Asahi Shows High-Quality Flexo Plates at Labelexpo

ATLANTA, Ga.—Asahi Photoproducts, a supplier of photopolymer printing plates to the flexographic printing industry, will be demonstrating its complete product portfolio of flexo plate systems for label printers at Labelexpo, booth 5210. 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. Both Asahi AWP and AFP plates provide print quality rivaling that of other print processes.

Asahi AWP: Water-washable plate

The environmental impact of the packaged product itself has become increasingly important, reducing energy consumption and its associated operating costs. While delivering extensive ecological benefits, the company says that the Asahi Water washable Plate (AWP) outperforms the best digital flexo plates, holding smaller dots than those of thermal processed plates—the prevalent technology used by narrow web label printers—with superior stability on press. Extensive AWP plate trials and live production jobs have proven its ability to print down to 2 or 3 percent dots, using classical round dot screening. With the latest screening technologies, the plate is able to reproduce a vignette fade to zero.

In the pressroom, the Asahi AWP plate delivers extraordinary ink transfer, plate longevity, and dimensional plate accuracy. It can transfer and release virtually all the ink it takes from the anilox, eliminating ink build-up and dot bridging. The number of press stops due to plate dirtying is dramatically reduced. The Asahi AWP plate also lasts longer, with much greater abrasion resistance, reducing the amount of times a new plate is remade during long runs. Because the plate is forgiving to changes in press conditions, press operators experience easier, faster, and less expensive makereadies, resulting in much less ink and substrate waste, and more press uptime, higher press speeds and improved productivity.

Thanks to the AWP water wash technology and reduced water consumption, the AWP plate processor uses basic resources like water and electricity in their most efficient way. There are no VOC emissions and a lower carbon dioxide footprint than solvent and thermal technologies. AWP conserves natural resources by re-using the wash water during plate processing. And, the plate is press-ready within an hour—faster than thermal plates.