The webinar detailed a major shift in the printing sector: the convergence of environmental sustainability and business profitability. Led by Deen Khan, sales manager, East, TS & AP, India at Eastman Kodak Company, the session laid out how modern print shops can aggressively cut waste, lower utility overheads, and streamline operations by moving away from traditional, chemically intensive prepress setups.
During the presentation, Kodak representatives redefined what sustainability actually means for a high-volume print business today. Rather than treating eco-friendly initiatives as a burdensome added cost, the panel urged businesses to look at it through a three-pronged framework:
Environmental: Minimising toxic chemical discharge, slashing water usage, and lowering carbon footprints.
Economic: Driving profitability strictly through smarter innovation and workflow efficiencies.
Social: Providing safer, low-stress, and less hazardous working environments for shop-floor operators.
The business argument for making this transition has never been more urgent. Globally, brand owners are forcing the hand of their supply chains, explicitly choosing printing partners who match their own carbon-reduction and procurement goals.
The centrepiece of the session focused on Kodak's Sonora process-free plates, a technology designed to completely bypass the traditional, volatile plate-processing steps.
Unlike conventional thermal and violet wet-process plates, which require a lengthy, multi-step regimen of preheating, developing, rinsing, and gumming, process-free plates transition straight from the CTP imager directly to the printing press.
By completely eliminating the plate processor unit, print operations can strip out significant cost drivers:
Zero chemistry: No more buying, neutralising, or paying to dispose of developer chemicals and replenishers.
Massive resource savings: Eradication of massive water volumes previously used to rinse plates, alongside drastic drops in electricity consumption.
Reclaiming real estate: Removing bulky chemical processors frees up critical floor space for shop-floor expansion or advanced automation.
The technology is no longer just a future concept; it has firmly hit the mainstream. Khan said over 600 printers across India, spanning commercial print, newspapers, publication houses, and both paper and metal packaging sectors, have fully transitioned to Sonora plates.
During a lively interactive Q&A session, Kodak’s technical experts, Madhusudana Rao Yanduri and Abhishek Warang, addressed granular operational concerns from attendees.
When asked about the storage timeline for process-free plates after exposure, the technical team noted that plates can safely sit under open, standard room light for up to six hours, or be preserved inside a closed box for two to three days before hitting the press.
The team highlighted that skipping the chemical processor removes "processing variability." Without fluctuating developer temperatures or worn-out processor rollers, printers experience fewer scratches, fewer plate remakes, and a notable drop in startup waste when sticking tightly to standard operating procedures.
Responding to questions regarding global aluminium pricing spikes and geopolitical disruptions in the Middle East, the representatives assured clients that despite industry-wide logistics pressures, the supply lines remain remarkably resilient with steady stock levels across the region.