, General Manager of Worldwide Sales, Print Systems Division, and Vice President of Eastman Kodak Company, expressed pride in this latest group of award recipients. “It’s clear that the printing industry’s adoption of sustainable business solutions is not only about good environmental stewardship, it’s about sustaining and growing each printer’s business,” Rindo said. “The adoption of SONORA Plates is just one step in a continuum of integrating environmentally friendly materials and managing a clean, healthy business environment.”

As noted, the award is named for KODAK SONORA Process Free Plates, known for yielding dramatic environmental and economic benefits for customers without sacrificing quality and output. SONORA Plates cut out the processing phase of plate making, which requires chemicals, water, and energy while generating waste. SONORA Plate volumes continued to grow in 2017 as the industry ramped up its demand for clean printing solutions.

With both economic growth and environmental sustainability determinedly front-of-mind when it comes to printers’ strategic investments, Kodak is forecasting this trend to continue and anticipates that 30% of the company’s plate volume will be process free by 2019.

SONORA Plate Green Leaf Award Winners
U.S. —

Alcom Printing

provides integrated solutions for print, direct mail marketing, and business development solutions. The company is focused on continuous improvement projects such as converting to controlled LED lighting throughout the facility, recycling of virtually all materials used in print production and overall operations, and installation of a complete energy efficient IT infrastructure.

Japan —

ASCON CO., LTD.’s

extensive lines of business include printing brochures and direct mail materials as well as developing tools used for promoting sales in stores, publishing city information magazines, producing websites and videos, cross-media marketing, and more. ASCON has taken such innovative initiatives as preventing malodors by regularly monitoring, measuring and exchanging the catalyst of printing machine deodorizing equipment, reducing electricity consumption by replacing factory compressors with newer machines equipped with inverter controls. The company is also involved with Kodak’s signature “Print for Good” program as an ideal SONORA Plate customer.

Argentina —
Cartocor S.A. manufactures and prints cardboard packaging products in Chile and Argentina using recycled materials. Their materials are sustainably sourced and then used in multiple configurations and over successive generations. The company has an environmental strategy and regularly measures its performance, recycles, monitors energy and water usage, and reports sustainability accomplishments in their annual Performance Management System.

Korea —
CHANGSUNG P&T Co., Ltd. monitors energy use, has upgraded to energy-efficient equipment, and has created an aggressive power-saving plan. The company also utilizes eco-friendly glues and toners and holds quarterly meetings focusing on environmental initiatives. In its plants, it has adopted far-infrared radiation panels and LED lighting.

Turkey —
Zühal Ofset was founded in 1967 as a stationery house and now specializes in packaging and commercial printing for the pharmaceutical industry in Turkey. The company has taken many steps over the past few years to run a more sustainable printing operation. They recycle paper, ink and plates and incorporate sustainable inks and solvents in their printing operation. As an environmental leader in the Turkish printing sector, Zühal Ofset advocates the use of environmentally friendly printing techniques to its customers and partners.

South Africa —
Colour King was established over 25 years ago in the Johannesburg CBD and specializes in high-quality litho and digital printing. The company has adopted extensive recycling programs, including not only paper but ink cartridges, electronics, plastic, and office computers, and uses vegetable-based inks, reduced-alcohol chemicals, recycled paper and FSC-certified paper.

China —
Golden Cup Printing Co., Ltd. specializes in printing coffee-table books, children’s books, textbooks, atlas books, catalogues, brochures, calendars, greeting cards, and other printed matter. They recycle materials ranging from paper scrap, plates, CD’s, lubricants and oils, as well as batteries, film and ink. The company also conserves water by collecting rain water for firefighting and cleaning purposes. Golden Cup Printing has installed over 4,000 energy-saving light florescent tubes and lamps, solar-powered heating, energy-efficient 8-color printing presses, and central vacuum pumps in its HVAC systems.

China —
HONGBO CO., LTD. is a China-based company principally engaged in the printing of commercial bills. They have established extensive recycling programs and use printing supplies with less impact on the environment, such as vegetable-based inks and alcohol-free solvents. The company is focused on energy conservation and emissions reduction, with regular training, monitoring, and improvements designed to achieve these goals.

Ecuador —
Litotec is an offset printer of labels, corrugated and micro-corrugated packaging materials. In addition to their strict monitoring of material, water and electrical usage, they publish fully transparent environmental information on their website.

Canada —
Mitchell Press Ltd. is a high speed, premium quality, commercial printer based in Vancouver. They recycle the full gamut of materials, including paper, ink, cardboard, wood and plastics. They also collect key data on projects to aid their clients’ efforts to track their environmental footprint, paper usage, distribution, and transport data. They have advanced HVAC and IT systems that save energy, and they donate electronics and other materials to charities.

U.K. —
School Lane Colour Press is a service led, modern proactive commercial printer with in-house finishing and storage facilities, capable of offering a full printing package. They recycle packaging, paper, chemicals, plates and electronic components and use vegetable-based inks and alcohol-free solvents. They also use low-emission company cars and the heat from their presses, which rely on solar power, helps to heat the factory.

Germany —
Druckerei Lokay is a family-owned commercial printer based in Reinheim. The company has invested several million euros in environmentally friendly technology and ecological restoration of their facility. Lokay’s production site is one of the most sustainable in the world. They offer climate-neutral printing, and their total CO2 emissions were reduced by 62% from 2012. The company uses eco-friendly materials, recycles nearly all material waste, and even has provided a fleet of bicycles for their employees.

New Zealand —
Southern Colour Print operates in both security and non-security printing markets in New Zealand and internationally. They are recognized around the world for producing exceptional quality postage stamps, visa labels, examination question papers and other publications in a secure environment. They recycle paper, plate metal and plastics and use vegetable-based inks, alcohol-free solvents, and sustainably harvested recycled papers.

Malaysia —
Vivar Printing Sdn Bhd is a modern printing plant specializing in all types of book printing, binding, finishing and logistical fulfillments. In the pressroom, they use vegetable-based inks, alcohol-free solvents, and sustainably sourced recycled materials, and they also re-use printed papers up to five cycles during the early stages of makeready, saving tons of paper every quarter. They actively participate in various national environmental programs including the Malaysian Nature Society, ECOKNIGHTS, and Malaysian Eco NGO’s (MENGO).