TOKYO, Japan & BRUSSELS, Belgium—Asahi Photoproducts, a pioneer in flexographic photopolymer plate development, is participating in an important project with Comexi and other industry partners.
As part of this turnkey project, Asahi will place an Asahi AWP 4835 P water wash processor and Asahi AWP water-washable plates with CleanPrint at Comexi’s Manel Xifra Boada Technology Center in Girona, Spain. The project is designed to educate flexible packaging companies about the value of bringing flexographic plate making in-house and demonstrating how easy that is to do with today’s technology.
“We are proud to be participating in this very important project together with our partner Comexi,” said Philip Mattelaer, Asahi Photoproducts’ head of sales. “There is an increasing trend for flexographic printers to bring plate making in-house, both to drive efficiency and improve quality. This project will demonstrate to the flexo market how easy it is to produce plates in-house, strengthening the value chain at the point of print production. In addition to improved efficiency and quality, this project also demonstrates how print providers can drive increased sustainability by incorporating Asahi CleanPrint technology on site.”
CleanPrint flexographic plates from Asahi Photoproducts have been specifically engineered by Asahi’s chemical engineers to transfer all remaining ink to the printed substrate, reducing makeready time and press cleaning stops in comparison to other plate making systems while delivering exceptional quality. Asahi CleanPrint flexographic plates are also ideal for fixed color palette printing, a method that is increasingly being adopted to save time and money while still delivering the quality brands expect. This is made possible by the precise register of Asahi water wash CleanPrint plates. Its AWP family of plates and processors bring flexographic plate making into harmony with the environment, minimizing the use of water, eliminating noxious chemicals, and that way creating a cleaner direction for the flexographic industry.
Making flexographic plates in-house also means faster availability of plates, resulting in improved OEE. This is one factor driving the move to bring plate making in-house—the same trend the offset printing industry underwent many years ago. Comexi’s turnkey project will host regular customer events demonstrating the power of “everything under one roof.”
“Visitors to the project will be pleasantly surprised to see how quickly and cleanly Asahi AWP water-washable plates with CleanPrint are produced, and they will have access to experts who can help set them on their own CleanPrint path toward a cleaner flexo printing future,” Mattelaer added. “The key to controlling quality and service levels in flexographic printing is to control prepress, and the Comexi turnkey project shows visitors just how easily they can do that. It combines hardware, software, installation, optimization, training and production support to ensure a seamless transition to a clean future for flexographic printers of all sizes.