2011 No.72 - Komori

Case Studies
‘H-UV printing will be the printing of the future.’
‘We can deliver products with 100 percent confidence.’
Bikou Platemaking was established by Masami Motoyoshi,
Fujitoppan Printing was founded in 1963 with the
20 Komori On Press a platemaking specialist, in 1981. As digitalization advanced
during the 1990s, Bikou succeeded with fast service and
grew as one of the ‘winning’ platemaking firms. A four-color
aim of ‘giving shape to customers’ ideas.’ President
Yamamoto, the third-generation chief of the
14-employee company, manages the business
Lithrone was installed in 2001, and the compaany became
through face-to-face relationships with customers.
Sapporo
the first printer in Hokkaido to offer on-press proofing and
The company prints mainly posters, catalogs and
Nagoya
color calibration. Later Bikou added bindery and other postpress
flyers.
Installed an H-UV-equipped four-color Lithrone S40 in September 2010.
facilities and grew into a full-service printer, including
packaging. Currently the company operates three printing
presses.
Specialties:
Prepress, printing and postpress
Specialties:
Sales, planning, design, prepress, printing
and postpress
Installed an H-UV-equipped four-color Lithrone S26 in June 2010.
Bikou Platemaking Co., Ltd.
Fujitoppan Printing Co., Ltd
Goal of Installation
Goal of Installation
• President Motoyoshi explains: “I saw the demonstration at Komori’s Tsukuba Plant, and it hit me that since the
system is powderless and offers quick drying, it would solve our problems — of ink set-off on the reverse side
of sheets and spray powder — and also allow us to meet tight turnaround deadlines. And we could expand
“I was very impressed when I visited Komori’s Tsukuba Plant. I thought, ‘I would like our company to grow with
Komori.’ To meet greater customer requirements for improved print quality. To strengthen employee output
through a state-of-the-art press.”
our range of work because it can print on heavy stock. I thought, ‘H-UV printing will be the printing of the
future.’ I calculated that being one of the first to invest in this system would reap considerable advantage, so
I decided to install it.”
• The best press available to help us transition from a platemaking to a printing company.
• Because this was the first installation in Hokkaido, we planned to expand our business by getting an edge over
our competitors.
Evaluation
by management
‘It’s good for the environment.’
• We thought it would be impossible to acquire a UV press because of our limited space and the environmental
aspects. The H-UV press, however, does not generate heat and does not require powder, so it is environmentally
friendly.
Evaluation
by management
Executive Director Takagi says that, from the sales standpoint, “We can deliver products with 100 percent
confidence. With this machine, we have not had even one of the kind of claims that we had in the past when
printing. For sales personnel, the quick turnaround and not having to think about waiting for drying really takes
the stress out of work and lets us concentrate on sales. I can recommend this press even for jobs with full coverage
of solid colors.”
• We now finish in one day a job that used to take three days with conventional ink. This is a big strong point for
sales.
• We are now able to produce packaging and heavy stock printing in-house instead of outsourcing.
• We are able to meet tight delivery deadlines with plenty of leeway. In addition, we can take on a wider range
of work, and the press is a powerful tool for management.
•Our work mix has expanded because we have been able to address the problems of meeting tight delivery
deadlines and printing on thick sheets.
•A major advantage is that just one operator is needed because press operation is easy.
from the pressroom floor
‘It’s not a rapid start-up — it’s a lightning start-up.’
Actually the effect of this press was realized immediately after it was installed. As for quick turnaround, on the
from the pressroom floor
‘The more work we get the more powerful it becomes.’
• For a job of 5,000 copies, if we get the data in the morning, we can do CTP output, front and back printing,
cutting, folding and saddle stitching by evening of the same day.
• The speed of drying is quite sufficient. And unlike printing with conventional ink, there are no worries about
ink set-off on the reverse side of sheets, scratches or marking.
• We can concentrate entirely on improving print quality without having to be concerned with postpress.
• The color that is set in prepress is the color that we get. And we were surprised by the fact that the color printed
does not change at all after drying.
second day of test operation, we had a customer come in with a rush job — four-color, both sides — at 3:00 in
the afternoon. We started printing at 4:30 p.m., did cutting, folding and other finishing tasks and delivered the
job at 6:30 p.m. All of our pressroom personnel were astonished. When printing cookbooks, where excellent
reproduction of photographs is a must, the press allows us to get color very quickly.
• Color stability is excellent regardless of the length of the run.
• Suitability with thick sheets, which can easily get out of control, is extremely good and the flow of sheets is very
smooth.
• Because no odor is produced, the system is very good for package printing, which has stringent conditions for
odors.
Komori On Press
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