Asahi AWP™ plates: The best print quality and another step towards sustainability

Due to the special chemical composition of the printing plates, their surface tension is adjusted, which in turn ensures excellent ink transfer. This allow us to print using a lower pressure of the printing plate on the printed substrate and thus increase its service life. The technology "Pinning technology for Clean Transfer" allows us to print long jobs without the need for breaks to clean the printing plate. This achieves a truly dramatic increase in the so-called uptime (production time of the machine).

In 2019, we moved the production of plates to another level. We were the first and so far the only ones in the Czech Republic and Slovakia to use ESKO XPS Crystal technology. This solution uses UV LEDs for parallel front and rear illumination, which have significantly lower electricity consumption compared to standard UV lamps. Due to the parallel front and rear exposure, we have been able to eliminate one step of the production process and at the same time ensure the consistent quality of the printing plates.

Compared to other technologies, no volatile substances are used in the production of plates, and even no hazardous waste is generated. Ordinary water is enough to wash the plates. The technology therefore has a much lower impact on the environment than the solvent or thermal solution previously used. At the same time, it leaves the lowest carbon footprint.