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Asahi to feature new flexo plate solutions at Labelexpo Americas

Asahi Photoproducts will be showcasing its flexographic platemaking solutions at LabelExpo Americas 2022. At the show, which is scheduled for September 13 to 15 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Chicago, Ill., Asahi Kasei will be located at Booth 845. The company will feature its AWP-DEW CleanPrint flexographic plates.

“In addition to displaying our complete line of CleanPrint plates suitable for high quality label printing,” said Yuji Suzuki, technical advisor, “we will also be 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 recycles up to 75 per cent of the water used in plate processing, with only the remaining 25 per cent, 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, reducing the amount of additive required for processing subsequent plates. “Fresh water is one of the earth’s most precious resources,” Suzuki added. “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.”

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.

“Sustainability is a key focus for our parent company, Asahi Kasei,” Dieter Niederstadt, technical marketing manager said, “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.”