UAE-based self-adhesive label manufacturer Sigma Middle East Labels LLC recently became the first company in the Gulf region to work with Asahi Photoproducts, a pioneer in flexographic photopolymer plate development. After implementing the Japanese company’s CleanPrint AWP™ water-washable flexographic plates, Sigma report impressive results.
“Before we installed this configuration, we were outsourcing solvent platemaking,” reveals Sigma owner Jagannath Wagle. “It could take at least 10 to 12 hours to receive a set of plates, and if a plate was damaged during a run, we had to wait another day to acquire the necessary replacement plates. Even so, we were able to run an average of 750 jobs per month. Imagine our delight when, in the very first month of operation with the Asahi plates, we produced 950 jobs! That’s more than 30 changeovers across our three presses in a single day!”
Wagle attributes much of this increase to the precise register of the Asahi plates. “With our previous solvent-based plates, we were lucky to be able to maintain 3% to 5% dots”, he explains. “Now we can maintain 1% dots consistently for the highest possible quality.”
Asahi’s distributor in the region, Industrial Tools & Media (iTM), say that Sigma were initially a little hesitant to acquire in-plant platemaking equipment, but were swayed after successful test jobs. “In the UAE, we were all able to get vaccinated as early as February,” says iTM’s managing director Imad Shaban; “Which made it comfortable to do an on-site installation with remote support from Asahi. As engineers, we always love new technology. But more importantly, in this case, we were able to demonstrate substantial cost-cutting, productivity and quality improvements, making Sigma’s investment decision easier than it might otherwise have been.”
The increased printing press output, up by 26% since installation, has already helped Sigma to grow their business. “When you can deliver work to a customer in as little as three hours, flexography is highly competitive with digital printing,” Wagle says. “Plus, we are also well positioned now to seek out shorter run work we would not be able to cost-effectively produce with conventional solvent platemaking for flexo printing.”
