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AFP-R … A Bridge to Tomorrow Available Today
In an ideal world, plate processing would migrate to water-wash plates, eliminating the need for solvent use and reducing the plate processing environmental footprint. At Asahi Photoproducts, we have those solutions!
Are you currently using solvent-wash flexo plates but would like to reduce solvent use without the need for investment in additional hardware or software? Then we have the answer for you.
More than 70% of flexo plate producers use solvent-wash plate processing. In an ideal world, plate processing would migrate to water-wash plates, eliminating the need for solvent use and reducing the plate processing environmental footprint. At Asahi Photoproducts, we have those solutions. But we also understand that in today’s turbulent economy and competitive marketplace, it is not always easy to make the investment in new equipment to take this step. That’s why we have created a bridge product to help flexo plate producers begin their journey on the Road to Solvent ZERO.
Asahi’s AFPTM-R reduced solvent flexo plate solutions are unique in the marketplace. While there has been much discussion about migrating from solvent to water-wash or thermal platemaking technology, until now, no effort has been made by any plate supplier to accelerate a “bridging technology” to reduce solvent consumption of the current 70% of existing installed base of solvent wash equipment. This fact has triggered the development by Asahi Photoproducts of a new plate chemistry, which can easily be washed, but with approximately 30% less solvent and up to 50% of the total energy consumption compared to traditional solvent wash plate processing.
Not only that, but with Asahi’s AFPTM-R reduced solvent plates, you can dramatically increase the number of plates you can produce per hour, since the process requires significantly less drying time. Plus, there is less swelling of the plate during processing, increasing print quality.
Don’t take our word for it. Here’s what one of our North American customers had to say:
“With these plates, our plate turnaround time is about an hour to an hour and a quarter faster and we are using much less solvent. The washout and drying times are cut in half compared to other material we use. And I will say that the number one thing we are seeing with the AFPTM-R plates is the consistency. We rarely have to change the setting for the relief from box to box, which is huge for us. With other products we have tested, the exposure times may change for back exposure from batch to batch, costing us time and effort to get the quality we need.”
Tami Warlop, Graphics Manager, Excelsior Marking
Excelsior Marking is also to offer Asahi’s CleanPrint technology that delivers better press efficiency, and thus, less waste in the press room, making the process even more sustainable.
