Esko and Asahi partner to streamline flexo platemaking
Esko and Asahi are partnering to improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) in flexo platemaking through the combination of their respective technologies.
Stephan Doppelhammer, business development manager at Asahi Photoproducts Europe, explained: ‘In our fast-paced and rapidly evolving industry, efficiency, waste reduction and speed to market are critical.
‘By partnering with Esko, we bring together solutions from two world-class companies to create a faster, more efficient and more consistent workflow in flexographic platemaking. Esko Equinox is ideal for converting separations to fixed palette printing, while Esko’s Crystal technology reduces the number of platemaking steps required and is making the process more consistent. By adding Asahi’s AWP water washable plates with Clean Transfer Technology to the mix, Asahi and Esko customers can take OEE to a brand new level of efficiency while boosting print quality and reducing their environmental footprint.’
Gateway Packaging, a high-end printer and packaging converter, and the largest pet food packaging provider in North America, recently restructured its entire platemaking process with Asahi Photoproducts technology as the core element.
Tharrin Akers, the company’s pre-press manager, commented: ‘When running the Asahi AWP Clean Transfer plates, we were able to run the press at a 17 percent higher speed – 1,640ft/min – and only had to stop for plate cleaning once. And that only required cleaning two plates, consuming 20 minutes.
‘The result was a total production time of 7.2 hours instead of 11 hours in the past and an astonishing 53 percent improvement in OEE over our previous process.’
