Correct-Touch Graphic Arts recently helped industry leader Essel Propack with the purchase and installation of Asahi’s AWP 4835 Plate Processing unit and AWP water washable flexo plates. The use of Asahi’s AWP system brings improved quality and sustainability to Essel’s production and greatly improves their OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) with less downtime, reduced waste and increased repeatability. This improvement has a great impact on their overall success and profitability.
“The investment in Asahi AWP brings an increased efficiency to our business that allows us to greatly improve output during production. The Asahi Plate processing unit along with the AWP plate material offers us maximum quality and control throughout the print process, and we’re excited for the overall benefit it brings to our company. Both Asahi and CTGA really helped steer us through the entire process from consultation through installation to ensure we got what we needed,” said Srikant Jindam, U.S. Graphics Manager at Essel Propack when discussing the choice to go with Asahi AWP.
ABOUT ESSEL PROPACK
Essel Propack, part of the USD 4.2 billion Essel Group, with FY17 turnover of over USD 368 million, is the largest specialty packaging global company, manufacturing laminated plastic tubes catering to the FMCG and Pharma space.
Employing over 2852 people representing 25 different nationalities, Essel Propack functions through 19 state of the art facilities and in eleven countries, selling circa 7 billion tubes and continuing to grow every year.
THE ASAHI AWP SYSTEM
AWP technology has been designed from the start with a strong consideration for the environment, and a commitment to minimizing any possible waste of precious resources. For starters, the system is water-washable, rather than relying on harsh solvents. The entire plate developing process doesn’t generate any waste other than unexposed polymer residues, which are collected as dry ‘cake’ and safely disposed as combustible material.
Traditionally, water washable plate quality has been considered second-best when compared to solvent plates. The Asahi AWP plate does more than match traditional solvent photopolymer plates—it outperforms the best digital plates currently available for flexo. For the first time a digital photopolymer plate can hold extremely small stable dots— smaller than those of solvent processed plates—and its stability on press is superior to solvent plates.