Italian Repro House Zincografia Empolese Improves Sustainability, Productivity For Customers With Asahi CleanPrint Flexo Plates

May 4, 2022
Asahi CleanPrint, Asahi Flexo Plates, AWP Water Wash, CTGA Flexo Plates, Water Wash Flexo

Re-post of original article from asahi-photoproducts.com

Exceptional Asahi support, reduced cycle time in plate production, improved press room OEE for customers are some of the benefits achieved

Tokyo, Japan & Brussels, Belgium, May 2, 2022. Asahi Photoproducts reported that Italian repro house Zincografia Empolese has installed an Asahi AWP™ 4835 P flexographic plate processor and Asahi AWP™-DEW CleanPrint water-washable plates to its production platform. The company, which has been in business since 1985 and is a business unit of ZE Group, is located in San Miniato, Italy. Zincografia Empolese provides high-quality flexo plates to its customers, who produce labels, flexible and corrugated packaging.

“Prior to acquiring our Asahi plate processor using AWP™-DEW CleanPrint plates, we used a variety of different products,” said Noemi Bisoli, Managing Partner. “We made the switch for a number of reasons, including the excellent support we get from Asahi, the faster processing time for plates in prepress, and the reduced downtime in the press room for plate changes or press stops for plate cleaning at our customer sites. We also appreciate how sustainable the entire platemaking process is with Asahi AWP™-DEW water-washable plates, a factor that is more and more important to our customers.”

Bisoli notes that the company uses a significant amount of flexo plate material annually, and with the new efficiencies offered by the Asahi configuration, expects that number to grow a lot.

Asahi Photoproducts experts will be available at the upcoming Print4All trade show to explain the benefits of Asahi AWP™ plates and processing technology as well as the benefits Zincografia Empolese has achieved. Scheduled for 3 to 6 May 2022 at Fiera Milano, Print4All offers an opportunity for attendees to immerse themselves in the world of print, including converting, package printing and labeling. Asahi Photoproducts will be located in Pavilion 9, Stand P17 – R18 at the show. Visitors to the Asahi stand will have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with both Asahi experts to learn more about the benefits of Asahi CleanPrint plates and plate processing systems.

No VOC-based washout solvents required

Asahi AWP™ CleanPrint water-washable flexographic plates are processed without VOC-based washout solvents, use less energy in the production process and deliver a faster time to press than VOC solvent-wash plates. The ability of Asahi´s CleanPrint water-washable flexographic photopolymer plate technology to deliver high-quality print performance results from its engineered photopolymer chemistry design. The water-wash technology also features a low-surface energy plate, resulting in fewer press stops for plate cleaning, significantly improved OEE in the pressroom, and reduced press waste. All of these elements make them the most sustainable flexographic plates in the industry. In addition, AWP™-DEW CleanPrint plates deliver extremely high-quality print due to their precise registration and ability to deliver perfect printing balance between highlights and solids.

Read the full article at asahi-photoproducts.com

REGISTER TODAY: Comexi – Asahi – Esko Webinar

January 24, 2022
Asahi Flexo Plates, Asahi Pinning Technology, AWP Water Wash, CrystalCleanConnect

Register today for a combined webinar together with Comexi, Esko and Asahi to show how easy it can be to produce flexo plates in under one hour.

During the 1 hour webinar you will see a production of an AWP plate hosted in the Comexi Technical Center, following a Q&A session at the end.

Join one of two sessions offered by registering below:

REGISTER - JAN 27th – 9am (CET)
REGISTER - JAN 28th – 4pm (CET)

MORE ABOUT THIS EVENT:

Fast print ready plates within 45 minutes

Join Esko, Comexi and Asahi Photoproducts to learn more about the latest flexo platemaking and printing technologies. Within 45 minutes, we will create a print ready flexo plate while explaining you more about the key technologies used to achieve outstanding print quality and consistency. See and experience the whole platemaking process from prepress, plate imaging, LED back- and front exposure to developing the plate.

They will be joined by Asahi Photoproducts to demonstrate the whole platemaking process with AWP™ water-washed plates compatible with water, solvent and UV/EB ink curing systems.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • Best in class print ready plates within 45 minutes
  • Standardized and simplified processes enable in-house platemaking
  • Unmatched quality through LED plate exposure
  • Alternative to solvent based process solutions: water-based

There will be a live Q&A session at the end of the presentation.

Can’t make it to the live session? Register and you will receive the recording.

Asahi Photoproducts Announces PAS 2050 Certification of their water wash AWP-DEF/DEW Flexo Plates by the Carbon Trust

November 16, 2021
Asahi CleanPrint, Asahi Flexo Plates, AWP Water Wash, CTGA Flexo Plates

Original post from Asahi Photoproducts

This certification is a milestone toward the ultimate goal of PAS 2060 Carbon Neutral certification

Tokyo, Japan & Brussels, Belgium, November 5, 2021. Asahi Photoproducts, a pioneer in flexographic photopolymer plate development, today reported it has received PAS 2050 certification by the Carbon Trust for its AWPTM-DEF/DEW CleanPrint water-washable flexographic plates. This certification is the starting point for Asahi to implement a Carbon Management Plan in order to drive product development in harmony with the environment. The ultimate goal is to achieve PAS 2060 Carbon Neutral certification soon.. These efforts are in line with the Carbon Neutrality Policy of Asahi Kasei Group with the ambition of the entire corporate operation becoming carbon neutral by 2050.

“For many years, Asahi Photoproducts has recognized that climate change is a serious global issue, impacting both the natural environment and society as a whole,” said Dieter Niederstadt, Technical Marketing Manager at Asahi Photoproducts, a subsidiary of Asahi Kasei. “Its group mission has been, and continues to be, to contribute to life and living for people around the world. This Carbon Trust certification is an important step for us toward the achievement of Carbon Neutral status. PAS 2050 takes a process life cycle assessment (LCA) approach to evaluating the GHG emissions associated with goods or services, enabling companies like ours to identify ways to minimize emissions across the entire product system.”

In concluding this LCA study with the Carbon Trust, Asahi Photoproducts considered all aspects of the product system for AWPTM– DEF/DEW flexographic plates, from acquisition of raw materials used through to the end of life of the products. Asahi Photoproducts collected primary data from their manufacturing facilities for all processes in the product life cycle. Where primary data was not available, this was supplemented by secondary data provided by the Carbon Trust. Being able to measure the existing carbon footprint and establishing specific goals for reducing it is the first step toward becoming Carbon Neutral.

Niederstadt added, “No one individual, company or government can single-handedly cure the climate crisis. It takes universal, global collaboration and cooperation to get the world to a point where climate deterioration is mitigated, or even fully abated. Asahi Photoproducts, is proud to be contributors to this worldwide effort.”

For information about the Carbon Trust, visit www.CarbonTrust.com.

Read the complete post on Asahi Photoproducts website

Water-Based Flexographic Printing Steps Up To The Sustainability Challenge

July 6, 2021
Asahi CleanPrint, Asahi Flexo Plates, AWP Water Wash, sustainability, Water Wash Flexo

Water-Based Flexographic Printing Steps Up To The Sustainability Challenge

By Takumi Saito, Printing Solutions Project, Asahi Kasei Corporation

The recent Leaders Summit on Climate, hosted by U.S. President Biden, demonstrates the growing commitment leaders of many countries have to addressing the climate crisis by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) among other initiatives. This will likely translate into increased regulatory pressure on a variety of industries, including printing, to moderate their emissions of CO2 and other global warming gases such as CH4 and N2O. As a leading supplier to the flexographic printing industry, Asahi Photoproducts is dedicated to delivering flexographic solutions that are in harmony with the environment. In doing so, the company enables its customers to be proactive in contributing to the overall reduction of GHG emissions

Over the last half century, Asahi Photoproducts has worked hard to bring innovative solutions to flexography, and most recently with the Asahi AWP™ CleanPrint water-washable plates. This solvent-free process delivers more sustainable printing while at the same time improving Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) in the press room to the tune of 30% or more, which results in a significant increase in quality due to the precise register these plates deliver.

What that means for the printing industry is that flexography is now competitive with gravure for all except the longest print runs. To validate this assertion, Flexo Technical Association Japan (FTAJ) and Water-based Flexographic Printing Advancement Council partnered with the Sustainable Management Promotion Organization (SuMPO), a well-known Japanese association, to calculate GHG emissions during the entire printing process for each of these two technologies, using the Life Cycle Assessment method (Fig.1).

The results were enlightening. We found that when printing a job of 5,000 linear meters with water-based flexographic printing and comparing the result with the simulation of the same job with gravure printing, GHG emissions from water-based flexographic printing can be reduced by about 65% compared to gravure. We measured GHG emissions from the gravure life cycle at 668 kg, whereas emissions from water-based flexography were 231 kg.

The gravure printing simulation results from using electronic engraving of the cylinders and solvent-based inks, while water-based flexographic printing uses water-washable plates and water-based inks. The results are shown in the image below, broken down into 3 steps: platemaking/engraving, ink manufacturing, and printing.

<Fig.1>  Calculation result by SuMPO about GHG Emissions (kg-CO2e) at 5,000m printing.
(This result is calculated by the conditions of Ref.1 and not typical value of water-based flexo printing and solvent gravure printing)

The sustainability of the print can be further enhanced by using solvent-free laminating where lamination is required or desired, instead of dry lamination where the bonding agent is dissolved in solvent, applied, and then evaporated in a drying oven. With solvent-free lamination, a low viscosity adhesive is applied, requiring only a heated nip to mate it to the substrate. This creates an additional advantage of solvent-free lamination beyond the reduced GHG and VOC emissions since it does not require a drying component, further reducing energy consumption and increasing its sustainability as compared to the conventional dry lamination process. Thus, we recommend water-based flexographic printing technology combined with solvent-free lamination and water-washable flexographic printing plates as the most sustainable approach to producing packaging.

All of this demonstrates the significant progress that has been made towards reduction of the carbon footprint for flexographic printing as compared to gravure, and the fact that this approach to packaging printing has the potential to change the global packaging market. But we are not stopping here. The talented and innovative engineers at Asahi Photoproducts continue to seek new ways to reduce the environmental impact of flexographic printing processes even further, and we have full confidence that they will find even more ways to make flexographic printing more sustainable.

Miles Label of Tucson Increases Productivity With Asahi AWP

March 31, 2021
Asahi CleanPrint, Asahi Flexo Plates, AWP Water Wash

Miles Label Company, located in Tucson, AZ has been in business since the 1930’s, providing their Customers with high-end labels. Miles Label Co. is a very tightly run family business that has always had first rate quality and service in mind. They recently chose Correct-Touch Graphic Arts (CTGA) to be their “go to” for a new ESKO CDI and Asahi 2530 AA  all-in-one water wash equipment.

Per PJ Miles, Asahi AWP “blew away” all competitive plate materials that they had tested on their new 13″ and 17″ presses. PJ says that the “AWP plate runs cleaner with fewer press stops, allowing Miles Label’s to drastically improve their printability and product output.”

According to PJ, “CTGA continues to provide us with excellent technical expertise and support, which allows Miles Label to run smoothly and efficiently.” Furthermore, PJ states “from Asahi AWP to Esko’s CDI equipment, CTGA represents and supports the best products for all flexo applications.”

CTGA Asked Miles Label Company a few questions about their business and their experience using Asahi AWP:

Q: How many presses does Miles have? 
A: 2 presses from 17” to 13” 

Q: Why did you decide to go with the AWP system and plates?
A: We tested the Asahi AWP plate and were blown away on the quality.

Q: What print benefits have you noticed on press? 

A: They are cleaner running, less press stoppage.

Q: What plate processing benefits has you pre-press team noticed? 
A: No more chemicals…no VOC’s

Q: How would you describe your partnership with CTGA?
A:  CTGA has always been there for me. From Asahi to Esko equipment, these guys service and represent the best products for flexo applications.

Ranch & Coast Label Finds Success With Asahi AWP

March 31, 2021
Asahi CleanPrint, AWP Water Wash

Ranch & Coast Label is an up and coming high-end label printer and converter, located in San Diego, CA.  R & C recently chose Correct-Touch Graphic Arts (CTGA) to be their plate supplier, due to CTGA’s in depth knowledge and support of prepress, plate room and press room equipment and supplies.  Per Noel Tapia, R & C’s Production Manager, “We had tried several other plates, including thermal and chose the Asahi AWP water-processed plate for several reasons; No VOC’s (environmentally friendly), quick processing speeds, reduced downtime, and most importantly, amazing CleanPrint Technology keeps screens cleaner and densities improved.  Asahi AWP is a cut above everything we had tested.”

Noel went on to say “CTGA has treated us like a partner from day one, and with their excellent customer service, support and knowledge, we are now able to streamline our operation and provide our Customers with the very best attainable printing results possible.”

CTGA Asked Ranch & Coast a few questions about their business and their experience using Asahi AWP:

Q: How many presses does Ranch and Coast have? 
A: 5 presses from 7” to 13” 

Q: Why did you decide to go with the AWP system and plates?
A: Reduce downtime and the process is environmentally friendly 

Q: What print benefits have you noticed on press? 

A: CleanPrint Technology does keep screens cleaner and density improved. 

Q: What plate processing benefits has you pre-press team noticed? 
A: No chemicals to deal with and much quicker plate making processing 

Q: How would you describe your partnership with CTGA?
A:  Amazing, 2nd to none. Customer service is great. 

Asahi Demonstrates Remote Smart Glass Machine Installation

January 22, 2021
Asahi CleanPrint, Asahi Flexo Plates, AWP Water Wash

FIRST-IN-HISTORY REMOTE SMART GLASS MACHINE INSTALLATION DEMONSTRATED BY ASAHI

Re-post of original article from asahi-photoproducts.com

The first AWP™ 4835-P water washable plate processor was put into operation at the Comexi Manel Xifra Boada Technology Center following innovative installation approach By Pedro Hernandez, Engineering Manager, Asahi Photoproducts

At Asahi Photoproducts, we were thrilled to see the Comexi Turnkey Project come to fruition. It was designed to demonstrate how simple and clean the flexo platemaking process can be, making it easier than ever for flexographic print houses to bring platemaking in house, gaining control over the process and saving valuable time.

To facilitate the project, an AWP™ 4835-P water-washable plate processor was installed at the Comexi Manel Xifra Boada Technology Center in Girona, Spain.

What was unique about the installation was the fact that it was the first-ever installation done remotely with Smart Glass support! This approach was driven by pandemic-imposed travel restrictions, forcing a decision to either delay the project or utilize alternative technologies to start up the system. The fact that Comexi had already experienced Smart Glass technology as part of their service offering significantly helped make the process smooth between both companies and resulted in defining our standard remote support operating procedures which can be used for future installations, saving time, eliminating the need for travel, and providing an overall more effective experience for the operators at the installation site.

“The Smart Glass installation was great! Everything was well prepared, and it went smoothly from the very beginning,” says Yago Lulin, Technical Consultant & Prepress Manager at Comexi. He continues by saying, “The installation was done in a few days, and the Comexi team was given a subsequent training on platemaking in detail. Smart Glass support for this type of activity is ideal as it provides flexibility regarding the installation date when it comes to any last minute changes, but it also saves 2-3 days of engineering travel time and costs”.

We see this approach as a major advance for the “next normal”. While Asahi Photoproducts’ expert technical team is always available to come on site to help with technical or training issues, being able to remotely do a full installation using modern communications technologies means a more cost-efficient and timely approach to many of the activities that normally would have required the time and travel cost associated with conventional technical support approaches. This was a great learning experience for both teams, and proof that it is a viable approach for the future.

Another important advantage noted by Yago Lulin was the fact that by its very nature, the process gave staff more hands-on experience with the equipment than they might have had during a normal on-site installation. He adds: “All members who participated in the installation were really motivated to learn how the processor works, both for operation and for future maintenance. This approach is ideal for this type of installation!”

Bringing Pre-Press Home: Closing the Gap in the Printed Package Value Chain

December 2, 2020
Asahi CleanPrint, Asahi Flexo Plates, Asahi Pinning Technology, AWP Water Wash, CTGA Flexo Plates, Digital Flexo, Flexo Plate Material, Flexo Plate Mounting, Flexographic Printing Plates

As digital technologies progressed in offset, the printing industry saw a rapid migration of plate making from outside resources to on-site production.

The same thing is positioned to occur in flexography, as technology has evolved to streamline and simplify the plate making process. Flexographic converters in the labels and packaging space are in a growth business. Still, they face a number of challenges in a highly competitive marketplace. At the same time, they confront challenges from alternative technologies such as offset and gravure printing. Customers are increasingly looking for shorter and more varied runs, faster delivery times, and, of course, a competitive cost structure. Plus, the interest in a more sustainable environmental footprint on the part of brands and consumers is growing.

There are a number of technological developments underway in flexography that will help flexographic printers meet these tests and retain existing customers while also acquiring new ones. One such development is being demonstrated through the Turnkey Project, hosted by Comexi, in which Asahi Photoproducts is a partner. The Turnkey Project is designed to demonstrate the value of bringing flexographic plate making in-house to flexible packaging converters. Today’s technology makes it easy.

For the flexographic printing operation, bringing plate making in-house is one way to improve operational efficiency by providing more control over the cost, scheduling and timeframes for making plates. It also makes it faster for replacement plates to be made when required, reducing press downtime and keeping jobs running through the plant more efficiently. But in the past, making high-quality flexographic plates could be tricky, deterring many printers from bringing the operation in-house. This project demonstrates how that is changing.

Beyond this project, our industry is focused on bringing even more automation and operational efficiency to the flexographic prepress process, adding to the contributions already made to improved quality, profitability and sustainability.

The faster and more efficiently a press-ready print form can be generated, the more flexibility a plant will have in what it can produce. But as always, quality is a key consideration and must be balanced with efficiency for a holistic approach to the process of producing press-ready print forms.

By removing even more manual touches from the flexographic plate making process, we will be able to deliver a more efficient and profitable prepress process, as well as a high level of standardization through automation, thereby reducing the skill level required for operators in an environment where skilled prepress operators are often hard to find.

Among the resulting benefits, the process speeds production times, allowing companies to produce more jobs in a day with the same or less labor, while simultaneously reducing the opportunity for costly errors along the way. That’s the vision the next generation of flexographic prepress solutions will be about.

Turnkey Project Details

An important milestone on the route toward this vision for Asahi and several other industry partners is our participation in the Comexi Turnkey Project at its Manel Xifra Boada Technology Center in Girona, Spain. The project features water wash equipment and water washable plates with CleanPrint technology. Water wash processors are generally considered to be more in harmony with the environment than conventional solvent systems. Many, in fact, credit them with producing plates that achieve the highest level of quality in flexographic printing.

In addition, the water wash process is much faster than solvent. While it may take up to two hours for solvent-based plates to dry, Asahi’s complete AWP plate making process, serving as one example, delivers a plate to the mounting department in less than one hour. That same example plate is specifically engineered to transfer all remaining ink to the printed substrate, reducing makeready time and press cleaning stops.

The Manel Xifra Boada Technology Center—Comexi CTec—specializes in training, advice and technical process support for the printing and converting sectors of the flexible packaging industry. It has incorporated into its portfolio this new service, whose objective is to help flexographic printing operations integrate the prepress process, from ground zero, into their own facilities.

The project culminates once the client independently completes the prepress process while adhering to all defined quality standards. The estimated time to complete the project is approximately six months.

Word on Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)

In any industry, Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) is a measurement of the performance of a machine. It’s a calculation—OEE = Availability x Performance x Quality—that delivers a percentage. OEE is a fact-based way to measure the efficiency of your operation and identify ways to continuously improve it over time.

Print production inefficiencies can occur due to a combination of elements, such as printing shift length, press makeready time, press stop downtimes, actual press speed, run lengths and total material waste.

The OEE calculation provides focus and simplicity to decision making, in respect to availability, performance and quality produced. Having measured all three elements, a focus for improvement in the OEE percentage figure can be established. The higher the OEE percentage is, the more effective your printing shop becomes. The higher the OEE, the better the impact is to the bottom line. Plus, inherent in a higher OEE is an increase in customer satisfaction and retention.

Calculating OEE is not rocket science; it’s easy to understand and involves calculating press availability, performance and quality. For more information on the calculation of OEE, request an easy-to-use OEE calculator by contacting CTGA today.

Asahi Photoproducts and Esko Join Forces

November 20, 2020
Asahi CleanPrint, Asahi Flexo Plates, AWP Water Wash, CTGA Flexo, Digital Flexo, Esko, Esko CDI, Flexo Printing, sustainability

Asahi Photoproducts and Esko Join Forces to Educate Chinese Market on Flexo Platemaking in Harmony with the Environment

Tokyo, Japan & Brussels, Belgium, November 20, 2020. Asahi Photoproducts, a pioneer in flexographic photopolymer plate development, today reported it extended its relationship with Esko through an agreement to install Esko plate imaging solutions in the Asahi Tech Center in Suzhou, near Shanghai. The agreement, which was entered into during All-in-Print China, will result in the installation of an Esko CDI Spark 4260 and an XPS Crystal 5080 in the Center.

These industry-leading plate imaging solutions are supported by an Asahi AWP 230W plate processor using Asahi AWPTM CleanPrint water-washable plates to complete the industry’s most balanced flexographic platemaking solution in harmony with the environment, delivering the highest possible quality for China’s demanding flexo customers.

“Asahi Photoproducts has worked together with Esko in China for a decade and this agreement takes the relationship to a new level in our ability to serve the rapidly evolving flexographic market in China,” said Yuji Suzuki, Asahi’s Senior Manager of Customer Technical Service.

Suzuki points out that high-end print quality is increasingly required in China, and many repro houses in the region still have difficulty making plates that deliver the best print quality. “One thing we will be doing in our Tech Center with the new equipment,” he says, “is creating test plates for potential customers so they can see for themselves that we can deliver the quality they need. We will also use the facility to do training and seminars for customers and potential customers.”

Esko will also have access to the Tech Center, offering the possibility to Asahi’s customers to learn more about how the Esko plate imaging system functions with Asahi’s AWPTM CleanPrint water-washable plates. “We are pleased to continue to grow our partnership with Asahi, especially in the highly competitive Chinese market,” said Rocky Zhou, General Manager for Esko in Shanghai. “The solutions being installed at the Asahi Tech Center will benefit both of our businesses as we work to continue to bring the latest state-of-the-art flexographic solutions to this region”.

FFP Packaging Wins Best in Show At the EFIA Awards 2020 Using Asahi AWP Flexo Plate Technology

October 7, 2020
Asahi Flexo Plates, AWP Water Wash, CTGA Flexo, CTGA Flexo Plates, Flexo Plate Material

Tokyo, Japan & Brussels, Belgium, 7 October, 2020 – Asahi Photoproducts, a pioneer in flexographic photopolymer plate development, is delighted to congratulate its customer FFP Packaging Solutions as winner of ‘Best in Show’ at the recent EFIA Awards 2020. FFP’s entry won Gold in the category ‘Flexo on Film – Reverse Print Wide’ using Asahi’s AWPTM-1.14 plates to achieve the high quality results. FFP’s entry ‘Juicy Meat Company, Large Beef, Easy Cook Pouch’ was acclaimed for superior design and excellent quality printing in CMYK, achieving exceptional density in the black areas alongside perfect soft highlights.

Paul Hesketh, Print Development Manager at FFP says, “Everyone at FFP is absolutely delighted to have won this year’s ‘Best in Show’ at the EFIA awards.”  As a leading flexible packaging innovator and converter with 50 years experience, FFP is unique in comparison to many other companies in their sector as they produce their plates in-house. Hesketh explains, “To take control of plate production we needed to find the best plate technology and a supplier and partner we could work with. Our relationship with Asahi supports our strategy to provide consistent high quality products. We purchased Asahi’s AWPTM 4835 water-wash plate processor around 5 years ago and Asahi supply us with the raw polymer so we can manufacture plates in-house. We decided to produce AWPTM-1.14 plates  after extensively researching the market, we found that Asahi plates gave us consistent and excellent quality results every time, with good ink lay-down and superior ink densities – perfect for very high quality work and challenging designs. The results we are able to achieve with this plate are so good, we offer them to our customers under our ‘Platinum Print’ brand.”

The print team at FFP Packaging Solutions quickly recognised the technical difficulty in achieving soft highlights and strong vibrant colors from the CMYK on challenging designs such as the winning entry.  The design on the Juicy Meat Company pack is predominately a dense black with contrasting lighter shades in the product images. To produce award winning designs FFP also has to focus carefully on its color management processes – they use IQC color management software and X-Rite spectrophotometers to measure digital tolerances.

Hesketh continues, “We have a great design and color management team at FFP but at the end of the day, high quality results are a lot to do with the plates and the way we set them up.  The success of the end product is down to achieving the correct balance with the plate, the ink system and the anilox and the key objective is to perfectly match the proof. We found the AWPTM 1.14 plate offers excellent quality and color consistency when used in conjunction with solvent based ink systems on our Windmöller & Hölscher high speed Miraflex Printing press.

All FFPs award entries are selected from the production Print that come off their presses on a daily basis. There is no special preparation made to produce an award winning piece of print. Hesketh explains, “I regularly see great print coming off the end of our presses and think – I’ll keep that.”  These samples build up throughout the year and when its time to send the entries for the awards, Hesketh and his  team review and select the best and the most appropriate print from the samples.  Hesketh works on the principle that everything they produce for their customers is top quality and good enough to win an award.

Hesketh concludes, “We take awards seriously.  Within our industry we regard EFIA as the most prestigious organisation.  We have been members for many years and won many awards but it was very satisfying indeed this year to receive their award for ‘Best in Show’.   Working in-house is fundamental to FFP maintaining the highest levels of quality products in a challenging and ever evolving market.  To do that we had to carefully consider our choice of technology partner.  We chose to partner with Asahi and use their AWPTM plate 5 years ago and we are still winning awards with it. We did look at other suppliers but we are very glad we went with Asahi as we believe their plate technology is top class.   We strive to be the best and use the best equipment available which is why we use Asahi’s AWPTM plates. Our competitors can’t compete.”

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