CCL ASEAN adopts Asahi AWP-DEW and CleanFlat water-washable plates

CCL ASEAN, headquartered in Thailand and a subsidiary of CCL Label, has adopted Asahi AWP CleanPrint water-washable flexographic plates with a goal of replacing technologies such as gravure/offset printing with flexographic printing enabled by Asahi’s Carbon Neutral plates.

To date, CCL has implemented Asahi AWP water-washable plates and processing equipment in plants located in Thailand and Vietnam with plans to expand to other plants in the region.

‘We chose to work with Asahi in implementing these Carbon Neutral water-washable flexographic plates to deliver more sustainability, durability, and quality, especially in highlights, to our many customers across the region,’ said Kittipong Kulratanasinsuk, vice president and managing director at CCL Label ASEAN. ‘We believe this will be a significant differentiator for us as we continue to grow our business across region with support from our partner, Asahi Kasei.’

Water-based and UV inks flexo printing has lower VOC emissions compared to printing technologies with a large amount of solvent-based inks such as gravure. Furthermore, water-washable plates use a water-based developing solution, avoiding the use of organic solvents containing VOCs, thereby reducing associated CO2 emissions even more.

As part of the Asahi Kasei group mission to contribute to ‘life and living for people around the world’, Asahi will continue to promote solvent-less flexo printing with water-washable AWP plates, aiming to eliminate solvents from the packaging printing process and reducing the environmental impact of printing operations, thereby contributing to the realization of a more sustainable society.