Label Partners invests in Asahi Photoproducts water-washable platemaking system

David McCloud, managing director of Label Partners, said: ‘We have always been at the forefront of narrow web flexo and have grown our business dramatically over the past six years by using quality equipment and helping to pioneer water-wash plate technology in Australia. We were the first company in Australia to embrace the Asahi AWP system. The resulting cost-effective but very high quality digital plates consistently achieve a print result that compares favorably against most offset labels seen in the wine label market.’

Shane Gillespie, Label Partners’ production manager, added: ‘Since the installation of the Asahi AWP processor, the quality and consistency of our platemaking equipment has completely streamlined the process of plate to press. Not only are we achieving amazing print results, but we now have a processor that, in our opinion, is able to produce plates of any level with a minimum of effort. It is extremely reliable, very functional and easy to maintain. The machine is so intelligent that if there is ever anything wrong, it shows where on the machine the problem is, and it can easily be identified and corrected. This unit consistently produces perfect printing plates time after time. Plus, it has cut our plate processing times in half.’

Asahi plates incorporate pinning technology for clean transfer, a flexographic plate technology specifically engineered by Asahi that features low plate surface energy that transfers all remaining ink to the printed substrate. Compared to conventional plates, this reduces press-cleaning stops, creating a significant profitability improvement. These plates deliver very high resolution with fine screen rulings and minimum dots fading out to zero, allowing a broader total color gamut to be achieved, providing more design flexibility and enhanced graphic quality.