History
Although Screen Holdings Co. was established in 1943 the roots of the company go back to 1868 when Saigiro Ishida the great grandfather of the current president, Akira Ishida, established a copper plate and lithographic printing shop in Kyoto. The subsequent acquisition of several patents by Saigiro Ishida, and his son Keizo Ishida, laid the foundation for the formation of Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Company Limited on October the 11th 1943 in Kyoto Japan.
Initially, Dainippon Screen concentrated on the production of glass screens, but in 1946 it broadened its product line with the development and manufacture of wooden process cameras, arc lamps and vacuum printing frames with the aim of becoming a comprehensive manufacturer of photographic reproduction equipment.
Notable milestones since then include:
1953
Screen builds its first manufacturing facility in Horikawa, Japan, the first of 10 plants it has today.
1957
Screen is first Japanese company to mass produce contact screens
1962
Screen is listed on the Osaka securities and Kyoto stock exchange and starts marketing its first electronic colour scanner. First appearance at Drupa.
1963
Screen starts production of a metal mesh for color CRT's. The Auto Graver, an electronic machine for engraving halftone blocks directly onto the plate from a reflection or transparency original, is launched.
1966
The company launches its first colour scanner - the Scanagraph mark 1 and opens first overseas office in the US.
1973
The direct Scanagraph SG701 is launched
1977
Dainippon Screen Electronic Company Ltd established, the worlds largest fully automatic PCB production line
1980
Together with Toppan Printing Co., Ltd., Screen develops a system that directly inputs video image signals to a scanner and then outputs four-colour film.
1981
Screen introduces its first electronic page make up system
1989
Akira Ishida is appointed president
1990
Screen recognizes the need to meet the requirements of the rapidly growing desktop market and introduces the first desktop colour scanner Postscript imagesetter.
1995
The last step towards fully digital prepress production or computer to plate is achieved with the introduction of the first PlateRite at the Drupa exhibition in Germany.
2000
Screen launches its first digital presses at Drupa: the TruePress 544 four-colour digital offset press and the TruePress V200 monochrome printing system as well as the Trueflow web-browser based PDF workflow solution.
2001
The eight-page PlateRite 8600 is launched in May with the ability to handle Heidelberg GTO plates.
2003
The high-resolution GenaScan A1 flatbed CCD scanner is launched for flat and 3-D items. Trueflownet, Screen's innovative JDF-enabled business environment is announced - a JDF-based, end-to-end operating environment designed to drive highly-automated and streamlined print ordering and production, with fully integrated print production management.
2004
Bumper year for new products launched at Drupa including: next-generation TruePress 344 digital offset press as well as CTP devices ranging from 4 page to 32 page.
2005
Screen increases its inkjet knowledge bank and increases its product portfolio through the acquisition of Inca Digital, the world’s leading manufacturer of UV flatbed printers.
World’s first showing of Truepress Jet520, a revolutionary high-speed inkjet press using Piezo Drop on Demand inkjet heads from Epson.
2007
Screen shows its first ‘Screen brand’ wide format UV printer, the Truepress Jet2500UV.
2012
Another Drupa year with a range of new products including a world preview of the Truepress JetL350UV a machine designed for the fast growing short-run and personalised label market.
2014
Screen restructures into a holding company and becomes Screen Holdings Co. Ltd
Future
Consumer needs are changing. Print is required in faster turnaround times, needs to be more cost effective at a wider range of run lengths, quality is a prerequisite and the printed document needs to be more effective as a communication media. In addition we must consider the ecological factors that are driving our industry, and that the use of corrosive chemicals and solvents need to be reduced or even eliminated.
This all points to a greater use of digital printing and this is the main focus of Screen’s future development. Screen has already demonstrated and launched inkjet presses for wide format, labels and packaging as well as books, newspapers, direct mail and transactional printing.
Research and development investment levels increase each year and new products are constantly under development and evaluation. We hold a leading market position, but we are not complacent and recognise that sustained competitive advantage is a goal we must continue to work towards.
