Tokyo, Japan, & Brussels, Belgium – Asahi Photoproducts, a pioneer in flexographic photopolymer plate development, is pleased to report that its customer, FFP Packaging, located in Northampton in the UK, is raising the bar on flexible packaging printing with its Platinum Print platform, powered by Asahi. The company specializes in high quality flexographic printed flexible packaging, heat seal lidding films and films for high temperature or oven use. FFP, with its work force of 140 talented employees, prides itself on continuously innovating to add value to the work it does to set it apart in the marketplace.

“We are achieving quality that we could only dream of in the past,” says Paul Hesketh, Print Development Manager at FFP. “In addition, we have reduced costs and turnaround time, both critical elements of success in today’s fast-paced world. Thanks to our partnership with Asahi Photoproducts, we have been able to complement our solvent based in-house platemaking facility with a more environmentally balanced water-washable plate solution, and absolutely delight our customers with the results.”

After extensive due diligence and in-house trials in its quest for the next generation of flexo quality, FFP selected an Asahi AWP™ 4835 P plate processor (48” x 35”) and Asahi AWP™-DEF water-washable plates based on the quality and speeds they were able to achieve with this configuration. FFP operates with three modern 8-colour flexo presses, including their recent installation of a second W&H Miraflex commissioned last month. They also have five lamination machines, and extensive array of finishing equipment including slitting, laser perforation, hole punching and re-seal label applicators.

Hesketh cites one customer as an example of the company’s ability to achieve the impossible with Platinum Print. “This customer was undergoing an extensive brand Packaging improvement Project,” he says, “they wanted ‘stand out’ Packs on shelf with high quality reproduction of Photographic images”. This required us to print very fine tonal transitions with no hard edges. The brand owner was absolutely delighted with the results we achieved, and we certainly would not have been able to do this on standard digital plates.” This project also earned us a nomination for outstanding Technical innovation at the forthcoming 2016 EFIA print awards”

Asahi AWP™-DEF water-washable plates produce superior results compared to traditional technologies and even out-performs the latest generation of digital flexographic printing plates. The AWP™-DEF plate delivers a level of graphic reproduction similar to other digital plates, with more complete ink transfer and a wider tonal range.

“We are proud to be partnering with a company as innovative and results-driven as FFP Packaging,” says Paul Chant, Branch Manager of Asahi Photoproducts Europe. “The testing and implementation process went smoothly and the results have been terrific. Their recent recognition with a number of prestigious awards in 2015 at EFIA and FlexoTech validates the quality they have been able to achieve.”