see PDF file - Komori

90 Years Ago 

This is where it all started. Ninety years ago in the Azumabashi area of Tokyo 

— home to the shokunin artisan community that gave birth to the monozukuri 

culture of ‘making things.’ A culture that flourished in the second half of the 

20th century and thrives today in producing innovations and breakthroughs 

that enrich everyone. Here Komori’s first ‘head office’ was the launching pad 

for a company that is still writing the history of the printing industry. Everything 

has changed since then — technologies, materials, people, even visions. 

Everything except the way Komori thinks about its customers. 

th Anniversary

Feature 

The Designer’s View 

Art Director Masahiro Aoyagi and Printing Director Akihiro Takamoto of Toppan 

Printing describe the making of the Komori 2013 calendar, Perfection on Earth, 

made jointly by Komori and Toppan. The image selection and editing, the colors 

and varnishes, the pages that went smoothly and those that caused headaches — 

everything that went into creating the Komori identity and environmental theme in ink 

on paper. 

Art Director Kiyotaka Takeuchi outlines the challenges facing packaging designers 

working in Japan’s frenetic consumer sector. Driving the development of new creative 

expressions are shifting demographics, regulations and technologies. All for the fivesecond 

window of opportunity. 

User Profiles 

Feature 

PESP to Offer Advantages to Customers 

New products, new business lines and new ways of interacting with 

customers are part of Komori’s plan to evolve into a print engineering 

service provider. A graphic look at some of the specifics as they might 

play out in a typical print shop. 

Looking Ahead: 

Users See the Future in a Komori Press 

Sheetfed and web offset presses, H-UV-driven machines as well as presses that print 

with conventional inks, both publishing and commercial printers. Every Komori user 

has a view of his future. Their markets and outlook and how they are partnering with 

Komori to create new business. 

Topics 

Techno Service Center and KGC 

Outline of case studies of two web offset printers — one in the 

U.S. and another in Tokyo — where Komori Techno Service Center 

attention paid off in quantifiable ways. Plus, a look at the Komori 

Graphic Technology Center as it turns three. 

Show Reports 

New Initiatives Spell Change Ahead 

Open house events, printing exhibitions and critical moves at key distributors in major 

markets. All the news and quotes plus pics from Frankfurt, New Delhi and Tsukuba. 

4 

14 

16 

32 

34 

no.78 

Printing specification of this issue: 

All pages printed by 4-color process H-UV. 

Cover laminated with gloss polypropylene film. 

Komori On Press 

3

The 

Because graphic design is the creative process that comes before any 

step in the printing workflow and determines not only what printed 

work will look like but also how it will be printed, On Press decided 

to sit down with some of today’s notable designers to talk about 

their work and how it relates to printing. While as old as civilization, 

visual communication exploded in the 20th and 21st centuries as 

technologies and mass markets combined to create soaring demand 

for the visual representation of ideas and messages. Two creatives 

from Toppan Printing, the diversified global Japanese printing 

company, Art Directors Masahiro Aoyagi and Kiyotaka Takeuchi, 

along with Printing Director Akihiro Takamoto, describe the process of 

creating a work featuring high added value printing — Komori’s 2013 

calendar — and packaging for consumer products. How they move 

from the stage of creative brief to deal with issues of branding and 

visual identity and finally to produce a file for the printer is a fascinating 

account of the prologue to printing. 

4 Komori On Press

Designer’s View 


5

An interview with Toppan Art Director Masahiro Aoyagi & Printing Director Akihiro Takamoto 

Perfection in Print 

The Komori 2013 Calendar 

As a press manufacturer, Komori creates a 

calendar every year that features stunning 

design and exceptional value added printing. 

Komori staff and Toppan Printing together 

undertake the mission of producing the 

calendar, which over the years has won a 

raft of awards, including the prestigious 

Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry 

Award. This year for the first time On Press 

interviewed Masahiro Aoyagi, art director 

at Toppan Printing, and Akihiro Takamoto, 

printing director at Toppan, the talent behind 

the 2013 calendar. Aoyagi and Takamoto, who 

have worked together with Komori staff in 

creating the calendar for the past three years, 

reveal the vision and the artistic and technical 

considerations and decisions behind this year’s 

calendar, the third in the Perfection on Earth 

series. They also describe the development of 

their careers at this unique megaprinter as 

well as their views on the H-UV system and the 

full-spec LS-840 used in the production stage. 

On Press: Tell us about your careers at Toppan Printing and 

the work that you do. 

Masahiro Aoyagi: Corporate calendars account for 99 

percent of my work. This consists of searching for materials 

— photographs or other visual art — executing the design 

and sometimes working with a Printing Director, or PD, to 

set the specifications for actual printing. Usually my role 

is implementing design, checking the proofs, and getting 

approvals from the creators when necessary. Calendars are 

seasonal products, of course, and I am usually busy with 

proposals in the March to May time frame and then occupied 

with production from June to mid-August. If work were delayed 

beyond that time, everyone would be in a tight spot. 

Akihiro Takamoto: I have worked as a Printing Director for 

about 15 years, ever since joining Toppan. This specialty was 

developed here about 30 years ago. There are two types of 

PDs at Toppan: the first works in prepress or the pressroom 

for 20 or 30 years and then starts working as a PD, while the 

second type is trained as a PD upon joining the company. I’m 

the second type. In college I majored in graphic design and had 

never dreamed of becoming a printing director – I didn’t even 

know what the words meant. I worked for a year in prepress 

and then studied for about five years with a senior PD. I learned 


Silver 

Matt varnish 

through trial and error and from the people I worked with. 

Fundamental to becoming a printing director is learning the 

limits of expression with four-color process using sheetfed, 

web offset and gravure presses. This is the basis, and of course 

this varies with different papers, so a PD must also have a sense 

of the limits of each printing paper. When four colors are not 

sufficient for the graphic expression, we consider using a special 

color. But adding a special over four colors, for example, can 

result in dullness. In such cases, it is necessary to reduce the 

density of the 4C inks and use the additional special color to 

balance them out. Naturally, when the special color ink makes 

the colors more intense and vivid, there is no need to bring 

down the 4C densities. The only way to acquire this sense is 

through experience. 

Could you explain for us the process of producing Komori’s 

calendars? 

Aoyagi: In the past, Komori’s calendars were a series of original 

creative works by graphic designers. Three years ago, though, the 

direction was changed and the natural environment was chosen 

as the overall theme. We held brainstorming sessions to decide 

what the best means of expression would be — photographs or 

illustrations or something else. For Komori, the ideal calendar 

is beautiful and artistic rather than functional. For the first 

calendar in the new series, we worked with the animal photos 

of Mark Laita. For 2013 we used Joel Sartore’s photographs. 

We had to decide which photos from about a dozen or so 

would be best for showing added value printing techniques 

and the possibilities of the new H-UV curing system. With an 

ordinary calendar, the designer selects the photos to be used 

and special printing treatments follow from that selection. In 

Komori’s case, we had to select photos to illustrate specific 

printing techniques and achieve a balance between visual 

appeal as we saw it and the possibilities of added value printing. 

This was a very difficult point — the balance of images and 

printing techniques. 

Another challenge was the difference between the effect we 

anticipated a given printing technique would produce and the 

actual result when we did test printing. Some effects can only be 

confirmed by test printing. The drip-off technique with H-UV, 

for example, was very effective but it took some reorientation 

on our part to get it right. 

We also had to take into account the Komori corporate 

identity. Since Komori is a printing press manufacturer, we 

had to create a calendar that would project strength. The 

design had to show not only beauty but also the capabilities 

of print technology. It had to communicate to users around 

the world that these print effects are achievable with a Komori 

press. And Komori’s calendar had to be executed at a level 

befitting Komori — a press maker — as well as us — the printing 

company. Everyone has likes and dislikes when it comes to 

images and that is unavoidable, but we felt that if people looked 

at the calendar and said, “I don’t like turtles, but that printing 

technique is terrific,” or “I wonder how that was printed,” we 

would be satisfied. 

Cover 

January–February 

March–April 

May–June 

OP varnish Coater 

Red 

Matt varnish 

OP varnish (pearl x 2) 

Matt varnish OP varnish (patterned) 

Coater 

Green Matt varnish 



7

Conversely, it would not be ideal if the 

technique were obvious to everyone at a glance. 

We consulted with the director of the Komori 

Graphic Technology Center, and there was lively 

consideration of every aspect of the techniques 

and extensive deliberation between finalizing the 

visuals and the actual printing. 

The paper of the calendar was chosen for its high 

color-reproduction capabilities and its excellence 

with matt and gloss coating. Inks also differ 

somewhat by manufacturer in flow and tack and 

these variables must be considered. And even with 

temperature and humidity control in the plant, the 

weather can still have an effect. Also, test printing 

can be just right, but something will sometimes 

be just a bit different in production printing due 

to some slight variation in conditions. Drip-off 

coating, for example, will vary according to its age. 

Any impurities left over from the previous job can 

completely change the outcome of the current job. 

Once the ink conditions have stabilized, however, 

there is no change during the production run. 

Can you tell us the story of the 2013 Komori 

calendar? 

Takamoto: On the calendar cover, the lines on 

the shell of the turtle were tricky. We sought a dry, 

crispy look. But it couldn’t be too strong or too 

weak. There is a slight filling out on the fringe of 

the coating that I thought would be smoothed by 

the use of drip-off coating. Unfortunately, there 

is a faint line made by the drip-off effect. It would 

be perfect if it was random rather than linear, but 

it is not. We have tried to attain perfection with 

this effect for the past three years but we still have 

room to improve. We were aiming for a smooth 

gradation from the glossy area to the drip-off 

area and on to the area where there is no coating. 

To make this boundary unnoticeable, we varied 

the coverage of the coating and the overprint 

varnish for drip-off. Reconciling these in a natural 

way might be impossible due to the chemistry of 

the materials. 

Regarding special colors, the bright gold color 

of the turtle’s shell was achieved by using silver 

with yellow since gold has a brownish element 

that tends to darken the image. 

January–February Parrot 

Aoyagi: The main point with the parrot was 

vivid color. After the inks we applied two layers 

of pearlescent varnish to get the fine, delicate 

feeling of the feathers. This varnish is used twice 

on the white feathers but not on the red feathers 

so as to preserve their vivid color. 

March–April Cheetah 

Aoyagi: The key point in the rendering of the cheetah is the 

pattern in the varnish. We wanted to use a pattern with overprint 

varnish somewhere in the calendar, and in consultation with 

KGC it was decided at a fairly early stage to use it with this 

motif. Selecting the borderline for the application of the varnish 

required an enormous amount of work in prepress. 

May–June Chameleon 

Takamoto: The chameleon went comparatively smoothly. We 

wanted to be rather showy here with the rough, horny surface 

and the special green. It went rather well right from the start but 

the varnish inside the mouth stood out too prominently, so we 

had to make adjustments using the overprint varnish. We used 

drip-off and gloss coatings in different ways according to the 

form of the scales so that it would not become monotonous. 

July–August Arowana 

Aoyagi: This image of the fish, an arowana, was a headache 

because the difference between the matt varnish and gloss 

coating as well as between the actual fish in the lower part of 

the image and the reflected fish above did not materialize as 

we expected. Opinions on what would be best here flew back 

and forth, and it was difficult for us to turn abstract ideas into 

graphic reality. 

The pink tone of the upper image is the effect of two 

overprintings of pearlescent varnish. Originally there was 

probably something to indicate the surface of the water but 

the image had already been edited when we used it, so it 

was difficult to bring out that the image is of one fish and 

its reflection. 

September–October Monarch Butterflies 

Aoyagi: The image of the monarch butterflies shows the effect 

of the coating most clearly. The glossiness stands out because 

of the matt varnish that encircles it. 

This page also uses a bluish-black background, unlike the 

orangish-black background on all the other pages. Since 

the butterflies are orange, the blue makes that color stand 


out. The most difficult aspect of this page was ensuring that 

the line of the gloss coating matched the line of the image 

perfectly. The butterflies are not only gorgeous but also 

symbolic of the concept of endangered species that is vital to 

our environmental theme. 

November–December Mandrill 

Takamoto: We used a gold for the hair of the mandrill, taking 

care that it did not seem unnatural. Using gold on brownish 

areas stabilizes the color tones but makes for difficulties in 

prepress, so this technique is not used very often. It is essential 

that the gloss coating not make the borderline of the hair stand 

out. Control in creating a gradation from the glossy to the 

drip-off areas is usually very difficult, but it was very smooth 

in this case. We failed in attempting this two years ago. In the 

past, I used gradations — from a certain percentage to another 

percentage — and this approach failed. This time I used a tone 

that was matched to the image and made it harder or softer as 

necessary. This yielded a boke effect that was well adapted to 

the image. There’s no abrupt change. 

July–August 

September–October 

Matt varnish OP varnish (pearl x 2) 


Orange Matt varnish 

Coater 

Tell us your opinion of H-UV and the LS-840+C H-UV press. 

Aoyagi: Although I haven’t directly compared them, I don’t 

think there’s such a great difference from conventional UV in 

terms of graphic expression. However, I think that it’s easier 

to manage and adjust H-UV drip-off coating. With UV, we 

would use gradations and sometimes the effect would not be 

noticeable, but with H-UV drip-off coating the effect is very 

apparent even with gradations. 

Takamoto: Dot gain is less with H-UV inks and the gloss levels 

are significantly higher, which are definite pluses for graphic 

expression. In fact, the range of expression is remarkably 

broader with H-UV. With ordinary UV ink, we would add a 

layer of gloss coating for the glossy effect but sometimes even 

this did not produce sufficient glossiness. Now the high gloss 

level attained by the H-UV inks actually allows us to consider 

using a matt varnish. I was amazed that it doesn’t have any of the 

peculiar smell of UV ink. Print directors are sometimes at the 

side of the press for long periods and the UV smell can cause 

headaches. H-UV is definitely an improvement. Someday we 

would like to use an H-UV version of Toyo Ink’s Kaleido inks. 

What would you like to see from the printing industry? 

Aoyagi: Overall I would like to have more information on 

new methods of expression that can be achieved with various 

combinations of the materials that are now available. Sometimes 

discoveries are accidental, as in the case of drip-off coating. 

What can be done with various inks, varnishes and coatings 

on different papers — the creation of new amalgams — is what 

would be of most value. 

Takamoto: Although the precision of today’s machines is 

extremely high, customers’ demands are also becoming 

more exacting. These days the requirement for screen 

frequency of 230 or 280 lpi rather than 175 is not uncommon. 

The entire production process must be capable of meeting 

these requirements. 

November–December 

Gold 

Akihiro Takamoto 

Printing director at Toppan Printing 

since joining the company in 1997. 

Involved in the production design of 

posters and calendars by well-known 

creators that require high quality color 

reproduction. Widely experienced 

in the production of comic book 

covers, collections of illustrations and 

photographs, and printing that uses 

special colors. Ensures high quality 

by managing manufacturing lines for 

his work. 

Masahiro Aoyagi 

In charge of art direction for corporate 

calendars ever since joining Toppan 

Printing in 1998. In the past few 

years, Aoyagi has collaborated with 

distinguished Japanese and foreign 

creators and also taken charge of 

works that make use of special 

printing techniques. A member of the 

Japan Graphic Designers Association, 

h e h a s w o n a h o s t o f a w a r d s , 

including the Minister of Economy, 

Trade and Industry Award presented 

by the Japan Federation of Printing 

Industries and both Silver and Bronze 

awards in the Gregor International 

Calendar Award. 

Coater 

OP varnish 


9

Chef de 

Cuisine for 

Tasty 

Printing 

An interview with Toppan Art Director Kiyotaka Takeuchi 

On Press interviewed Kiyotaka Takeuchi, 

Art Director in charge of the Package Creative 

Team in the Toppan Idea Center of Toppan 

Printing, on the latest trends in packaging 

design in Japan and his own experience in 

designing packaging for national brands. 

As an award-winning designer with his 

finger on the pulse of the consumer sector in 

Japan, Takeuchi shared his insights into the 

dynamic retail scene and the ways packaging 

is changing to meet emerging needs. 

Last June, Takeuchi participated in a Graphic 

Trial, held by Toppan’s Graphic Arts Center, 

that focused on the theme of ‘ delicious 

printing.’ Graphic Trials are endeavors to 

acquire new expressions by exploring the 

relationship between graphic design and 

printing expression. The challenge is to create 

a variety of expressions by having a front-line 

creator produce a poster. In collaboration 

with a printing director, Takeuchi sought 

‘the next’ in printing expressions for food 

packaging. “In fine cuisine, the chef has 

ways of adding subtle flavors and finishing 

touches that cannot be seen. I was aiming 

for a tastiness that can be perceived visually 

by adding imperceptible subtle tinges and 

finishing characteristics achieved with the 

printing process,” says Takeuchi. 

On Press: The role of art director is often quite broad. In your 

case, how does your role as art director play out in the creation 

of the designs that come off the presses? 

Kiyotaka Takeuchi: Packaging is an important business asset 

of the client and must be in accord with the product strategy. 

The art director is responsible for the creative work and is in 

charge of the aesthetics of the package. In my case, since I am 

employed by a printing company, my role is even broader. It 

is not unusual that an outstanding design is not rendered very 

well once the process shifts to production. So the distinctive 

characteristic of an art director’s role in a printing company 

extends to developing a creative expression that ensures the 

final product realizes the promise of the design. 

In fact, sometimes I have to develop ideas that encompass 

the contents of the product. In recent years the marketing 

environment and purchasing patterns have significantly affected 

creative expression. I believe that the vital point is whether 


an instantly understandable communication can have strong 

originality. Thus, an AD must have a broad outlook. 

What are the most recent trends in packaging that you see 

as a creator? 

Lifestyles are becoming more diverse. There have been major 

changes in communication, for example. Social networking 

and the Web are part of the media mix now, and the identity 

of the package and product is defined in part before and in 

part after the consumer comes into contact with the package. 

The environment around packaging is driven by factors such as 

consumption, distribution, and society. On the distribution side, 

private brands are rapidly increasing their market share. On the 

other hand, consumers’ desires are becoming more high-end, 

and there is a limit to the tactic of copying national brands. New 

approaches are necessary. The division of consumption into 

two very different groups — national brands on the one hand 

and private brands focused on low price on the other — will 

also strongly influence creative expression. 

Then of course, while not trends, there is the necessity of 

ecological awareness and adherence to the concepts of 

Universal Design. 

Who is in charge of the structural design of the container? 

As a brand asset, the structure incorporates shape and 

function, and the responsibility for the structural design differs 

according to how the priorities are set. Those who decide on 

the materials that will be used and who have knowledge for 

getting the containers running in the production line actually 

work in this building. When the container has new or superior 

functionality, the design must lead consumers to take an interest 

in it and want to experience it. This is where package design and 

structural design must link up, so it is difficult to draw clear lines. 

The makeup of the target household is shifting today, isn’t it? 

A greater number of smaller households, couples and singles, 

especially in developed countries. Is this a factor? 

Yes, in fact, last year, ‘appropriate materials and appropriate 

amount’ was sort of a watchword in the Japanese packaging 

industry. Packages containing individual portions of products 

such as fabric softener and food — miso soup, for example — 

came onto the market to meet the needs of consumers living 

alone. I think changes in the functions and styles of packaging 

to meet these needs will continue to broaden. 

What is the most difficult element in the printing stage? 

Cost. When the unit price of the product is low, there is great 

pressure to keep the cost of packaging as low as possible. As 

a designer, I want to add to the product, but the cost must be 

held down. This varies a great deal with the category of the 

product. Cost must be kept down with ramen noodles and 

cookies, for example. With cigarettes, on the other hand, 

advertising is prohibited but giving a higher priority to the 

creative expression of the package, even if it is more costly, 

is one option for communicating with the consumer. At any 

In the Graphic Trial, Takeuchi sought to create five expressions of 

chocolate using different treats such as truffles and macaroons. 

The poster (above) makes use of the truffle motif. He found that 

there is considerable variation in the color perceived as ‘delicious’ 

even with the same chocolate. The poster illustrates various grades 

of tastiness. 

This chart at right was 

created to determine 

color balance using different 

degrees of lightness 

and color saturation. 

Higher levels of lightness 

and saturation increase 

the perceived sweetness. 

Lower levels raise 

perceived bitterness. 

C o m p l e t e l y d i f f e r e n t 

tastes — sweet and bitter 

chocolate, as shown in 

the photos below — can 

be created from these 

two variables. 


11

ate, cost is the limiting factor in a great deal of 

ordinary work. 

The critical question in packaging is indisputable. 

Amid a huge variety of products in the store, how 

does the package communicate to the consumer? 

How does it motivate the consumer to find it, 

hold it and remember it? In supermarkets and 

convenience stores, the consumer decides 

whether or not he wants the product within 

five seconds. That is a very narrow window to 

communicate a message. 

Could you outline the process up to the 

completion of the package? 

Although each assignment is different, the 

process begins with analysis to determine the 

brand strategy, which is sometimes done by the 

client and sometimes done by us. Work on the 

design strategy is then initiated, and the structural 

design proceeds parallel to and entwined with 

the graphic design. Then, for example, when we 

propose a structural design, it must be compatible 

with the client’s production line, so the work 

proceeds with the involvement of the relevant 

departments in the company. In some cases, the 

production line must be changed to produce the 

new container. Not every proposal is accepted, but 

for every project we indicate what we think is the 

best solution for making the product successful. 

As far as the process is concerned, I think that we 

are able to cope with the many different ways 

clients use to advance their projects. Finally, the 

graphic design goes through validation studies 

before final approval is given. 

You worked with a printing director last year in 

Toppan’s Graphic Trial. What role does the printing 

director have and how did you collaborate? 

An art director for a printing company has 

printing director (PD) type skills, but this was my 

first experience of collaborating with a printing 

director who is working in a different stage. In 

last year’s Graphic Trial I learned a great deal 

about printing and also had some misconceptions 

dispelled. Typically my contact with the pressroom 

team is to give directions regarding what I aim to 

achieve. And sometimes the pressroom tells me 

that my proposal is not feasible for mechanical 

reasons. But the printing director understands the 

language and intentions of both the designers and 

the pressroom team, so it was a great opportunity. 

He offered many ideas, and his advice was based 

on a clear understanding of the design, so the 

collaboration was very instructive. 

The PD’s knowledge and experience are a 

wellspring of ideas for creating expressions and this made a great 

difference. I believe that Toppan was the pioneer in developing 

this profession. I hope that there are more opportunities to work 

with a printing director. Generally the PD looks at things from 

the pressroom side rather than the creative side, but his ideas 

are extremely stimulating and he is also capable of channeling 

the best efforts of photographers and graphic designers in ways 

that can be appreciated. 

What sort of added value printing are you interested in? 

I am interested in many different added value applications and 

approaches. There are many things that I would like to try which 

are not usually a part of my job. I am particularly interested in 

expressions that are not restricted by costs and regulations. 

I would like to work with fluorescent inks, which cannot be 

used with foods. Many inks and papers cannot be used in food 

packaging, so I hope that these materials are improved. There 

are not only migration issues but also functional problems, 

such as the performance of the materials during transport 

and when displayed in stores. Added value printing is often 

very well received by the client but the project then stumbles 

because it cannot be performed at the speed required by the 

production line. Nonetheless, many customers are trying to 

decommodify their products and are looking to better materials 

or stronger creative expression to achieve this. 

What are some of the ways that package design differs from 

other fields of design? 

The main differences are that packaging stands close to 

everyday life and reflects the times, such as social trends 

and changes in the law, and also it must accommodate mass 

production. As an aspect related to mass production, for 

example, when using gravure printing, if the design incorporates 


ink concentrated in one area, the thickness of the ink will cause 

the web of film to swell, making it very difficult to control. The 

rules and regulations are endless, not only in production but 

also in transportation and in-store display. And whenever the 

laws change, the packaging must change. Today there are items 

that can be bought over-the-counter that previously were sold 

only by pharmacists, and the designs for these items changed 

when the law changed. 

What about printing has changed in the last 10 years as far as 

designers are concerned? 

The possibilities for creative expression have certainly 

expanded. The progress made with inks and chemical 

embossing, for example, has opened new opportunities. 

Color separations have become much more accurate. The 

progress made in printing technology has been phenomenal. 

The printing directors study these advances, and I am looking 

forward to working with them to explore the promise of 

improved technologies. 

What are your wishes regarding printers? 

I would like to work more closely with the printer when I am 

creating a product. When a printed item deviates from the 

ideal aimed for by the designer, the printed product is typically 

abandoned. But simply by changing one’s point of view, it 

could easily be seen as a compelling design or an innovative 

technique. I think that such work can be given life by changing 

the workflow. Although it entails risk for printing companies, I 

hope that they continue to stay on the offense. I would like the 

people from the pressroom floor to join with the creative side 

in driving innovation. Perhaps something like joint workshops 

would be helpful. I hope the printing side will participate in the 

creation of the design rather than just receive the design from 

the creative side. I would also like to see improvement of test 

prints. Sometimes I get a digital proof and sometimes a PDF. 

The poster (above) was 

meant to express the 

smoothness and luster of 

thick, dripping chocolate. 

In the photos at left, the 

impression of an almost 

imperceptible difference 

in taste is created by the 

use of fluorescent orange 

on the chocolate, 70 percent 

in the left photo and 

10 percent in the right 

photo, along with gloss 

varnish. 

There is a great deal of attention given to packaging these 

days, isn’t there? 

Very much so. In the past, packaging was just something that 

would be thrown away once it was opened. Today, however, 

because the influence of mass media advertising has become 

fragmented, packaging is valued as a medium of touchpoint 

communication. Packaging is positioned as a marketing tool 

— right along with television. 

Package design is also an increasingly attractive field for 

graphic designers working in other areas. And this development 

is clearly attracting attention. In last year’s Japan Package 

Design Awards, held biennially by the Japan Packaging Institute, 

designers from other fields were in the forefront. Of all things, 

package design has become a hot field. 

Kiyotaka Takeuchi 

Kiyotaka Takeuchi is an art 

director and a leader of the 

Package Creative Team of the 

Product Planning Department, 

Marketing Division of Toppan 

Printing in Tokyo. Takeuchi 

also works in the Toppan Idea 

Center. Takeuchi has also won 

many awards in the Japan 

Packaging Contest and is a 

director of the Japan Package 

Design Association. 


13

With the managing director ... 

I want to find a business model for increasing sales. 

Komori will build a business model with the customer. 

PESP to Offer Advantages 

to Customers 

Dedicated to offering kando-inspiring products for customers, Komori 

is now dynamically evolving into a print engineering service provider 

(PESP: provider of press-related systems, printing materials and printing 

know-how) with new business targets. Through the optimum combination 

of printing technologies acquired over many years and with numerous 

partner companies, Komori is working toward creating products with 

new value suited for the times and providing integrated total solutions. 

In addition to seeking greater advantages for customers, Komori will 

deepen existing businesses and evolve into a consultant/coordinator 

capable of recommending the optimum equipment and setup that meets 

customers’ wishes and needs. 

PESP Products for Optimum Solutions 

Komori is developing and selling a wide range of products in order to 

provide not only offset presses but also a full lineup of outstanding products 

and services that meet customers’ requirements. As a specific example, 

the H-UV drying system that enables the renowned OffsetOnDemand 

presses became a reality through the linking of PESP activities. 

A broad range of products — such as the Impremia Series of print-ondemand 

full-color printing systems, prototype inkjet digital presses as well 

as prepress and postpress equipment — will be included in the lineup. 

14 

Komori On Press

With the manufacturing manager ... 

I am looking for greater efficiency and coordination in the 

manufacturing department. 

Komori will recommend preventive maintenance and 

the optimum facilities for the entire printing process to 

increase production capacity and coordination. 

With the plant manager ... 

Despite the rise of prices of 

materials, I want to maintain profits. 

Komori will propose the optimum 

Komori-preferred materials and 

equipment to enhance both quality 

and cost competitiveness. 


15

User Profile 

H-UV wins converts in France 

Imprimerie des Hauts de Vilaine, Châteaubourg, France 

Company, after he took delivery of his new 

H-UV press in August 2012. 

Established in 1985 by Jean Jenin and his father, 

who had previously worked for Oberthur, the 

company was very quick to abandon traditional 

printing with lead typesetting in favor of 

desktop publishing. Based from the outset 

in Châteaubourg, located between Rennes 

and Vitré, it has continued to grow thanks 

to a diverse range of clients, the majority of 

whom are based in the “great West” part of 

France. Having doubled the surface area of its 

site in 2010, the company now has a printing 

works covering 2,300 square meters, where 33 

employees work in three rotating shifts. 

Two companies united by common values 

“We bought our first Komori in 1999. That 

was a four-color press,” recalls Mr. Jenin. 

“Since then, we’ve always remained faithful 

to the brand. First of all because Komori is a 

company built on a human scale, and that’s a 

good match for us. The other reason is because 

we appreciate the quality of Komori presses. In 

2005 we bought a five-color Lithrone 28 with 

CIP3, but the real strategic shift we made was 

the acquisition of our first large-format press 

in 2006 — a five-color Lithrone S40. Then in 

March 2011, we replaced the L-528 with an 

LS-529 fitted with the PDC-Lite II.” 

Jean Jenin, Manager 

The H-UV system launched at the Graphitec trade show in 

June 2011 immediately won the hearts of printers, and Komori 

France has already sold more than a hundred units fitted 

with this innovative technology. Using high-sensitivity inks 

that dry instantly under an H-UV lamp, the system allows for 

improvements in response times and quality while also opening 

unexpected design possibilities. This has been the inspiring 

experience of Jean Jenin, manager of Hauts de Vilaine Printing 

Considerable time gains 

Always keen to move forward, Jenin switched 

to H-UV technology in mid-2012. He explains: 

“We had to renew one of our presses and I 

wanted to optimize our production speed in 

order to cut delivery times. I went to drupa in 

Düsseldorf, along with all my press operators, 

and we chose an H-UV-equipped five-color 

Lithrone G40 with PDC-SII and CIP3. I signed 

the purchase order right there on the stand 

on the 7th of May. The aspect that most 

appealed to us was the instant drying, which 

means work can be sent directly to finishing 

from the delivery. Also, the acquisition of 

this latest-generation machine allows us to 

set ourselves apart from the competition by 

proposing different things to our customers. 

Another considerable advantage is that color 

rendering is better than with aqueous coating 

— the whiteness and texture of the paper are 

maintained. The substrate is very white, with 

a superb degree of contrast. Thanks to instant 



drying, we can run work with screen rulings of 

300 lpi, which produces a great deal of finesse 

and detail in photos.” 

Long-term support 

Jenin appreciates the involvement of those 

he deals with at Komori — whether it’s for 

training in the different functions of the new 

press or for maintenance: “For us, Komori is 

more than just a supplier — the company is a 

partner who is always there when we need 

them. We know all the members of their 

team: the director, the technical advisor, the 

salesperson, the engineers, the trainers. The 

trainers stayed on-site for four weeks, and 

even organized themselves to fit in with our 

three-shift working pattern.” 

A press that stimulates creativity 

Since the installation of the GL-540 H-UV in August 2012, each 

week brings a new series of discoveries. “We haven’t finished 

exploring all the things that it allows us to do. Before, we were 

stuck in a little bit of a rut, but since we got this new press, 

we’ve been in a permanent Research & Development phase!” 

Jenin enthuses. “It’s interesting for me and for everyone else 

on the team — we do trials, we create models and prototypes 

that we show to our customers. And that convinces them to 

take the plunge.” The H-UV revolution is under way at the 

Hauts de Vilaine Printing Company and is winning over new 

converts every day. 

Able to cope with all special substrates 

Thanks to H-UV technology, the Hauts de 

Vilaine Printing Company has expanded the 

services it offers: “We can now print on sealed 

surface substrates, such as Chromolux metallic 

paper, cardboard and even tracing paper. We 

also do a lot of printing on offset and creative 

papers. So, for example, we produced a job 

for a publisher in Paris that was printed on 

Munken with large areas of solids. Being able 

to choose the level of ink coverage made the 

task much easier for us,” Jenin says. 


17


Berforts takes UK’s first E-529P 

Berforts, Hastings, UK 

Den Edwards, Operations Director 

Berforts Ltd. has become the first company in the UK to 

buy a five-color Enthrone 29P perfector. The new B2 press 

was installed at the company’s commercial printing arm in 

Hastings. Berforts also has facilities in Oxford and Stevenage. 

Across its three sites, its plant list includes B1 and B2 Heidelberg 

Speedmasters, Konica, Kodak and Nipson digital presses, and 

an extensive array of finishing equipment to handle general 

print and specialist book printing. 

Need for additional capacity 

Says Hastings Operations Director Den Edwards: “We’d 

been running for almost a year with just one B2 litho press at 

this site and, with additional business on offer, we needed 

to increase makeready speeds and up our quality levels 

further. We had been looking at pre-owned machines but, 

having seen the Enthrone at its drupa 2012 launch and in 

demonstration at Komori’s Utrecht showroom, we recognized 

that investing in the latest Komori technologies would provide 

us with greater productivity and enable us to offer customers 

a faster turnaround with the assurance of higher, more 

consistent quality.” 

“We also recently consolidated our production 

space at Hastings from 13,000 to 9,000 square 

feet, although we still had a need to increase our 

production output, which meant we needed to 

replace our existing five-color press with newer, 

faster technology. So the high productivity rate 

and the small footprint of the Enthrone also 

suited our factory planning.” 

“We have 18 staff here at Hastings out of our 

organization’s total of 120, and we think of 

ourselves as a medium-size company with a big 

business approach — offering a personal printon-demand 

service for whatever our customers 

require. That can regularly mean a call for a 

print concept and design for which we have 

our own in-house designers. Then we take our 

services all the way through to total fulfillment, 

which includes printing jobs on the Enthrone, 

then digitally personalizing them along with 

envelopes, and enclosing the finished print 

for distribution by mail,” Mr. Edwards explains. 



Versatility required 

Continues Edwards: “We operate nationally 

and regionally, and our customers include 

business-to-business clients, educational 

organizations, charities and several retail 

companies as well as print management 

services. Every one of them is looking for 

quicker turnaround, optimum quality and 

keener pricing. Our work itself is varied — 

magazines, brochures, mailings, newsletters, 

and business cards — we handle them all. 

This range of work can obviously mean using 

widely varying material thicknesses, and so 

the ability of the Enthrone to change over from 

lightweight to heavyweight materials with 

almost no mechanical adjustments is proving 

especially useful.” 

Easy learning curve 

“We run the Enthrone on a double day shift, 

rotating three operators, all of whom made 

an easy transition to using the Enthrone and 

all of whom would also testify how simple 

the machine is to operate. The E-529P has 

many new automated features, including the 

very efficient plate-changing system, color 

controls and digital workflow. And it is a very 

versatile press, especially as we’ve specified 

the two-over-three perfecting model, which 

gives us the flexibility for quick throughput of 

two-over-two jobs and enables us to add a 

litho seal or a special color on the fifth printing 

unit,” Edwards notes. 

“It provides us with a raft of new Komori 

technolog y within a ver y reasonable 

investment level. The Enthrone was up and 

running within three days of installation and 

has quickly reduced our average makeready 

time down to just 10 minutes. The potential 

it offers is obvious from the superb work it’s 

already produced,” Edwards says. 

Enthrone key to intercompany growth 

At its Hastings plant, which has a customer 

base extending across the whole of the UK as 

well as clients in Belgium and Holland, Berforts 

is aiming to increase turnover from the current 

£1.8 million to £2.2 million before the end of 

2013, targeting the short run, fast turnaround 

market. Having also made recent prepress 

investments within the group, including a 

Prinergy workflow, it has started utilizing 

cross-site facilities to capitalize on commercial 

business attracted to its three sites. Adds 

Edwards: “Now that we have the Enthrone 

here in Hastings, we can see the intercompany 

production growing, especially on B2 work.” 

The other companies within the Berforts 

organization offer an exceptional variety of print and related 

services. This includes a full book-printing service with an 

unusual facility for self-publishers and other customers 

requiring very short run lengths as well as market research 

and advance copies prior to embarking on full production runs. 

“That’s where we truly integrate our digital and offset 

production — at times the digital presses even produce oneoff 

editions for self-publishers and review requirements, then, 

of course, revert to offset for full production,” adds Edwards. 

The associated services encompass the reproduction of 

previously printed books such as rare or old editions where the 

original files or artwork no longer exist. Full finishing options 

are also offered — extending to case and leather binding. 

Enthrone’s green credentials influential 

Across the entire group, Berforts recognizes the importance 

of environmental considerations and takes these into account 

at all stages of development, marketing and investing. So the 

Enthrone’s eco-friendly characteristics of alcohol-free printing, 

low paper waste and reduced noise levels were also influential 

in the company’s purchasing decision. 

Adds Edwards: “Here in Hastings, we’re in the process of 

further increasing our sales force. We’ve added a Konica 

Minolta Bizhub C8000 and recently a single-color Konica 

with in-line finishing. We’ve also added a used four-color B2 

perfector — as we believe in gearing up for the increase in 

demand to ensure that we don’t have to turn new opportunities 

away.” 

“In the quick and smooth installation of the Enthrone, we were 

immediately impressed by the professionalism shown by the 

whole Komori team — installation engineers and demonstrators 

alike. I have the utmost faith that should we ever need to make 

an urgent call to Komori UK about any aspect of the Enthrone, 

we’d receive an instant and accurate response,” says Edwards. 

The E-529P has now been in operation at Berforts for several 

months, and as Edwards says, “Ever since the start, in every 

respect, it has performed as we’d hoped. Our operators enjoy 

using the press, and its fast changeovers — whether from job 

to job or between straight printing and perfecting — have 

noticeably increased our production flexibility and reduced 

our turnaround times.” 

“We’ve also seen that the Komori brand’s reputation with 

professional print buyers is impressive and the press has put us 

firmly on track to grow the business here in Hastings,” concludes 

an upbeat Edwards. 


19


Golden Fall reaps bright future 

Zhengzhou Golden Fall Color Printing, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China 

Zheng Wei, General Manager 

Zhengzhou Golden Fall Color Printing Ltd. was founded on 

May 1, 2000. The company’s name, taken from the golden 

fall of harvest season, suggests the bounty that can be gained 

through the hard work of the company’s employees. 

Twenty years ago, recent graduate Zheng Wei was working 

hard in a state-owned enterprise. As Zheng says: “I poured 

my energies into the job, but I was unable to advance my 

own career.” So in 1995 he opened a data input and copy 

service, and Zheng started on the difficult route of founding his 

own company. Thirteen years have passed since he launched 

Golden Fall, and the exuberant youth and poet is now a business 

leader bearing the weight of corporate responsibilities. 

Long route to prosperity 

From data input and a copy service to light printing, quarto 

single-color printing, half-size single-color printing, fourcolor 

printing with a Chinese press, color printing on a used 

Heidelberg press, and finally to full-service 

printing on four of Komori’s latest offset presses. 

This has been Golden Fall’s path to prosperity. 

Growth amid change 

Just like many other print houses in China, 

Golden Fall experienced rapid growth 

amid a climate of change in the vast market 

environment and was at times disoriented by 

the enormous variety of choices that it faced. 

And there were projects in which large sums 

were invested that ended up with dreadful 

results. Zheng says in looking back on that 

period: “It was important not to deviate from 

the business plan but to push ahead without 

any hesitation.” 



“I want to expand 

Golden Fall’s existing targets of commercial-scale high-speed 

color printing and commercial album printing, making it more 

solid overall. We want not only to become the largest scale high-speed print production base in China but also to 

standardize printing and develop a national distribution and transportation system.” 

— Zheng Wei, General Manager 

Lithrone G40: Liberation 

In 2011, Golden Fall reflected on its 

difficult experience, carefully compared the 

alternatives and invested in Komori’s latest 

four-color Lithrone G40 press. This decision 

fundamentally changed the growth model 

and the expansion rate of Golden Fall, which 

had begun taking online orders and launching 

other e-commerce initiatives. Near miraculous 

production records were set one after the other: 

20 jobs finished and 150,000 sheets printed in 

one shift. Eighty small-lot jobs finished in one 

shift. With records being rewritten before his 

very eyes, Zheng purchased two four-color 

Lithrone G40 presses the next year, and 

growth began to shoot up at an even faster 

pace. The company was liberated from the 

headaches of being a low-price, low-efficiency, 

high-cost producer. 

When Zheng talks about Komori, his high 

regard for the manufacturer is clear: “Komori 

provides high-efficiency products to users 

by continuously upgrading its technologies. 

Komori presses incorporate ergonomic 

principles, and with regard to machine 

operability, structural design, and production 

processes, the company is far ahead of 

its competitors.” 

“We have experience in all of the areas that 

are vital for success, and Golden Fall Color 

Printing is now turning in strong performance 

in our regional market. If you ask the people 

who work at Golden Fall what their image of 

the company is, based on their roughly 15 

years of experience, they would say ‘There 

is nothing that we lack to complete any job 

we are entrusted with. We know that the 

only way to win the respect and trust of the 

customer is hard work. Continuously taking 

an approach of self-criticism — listening to 

the views of others, building on strong points 

and improving weaknesses — will result in 

transcending ourselves.’ This ethos is imbued 

throughout our company.” 

targets of commercial-scale high-speed color printing and 

commercial album printing, making it more solid overall. We 

want not only to become the largest-scale high-speed print 

production base in China but also to standardize printing and 

develop a national distribution and transportation system.” 

In his estimates of growth for the industry, Zheng’s selfconfidence 

is apparent: “The volume of sales in the offset sector 

will tend to decrease in the next five years. However, companies 

with a strong position in the market will be the leaders in terms 

of purchasing power. In other words, the printing industry will 

divide into two sharply contrasting groups.” 

Interior and exterior work on a new 16,000-square-meter 

plant has just been completed, and Zheng is dreaming big: 

“Golden Fall will be a print provider that combines three areas 

of competence — individualized digital printing production, 

Web-to-print, and industrial cloud printing.” 

Raising the status of the industry 

“Just a generation ago, we were stigmatized as being retailers 

in China, but now I think that we should at least be considered 

a successful and respected industry that contributes to the 

nation. The enthusiasm I felt at the founding of the company 

is slackening, and responsibilities weigh on my shoulders. Yet 

there is no change at all in my intentions.” 

Dreaming big 

Zheng also speaks thoughtfully about the 

future: “I want to expand Golden Fall’s existing 


21


GL-840P just right for Varigrafica 

Varigrafica, Nepi, Viterbo, Italy 

From left: Mauro Adario, CEO; Aldo Adario, President and Owner; Maria Stella Adario, CFO; Vincenzo Cirimele, Managing Director 

Varigrafica Alto Lazio near Nepi, Viterbo, Italy, has become the 

dynamic company it is today by investing in new technologies 

and human resources and by acquiring important new clients. 

Its mission focuses on three essential components: producing 

high quality printed materials, providing client support and 

services, and pursuing research and innovation. The company’s 

printing process is based upon a flexible workflow tailored to 

clients’ specific needs and providing personalized solutions. 

And owing to its managers’ professionalism and extensive 

knowledge of the market, the business has achieved the highest 

standards of excellence in printing, making it a vital partner 

for diverse types of clients. Print quality control has always 

been a fundamental element of its production cycle, and 

this is why Varigrafica Alto Lazio has implemented an ISO 

9001:2000-certified modular, integrated quality management 

system. The company is also ISO 14001:2004-certified and 

uses FSC- and PEFC-certified paper. 

On Press interviewed Mauro Adario, the 

company’s CEO, and asked him to describe 

the strategies they have implemented to stay 

competitive in the market. 

What are the company’s origins? 

Mauro Adario: The company was founded in 

the 1960s by Aldo Adario, a skilled and qualityoriented 

entrepreneur. Initially an entirely 

family-run business, with three sons joining 

the company, it evolved from a substantially 

artisan-like company into a modern industrial 

group that now employs 70 people and has a 

turnover of 16 million euros. Over the years we 

have always tried to interpret and anticipate 

market trends — with the goal of implementing 

suitable marketing policies and investing wisely. 



How has your production process evolved 

during the years? 

We migrated from typographic printing in 

the 1960s to offset printing in the 1970s. In the 

’80s we added web-printing capabilities and in 

the ’90s and early 2000s we finally acquired 

five- and six-color 700 x 1,000-mm modern 

offset presses. In the last few years we’ve also 

been using seven-color HP Indigo presses, and 

more recently we upgraded to Komori’s new 

H-UV technology. 

We always wanted to be in a leading 

position in graphical arts. We believe from a 

technological perspective that our press lineup 

today features a unique mix of capabilities in 

the market. 

At our 12,000-square-meter plant in Nepi, 

near Viterbo, we are now operating a full 

production cycle from prepress to binding and 

logistics/delivery. Thanks to steady business 

growth, our turnover is now split between 

Italian (80 percent), European (15 percent) 

and other international (5 percent) clients. 

We specialize in varied fields such as finance, 

telecommunications, utilities, publishing, 

marketing and automotive. 

What benefits does H-UV technology bring to your 

production process? What types of applications is it ideal for? 

It’s innovative — using only one lamp per side, very reliable, 

user-friendly, cost-effective and, most important, it provides 

a superior printing quality. It’s not directed toward specific 

printing applications. In fact, it’s ideal for all types of jobs that 

need flexibility and high turnover speed. However, if we had 

to say where it satisfies us most, it is with plastic substrates and 

special and natural paper. The results are really impressive — 

the color seems to ‘float’ off the sheet. 

Are there any new projects on the horizon? 

We’ve invested a lot in plant innovation, production integration 

and personnel training. These are three very important 

elements of our entrepreneurship and of our goal of obtaining 

great results and client recognition. And considering that the 

Internet has changed the world so much, we will continue to 

pursue a competitive online commercial strategy. 

What particular recognition has the company 

received from the market? 

Without any doubt respect for our 

professionalism and trust in the quality of our 

product. Our state-of-the-art press lineup 

alone would not be sufficient if it were not 

for our highly skilled staff, and it’s thanks to 

them that we are able to provide high quality 

and beautifully finished printed products. 

Everything here is done by continuously 

monitoring the production process. Plus, our 

staff is always engaged in updating their skills 

and implementing the latest techniques. 

Why did you choose to install the Lithrone 

GL-840P with H-UV? What are the main 

factors behind this choice? 

We chose to install the new Komori eight-color 

offset press after comparing its technology with 

competitive machines. Ultimately we were 

convinced by the technological innovations 

of this machine. Not to mention, it perfectly 

suits our production strategies: the best print 

quality, lower operating costs and shorter 

printing times. Also, Komori’s installation team 

provided us with a smooth press setup and 

very professional support. 


23


PNB Print pioneers new markets 

PNB Print, Riga, Latvia 

PNB Print Ltd., based in Riga, Latvia, specializes in book 

production printing, finishing and binding with either hard 

or soft cover. The company has earned the trust of customers 

in Latvia and abroad. That trust is built on consistent quality 

ensured by highly skilled personnel and modern technology. 

With this guiding principle of achieving customer trust, PNB 

is planning further expansion to win ground in the European 

and Russian printing markets. 

PNB Print signs up for a 16-page Komori web at drupa 

During the drupa 2012 exhibition, PNB signed up for a 

16-page Komori System 38S on the Komori stand at drupa. 

This press runs at 60,000 copies per hour and carries all the 

latest Komori automation, including the KHS-AI, AI-Link and 

Smart Sequence quick job changeover systems, fully automatic 

plate changing, fully automated folder changeover, and the 

Komori splicer, which features an environmentally friendly 

regenerative motor system. 

PNB has expanded its market into Russia, 

Scandinavia and the Netherlands, specializing 

in the production of hardbound and softcover 

books. This includes books with either flat or 

round spines, laminated covers, foil stamping 

or relief work, flexi-covers with or without 

flaps and employing cardboard or polyester as 

well as books that use non-sewing technology, 

where the book spine is not sewn but milled 

and thermo glued. The printer also handles a 

growing volume of commercial work, including 

saddle-stitched magazines and brochures as 

well as advertising materials. 

In December 2010, it installed its first Komori, 

an eight-color Lithrone S40P perfector. Says 

CEO Aleksandr Smoglukov: “What really 

impressed us with the LS-840P perfector, and 

what strongly influenced our decision to follow 



“We concentrated on 

what the System 38S web could offer in quick job 

changeover, low waste and high quality print. 

We also required higher speed in order to produce longer runs when required, which the System 38S can 

accommodate efficiently,” 

— Aleksandr Smoglukov, CEO 

up with a Komori web, was its exceptional 

output levels, which we attained right from 

the start of production. For example, in its first 

four months, it delivered 11 million impressions. 

In fact, in less than 18 months it has taken us 

into new markets with its high print quality, 

fast turnaround capabilities, and trademark 

Komori reliability.” 

“Over the last year business has increased 

to such an extent that we have needed to 

occasionally send work out, and the quality 

that came back from Komori web houses in 

Europe impressed us immensely,” explains 

Mr. Smoglukov. 

“That prompted us to look more closely at 

Komori web installations, in particular at 

web houses in the US, Japan and Ukraine,” 

Smoglukov says. 

“We concentrated on what the System 38S 

web could offer in quick job changeover, low 

waste and high quality print. We also required 

higher speed in order to produce longer runs 

when required, which the System 38S can 

accommodate efficiently,” Smoglukov explains. 

Says Komori’s Director of Distributor Sales 

Tony Carter: “PNB epitomizes how a modern 

printer can take advantage of the synergy 

between Komori sheetfed and web offset 

products. A good example of the technological 

compatibility between presses is KHS-AI, a 

unique makeready feature that has given many 

Tony Carter, Director of Distributor Sales (left), congratulates 

PNB Print staff. 

Komori users benefits in saving time and paper. In addition, the 

engineering excellence that is applicable to both sheetfed and 

web offset products ensures that Komori users have possibly 

the lowest level of cost of ownership in our industry. “ 

Open House 

Last October, PNB organized an Open House in their factory 

to celebrate Komori’s newest installation. A great many visitors, 

from Latvia as well as abroad, came to this event to congratulate 

management and staff, to experience the new equipment in full 

production, and to watch musicians and dancers performing 

during a laser show around the press. Customers and guests 

were obviously impressed with the myriad printing possibilities 

that PNB offers. 

Laser show at Open House 

Performers around the press at Open House 


25


Pro-offset: a real family business 

Pro-offset, Bogota, Colombia 

From left standing: Pilar Barrera, Assistant Manager; Carolina Barrera, Commercial Director; Yohana Barrera, Quality Director; Teresa Suarez, 

Business Associate; Patricia Barrera, Administrative & Financial Director; with Marceliano Barrera, General Manager 

Pro-offset is an apt name for a very professional enterprise 

in Bogota, Colombia. Its founder tells his inspiring story, 

describing his family’s dedication and the key to his success. 

Don Marceliano Barrera is an easygoing person who exudes 

happiness. A good part of his happiness comes from succeeding 

in bringing Pro-offset to a privileged position in the Colombian 

graphic arts market as well as having his family play an integral 

role in this success. 

Colombian Horatio Alger story 

Marceliano Barrera’s story is like a Horatio Alger rags-toriches 

narrative: through honesty, perseverance and hard 

work, a humble but virtuous young man achieves success. 

At the age of 10, he began working as a general helper at 

the biggest and most prestigious newspaper in Colombia, El 

Tiempo. Eventually he worked in all the positions in the paper’s 

advertising department. 

Not leaving his academic goals behind, Barrera finished high 

school and then attained a degree in accounting. He next 

joined his friend Hugo Saenz (another very 

important Komori customer in Colombia), in 

starting up a printing company. Ultimately he 

went off on his own to create Pro-offset with 

the support of his wife and brothers. 

Pro-offset was born on October 30, 1980, with 

a Mercedes printing machine, a hand-operated 

guillotine, and a letterpress machine. Nearly 33 

years later, Pro-offset has an impressive array of 

machines, 160 employees and a 5,000-squaremeter 

facility. 

In 1989 during a trip to Tokyo, Barrera was 

won over by Komori, buying his first Komori 

press, a five-color Lithrone 28 — and never 

looking back. He bought another four-color 

Lithrone 28 in 1997, a four-color Lithrone 

S40+PDC-SII in 2005, and then a four-color 

Lithrone S44+PDC-SII last year. 



Secret to success 

Today, Pro-offset’s biggest customer is El Tiempo, the 

same newspaper where Barrera started his early working 

career. Barrera has inspired his family and his workers with 

his philosophy: deliver what is promised and be completely 

transparent. These principles have made Pro-offset the most 

respected supplier in the sheetfed printing sector in Colombia. 

As he states with pride: “I don’t offer more than I can deliver. 

We are not the cheapest. However, our quality and integrity 

make us the best.” 

One family of printers 

During this continuous growth, Barrera not 

only received the support of his family but also 

had the advantage of their direct participation 

in the business. Barrera’s four daughters have 

all worked with him and today make up the 

managing group of the company, under the 

direction of their father. Pilar, Patricia, Yohana 

and Carolina share the family devotion to the 

graphic arts industry, working in a way that is 

similar to Japanese businesses — employed 

for life, rotating through the operational and 

managerial roles to master the smallest details 

of the business. 

Each one of them has acquired a 

university degree — in advertising, business 

administration or international business. 

And this second generation of the Barrera 

family has also learned the ropes of the 

business: solving engineering problems, 

installing digital solutions, and creating and 

developing new management processes that 

have brought Pro-offset to the very forefront 

of printing excellence. 

Even though the Barrera daughters work in 

different areas of the business, they are in 

essence sales representatives, following their 

father’s mantra that sales are the backbone of 

any company. 

With this spectacular management team 

to maintain the course of Pro-offset, Barrera 

strategically guides the company. His capacity 

to anticipate the market amazes his family. 

Last year’s purchase of the LS-444+PDC-SII 

enabled the company to provide solutions to 

a market where this particular press size was 

difficult to find among Colombian printers and 

during a period of recession in the graphic arts 

sector of the country and the world in general. 

Vision for the future 

Barrera feels the competition from digital media and 

competes head to head with offers from digital providers. He 

sees packaging as the sector of graphic arts where Pro-offset 

can continue growing, through differentiation with the use of 

special in-line finishing and other processes, where Komori 

— as a strategic ally and also as the world leader in supplying 

solutions for the packaging market — will continue to support 

Pro-offset in its quest for growth and success. 


27


Komori is ‘right choice’ for Burke 

Burke Group, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 

From left: Barry Burke, General Manager, and Ian Burke, CEO 

“We need to be more important to our clients than our clients 

are to us,” says Ian Burke, CEO of the Burke Group, located 

in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The Burke Group has been 

focused on this mission for the last 18 months with a series of 

huge changes — developing a new business strategy, relocating 

to a new facility, and entering the 40-inch printing market. The 

company was founded in 1905 as Douglas Printing and over 

the years earned a solid reputation as a first-rate printer. Burke 

joined the company in 2004 as a partner, and in 2005 bought 

the company from the Douglas family. Since Burke took the 

helm, the company has tripled its sales and started down a 

path to change the way they do business. 

A transformational move 

Getting all its businesses under one roof was the first 

step in building the new business model. The company’s 

various divisions — Douglas Printing, the general commercial 

division; Douglas Express, the digital printing business; Target 

Express, the direct-mail arm of the company; and Maximum 

Imaging, wide-format printing — had been spread between 

several facilities. “The move to the new facility was really 

transformational for us,” says Burke. “The ability to have all our 

businesses and our people under one roof was the first step 

in maximizing our efficiency, and has made a 

massive change in our organization.” 

The new business strategy focuses on three 

key areas: diversifying the product offering, 

reducing costs, and improving efficiency. 

One of the changes Burke wanted to make 

was about timing — when the company gets 

involved with its customers: “Typically printers 

tend to get a job after the marketing budgets 

have already been finalized. You get hired to 

print a brochure or some specific collateral, 

and you need to come in at the lowest price. 

It’s transactional. We wanted to get further 

upstream in the planning process, and help our 

customers achieve their goals by becoming a 

true partner in their business.” The company’s 

Print Management System is the backbone to 

this approach. Burke explains: “We examine 

our clients’ print needs and their marketing 

goals, and come up with a comprehensive 

plan to help them maximize their budgets by 

eliminating redundancy, providing a consistent 

brand across all media, and reducing costs.” 



Burke says this new approach is paying off: 

“When you can help a client examine where 

they are spending their marketing dollars and 

their time, and offer a variety of products and 

programs to help them maximize their results, 

you become more than just their local printer 

with the lowest price.” 

Goal: cut cost per job by 75 percent 

Burke says the company’s goal is not primarily 

to grow sales, but to be more profitable by 

making more money on their existing sales. He 

credits a new estimating system with helping 

the company understand the cost of a print job: 

“We’re the first company in North America to 

use this new system and it is truly amazing. It’s 

easy to use and has helped us become much 

more analytical about our business.” With print 

runs getting shorter, Burke says it’s critical to 

reduce the cost of each job to remain profitable: 

“One of the biggest things I learned from Bob 

Douglas, the former owner, was the importance 

of knowing your hourly rate. Most companies 

assign an arbitrary number or an industry 

standard number, but that really doesn’t let 

you understand your business. With our new 

system, we plug in our numbers and we know 

down to the penny what our costs are. It takes 

time to get all the data entered, but we didn’t 

want to be a company, like so many, that invests 

in software and then doesn’t utilize it to the 

maximum.” Burke says the company has set a 

goal of reducing their cost per job by 75 percent. 

“It may be a crazy number, but we’re working on 

it. We’re focused on it. We’re trying to reduce 

the number of touches an order has before it 

gets to the press. Then the press takes over,” 

Burke explains. 

demonstration was extremely impressive: “The automation 

on the press was superior — and Komori completed the jobs 

in half the time it took the Heidelberg. We decided that for 

our productivity and profitability goals, the Komori was the 

right choice.” 

GL40: ‘best decision we ever made’ 

As Ian Burke says, “The purchase of the GL40 was one of the 

best decisions we ever made. It’s done absolutely everything 

we were told it would do. We utilize all the automation, and 

print to the numbers on every single job. The press runs fast, it 

runs well. It’s been a great experience all around.” 

How does Burke see the printing industry changing in the next 

several years? “I think you’ll see more online printers. We’re 

an online society. Run lengths will continue to get shorter and 

customers will demand faster turnaround times. I think we’ll 

see growth in direct mail as clients become more focused on 

targeting marketing to their customers.” 

Burke feels his company is well positioned for the future: “We 

made the right investments at the right time. We’ve got a broad 

product offering from offset to digital to large format and mail 

and fulfillment. We’ve got great people. I think we’re headed 

in the right direction.” 

Komori finishes in half the time 

One of the biggest changes in the company 

was its entry into the 40-inch press market. 

“If our goal was profitability, we needed to 

invest in technology that was going to get us 

there,” Burke says. They were looking seriously 

at Heidelberg and Komori, but it was their 

experience at Komori America’s GraphiCenter 

that led them to purchase a six-color Lithrone 

G40 with coater. “We came up with a plan 

for both manufacturers to run ten 500-sheet 

jobs — and they weren’t easy jobs. We went to 

Heidelberg and the demo was good. And I’ve 

got to say, I left there thinking we were going to 

buy a Heidelberg,” says Burke. But, according 

to General Manager Barry Burke, the Komori 


29


First H-UV press in Germany 

Fritsch Druck, Leipzig, Germany 

From left: René Fritsch, Managing Director, and Martin Saeger, Plant Manager 

Last year was not good for Saxony’s local printing industry. 

Some printers in Leipzig and Dresden, the two major cities 

in this state in eastern Germany, fell into insolvency due to 

a fiercely competitive regional market. But a few weeks ago, 

Fritsch Druck GmbH, a small printer in Leipzig, had better 

news to share: The company had installed a brand new fivecolor 

Lithrone G40+Coater+H-UV in its printing shop in the 

northeast of the city. The press is 15 meters long, weighs 40 

metric tons and is packed with the latest Komori technology 

for sheetfed presses. The total investment was 1.5 million euros. 

High quality even with tight deadlines 

In the past, tight deadlines and high quality 

were mutually exclusive at Fritsch Druck. But 

not any more. Now, thanks to the innovative 

H-UV curing system, the printed sheets are 

completely dry and immediately ready for 

finishing procedures. Production is much 

more efficient than before. H-UV eliminates 

all quality losses related to drying like blocking 

and ink drydown as well as issues related to 

powder spraying. The sheet surface is scrub 

resistant and a protective varnish almost 

not necessary. 

The in-line coater offers Fritsch Druck several 

new options for effects like high-gloss, softtouch 

and drip-off coating to satisfy the 

increasing demands for higher quality and 

added value among clients. Fritsch Druck 

is a full-service provider of sheetfed offset 

and digital printing, prepress, postpress, 

lettershop service and graphic design. 

Products range from commercial printing to 

high quality magazines. 

Focused on growth 

Fritsch Druck, founded in 1990, moved to 

a modern facility in an industrial park in the 

northeast of Leipzig in 2006, and today has 

eight employees. From the very beginning, the 

company was focused on growth. Thanks to 

the enormous productivity of the new GL-540, 

management says that its new middle-term 

target will see a doubling of annual sales to 

1.8 million euros and the company plans to 

recruit new staff. 

Crucial factor: H-UV 

The new GL-540 combines high-performance specifications: 

a maximum printing size of 710 x 1,020 mm, five units, a 

thickness range up to 1.0 mm and an in-line coater for different 

added value coatings. Furthermore, it’s the first H-UV press in 

Germany and the innovative curing system was a crucial factor 

in the investment. Managing Director René Fritsch explains: 

“Compared to conventional UV systems, energy consumption 

is cut by one third and CO 2 

emissions are reduced. The system 

does not discharge ozone and only a small amount of heat, 

which improves both the printing environment and quality.” 

The investment gives Fritsch Druck important advantages 

in the competitive regional market: shorter turnarounds, 

higher quality and more added value. “Our customers are 

very demanding and we will continue our strategy to improve 

print quality,” emphasizes Mr. Fritsch. 



GL-640+C for IPC ‘first in Mexico’ 

Impresos Profesionales del Centro, Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico 

From left: Gabriela Solís Mosqueda, Financial Director; Maria Eugenia Mosqueda Nieto, CEO; Luis Raúl Solís Mosqueda, Operations Director 

Impresos Profesionales del Centro (IPC) was founded in 

1979 by Raúl Solís Gomez and Maria Eugenia Mosqueda Nieto 

with a focus on commercial printing. In 1990 Mr. Solís began 

expanding into the folding carton market. With increasing 

sales and promising success in this area, he decided to invest 

in a new sheetfed press with four units. 

Move to high quality cartons 

In 2000 Solís invested in prepress equipment to attract 

customers who had special requirements and high print quality 

demands. As Solís says, “We wanted to increase our sales in the 

folding carton market and also in the litho-laminated carton 

market for the food processing and automotive industries.” 

Six-color Lithrone G40+C now working three shifts 

“In 2011 after a detailed analysis of different brands, we decided 

to buy the new Komori six-color Lithrone G40 plus coater. It 

was the first of its kind in Mexico,” Solís continues. “We bought 

the Komori press for its versatility in changing from paper to 

cardboard and its printing quality on different substrates. Also, 

the integration between the KHS-AI integrated control system 

and CIP4 data enables a very quick makeready, depending on 

substrates and colors.” 

Solís concludes: “We are convinced that we made the right 

choice. And with the support of Grupo Sanchez, 

press operation has been problem-free. The 

GL-640+C has become the most important 

press in our printing shop. It’s so user friendly 

that our crew learned how to operate it in a 

very short time. Currently, we operate the press 

for three shifts every day. But with this kind of 

success, we are naturally thinking of investing 

again — now we are looking to offer services in 

prepress, sheetfed offset and graphic design. 

And Komori will likely play an important role 

in our continued success.” 


31

Tokyo 

[Komori service] 

Topics 

Komori Service 

Service Lineups to Fit the User 

Komori’s Techno Service Center in Tokyo is constantly seeking new and better ways of helping customers 

profit from their Komori machines and systems. Not every case is the same, and the Center offers different 

approaches to fit the needs of the customer, which can vary by location, type of equipment, and the maintenance 

capabilities of the on-site staff. 

Remote access 

benefits U.S. printer 

The Techno Service Center worked with 

a large printer in the U.S. for eight months 

in an effort to improve performance and 

cut waste and downtime. The printer 

was running two Komori web presses, 

and management was very pro-active 

with regard to optimizing maintenance 

to achieve greater productivity and fewer 

breakdowns. Moreover, the presses were 

equipped with a remote access function 

that allowed Komori to download 

detailed information on machine 

utilization and downtime for analysis. 

The calculation of working efficiency 

showed a clear improvement during 

the period. The considerable degree of 

fluctuation in the data was smoothed 

out with an approximation curve that 

showed an acceptable albeit less than 

stellar boost in productivity. 

Downtime was analyzed by the cause 

— press, ink, paper and so on, and of 

course, preventive maintenance itself 

requires downtime. The analysis showed 

that when preventive maintenance was 

significantly increased, downtime caused 

by a press error or anomaly was halved. 

The Center concluded that even without 

setting aside a large amount of time 

for maintenance, downtime could be 

reduced to a tolerable level as long as 

the program was continued. 

Paper waste was also checked and 

analyzed to determine the causes and 

ways to reduce the level of waste. The 

analysis showed that while run waste 

was steadily declining, makeready waste 

Changes for the Better 

Total Productivity 

Higher rate of machine utilization, shorter 

makereadies, reduced operator workload 

and quicker job turnarounds. 

Time and Materials Losses 

Less paper waste, reduced machine 

downtime, fewer missed deadlines and 

lower running cost. 

was actually rising. Further, within the 

makeready waste category, print startup 

waste was increasing. Narrowing down 

the part of the total process that was 

generating waste allowed the service 

engineers to recommend a series of 

preventive maintenance measures to 

cut this category of paper waste. 

In addition, the remote access function 

was utilized to obtain the machines’ 

error history and, in particular, the 

Full-APC-related errors. This yielded 

data that indicated one particular unit 

was responsible for the overwhelming 

majority of the errors. On the basis of this 

report, Komori America recommended 

an inspection and service regimen that 

gave priority to this unit. 

Service lineup items and parts 

The total plant evaluation paradigm 

Another paradigm provided by the 

Techno Service Center is shown in the 

case of a Japanese printing company that 

operates internationally and sought a 

full-scale evaluation of its plant with a 

view to measures that would improve 

both productivity and quality. The focus 

in this assessment covered all facilities 

in the plant as well as manpower, 

processes and technology utilization. 

This proved to be so useful to the printer 

that moves are under way to have the 

Techno Service Center carry out the 

same type of full-spectrum evaluation 

and make recommendations for three 

overseas plants that are operated by the 

same printer. 

Higher productivity, reduced material 

losses and less downtime are in the cards 

thanks to the expertise and planned, 

preventive approach to maintenance and 

service that Komori has developed. And 

Komori is ready to design customized 

diagnostic plans and service proposals 

that meet specif ic applications 

and situations. 


Tsukuba 

[KGC] 

Komori Graphic Technology Center 

KGC’s Four Functions at Three 

Having just celebrated the third anniversary of its opening, the Komori Graphic Technology Center (KGC) at 

the Tsukuba Plant has become a busy hub of training, R&D and demonstrations that more and more Komori 

customers and their employees recognize as invaluable to their success. The Center consists of four components 

that are equipped and staffed to meet the different objectives of KGC’s overall mission. 

Demonstration 

Center 

Printing 

College 

Technical 

Training Center 

Printing 

R&D Center 

Demonstration Center: 

Live demos served daily 

The Demonstration Center’s primary 

activity is running demonstrations of 

Komori’s range of machines so that 

prospective customers can observe 

the performance of the press that they 

are interested in and also holding open 

house events. Demonstrations of added 

value printing, high-productivity onepass 

printing, fast print startup, print 

quality verification and standardized 

printing as well as eco-friendly and 

efficient printing are carried out for both 

domestic and overseas users. The Center 

will continue to conduct demonstrations 

to meet the changing demands and issues 

of customers. 

Printing College: Building users’ skills 

The Printing College offers a diverse 

curriculum that provides skill sets 

meeting the needs of various positions 

in the printing company — starting with 

training in basic press operation for 

beginners and proceeding to courses 

for operators or chief operators seeking 

to upgrade their abilities, and even 

including programs for managers. In 

addition, courses that enable participants 

to actually experience the stages in the 

printing workflow — submission of data, 

image editing, press and postpress — as 

well as color management courses are 

part of the training course lineup. 

Technical Training Center: 

Instruction for the service network 

KGC’s Technical Training Center 

offers training on both sheetfed and 

web offset presses for Komori’s own 

service specialists and for the engineers 

of Japanese and overseas dealers. 

In addition, customized training for 

printing companies that meets specific 

requirements, such as special courses 

for press operators and personnel in 

charge of maintenance, are also offered. 

The Center’s texts and training courses 

have been improved over the past three 

years, and a fuller training curriculum has 

been developed. 

Printing R&D Center: 

Seeking answers to today’s issues 

The Printing R&D Center endeavors 

to find answers to the new needs and 

issues confronting users and responds 

with research and development such 

as collaboration with various other 

manufacturers and the development of 

printing software. In the past three years, 

the Center has worked principally on the 

development of the H-UV system and on 

the promotion of standardization based 

on printability tests aimed at optimizing 

printing materials such as blankets, inks, 

varnishes, coater plates, cleaning fluids, 

and dampening solution additives. 

Research results are communicated both 

throughout the Komori Group and to 

outside parties. 

These functions within the Komori 

Graphic Technology Center — integrated 

into the state-of-the-ar t design, 

development and manufacturing 

environment of the Tsukuba Plant 

— are daily raising the level of skills, 

know-how and printing software 

that are indispensable to getting the 

most out of Komori’s industry-leading 

hardware. The steady, incremental 

improvement of operation, maintenance 

and management of the worldwide 

fleet of Komori printing presses is the 

direct result of the courseware offered 

at KGC and the tireless dedication of 

its top-ranked demonstrators, trainers 

and researchers. 


33

e 

Show Reports 

r 

G 

m 

a 

n 

y 

-8.MAR.2013 

Frankfurt 

Baumann Launches Partnership 

with Open House 

Only the best quality and innovative technology will give printers an edge in the markets 

of the future. 

A three-day Open House that attracted more than 450 visitors was held by Baumann, the 

new Komori distributor in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Baumann took over Komori sales in 

the southern and southeastern part of the country and will now be selling Komori presses 

and a broad lineup of prepress and postpress technology. 

President and CEO Yoshiharu Komori of Komori Corporation came all the way from Tokyo 

to Frankfurt to attend Baumann’s Open House. Masaru Tsukamoto and Neil Sutton of Komori 

International management as well as newly appointed Komori International Europe President 

Akihiro Komori were also in attendance. President Komori spoke to an audience of more 

than 100 visitors, pointing out that Baumann will be an important keystone in Komori’s global 

network. He emphasized the importance of the printing industry and made clear that only 

the best quality and innovative technology will give printers an edge in the markets of the 

future. Christian Baumann, managing director of the Baumann Group, also spoke, stressing 

that Komori’s economic power is crucial for Baumann’s success in a competitive market 

environment and that Komori’s corporate philosophy — Kando: Beyond Expectations — is 

the perfect match for his business. 

Information on New Distributors 

Baumann Partners with Komori in Germany 

Heinrich Baumann Graphical Centre, Frankfurt, Germany 

From left: Jeroen Hulshoff and Neil Sutton of 

Komori International Netherlands; Christian 

Baumann, Managing Director, and Uwe 

Wagner, Sales Manager, Baumann Group 

On January 1, 2013, the Heinrich Baumann Graphical Centre of Frankfurt am Main 

began selling sheetfed offset machines from Komori Corporation. Previously a 

manroland sheetfed distributor, Baumann sells a wide product range from well-known 

manufacturers in the print processing sector. They also have a successful record in 

the prepress sector, representing players such as Agfa and Kodak. 

Managing Director Christian Baumann says: “Business means constant change if you 

want to be successful. The new partnership with Komori is a big opportunity for our 

company, and for existing and future customers. We are grateful and proud to now be 

able to work together with the third-largest printing press manufacturer in the world.” 

Neil Sutton, European Managing Director at Komori International Netherlands in 

Utrecht, says about the new partnership: “We are looking forward to working with 

Baumann and are confident that we will now be able to install our new and innovative 

Komori installations across a wider area. We believe that the Baumann Group, with 

its long history and devotion to its customers, will prove a most reliable partner for 

us for the future.” 


a 

a 

p 

J 

n 

-8.FEB.2013 

TSUKUBA 

Tsukuba Open House Draws a Crowd 

Three full-spec machines flex their muscle while demonstrating state-of-the-art 

color management solutions. 

Komori held an Open House at the Tsukuba Plant on February 7 and 8 to introduce 

three of the hottest machines in the lineup and also brief printers on the company’s 

strategy going forward. The demonstrations featured the debut of the H-UV-equipped 

Lithrone GX40RP 4/4 Reverse Printing dedicated double-sided press and also 

presented an H-UV version of the LA37 as well as the Impremia C80 digital printing 

system that was shown at drupa 2012. 

Komori Achieves High Success 

at PrintPack India 2013 

“We featured the new Komori LA-437, which is matched to the Indian market,” 

says Sangam Khanna, director at Insight. 

N 

I 

D 

I 

A 

28.FEB.2013 

NEW DELHI 

The event was PrintPack India 2013 and the press was the new Lithrone A37 introduced 

at drupa 2012. Insight Communications, India’s largest graphic art equipment distributor 

and now all-India partner of Komori, showcased the new technologies from Komori, 

in particular the innovative H-UV printing system and the LA37 at this exhibition. “We 

featured the new Komori LA-437, which is matched to the Indian market,” says Sangam 

Khanna, director at Insight. Ajay Aggarwal, founding director and CEO of Insight, notes: 

“H-UV is the future of UV printing. UV printing was the exclusive domain of packaging 

printers and it is now possible for commercial printers to adopt UV technology due 

to the tremendous benefits of economical H-UV printing technology.” 

Insight Takes Charge of India 

Insight Communications, New Delhi, India 

Insight Communications was founded in 1991 and today is one of the largest 

organizations selling graphic art equipment in India. Insight partnered with Komori 

to promote Komori presses in the North of India in 2006. In the space of just six years, 

Insight has turned the Komori brand into the top seller of new offset presses in India, 

with 80 presses sold up to now. Now Insight has taken charge of Komori sales and 

support for the entire country. Sangam Khanna, director of the company, says, “Insight 

really went to town in February, closing 10 Komori press orders, including three at 

the recent PackPrint India 2013.” Insight founding director and CEO Ajay Aggarwal 

adds: “The value proposition of the LA-437 is just too good. The rising yen and the 

slow market conditions were holding Indian printers back from adopting this press. 

As soon as the prices became reasonable, the value became clearly visible, and the 

recent spurt in orders is just an example of how Indian printers can quickly shift gears.” 

Sangam Khanna, Director 


35

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