Asahi Photoproducts recently highlighted its new REVO SERIES plates. Incorporating both AWPTM-REVO and AFPTM REVO plate technologies, the series delivers reduced environmental impact, faster turnaround and consistent quality. These plates are part of the AWP™-REVO Ecosystem, a water-based flexographic plate processing solution that aligns with Asahi’s ‘Solvent ZERO’ strategy; as well as AFP™-REVO for reduced solvent plate production.
Whether converters use water-wash or solvent processing, they benefit from the same stable quality, powered by Asahi’s CleanPrint technology. As part of the harmonisation, Asahi has now integrated its award-winning AFPTM-R solvent plate products under the brand name of AFPTM-REVO, which has already received Esko’s Quartz Certification and is designed to meet the demanding requirements of high-end flexible packaging as well as label print production.
The AWP™-REVO Ecosystem is a detergent-free, water-based flexographic plate processing solution that reduces solvents and minimises resource consumption, delivering environmental benefits and measurable gains in production efficiency. In practice, it produces print-ready AWP™-REVO plates in about an hour, and with CleanPrint technology, converters experience excellent ink transfer, and fewer press stops for plate cleaning.
With the AWP-LOOP™ Petite water recycling unit, up to 90% of washout water is recycled for reuse. AWP™-REVO plates are available in two versions, AWP™-REVO WHR (RoundTop) and AWP™-REVO WHF (FlatTop), to address a wide array of label applications.
Key components of the AWP™-REVO Ecosystem include:
New AWP™-REVO water-washable plate: The water-washable photopolymer requires only water and anti-former (no detergents). It features high-resolution quality, reduced press downtime, consistent performance and simplified handling.
AWP™-REVO 2530AA Plate Processor: The compact, all-in-one processor for small-format plate sizes has a user-friendly interface, refined brush design for easy washout, and optimised fine-screening for consistent colour reproduction in short-run environments.
AWP-LOOP™ Petite: Featuring a closed-loop waste-water recycling using Asahi Kasei’s Microza™ membrane filtration to recover and reuse up to 90% of process water, significantly reducing waste liquid and operating costs.
By integrating these components, the AWP™-REVO Ecosystem sets a new benchmark for detergent-free, small-format flexo platemaking, delivering both sustainability and enhanced productivity. The solution is expected to be commercially available soon.
Asahi also showcased printing samples using AFP™-REVO reduced solvent plates, which have been developed to perform together with the latest screening and laser imaging technologies such as Esko Quartz, aiming to meet the demands of high-end flexible packaging printers, and suitable for label production. These new plates are designed for high solid ink densities and fine, crisp, detailed printed characters. The reduced solvent plates feature around 30% less solvent consumption during the plate making process, reduced drying time and drying energy usage compared to conventional solvent plates. Asahi plans to expand the AWP™-REVO Ecosystem to support larger formats in the future.
The solutions were presented at the recently held Labelexpo Europe 2025, hosted at Gallus partner booths.
