Asahi targets Solvent Zero at Labelexpo Europe 2023

Asahi Photoproducts will be exhibiting at Labelexpo Europe, scheduled for September 11 to 14 in Brussels. Asahi Photoproducts, a subsidiary of Asahi Kasei, will be located in Stand 5a34 at the show, where visitors will be able to learn how switching from solvent-wash to water-wash plates.  

‘We are pleased once again to be exhibiting at Labelexpo Europe, the leading trade show for the label industry,’ said Dieter Niederstadt, Asahi Photoproducts’ technical marketing manager.    

Asahi Kasei has developed a specific roadmap towards a Solvent Zero solution to help platemaking operations migrate to a Solvent Zero operation. At Labelexpo Europe, the company will be unveiling this roadmap and helping visitors understand their best pathway to a Solvent Zero future.   

At Labelexpo Europe 2023, Asahi Photoproducts will also be introducing its updated AWPTM waste water recycling unit for use with AWPTM plate processing systems. The Asahi Photoproducts water-washable AWPTM-DEW CleanPrint flexographic plates have been certified Carbon Neutral by the Carbon Trust. In addition, the company has developed its water recycling system for AWPTM plate processing equipment. The unit features proprietary filtering technology developed by Asahi Kasei that reduces wastewater by 75 percent, and detergent usage by 40 percent. In a standard 10-hour-per-day plate processing operation, the system can process plates up to 38 sqm (410 sqft).   

This filtering technology, under the brand Microza, is Asahi Kasei’s hollow fiber membrane separation technology. In the AWPTM wastewater recycling unit, this technology has been optimized to meet increasingly strict regulations on wastewater discharge. The filtering cartridge can be replaced, with the replacement frequency depending on the customer’s plate production volume; and the small amount of treated wastewater can be collected by a contractor for disposal.  

At the show, Asahi Photoproducts will be distributing an informative white paper explaining why Carbon Neutrality is important, why the CleanPrint technology was a key element of obtaining this certification, and discussing both the process the company underwent to attain this important status as well as its plans for the future. In addition, as part of its roadmap to a Solvent Zero future for those platemaking operations currently using solvent wash plate technologies, the manufacturer has introduced a low-solvent consuming plate.