Asahi launches new flat-top flexographic plates

Dieter Niederstadt, technical marketing manager, Asahi Photoproducts, said, “The plate delivers consistent print quality throughout the run, with fewer press stops for plate cleaning. This adds up to increased productivity and throughput while significantly reducing waste.”
 
The plates are available in 1, 14 and 1, 7 mm sizes. It has been developed for water-based, solvent-based, and UV ink systems. In combination with solid area micro-screening technologies, the plate helps in achieving 100% homogenous solid area coverage without any visible substrate voids.

He said, “The plates deliver the same solid ink density levels in printing compared to today’s available flat-top plate technologies. It ensures very smooth tonal gradation in printing and also fits seamlessly in all plate making workflows available today, including standard tube UV, high energy UV diode exposure, or Full HD imaging systems.”

The plate is designed to facilitate kiss touch printing pressure. It is available in a hard grade, and according to Asahi, it fits seamlessly into any workflow without the requirement of any special equipment. The plates remain clean during print production runs for consistent print quality and fewer press stops for plate cleaning.

According to Niederstadt, the clean transfer technology enables lighter printing pressure and ensures constant repeatability of printing quality during the production run as well as longer plate life. This characteristic is achieved with unique Asahi-engineered photopolymer chemistry that reduces the surface energy of the printing plate and enables better ink transfer to the substrate during printing.

“Asahi’s clean transfer technology has found great market reception in our line of water-washable plates, and we are now excited to be extending this capability to other plate categories in our portfolio. Not only will this help flexographic printers increase productivity, but it will also extend the range of applications they can offer to their customers, including the ability to transfer more work from offset to flexo,” Niederstadt added.