Flexo plate developer Asahi Photoproducts has launched its AFP-BFTH plate, which it says is the only out-of-the-box built-in FlatTop plate in the market that features premium Clean Transfer Technology.

Asahi says it is designed to facilitate kiss touch printing pressure, and is available in hard, fits seamlessly into any workflow and requires no special equipment.

Dieter Niederstadt, technical marketing manager, Asahi, says, “The AFP-BFTH plate is the first plate with Clean Transfer Technology to boost solid ink homogeneity in printing. It also delivers consistent print quality throughout the run, with fewer press stops for plate cleaning.

“This adds up to increased productivity and throughput while significantly reducing waste.”

The plates are available in 1.14mm and 1.7mm sizes, and have been developed for water-based, solvent-based, and UV ink systems.

Asahi says that  it is possible to achieve 100 per cent homogeneous solid area coverage without any visible substrate voids, when used in combination with solid area micro-screening technologies.

A spokesperson for the company says, “BFTH plates ensure very smooth tonal gradation in printing. They fit seamlessly in all plate making workflows available today, including standard tube UV, high energy UV diode exposure, or Full HD imaging systems.”

Nierderstadt concludes, “Asahi’s Clean Transfer Technology has found great market reception in our line of water-washable plates, and we are now excited to be extending this capability to other plate categories in our portfolio. Not only will this help flexographic printers increase productivity, but it will also extend the range of applications they can offer to their customers, including the ability to transfer more work from offset to flexo.”

Niederstadt was also recently in the country, giving a talk on plate efficiency at the Jet Technology offices in Roseberry, Sydney.