Koehler recycled paper at the forefront of things

Calendars win silver and Award of Excellence in Gregor Calendar Award 2021 competition

The Gregor Calendar Award competition has a history spanning more than 70 years and is organized by Graphic Club Stuttgart e.V. and the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Housing Construction, with the Association of Printers and Media of the State of Baden-Württemberg acting as a project partner. Perhaps more importantly, however, the competition has long been known as an important catalyst for the creative industry. It should come as no surprise then that around 600 calendars from Germany, Europe, Israel, and Japan were submitted for this year’s competition. Or that two of the winners used Koehler paper.

Social joint project wins award in Gregor Calendar Award 2021 competition

“The United Nations declared 2021 the ‘International Year for the Elimination of Child Labor,’ and the extraordinary ‘International Year for the Elimination of Child Labor’ calendar tackles this topic with powerful color compositions, interesting graphics, and beautiful illustrations while undergirding everything with facts on the problem. With a stellar design and a splendid printed presentation, it truly raises awareness of the issue while leaving a lasting impression.” That was the jury’s explanation for the award presented for the calendar.

The project was the result of a collaboration between Koehler and Quedlinburg Druck GmbH, the Druckerei Erdenberger print shop, and the Landsiedel|Müller|Flagmeyer creative agency, and used Koehler recycled paper. More specifically, it was printed on creative print, diamond, 210 gsm – premium recycled paper that combines a natural paper look and feel, elegant aesthetics, and superlative properties for further processing.

“We wanted to use this project to show that social issues that affect humankind globally are important to us,” Udo Hollbach explains. “To help with the calendar in this joint project, we provided recycled paper that has been awarded with the Blue Angel environmental label. And of course, it goes without saying that we’re glad that our paper products once again got the chance to put their best face forward,” he adds.

Sustainability in the flesh

The jury was also thrilled with the creart CoffeeCup calendar, which had a message of sustainability and won silver in this year’s Gregor Calendar Award competition. The extraordinary part about the calendar? Its printing substrate, consisting of paper made from recycled disposable paper cups – hence the name CoffeeCup Paper. As previously reported, this paper was the result of a joint project with the creart ad agency and IGEPA Großhandel GmbH. Torsten Gröger, general manager at creart, explains: “We’re really proud of the fact that our ‘CoffeeCup Paper’ project and the resulting calendar show how we can reduce waste, secure a valuable raw material, and create a more sustainable future.” Koehler, meanwhile, takes care of producing the paper. “We’re really proud of having contributed to the calendar’s success by making this CoffeeCup Paper,” says Udo Hollbach, managing director of the Koehler Greiz location in Thuringia.

creart calendar appeals to the environmental responsibility of each and every single one of us

The two-sided calendar is based on sea and forest themes. In addition, it is adjustable, hard-wearing, flexible month by month, and even independent of the year. “The message is both simple and existential,” explains creart graphic designer Monika Perle. “As we become more aware of them, we shouldn’t just look at habitats such as seas and forests as places to relax and take refuge, but instead must value, protect, and conserve them as well.”