Carbon neutral flexographic plates from Asahi Kasei eliminate solvents, reduce waste, deliver faster time to press for forward-thinking flexographic printers

Tokyo, Japan & Brussels, Belgium. Asahi Photoproducts, a pioneer in flexographic photopolymer plate development, today reported it will be taking its sustainability message to Labelexpo Southeast Asia 2023. At the show, which is scheduled for 9 to 11 February 2023 at the BITEC, Bangkok, in Thailand, Asahi Kasei’s products will be presented on their Stand C60. The stand will feature Asahi’s AWP™-DEW plates which have achieved Carbon Neutral certification in Japan, the USA, China and Europe.

“We are pleased to represent Asahi Photoproducts in Southeast Asia and to have their participation in our stand at Labelexpo Southeast Asia,” said Ms. Jiraporn Tongtem, Assistant Product Manager at Asahi Southeast Asia distributor BJC. “Based on our long-time relationship with Asahi, we know they will bring an exceptional level of knowledge and expertise to the event that all attendees will be able to benefit from as they pursue their own productivity, profitability and sustainability goals.”

The Value of Environmentally Sustainable Plates
“At Labelexpo Southeast Asia, we will focus on the value to flexo operations in switching to Asahi CleanPrint water-wash plates, an environmentally sustainable solution that emits no VOCs and not only results in faster plate production but is also a key enabler in improving pressroom productivity,” said Uina Kawashimo, Asahi Sales Representative for Southeast Asia.

At the show, Asahi Photoproducts representatives will also be discussing the company’s many years of working toward a more sustainable flexographic industry and the importance of setting a Carbon Neutral goal. A white paper explaining Asahi’s journey to Carbon Neutral is available online.

CleanPrint Technology Delivers Improved Productivity, Quality, Profitability
Asahi AWP™ 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 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 for significantly improved press efficiency and reduced press waste. All of these elements make them the most sustainable flexographic plates in the industry. In addition, AWP™-DEW 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 colour palette printing.

In addition to AWP™-DEW plates, Asahi’s AWPTM-CleanFlat plates are also part of the CleanPrint family and will be on display at the show. Although they do not yet have Carbon Neutral certification, AWP™-CleanFlat plates have a reduced carbon footprint, especially when compared to solvent-wash flexo plates. These are an out-of-the-box FlatTop plate solution with high-quality printing press consistency. It improves the ink laydown on wide web flexible packaging and beverage carton printing. At the same time, it delivers a sustainable reduction of the printer’s carbon footprint, delivering stable printing quality even with rough surface substrates.

For more information about flexographic solutions from Asahi Kasei that are in harmony with the environment, visit www.asahi-photoproducts.com.