How AFP-Revo HF Helps MPH deliver faster turnaround without compromising print quality

Packaging Solutions

Every flexographic repro house faces similar challenges: customers expect premium print quality, but they also expect shorter lead times, greater flexibility and consistent delivery. Meeting these expectations requires continuous investment, not only in equipment, but also in technologies that improve everyday production.

For MPH, one of the UK’s longest standing independent flexographic pre-press specialists with more than four decades of experience, AFP-Revo HF has become an important part of that strategy. The next generation solvent wash flexographic plate from Asahi Photoproducts helps streamline plate production while maintaining the high print standards customers expect.

With more than four decades of experience, MPH has built its reputation on delivering high quality flexographic plates, rotary screen cylinders and reprographics services to customers across the UK and Ireland, ranging from independent label printers to multinational packaging groups. In recent years, the company has invested more than £750,000 in modernising its production environment, including new software and servers, plate developers, an additional CDI imager and LED exposure technology.

For MPH, excellent print quality had never been the challenge. The company successfully supplied premium solvent wash flexographic plates for many years. The real objective was to improve production efficiency and turnaround times without sacrificing that quality.

‘We have been supplying premium solvent-processed plates successfully for years and the print quality was never really the issue,’ explained Craig Alderson, director of MPH Ltd. ‘But we were feeling the squeeze from a few directions at once – energy costs, solvent usage and the pressure to turn jobs around faster. It made us take a harder look at whether there was a better way of doing things.’

The company also used thermal plate processing for urgent jobs where speed was the decisive factor. While effective in certain situations, the company wanted a long term solution that could combine the quality of a premium solvent wash plate with shorter turnaround times and a more flexible production workflow.

After evaluating different options, MPH introduced Asahi´s AFP-Revo HF into its premium product portfolio. The most significant confirmed improvement has been the reduction in drying time. While washout speed has improved by 20% with MPH's existing workflow, the considerably shorter drying cycle has reduced overall energy costs and processing time. Compared with conventional solvent plate production, drying time has been reduced from approximately 120 minutes to around 60 minutes. This supports more flexible scheduling and gives the company greater capacity to respond to urgent customer requirements. In addition, it is seeing AFP-Revo HF to support solvent savings of at least 20% based on the faster developing process. The evaluation is still ongoing, as MPH does not exclusively process AFP-Revo HF plates.

The shorter drying cycle also reduces its dependence on thermal plate production for rush jobs. AFP-Revo HF can now take on more of that fast turnaround work while still delivering the print performance expected from a solvent wash flexographic plate.

The company also sees strong potential in Asahi's CleanPrint technology. While MPH is still building practical experience with this feature, the ability to support cleaner plate performance over longer print runs is regarded as a meaningful benefit for printers seeking fewer cleaning interruptions and more stable press performance. For Alderson, AFP-Revo HF therefore fits naturally into MPH’s wider investment strategy.

‘AFP-Revo HF has slotted in well alongside the investments we have already made in imaging and LED exposure. It is a very strong product and a great fit for where we are trying to take the business – better quality, faster service and more efficient production,’ said Craig.

For Dieter Niederstadt, technical marketing manager at Asahi Photoproducts Europe, MPH's experience reflects a broader shift in flexographic pre-press, where productivity and process flexibility are becoming just as important as print quality.

According to Dieter, MPH's experience clearly demonstrates broader advantages for plate makers: reduced production costs, faster processing, lower washout solvent consumption, more efficient workflows, and consistently delivering the highest print quality for printers.

‘Productivity has become one of the most important competitive factors in flexographic pre-press. Technologies that reduce processing time while maintaining premium print quality help repro houses respond more quickly to changing customer demands. AFP-Revo HF was developed to support exactly this balance: premium solvent wash plate performance combined with a faster, more productive workflow and the potential to reduce solvent consumption,’ he commented.

The collaboration between the two companies spans almost three decades and continues to evolve through close technical cooperation. Looking ahead, both companies see further opportunities to demonstrate the capabilities of AFP-Revo HF through customer trials, application development and technical collaboration.

As customer expectations continue to evolve, success in flexographic pre-press will increasingly depend on technologies that combine productivity, consistency, responsible solvent use and premium print quality. For MPH, AFP-Revo HF has become another important step on that journey.