Mitsubishi Paper Mills (MPM) demonstrated its new CtP platesetter with the latest generation of chemical-free offset printing plates, Violet Digiplate (VDP) at the last drupa. Now the award-winning Japanese total imaging product supplier has pushed its boundaries in prepress for the market in China reports Christel Lee from Print World Asia.
However, the company has observed a trend prevailing in Chinese customers. Shinsuke Imanishi, Group Leader for Graphic Sales Group of MPM, commented: " Chinese customers have begun asking for environmentally-friendly products and we feel this will effectively address their concerns.
"To address the environmental concerns, we are promoting our CtP-Thermal-Paper offset plates at China Print. A major advantage is that patented thermal fusing technology creates a high-contrast image on the plate without chemical development, wash-off or ablation. Requiring absolutely no chemicals, toner or ink ribbon, CtP-Thermal-Paper offset plates are both easy and less costly to maintain. Environmentally friendly, the system produces no waste except for the plate itself. We are pushing this into Americas, Korea, Taiwan.
In the paper department, MPM is aggressively cementing its position in the Republic of China as well as India. Hide Tsukada, Manager for Overseas Digital Imaging Sales, shared: "The current market for MPM consists of two parts – industrial and consumer. The consumer market is declining year-on-year. However, industrial use is growing. . Industrial high-speed inkjet fed is also growing, while we are fortunate to still enjoy growth in the traditional printing market.
"China and India are very important for us in the digital imaging segment. We are pleased to share MPM is the Global Preferred Media Partner of HP Indigo and is the sole status holder in Asia Pacific.
Shimpei Yamada, General Manager for Inkjet and Photo Sales Department, Imaging Media Division, concludes: "We have witnessed inkjet's birth and today, it has a presence across commercial printing and packaging. MPM has been developing new technology since CtF, CtP and now to inkjet/digital imaging media, and we will continue to do so to help our customers improve their business."