The flexographic products business unit of The Flint Group, Stuttgart.  Germany, commissioned an Eco-Efficiency-Analysis (EEA) with the company BASF SE to find the most advantageous technology for processing flexo printing plates. An EEA analyzes the whole life cycle from raw materials to disposal, including the related costs.  

The study compared two processes in which the technology of photopolymer plates can be washed out — solvents and thermo-technology. Both technologies were tested on Flint Group Flexographic Products’ nyloflex ®ACE and DuPont’s Cyrel ® FAST DFH printing plates — both in the version for digital imaging. Plate thickness, format and structure of the printing plate were identical in each case. The research showed that washing out flexo printing plates using solvents was better in terms of ecological factors and cost.

For this study an identical plate sales price was assumed for both alternative processes. Solvents and web material were also important factors. Since with solvents a high percentage is recovered through redistillation, the costs for solvent-based plate production are reduced significantly.

Numerous factors were taken into consideration for the study, such as plate manufacture, web manufacture, solvent production, transport, packaging, imaging, exposure, thermal development, washout, and drying.

When the solvent used to wash out the printing plates is recovered as recommended, users can achieve a cost benefit of 10 percent and more with respect to the thermal manufacturing alternative. The solvent-based technology also shows the most benefit in the carbon footprint. Both alternatives are virtually the same in terms of the environmental impacts through energy and materials consumption. The study also shows that through a reduction in plate thickness both emissions and costs can be considerably reduced in both processes.