Asahi Photoproducts has announces that its customers, Zincografia Empolese and Ario Label Solution, have been recognized with an award from the Italian flexographic association, Associazone Tecnica Italiana per la Flessografia (ATIF), capturing second place for Best UV Flexo printing with their first ever award entry. Zincografia Empolese has over 30 years experiences in the manufacturing of flexo plates for different markets. With locations in San Miniato (PI) and Manerbio (BS) Italy, the network guarantees sales and assistance services all over the country.

The winning application, was printed by Ario Label, located in Bergamo, Italy; the company offers complete solutions in the production of adhesive and self-adhesive labels, automatic identification, and self-adhesive packaging.

The winning job was produced for Ario customer SACLA and was printed in four UV ink colors with an extra three spot colors, partially printed on cold foil using a 156 l/inch screen using Asahi plate technology.

The award ceremony was conducted during ATIF’s annual trade association meeting on November 15, 2022, in Bologna, Italy.

Empolese co-owner Noemi Bisoli states, “We operate with two ESKO 5080 XPS Crystal LED plate imaging lines across all our supported segments, from corrugated board to flexible packaging and high-quality label applications. We also support the design process with industry-leading design and workflow solutions. In addition, we installed a new AWPTM water-wash platemaking processor to be in line with the growing trend of more sustainable flexographic plate production.”

“We are extremely proud to have been recognized with this award especially since we are a first-time entry,” says Marco Borali, managing director of the Ario Label Solution printing company. The award highlights the success of our partnership with Zincografia Empolese and the high quality delivered by Asahi’s CleanPrint plates.”

Ario Label Solution has three locations, in Turin, Venice and Bergamo, enabling them to serve a broad array of Italian customers. They operate with five UV flexo presses. Borali’s vision for the future of Ario is to harmonize the work environment for employees with the latest technologies for production, R&D and training in a brand-new spacious building.

“The building was chosen, with sustainability in mind,” Borali notes. “This includes photovoltaic panels on the roof as well as a strong effort to drive out plastic waste in production. Brand owners have been asking for recycled material to be used for some time. Now they have expanded their requests with questions about the actual carbon footprint their production creates. By putting photovoltaic panels on the roof, we can partially use our own energy in our production. The partnership between Ario and Zincografia Empolese is a perfect match for today and into the future, combining Ario’s energy and waste reduction efforts with Empolese’s Asahi CleanPrint plate technology.”

“The collaboration between Empolese and Ario is a good example of how trade shops and printing companies can work together to improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of flexographic printing,” comments Andrea Belloli, Asahi’s Italian branch manager. “Using AWPTM CleanPrint flexo plates is an excellent step in that direction. We congratulate them on receiving this prestigious award and are looking forward to working with them in the future as they continue to find more ways to reduce their respective carbon footprints.