ECRM Incorporated (“ECRM Imaging Systems”) today announced that the company has completed the installation of two fully-automated NEWSmax CTP platesetters at the production facility of the People’s Liberation Army Daily Newspaper (PLA Daily). At a ceremony conducted April 26th, the region and industry’s leading officials and representatives were on hand for the commissioning ceremony introducing the collaborative efforts of ECRM and their marketing partner Lucky Huauang Graphics Company, provider of the violet CTP plates to be used with the new production configuration. The ECRM NEWSmax platesetter is reported to be the newspaper industry’s fastest production platesetter. With the announcement of the commissioning ceremony at the PLA Daily, implementation discussions are expected to accelerate in other Chinese newspaper markets. For more information about ECRM and their products, go to www.ecrm.com.  
 
PLA Daily Quote
Mr. Wang Sen, Assistant Director of the Liberation Army Daily printing plant presented the introduction and the implementation of the new ECRM solutions. He noted, “From the viewpoint of production, we were drawn to several prominent characteristics. First, good stability and fast production speed. Second, the quality of printed material is substantially increased, and wide-angle control and color reproduction are significantly improved. Third, costs are reduced and efficiency is raised.”
 
The Chinese Newspaper and Print Market
According to industry sources, the number of newspapers in mainland China has increased from only 42 — virtually all are Government owned — in 1968, to 382 in 1980 to more than 2,200 today. In 2006, China was the largest market for newspapers, with 96.6 million copies sold daily, compared to 2006 figures for India (78.7 million), Japan (69.7million), the United States (53.3million) and Germany (21.5 million). China newspaper advertisement revenues increased between 2001 and 2006 by 128%.
 
Overall, the China printing industry is currently developing at the annual rate of about 15% and it has formed three industry zones: Pearl River delta, Yantze River delta and Bohai area. At present, there are over 180,000 printing enterprises with over 3.4 million employees and with gross industrial output value of RMB 280 billion, accounting for about 2% of gross domestic product. Of the top 100 printing enterprises, 80% of the sales revenue is produced by printing enterprises in these three zones. In recent years, nearly 100 foreign-funded printing enterprises have been authorized each year to be founded in China.
 
Industry Fastest: NEWSmax
The fully automated NEWSmax CtP family provides new levels of simplicity, versatility and economy with high-speed performance for newspaper customers. Available at production speeds from 100 up to 400 plates per hour, the NEWSmax is the newspaper industry’s fastest production platesetter. Engineered for high-volume plate production, NEWSmax is an ideal solution for either semi- or fully-automated CtP production.