Printing Innovation Asia Issue 9 2020
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Impremia IS29: great te and responsiveness Kyoeido Printing has followed one principle: "Provide better solutions for customers." The company originally worked to solve customer problems as a monochrome printing firm. It brought color printing in-house when it became clear that demands were increasing. In 2018, Kyoeido invested in an Impremia IS29 29-inch Sheetfed UV Inkjet Digital Printing System. We talked with President Toshinaga Hagiwara and Katsuyuki Tsuchida, Acting Chief of the Production Section of the Business Department, regarding the background and impact of this installation. "Since 'a machine that is not running becomes a burden' was the perspective of my predecessor, the company could only print monochrome work." So says Kyoeido Printing President Toshinaga Hagiwara. "Previously, we expanded by specializing in monochrome jobs that other companies did not want to run. Therefore, the only offset equipment that we had was one- and two-color half-size presses, and we outsourced all color work," Mr. Hagiwara explains. "When we began thinking of taking color jobs, we attended a Komori open house to examine the acquisition of
an A-size four-color press. There we encountered the Impremia IS29," he says. When Hagiwara saw the Impremia IS29, he was amazed by a press that was different from other digital machines in every respect -- engine, mechanism and quality. "With UV curing, printed sheets can be immediately sent to postpress. Moreover, we can print with offset quality. In addition, I became very interested in the Impremia IS29's distinctive ability to print with high quality on Lezak paper, which has a leatherlike texture. I felt that the system would be a very good fit for our company and that it would be relatively easy to train our operators, so we decided to invest in the Impremia IS29," says Hagiwara.
Meeting the diverse needs of customers had been a challenge: "We could not print on any paper size larger than A3 with the liquid-toner digital printer that we had all along. But with the Impremia IS29, we could eliminate outsourcing and print posters and packaging larger than A3. The result of installing the Impremia IS29, both in terms of quality and needs, is that we can provide our clients with stable high-quality printing," Hagiwara explains. Magical front-back register accuracy and wide color gamut When Hagiwara thinks about the factors that influenced his selection, he reflects on the machine's features that serve dual purposes: "The Impremia IS29 provides a wider color gamut than offset printing and can also handle color proofing. Our company does a lot of business with clothing brands, and
