ASAHI PHOTOPRODUCTS TEAMS WITH ESKO TO BRING IMPROVED OVERALL EQUIPMENT EFFECTIVENESS (OEE) TO FLEXO PLATEMAKING

May 25, 2018
Asahi Flexo Plates, Asahi Pinning Technology, CTGA Flexo, CTGA Flexo Plates, Esko CDI, Esko HD Flexo, Flexo Plate Material, Flexo Plates

Tokyo, Japan & Brussels, Belgium, May 24, 2018 – Asahi Photoproducts, a pioneer in flexographic photopolymer plate development, today announced it will be attending EskoWorld for the first time. Asahi will be located in the Innovation Center at the show, scheduled for 5 to 7 June at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa in San Antonio, Texas.

“In our fast-paced and rapidly evolving industry, efficiency, waste reduction and speed to market are critical,” said Stephan Doppelhammer, Asahi Photoproducts Europe Business Development Manager. “By partnering with Esko, we bring together solutions from two world-class companies to create a faster, more efficient and more consistent workflow in flexographic platemaking. Esko Equinox is ideal for converting separations to fixed palette printing, while Esko’s Crystal technology reduces the number of platemaking steps required and is making the process more consistent. By adding Asahi’s AWP™ water washable plates with Clean Transfer Technology to the mix, Asahi and Esko customers can take OEE to a brand-new level of efficiency while boosting print quality and reducing their environmental footprint.”

Voice of the Customer

Gateway Packaging, a leading high-end printer/ packaging converter and the largest pet food packaging provider in North America, recently restructured its entire platemaking process with Asahi Photoproducts solutions as the core element. The company performed extensive testing that led up to the final decision. “When running the Asahi AWP™ Clean Transfer plates,” explained Tharrin Akers, the company’s Prepress Manager, “we were able to run the press at a 17{402c2385650ceb937fc5dfccd4761ceed5dd330756c4d730d625389f210d2cf9} higher speed – 1,640 feet per minute (from 426 m / min. to 500 m / min) – and only had to stop for plate cleaning once. And that only required cleaning two plates, consuming 20 minutes. The result was a total production time of 7.2 hours instead of 11 hours in the past and an astonishing 53{402c2385650ceb937fc5dfccd4761ceed5dd330756c4d730d625389f210d2cf9} improvement in Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) over our previous process.”

Clean Transfer Technology: The Details

A feature of many of Asahi’s flexographic printing plates, Clean Transfer Technology enables a clean ink transfer and prevents ink accumulating on the plate surfaces and shoulders in screen areas. This leads to fewer cleaning intervals and reduced press downtime, as well as significant quality improvements. Precise plate register achieved with Asahi AWP™ plates ensures very high quality process printing with a fixed color palette, minimizing the need to use and manage spot color inks.

Clean Transfer Technology allows a kiss-touch printing pressure setting. It makes use of low plate surface tension, made possible by a specially engineered Asahi polymer chemistry, to inhibit liquid flow. The ink forms a globule, with a large contact angle and high pinning point. This results in a cleaner and more homogeneous ink transfer from plate to substrate, helping flexographic printers meet the ever-increasing quality demands of their customers.

Essel Propack Installs Asahi AWP System

April 23, 2018
Asahi Flexo Plates, AWP Water Wash, Color Management, CTGA Flexo Plates, Flexo Plate Material, Flexo Plates

Correct-Touch Graphic Arts recently helped industry leader Essel Propack with the purchase and installation of Asahi’s AWP 4835 Plate Processing unit and AWP water washable flexo plates.  The use of Asahi’s AWP system brings improved quality and sustainability to Essel’s production and greatly improves their OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) with less downtime, reduced waste and increased repeatability.  This improvement has a great impact on their overall success and profitability.

“The investment in Asahi AWP brings an increased efficiency to our business that allows us to greatly improve output during production.  The Asahi Plate processing unit along with the AWP plate material offers us maximum quality and control throughout the print process, and we’re excited for the overall benefit it brings to our company.  Both Asahi and CTGA really helped steer us through the entire process from consultation through installation to ensure we got what we needed,” said Srikant Jindam, U.S. Graphics Manager at Essel Propack when discussing the choice to go with Asahi AWP.

ABOUT ESSEL PROPACK

Essel Propack, part of the USD 4.2 billion Essel Group, with FY17 turnover of over USD 368 million, is the largest specialty packaging global company, manufacturing laminated plastic tubes catering to the FMCG and Pharma space.

Employing over 2852 people representing 25 different nationalities, Essel Propack functions through 19 state of the art facilities and in eleven countries, selling circa 7 billion tubes and continuing to grow every year.

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THE ASAHI AWP SYSTEM

AWP technology has been designed from the start with a strong consideration for the environment, and a commitment to minimizing any possible waste of precious resources. For starters, the system is water-washable, rather than relying on harsh solvents.  The entire plate developing process doesn’t generate any waste other than unexposed polymer residues, which are collected as dry ‘cake’ and safely disposed as combustible material.

Traditionally, water washable plate quality has been considered second-best when compared to solvent plates. The Asahi AWP plate does more than match traditional solvent photopolymer plates—it outperforms the best digital plates currently available for flexo. For the first time a digital photopolymer plate can hold extremely small stable dots— smaller than those of solvent processed plates—and its stability on press is superior to solvent plates.

Asahi’s green focus at Labelexpo Southeast Asia

April 23, 2018
Asahi Flexo Plates, Asahi Pinning Technology, AWP Water Wash, Flexo Plate Material, Flexo Plates, Flexographic Printing Plates

Original article from printweek.in

Sam Yamamoto of Asahi, said, “At the show, our experts will be helping the visitors better understand how Asahi AWP plates can improve environmental sustainability, overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and organisational profitability without any compromise on quality.”
According to Asahi, Clean Transfer Technology is a technology which enables clean ink transfer and prevents ink accumulating on the plate surfaces and shoulders in screen areas and thus resulting in fewer cleaning intervals and reduced press downtime.
Asahi will also talk about fixed colour palette printing, which uses a up to seven inks and thereby eliminates the use of spot colours.
Yamamoto explained, “Because it uses a fixed set of inks, there is no wash-up required between jobs, and combo jobs are made easier. Also, there is significantly less waste in the printing process, improving throughput and productivity.”
“This is the future of flexography, especially in label printing where digital printing has made significant inroads; it favourably positions flexography to compete with digital printing for the short run jobs,” Yamamoto added.

Read the complete article on printweek.in

Asahi Photoproducts to Support First Edition of Labelexpo Southeast Asia 2018 with Innovation, Education

March 20, 2018
Asahi Flexo Plates, Asahi Pinning Technology, Flexo Plate Material, Flexo Plates

Original article from flexoglobal.com

Tokyo, Japan & Brussels, Belgium, March 20, 2018 – Asahi Photoproducts, a pioneer in flexographic photopolymer plate development, today reported it will be showing its AWP™ line of water-washable flexographic plate solutions featuring its Clean Transfer Technology at Labelexpo Southeast Asia 2018. The show is a brand-new event in the Labelexpo Global Series. Asahi will be located on Stand D36 at the show, scheduled for 10 to 12 May 2018 in Bitec, Bangkok. Joining Asahi at the event will be its important distributor, Nagase who supports Asahi in Southeast Asia market.

“Labelexpo events around the globe are an excellent platform for introducing labels & packaging converters and brands to new and innovative technologies, and we are delighted to be participating in the first ever Southeast Asian Labelexpo,” states Sam Yamamoto, Senior Sales Manager for Asahi Asia & Pacific Region. “It is especially good timing for us to introduce that region to our environmentally sustainable water-washable plate technologies since governments there are gearing up to increase environmental regulations. At the show, our experts will be on hand to help visitors better understand how Asahi AWP™ plates can improve environmental sustainability, overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and organizational profitability without any compromise in quality. Visitors to our stand will also be able to see printed application examples and get advice from our experts about the best plates for their individual needs.”

Asahi experts will also be available to speak with visitors about the benefits of fixed colour palette printing, which uses a fixed palette of up to seven inks to virtually eliminate the need for spot colour inks. Because it uses a fixed set of inks, there is no wash-up required between jobs, and combo jobs are made easier. In addition, there is significantly less waste in the printing process, improving throughput and productivity. Asahi plates with Clean Transfer Technology deliver the precise plate-to-plate register required to implement this printing process successfully. “In our opinion,” adds Mr. Yamamoto, “this is the future of flexography, especially in label printing where digital printing has made significant inroads; it favourably positions flexography to compete with digital printing for all but the very shortest runs. This will be especially beneficial in Southeast Asia as the label market there continues to mature.”

At the show…

At Labelexpo Southeast Asia, Asahi Photoproducts will be showing the AWP™-DEW plate solution, incorporating the renowned quality properties of AWP™-DEF plates with the addition of a faster plate processing speed, making this plate ideal for labels and packaging operations with higher plate throughput who are looking to achieve significant quality and OEE benefits.

Voice of the Customer

Colognia Press is a Czech-based label converter and satisfied Asahi customer who needed to find a way to improve OEE. “With the flexo plates we were using, we had excessive stop times to clean or replace plates,” says Bohdan Holona, Manager of Desktop Publishing. “For long-run jobs, this meant that half of the time to produce the job was downtime. And even for shorter runs, we were not happy with the consistency from beginning to end of the job, often requiring press stops to clean plates or otherwise adjust quality.” After looking at several alternate solutions, Holona reports the company chose to implement the Asahi AWP™ platemaking system. “Now,” he says, “We can run a full 10-kilometre job without stopping. We even ran a 22-hour job with one set of plates, no stops, and very consistent quality from beginning to end. It’s been amazing!”

Read the complete article on flexoblogal.com

Gateway Packaging Company improves Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE) with Asahi Photoproducts AWP™ Water-Washable Plates by 53%

November 29, 2017
Asahi Flexo Plates, AWP Water Wash, CTGA Flexo, CTGA Flexo Plates, Digital Flexo, Flexo Plate Material, Flexo Plates, Pinning Top Dot Flexo, Water Wash Flexo

Unique Clean Transfer technology of Asahi AWP™ plates improves quality, productivity

Tennessee-based Gateway Packaging Company has chosen to partner with CTGA and Asahi Photoproducts after an exhaustive search for an improved platemaking process.

Gateway operates three manufacturing locations serving the United States and Canada and produces packaging for consumer packaged goods manufacturers and industrial packaging for the food, agricultural, chemical and charcoal industries.

As a leading high-end printer/packaging converter and the largest pet food packaging provider in North America, Gateway Packaging is continually seeking ways to improve products and solve problems for its customers. By switching to Asahi AWP™ flexographic plates with Clean Transfer, the company has taken another step long its path of continuous improvement. Gateway also installed an Asahi AWP 1116 PD Processor as part of the revamping of its platemaking process.

“With the variety of flexographic plates and platemaking solutions available in the market, we wanted to do a thorough evaluation to ensure our investment decision was the best possible choice,” said Tharrin Akers, Prepress Manager. “With that in mind, we benchmarked solutions from the leading players, ultimately bringing our selection to the top two, including Asahi Photoproducts. As a final test, we ran a number of production jobs using plates generated by CTGA to compare efficiency with our current process, and we were very pleased with the results achieved using the Asahi solutions.”

The production test was run on an F&K 20six flexographic press using 40-pound coated white paper and solvent inks, with a run length of 675,000 feet (205,200 meters). The press ran at 1,400 feet per minute (427 m/min.). The run using competitive plates experienced a total 

production time of 483 minutes or 11 hours with a total plate cleaning time of 177 minutes and a requirement to clean plates every 2.5 rolls of media at 32 minutes per time.

“When running the Asahi plates,” Akers explained, “we were able to run the press at a 17{402c2385650ceb937fc5dfccd4761ceed5dd330756c4d730d625389f210d2cf9} higher speed – 1,640 feet per minute (500 m/min.) – and only had to stop for plate cleaning once. And that only required cleaning two plates, consuming 20 minutes. The result was a total production time of 432 minutes or 7.2 hours and an astonishing 53{402c2385650ceb937fc5dfccd4761ceed5dd330756c4d730d625389f210d2cf9} improvement in Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE).”

As a result of these tests, Gateway decided to make a significant investment in a new platemaking department, implementing Asahi Photoproducts AWP™ water-washable plates and adding a Kongsberg cutting table, a Glunz & Jensen Concept 401 ECLF Exposure Unit, and the Asahi Photoproducts AWP™ 1116 PD Processor. Gateway estimated a payback period of 10 months for this significant investment based on the productivity and quality gains it would deliver.

 

The result was a total production time of 432 minutes or 7.2 hours and an astonishing 53{402c2385650ceb937fc5dfccd4761ceed5dd330756c4d730d625389f210d2cf9} improvement in Overall Equipment Efficiency (OEE).

Asahi AWP™ plates feature Clean Transfer Technology, which allows a kiss-touch printing pressure setting. It makes use of low plate surface tension, made possible by a specially engineered Asahi polymer chemistry, to inhibit liquid flow. The ink forms a globule, with a large contact angle and high pinning point. This results in a cleaner and more homogeneous ink transfer from plate to substrate, helping flexographic printers meet the ever-increasing quality demands of their customers. It also ensures precise register and fewer press stops for cleaning or plate changes, increasing Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE).

Pictured:  Tharrin Akers, Prepress Manager Gatweay (left), David Bell, Technical Sales Representative CTGA (right)

Looking To Bring Platemaking In-House?

July 24, 2017
CTGA Flexo Plates, Digital Flexo, Esko CDI, Esko Full HD Flexo, Flexo Plate Material, Flexo Plates

If you’ve been considering bringing platemaking in-house, Correct-Touch Graphic Arts can make it happen.  Not only do we carry platemaking equipment, supplies and plate material from the top brands in the industry, but we also provide you with a one-stop resource for consultation, installation, maintenance and service.

When you work with CTGA we become your partner in the success of your business! Contact us today and get started.

CTGA IS WITH YOU FROM EVERY STEP OF THE WAY
  • We will consult with you to determine the optimum room size, layout and ventilation requirements
  • We will offer ways to reduce VOC’s in the plant
  • We will work with you to determine the most cost effective equipment
  • We will install your equipment for you
  • We will test various plate materials to determine what works best on press
  • We will train your plate making staff in the proper steps to make a great plate
  • We will show you how to print better, by optimizing the printing plate process
  •  We will work with your pre press provider to optimize art files, using the latest screening technologies and press characterization software. 
  •  Will help you fingerprint all of your press lines, ink sets and substrates as part of bringing the Asahi plate in house 
  •  Provide ongoing training to platemaking and pre press personnel

Asahi Customers Sweep Flexographic Technical Association of South Africa Awards

March 1, 2017
Asahi Flexo Plates, Asahi Pinning Technology, AWP Water Wash, CTGA Flexo, CTGA Flexo Plates, Digital Flexo, Flexo Plate Material, Flexo Plates

Judges praised tight register, successful combination of solids and screens on the same plate and more

Tokyo, Japan & Brussels, Belgium, February 23, 2017 – Asahi Photoproducts, a pioneer in flexographic photopolymer plate development, is pleased to announce that its customers claimed a total of 24 awards, including eight Gold awards, in the 2016 Flexographic Technical Association of South Africa awards competition.

The FTASA Print Excellence Awards have been held in South Africa since 1997; first under the auspices of the Institute of Packaging and later independently. This competition focuses on printing quality and not innovation, design or origination, although the printer’s skill in implementing these is taken into consideration. Judges in this competition apply very high standards in the judging process.

“We were extremely pleased with the performance of our customers in this prestigious awards competition and extend our congratulations to them,” said Dieter Niederstadt, Technical Marketing Manager for Asahi Photoproducts. “A common comment from the judges across many of the Asahi customers who were recognized with awards identified the tight register achieved with Asahi plates, as well as good solid ink laydown and very fine highlight dots, as key criteria in their analysis. In several cases, they also mentioned the ability to achieve fine dots and combined solids and halftones on the same plate. This feedback validates the efforts Asahi has made to bring best-in-class high-performance flexo plates to the market.”

Of particular note is the excellent performance of Golden Era Printers, who captured a total of 12 awards for New Era Labels, New Era Packaging and its Flexo Division, including four Gold awards. All Golden Era plates were made in-house, and the company used a variety of Asahi plates, demonstrating the value of the breadth of the Asahi product line in producing a wide range of quality applications.  These included Asahi TOPTM, DSHTM and DSETM flexographic plates.

Other Asahi customer award winners included:

  • Taurus Packaging with four awards. Plates used included Asahi TOP and DSF, and plates were produced by Polyflex.
  • Constantia Afripack DLC for its Tiger Brands Symphony Hazelnut White Chocolate flexible packaging, achieving a Silver award using Asahi TOPTM plates produced by Polyflex.
  • DCB Plastics for its Gold Award for Bob Martin Complete Condition Meaty Chunks Lamb Flavor (Dog Food, 1.75 kg) flexible packaging using Asahi TOPTM plates produced by Polyflex. In granting the award, the judges declared, “This job leaves very little room for error.” The company also received a silver award for the 8 kg version of Bob Martin Complete Condition Lamb Flavor dog food.
  • ITB Manufacturing received three awards, two Gold and one Silver. The company used Asahi TOP plates produced by Polyflex.
  • Flexible Packaging Converters used Asahi TOPTM plates produced by Polyflex to achieve a Bronze award.
  • Amcor Flexibles was awarded a Gold for its Spar Instant Full Cream Milk Powder flexible packaging produce with Asahi TOPTM plates from Polygraphics.

“This outstanding performance by these companies demonstrates that flexographic printing is here to stay and continues to evolve. We are proud of their hard work and happy to be able to contribute to their success,” says Sachin Sukhlal, Technical Sales Manager at Decoflex in South Africa, one of Asahi’s most successful distributors. “As packaging design becomes more complex and increasingly graphical, the ability to deliver perfect register and clean white highlights with good ink density and laydown in the solid areas is critical. Also, Asahi plates are unique in their ability to produce fine dots and combined solids and halftones using a single plate. All of this adds up to higher flexographic quality and improved OEE for faster cycle times and profitability.”

Asahi’s solvent-washable AFPTM-TOP flexo plates embody a unique design that ensures the highest possible quality print with the least amount of press downtime. Its Pinning Technology for Clean Transfer ensures exceptional print performance and enhanced press profitability. Asahi’s AFPTM-TOP flexo plates were used in 18 of the 24 award-winning applications.

Asahi AWP – NO VOC’s! Boost Your Productivity, Efficiency & Sustainability

January 5, 2017
Asahi Flexo Plates, Asahi Pinning Technology, AWP Water Wash, CTGA Flexo, CTGA Flexo Plates, Digital Flexo, Flexo Plate Material, Flexo Plates, Flexographic Printing Plates, Pinning Top Dot Flexo, Water Wash Flexo

MAKE 2017 YOUR BEST YEAR YET

Improve your sustainability, productivity and efficiency with Asahi AWP

While flexography has always been a more efficient and cost-effective printing process, the challenge has been to close the quality gap between offset and gravure printing. Lately, another factor has come into play—the environmental impact of the product itself. A low product carbon footprint not only helps your company’s image—it also reduces energy consumption and its associated operating costs.

The challenge has been to create a more environmentally friendly plate making system without losing the benefits and advantages of quality or efficiency. Meeting that challenge, and surpassing all expectations is Asahi’s AWP Flexo Plates Material and Platemaking Equipment.

Let the Asahi AWP system make 2017 your company’s best year yet!

AWP 2530 Compact

The all new AWP™ 2530 Compact flexo plate processor is Asahi’s smallest AWP™ machine solution for manual operation.

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AWP 2530 Auto

The new ALL-IN-ONE AWP™ 2530 Auto is designed for the challenging demand of the highest quality customer.

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AWP 4835 P

The new Asahi AWP™ 4835 P plate processor is designed for the challenging demand of the middle size customer.

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AWP-DEF Flexo Plate

Water washable plate with Asahi’s Pinning for Clean Transfer technology.

Traditionally, water washable plate quality has been considered second-best when compared to solvent plates. The Asahi AWP plate does more than match traditional solvent photopolymer plates—it outperforms the best digital plates currently available for flexo. For the first time a digital photopolymer plate can hold extremely small stable dots— smaller than those of solvent processed plates—and its stability on press is superior to solvent plates.

Learn More

Contact CTGA Today & Make 2017 Your Best Year Yet

If you’re interested in learning more about the Asahi AWP Platemaking System, AWP Flexo Plates, AWP Equipment or any Asahi Flexo products distributed in the U.S. by CTGA, contact Correct-Touch Graphic Arts today and speak with one of our technical sales representatives.

Contact CTGA Today

Asahi and CTGA Help Label Impressions Produce Award Winning Label

December 7, 2016
Asahi Flexo Plates, Asahi Pinning Technology, AWP Water Wash, CTGA Flexo, CTGA Flexo Plates, Flexo Plate Material, Flexo Plates, Water Wash Flexo

Article from labelandnarrowweb.com

Orange County, CA-based Label Impressions took home the top prize in the Flexography – Line & Screen, Tone/Prime category at the recent 2016 TLMI Annual Label Awards competition. The company had recently completed several upgrades to improve its quality, sustainability and profitability in line with emerging industry trends.

“This recognition validates our investment decisions,” says Jeff Salisbury, CEO. “We have moved to a new 30,000-square-foot facility with electrical and landscaping upgrades that improved our efficiency and sustainability. We have been using Asahi TOP Premium flexo solvent-wash plates with Pinning Technology for Clean Transfer, which was a significant contributor to our ability to achieve this prestigious award. Our thanks go to Correct-Touch Graphic Arts (CTGA) and Asahi Photoproducts for their partnership and support.” Salisbury reports that Asahi and CTGA have been important partners as the company reconfigures its business. Both, quality and throughput were improved by the Asahi TOP Premium plates, making this award possible.

After a recent installation of a new Asahi AWP 230W Water Wash Plate Making System, the company also expects to reduce VOC’s by 85{402c2385650ceb937fc5dfccd4761ceed5dd330756c4d730d625389f210d2cf9}, setting a new milestone for Label Impressions in terms of quality and environmental sustainability. “In addition,” he adds, “gray water from the water wash system will be used to drip irrigate our landscaping, important in California where water is precious and conservation is a must.”

The winning label printed with TOP featured high-resolution graphics as well as small type that needed to be extremely legible to comply with regulations and ensure brand integrity. “Our congratulations go out to Label Impressions and our distributor, CTGA, for this honor,” says Dieter Niederstadt, Technical Marketing Manager at Asahi Photoproducts. “We are pleased to be able to support our customers, helping them to stay ahead of the game and maintain a competitive advantage while also being considerate of the environment. Label Impressions is a great example of this partnership at work.”

Read more at labelandnarrowweb.com

UK-Based Flexoshop Spurs Business Growth with Asahi AWP Water-Washable Flexographic Plates

October 17, 2016
Asahi Flexo Plates, AWP Water Wash, CTGA Flexo Plates, Flexo Plate Material, Flexographic Printing Plates, Water Wash Flexo

Original article from Asahi Photoproducts

Tokyo, Japan & Brussels, Belgium, 13. October 2016 – Asahi Photoproducts, a pioneer in flexographic photopolymer plate development, today announced that Flexoshop, a repro and platemaking house based in Colchester, Essex, UK, has moved its plate production from Flat Top Dot plates to the premium quality Asahi AWP flexographic plate system. Designed for high quality print performance, the AWP water washable plate outperforms the best digital plates currently available for flexo and produces higher quality than Flat Top Dot plates. For the first time, a digital photopolymer plate can hold extremely small stable dots – smaller than those of solvent processed plates – and its stability on press is superior to solvent plates, with numerous associated environmental and waste reduction benefits. Its precise register ensures faster make ready and reduced waste on press.

Managing Director Simon Drane says, “What spurred me to make the move was a printer client who had to outsource his highest quality work to a digital printer because the plates we were using couldn’t meet the quality demands of his customer. We decided to invest in an Asahi AWP 2530 plate setter with AWP water washable plates and have never looked back. That printer is now able to produce the highest quality work in house and better serve his customer from both a price and performance perspective. That experience prompted us to make our AWP water washable plates the centrepiece of our new business acquisition strategy. The Asahi AWP water washable plate is the best plate you can buy on the market. We were not getting anywhere near this quality with our previous Flat Top Dot plates.”

awpTop

The AWP™ 2530 Auto plate processor is designed to meet the quality requirements of even the most demanding customers. Its combined processor and plate technology is engineered to deliver a sustainable quality output that produces vivid colours and high quality screening. Its water processor is an environmentally sound solution that drives print forward in balance with the environment. Its automated water washing system conserves water, uses no chemicals and generates a plate every 25 minutes. It uses 6 litres of water per plate, as opposed to the 15 litres of solvent per plate used in a typical solvent-based platemaking process.

AWP water washable plates use Pinning Technology for Clean Transfer, a unique plate technology is specifically engineered to transfer all remaining ink to the print substrate due to the photopolymer plates having a lower surface energy than other plates on the market. Not only does this deliver stunning graphical quality, but it also improves overall production efficiencies due to reduced make ready waste and fewer press wash-ups.

“Repro houses are facing an increasingly competitive market,” says Paul Chant, UK Branch Manager of Asahi. “Forward-looking firms like Flexoshop, who are making the necessary investments for the future of their businesses, will be well positioned for success into the future. We are proud to be their partner.”

Read the complete article here

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