Now in their sixth year, Kodak said the awards “celebrate printing industry partners who are leaders in adopting sustainable practices and in offering their customers eco-friendly options for their printing needs”.
In addition to integrating Kodak Sonora process-free plates into their operations, each of the winning companies demonstrated an ongoing commitment to investing in sustainable business practices.
Award entrants were 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. Scores for submissions were determined by a panel of Kodak judges.
Blackmore was recognised in the awards’ southern Europe region category. Its achievement follows the recognition last year of Chandlers Ford-based School Lane Colour Press.
Blackmore sales and marketing director David Bland said: “This is really a continuation of the work we’ve done over the last 20 years to improve our environmental profile. We’ve won a number of awards in the past but to win this one against a lot of other companies around the whole of southern Europe is quite something. It’s a fantastic win.”
Blackmore currently uses Kodak’s Sonora X plate, which was launched last year.
“We run the plate across three different technologies – LED UV litho, conventional litho and coldset web – and we think we are unique in doing that. It works perfectly across all of those and gives us good run lengths – this is important with the webs, which are particularly aggressive on the plates,” Bland added.
The 12 other businesses recognised alongside Blackmore in this year’s awards were: Artes Gráficas Sagitario (Bolivia); Presse-Druck- und Verlags (Germany); Colour King (South Africa); PT. Gelora Aksara Pratama (Indonesia); Hebei Xindong Printing Co (China); Leanin Tree (US); Mitchell Press (Canada); The Profeather Printing Co (DongGuan) (China); SRB Printing (South Korea); Stuff New Zealand; Toyokuni Printing Co (Japan); and Wijeya Newspapers (Sri Lanka).
Kodak Print Systems Division president John O’Grady said: “At Kodak we believe that sustainable printing provides the critical foundation for bolstering business success and each of this year’s Sonora Green Leaf Award winners are once again exemplary examples of how to put this practice in action.”
