The winners were judged on a range of criteria by Kodak’s Health Safety and Environmental team, with special recognition going to the top-scoring printers from each region, which include: Amar Ujala (India); Concord Printing (India); Drukkerij de Bij (Netherlands); Gemini Print (UK); Zühal Ofset (Turkey); Cartocor (Argentina); Primex Printers (Philippines); Tweddle Group (USA).  A complete list can be found on Kodak’s website.

The Awards programme, now in its seventh year, celebrates printers who are leaders in adopting sustainable practices that benefit the environment, their business and their customers.

“Since the launch of the Sonora Plate Green Leaf Award programme in 2013, the number of award applications has grown alongside the industry’s embrace of sustainable solutions,” the company said in a press note shared with PrintWeek. “Kodak is pleased to announce that the 2019 Sonora Plate Green Leaf Award programme now recognises more than one winner per region, reflecting increased geographic diversity in the applications.”

In addition to integrating Kodak Sonora Process Free Plates into their operations, each of the 52 companies demonstrated an ongoing commitment to investing in sustainable business practices.

Robert Price, general manager, plate business, Eastman Kodak Company, said, “Those recognised in this year’s Sonora Plate Green Leaf Award exemplify the tremendous dedication it takes to run a high-performance print operation.”

“In an increasingly competitive and complex industry, more and more printers are adopting sustainable business processes. They understand it can deliver real bottom-line impact to their business, from improved efficiencies to their print operation to increased profitability of their entire business,” Price added.

According to the company, today, over 4,000 printers of all sizes rely on Kodak to capture all the benefits of process free. Printers make the seamless transition to Kodak Sonora process free plates because they deliver long run lengths, fast imaging speeds, excellent resolution capabilities, UV capability, and excellent productivity, while delivering cost savings and increased profitability.

As the transition to Kodak Sonora process free plates continues, one out of every three plates Kodak sells is now process free, with this trend expected to grow, the company said.