Altona, Manitoba #3094

I just returned from Altona, a little town in Manitoba with a population of about 4,100. I was there for a week at my printer, Friesens, overseeing the production of the 2020 calendars and four reprints of my books. In this photo I am standing at the end of a printing press inspecting a sheet of pages from my book, Alaska: A Photographic Excursion, with my pressman Vern. For 24 years I would travel to Seoul, Korea to oversee the printing of my various products. Five years ago I went on a search to find the most eco friendly printing plant in the world. Secretly I was hoping it would be in Italy (really good wine). Who would have imagined the greenest printing plant was on the cold wintry and windy plains of the Canadian mid west, stuck half way between Grand Forks, North Dakota and Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The Friesens’ plant has been printing using vegetable based inks (instead of petroleum based inks) for over 25 years, and is completely powered by renewable energy including: solar, wind and hydro. The wood pulp for the paper they print on is FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified. I also have been able to significantly reduce my carbon footprint by shipping from Manitoba instead of Korea. This year’s trip I was greeted by –27°c temperatures and highways closed by the Mounties due to drifting snow being whipped by 30 to 40 mile per hour winds. All is made worth it though because the printing is great and the people from Altona live up to their reputation of being really friendly. Thank you for visiting, enjoy.