Asahi Photoproducts and its parent company, Asahi Kasei, have more than a half century of bringing increasingly sustainable flexographic solutions to market. And it doesn’t only have sustainable products, sustainability is at the heart of the company philosophy.
In the world of flexography, Asahi Photoproducts recognises that solvent-wash plates are still the dominant technology. The company is working hard to bring solutions to market that will help flexo operations journey on the road to Solvent ZERO. That’s why it has brought to market solutions like the new AFPTM-R reduced solvent plates, and introduced its new AWP-LOOPTM waste water recycling system.
As an additional component in this sustainability strategy, Asahi Photoproducts has now also reduced the packaging by removing the foam layer between the plates. This allows more plates to fit in the box, significantly reducing the packaging per plate, packaging waste material and CO₂ emissions. This initiative is in alignment with Asahi Photoproducts Solvent ZERO approach to work on a CO₂ reduction across products, service and logistics.
A stringent plan is in place to continuously reduce its carbon footprint as well as to help customers reduce theirs. The new packaging design for flexographic plates reduces packaging waste in two ways. First, it uses less cushioning, reducing the amount of packaging material. Secondly, as a result there are more sheets in the same size package, cutting back on the number of deliveries required. The packaging offers just as much protection for the product as the previous packaging, which customers see as a win/win since it reduces waste at the customer side.
In addition to this new packaging design, with the market introduction of Asahi’s AWP-LOOPTM water recycling unit, Asahi is working with customers to develop a migration path to Solvent ZERO for even more sustainability in the flexo printing process. These initiatives represent an integrated approach by the company to ensure optimum sustainability without any compromise in quality or performance.
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The new packaging uses less cushioning, reducing the amount of packaging material, resulting in more plates being shipped in the same size package
For more information about flexographic products and services from Asahi and the company’s sustainability initiatives, visit www.asahi-photoproducts.com
