The pioneers in the printing industry, Lucky Graphics, is the first to get water-washable Flexo plate Technology in India. The company will be participating in the upcoming LabelExpo India scheduled in Nov 2022 to showcase the advanced water-wash flexo plates from TOYOBO Japan. The company has already done many successful installations of the Cosmolight water-wash plates system in the leading Repro Houses and Packaging Printers of India. They mainly cater to Flexible packaging, Labels, Paper, Beverage, and Offset segments.
The most critical challenge for plate manufacturers is to develop an environmentally friendly plate without losing quality and efficiency. Toyobo has designed Cosmolight water-washable plates system to meet these challenges, and it helped printers and converters approach their operations from a much more comprehensive perspective. We spoke to Mr. Rohit Sachdev, founder of Lucky Graphics and the official distributor for TOYOBO in India, about his vast experience of 44 years serving the printing industry and the latest QZ series of water-wash plates.
Elaborating his experience, he said, ” My journey in servicing the printing industry is awe-inspiring. I have witnessed several transitions from mechanical to electric and from conventional to digital. Glad to be part of this progressive industry. Currently, I am pleased to work with my successors Vaibhav and Raghav, who understand this imperative industry very well.”
Explaining the advance of the QZ series of water-washable plates, He said, “the Cosmolight plate-making takes less than one hour time, unlike the solvent plates which requires 3-4 Hours. Hence, customers can improve pre-press productivity and reduce press downtime. The QZ series plate achieves rich ink transfer, both density and coverage wise, with consistent printability on a wide range of substrates, such as coated paper, rough paper, and film.”
Water-washable photopolymer processors are one of the most environmentally friendly ways to create plates in the industry because they are solvent-free and reduce VOC emissions during the entire printing process. Water-washable photopolymers utilize tap water instead of the typical solvent, allowing the water used during the washout process to be recycled and recirculated back into the system for reuse.
TOYOBO Cosmolight water-washable photopolymer plates meet the requirements of the most demanding customers in the ever evolving Printing Industry. The effects of this revolutionary advance in flexo printing technology are comparable with offset technology—the competitive advantages of water-washable plates are below.
1) Processing a solvent plate takes several hours because it swells during washout. Several hours are needed for the solvent to evaporate and for the plate to return to its original thickness.But the Toyobo Cosmolight plate does not swell during washout. It needs about 16 mins to get washed out and to dry completely.
2) Toyobo plates allow the reproduction of even the smallest halftone dots.
3) The TOYOBO plate needs only 10 mins to dry at a 60-degree temperature.
4) TOYOBO plate makes it possible to achieve sufficiently deep halftones while retaining good dot stability.
“The converters are now very dynamic. In this fast-moving market, you need to be dynamic to adopt new technology and concepts, which is also a success mantra for growth. With a new generation ideology and passion for work, the growth is inevitable. This new technology of Cosmolight shall evolve and have a better outcome for the printers.” Concludes Mr. Rohit Sachdev.
