Kodak Launches SONORA Plate Green Leaf Awards

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Thursday, December 12, 2013

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Thursday, December 12, 2013
With its new SONORA Plate Green Leaf Award, Kodak is recognizing customers who have demonstrated outstanding efforts to reduce their environmental impact through a variety of initiatives and best practices. Four companies have been named as recipients of the inaugural award. SONORA Plate Green Leaf Award winners—Druckerei Aschenbrenner GmbH, GP Tryk, Alfa-Design and Gruppo Konig Print—are all users of KODAK SONORA Process Free Plates and all have robust environmental practices in place. These practices include monitoring of energy and water usage in an effort to continuously find ways to improve efficiency.

“We congratulate each of the winners who have implemented environmental initiatives across the company to reduce their environmental impact and further their pursuit of sustainability,” said Rich Rindo, Kodak General Manager, WW Graphics Marketing and Vice President, GECF. “The caliber and quality of the submissions we received for the award demonstrate the impressive strides printers are making in environmental initiatives. We look forward to expanding and growing the program in the coming years, recognizing those who administer processes for positive environmental change.”

There is an increasing focus on environmental issues in the commercial printing industry and customers are demanding products that reduce their environmental footprint. 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 remove the need for the plate processor, which requires chemicals, water and energy while generating waste. Kodak is seeing rapid growth in SONORA Plate adoption, with more than 400 new and converted customers. Kodak estimates that in the next year, use of SONORA Plates could be directly responsible for saving up to 265 million liters of water.

SONORA Plate Green Leaf Award Winners:
• Druckerei Aschenbrenner GmbH, an Austria-based commercial printing company, switched to KODAK SONORA XP Plates in late 2011 in its effort to create a highly sustainable production process. The company has earned multiple third-party certifications such as the EU Ecolabel for Printed Paper, the Austrian Ecolabel and chain of custody certifications from both FSC and PEFC Sustainable Forest Management programs. When appropriate, the company uses eco-conscious inks based on rapeseed oil, as well.
• GP Tryk is a full-service cross-media company operating in printing and communication, based in Grenå, Denmark. GP Tryk is constantly working to reduce its environmental impact, including implementing in-plant water recycling. GP Tryk’s efforts have earned the company the prestigious Nordic Ecolabel or Nordic Swan. As part of its ongoing commitment to becoming more sustainable, GP Tryk recently switched to the KODAK SONORA XP Process Free Plate for offset printing and immediately realized more consistent color reproduction, reduced environmental impact and time and money savings.
• Alfa-Design, located in Moscow, Russia, is one of the leading print operations in the country. Alfa-Design uses KODAK SONORA XP Process Free Plates as part of its efforts to reduce energy and water consumption. The company actively promotes sustainability, and encourages its customers to be environmentally responsible as well. The company is one of the organizers of a conference titled “Green Technology – Your Key to Success” and has also received accreditation from the Rainforest Alliance.
Gruppo Konig Print, based in Italy, is a full-service commercial printing company. The company is committed to sustainability efforts and incorporates environmental management topics into employee training programs. The company also makes use of progressive approaches to climate change mitigation including utilizing carbon offsets and credits, and installing solar panels at its Vicenza plant. Gruppo Konig Print made a conscious effort to invest in waterless equipment such as KODAK SONORA XP Process Free Plates.

About the SONORA Plate Green Leaf Award
The SONORA Plate Green Leaf Award is a program recognizing excellence among Kodak customers that are leaders in environmental initiatives. Award entrants are judged on a range of criteria, including management practices to improve energy and water efficiency, participation in local community sustainability initiatives and the use of eco-conscious materials and supplies. This year, winners were chosen from a pool of candidates in Europe, nominated by Kodak regional account managers. All submissions were reviewed by and scoring was determined by a panel of Kodak judges. In 2014, Kodak will be announcing the award winners in the United States, Canada, Latin America and Asia. More information can be found at www.kodak.com/go/sonoragreenleaf.

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About Kodak
Kodak is a technology company focused on imaging for business. Kodak serves customers with disruptive technologies and breakthrough solutions for the product goods packaging, graphic communications and functional printing industries. The company also offers leading products and services in Entertainment Imaging and Commercial Films. For additional information on Kodak, visit us at kodak.com, follow us on Twitter @Kodak, or like us on Facebook at KodakNow.