Kodak has 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 winners are: Mitchell Press (Canada); Alcom Printing (U.S.); 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. (Hong Kong); Changsung P&Tech (Korea); and Viva Printing Sdn Bhd (Malaysia). “All of these printers use Kodak Sorora Process-Free Plates, putting them at the leading edge in their respective markets by deploying a technology that reduces their environmental footprints,” Kodak stressed.
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 praised 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.”
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 eliminate the processing phase of platemaking, which requires chemicals, water and energy while generating waste. Kodak added that Sonora Plate volumes continued to grow in 2017 as the industry ramped-up its demand for clean printing solutions. Kodak is forecasting this trend to continue and anticipates that 30% of the company’s plate volume will be process-free by 2019.
Mitchell Press is a high-speed, premium quality commercial printer based in Burnaby, British Columbia. It recycles the full gamut of materials – including paper, ink, cardboard, wood and plastics. It also collects key data on projects to aid their clients’ efforts to track their environmental footprint, paper usage, distribution and transport data. Its production facility has advanced HVAC and IT systems that save energy – and this progressive company also donates electronics and other materials to charities. Originally founded by Howard T. Mitchell as a financial newspaper in 1928, Mitchell Press is in its third generation of family ownership. Taking its core family values to heart, it believes in hiring people with the same sense of care, commitment and integrity that it applies to everything it does. This philosophy has proven hugely successful, and today, Mitchell Press employs more than 80 people.
With a custom-built 64,000-square-foot facility, the G7 Qualified Master Printer is the largest commercial heatset web printer in Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest, outputting an average of over two billion printed pages per year for a wide range of clients. From the design of its facility to the acquisition of industry-leading technology, the company continues to operate within a strict environmental framework – from the use of eco-friendly products and high-efficiency lighting, to a stringent recycling program. Over the years it’s significantly reduced waste, eliminated hazardous chemicals from its processes, and saved thousands of litres of water every year. Graphic Arts Magazine would like to congratulate Mitchell Press for this well-deserved award.
Mitchell Press named Canadian Sonora Plate Green Leaf Award Winner
