Asahi focuses on sustainable platemaking at Labelexpo Americas 2022

‘In addition to displaying our complete line of CleanPrint plates suitable for high quality label printing,’ said Yuji Suzuki, technical advisor. ‘We are unveiling our new water recycling unit, a breakthrough in sustainability and water conservation for flexo plate production.’  

 

The new water recycling unit is targeted for larger Asahi plate processing systems. It features a filtering system that is said to recycle up to 75 percent of the water used in plate processing, with only the remaining 25 percent, in the form of a slurry or sludge, to be disposed of. Forty percent of the additive used in the water wash remains in the filtered water.  

 

‘Fresh water is one of the earth’s most precious resources. We chose to develop water-washable plates to eliminate the need for polluting solvents. But at the same time, we wanted to find a way to minimize the use of that water. This recycling unit does just that,’ Suzuki added.   

 

Asahi Photoproducts reported that it is well down the path toward achieving Carbon Neutral status for its AWP-DEW CleanPrint water-wash plates in partnership with The Carbon Trust, expected to be achieved soon. 

 

Dieter Niederstadt, technical marketing manager, noted: ‘Sustainability is a key focus for our parent company, Asahi Kasei. And we have their full support in pursuing our carbon neutrality objectives. We look forward to discussing these efforts with visitors to our booth at Labelexpo Americas 2022 and explaining the importance of the type of accountability working with The Carbon Trust enables. It is one thing to claim that your solutions are green; it’s quite another to be able to back that up by accountable data including certification by a prestigious organization like The Carbon Trust.’   

 

Asahi AWP CleanPrint water-washable flexographic plates are processed without VOC-based washout solvents and are claimed to deliver a faster time to press than VOC solvent-based plates. Asahi´s CleanPrint water-washable flexographic photopolymer plate technology’s ability to deliver high quality print performance is a result of its engineered photopolymer chemistry design.  

 

The water-wash technology also features a low surface energy plate resulting in fewer press stops for plate cleaning. The plates are said to deliver high-quality print with its precise registration and ability to deliver perfect printing balance between highlights and solids and full support for fixed color palette printing.