Asahi Photoproducts, a leader in flexographic photopolymer plate development, will showcase industry-leading sustainability for flexographic platemaking at Labelexpo Americas 2022.
The show is scheduled for 13-15 September at the Donald E Stephens Convention Center in Chicago. Asahi Kasei will be located at Stand 845.
The company will feature its AWP-DEW CleanPrint flexographic plates, which are well down the path toward achieving carbon neutrality.
“In addition to displaying our complete line of cleanprint plates suitable for high-quality label printing, we will unveil our new water recycling unit, a breakthrough in sustainability and water conservation for flexo plate production,” Yuji Suzuki, technical advisor, said.
The new water recycling unit is targeted for larger Asahi plate processing systems. It features an innovative filtering system that recycles up to 75% of the water used in plate processing, with only the remaining 25%, in the form of a slurry or sludge, to be disposed of. 40% of the additive used in the water wash remains in the filtered water, reducing the amount of additive required for processing subsequent plates.
“Fresh water is one of the earth’s most precious resources,” Yuji Suzuki said. “We chose to develop water-washable plates to eliminate the need for polluting solvents. At the same time, we wanted to find a way to minimize the use of that water. This recycling unit does just that.”
Carbon neutrality
Asahi Photoproducts also announced 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, which is expected to be achieved soon.
“Sustainability is a key focus for our parent company, Asahi Kasei,” Dieter Niederstadt, technical marketing manager, said. “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.”
CleanPrint technology
Asahi AWP CleanPrint water-washable flexographic plates are processed without VOC-based washout solvents and deliver a faster time to press than VOC solvent-based plates. Asahi’s cleanprint water-washable flexographic photopolymer plate technology’s ability to provide high-quality print performance results from its engineered photopolymer chemistry design.
The water-wash technology features a low surface energy plate resulting in fewer press stops for plate cleaning for significantly improved press efficiency and reducing press waste. All of these elements make them the most sustainable flexographic plates in the industry.
In addition, the 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 and full support for fixed color palette printing.
