Creation boosts eco plate capacity to meet sustainable demands

Packaging Solutions

Creation Reprographics has extended its capabilities by investing in additional eco friendly flexo plate production capacity ahead of Net Zero.

The business has secured an additional Asahi AWP water washable plate processor to serve the needs of the industry, in response to the impending carbon regulations laid out in the Net Zero campaign, which aims for carbon neutrality by 2050.

Creation originally pioneered the use of innovative AWP plate in the UK and has notably now fully eliminated harmful solvents from its platemarking process.

The company is focused on helping converters in the packaging, labels and wide format sectors to reduce their overall CO2 emissions through environmentally friendly photopolymer flexographic solutions at the pre-press stage. By introducing an additional machine, the business is able to better meet the growing demand for sustainable technology across the sector.

Matt Francklow, managing director of Creation, commented: ‘As a specialist in the pre-press environment, we understand how important it is to our customers that they can print with outstanding quality, efficiency and repeatability. What is also important now, with the shifting of consumer attitudes towards the environment, is that our customers also need to develop packaging responsibly from the outset.

‘The Asahi AWP plate solution has proved to be a winning choice for converters that seek to build sustainability into the core of their business to future proof operations. Our new machine investment reflects the increasing interest in sustainable packaging and label production and the growing demand we are experiencing.’

The technology behind AWP offers sustainable credentials without compromising on quality, presenting excellent ink transfer and consistent plate reproduction for precise registration and consistency. The plate also reduces make ready with fast run up to colour due to its dot stability and predictability. AWP plates do not require high temperatures for processing, which along with a faster production time, reduces energy use even further.

‘The need to minimise our environmental impact has always been part of our aim,’ continued Matt. ‘Knowing we can deliver these benefits adds a great deal of value to present and potential customers in the current climate of environmental sensitivity.’