A N N U A L R E P O R T 1 9 9 9

Publications
Printing
Toppan has a wealth
of experience in printing
a variety of publications,
including
weekly and monthly
magazines, trade
books, art books, and dictionaries.
During the year under review, Toppan‘s sales in the publications
printing field declined 6.7%, to ¥181.5 billion
(US$1,500.0 million). The lengthening slump in domestic consumption
has directly affected the publishing industry, and the
numbers of books and magazines printed are declining. The
return rate for books was at a record high level during the year,
while the number of magazines printed was down because the
magazine return rate had set a record high in the previous
year. During the year under review, 169 new magazines were
launched, 10 less than in the previous year, while 148 were discontinued,
14 more than the year before. To offset the sluggish
sales of existing magazines, we increased the printing of nonperiodical
publications. However, due to the economic slump,
spending on magazine advertising and printing volumes both
decreased, leading to a decline in the total number of pages
printed. In addition to the slump, significant market trends
included the continued diversification of publication and sales
channels. Overall, there were signs of structural changes in the
publishing industry, indicating a turning point in the market.
In response to these changes, Toppan is implementing marketing
activities targeting publishers and bookstores. These
activities include providing support for publishing operations
by making proposals to publishing companies from the planning
stage, as well as providing comprehensive support
through the delivery stage. To achieve shorter turnaround
times and reduced costs, in July 1998 we opened new digital
prepress facilities in our Tokyo plant, significantly enhancing
our ability to respond to advances in DTP.
Meanwhile, in multimedia, we are making the most of our
market position, which provides contacts with customers in a
wide range of industries. Toppan
is aggressively expanding into
the content creation business by
meeting needs for the conversion
of printed materials held by
publishing companies to multimedia
formats and by entering
into tie-ups with companies in
other industries. We are also
pushing ahead with technical
development to meet the needs
of the multimedia age, such as
digitization and network-based
services.
In the years ahead, Toppan
will draw on its comprehensive
strengths and take a multifaceted
approach to reinforcing its
position of market leadership.
We will continue working to
raise our performance through
the creation of new demand and
new markets.
200
150
100
50
0
SALES
(Billion ¥)
’95 ’96 ’97 ’98 ’99
Packaging
Toppan has a leading
share of the packaging
market in Japan. With
a solid base of original
technological development
capabilities, we
supply packaging products with superior quality and functionality
to a wide range of industries, including food, beverages, confectionery,
and toiletries. Our comprehensive operational development
has made us an industry leader in a broad span of packaging
fields, including paper goods, plastic film and other wrapping
materials, filling and packaging machines, and related systems.
During the year under review, Toppan‘s sales in the packaging
field declined 4.5%, to ¥213.5 billion (US$1,764.5 million).
This decline was attributable to weak demand in our customer
industries, which led to lower sales of cardboard, flexible packaging
materials, and plastics. On the other hand, demand for
insulated paper cups increased, and sales of Cartocan, GL Film,
and other environmentally friendly products, which the
Company has positioned as strategically important, continued
to rise. Moreover, the implementation of a law regulating the
recycling of container packaging materials in Japan has had a
positive impact on our sales of these products.
A good example of our ecologically friendly products is
GL Film, a functional packaging material. GL Film consists of
a transparent, high barrier film onto which ceramic has been
deposited. GL Film is being used in a growing number of
applications, including as a flexible packaging material for confectioneries
and retort pouches and in liquid containers. We
have entered tie-ups with local companies for the marketing
and local production of GL Film in North America and Europe,
where it has been highly evaluated. Furthermore, demand for
GL Film is increasing because it is environmentally friendly; it
can be incinerated without any release of harmful substances.
Thus, GL Film can be used to replace PVC materials and aluminum
in many applications.
Another key environmentally friendly product is Cartocan,
a paper beverage container. The applications for Cartocan are
also growing, centered on non-carbonated beverages and other
liquid products, and its shipments
and customer numbers are steadily
expanding. Cartocan has been
highly evaluated for its superior
characteristics. Because it can be
used in aseptic filling and packing
operations, Cartocan facilitates
long-term storage of contents.
In addition, it can also be used in
microwave ovens and is readily
recyclable.
In the future, Toppan will
continue to add original functionality
and design to its packaging
products. By facilitating
the digitization of package
design, we will improve the
effectiveness and efficiency of
our product planning. In the
years ahead, Toppan will expand
into new markets and continue
working to improve the results of
its packaging operations.
250
200
150
100
50
0
SALES
(Billion ¥)
’95 ’96 ’97 ’98 ’99
16