May 29, 2003 -- One of the first format 8 ROLAND 900 presses will soon commence operations in Japan. At a technology forum held in Offenbach in the middle of May, the owner of the printing company Mami Tsumura and the president of the company Takaji Kato, of King Printing Co. Ltd. in Osaka, Japan, signed an agreement for the delivery of a ROLAND 900, XXL system (1300 x 1850 mm). The ROLAND 900 in the XXL format will be the first modern sheet-fed offset press in Japan that can profitably print large-format posters. Until now, Japanese companies (as well as other companies throughout the world) that specialized in this type of production had to rely on outdated technology. The investment highlights King Printing's leading and pioneering role in the Japanese poster market. To name just one example of the company's innovation, it worked with an ink manufacturer to develop a special ink that guarantees the light-fastness of outside posters for more than three months. In Japan, posters are placed not only on building facades, but also on rooftops – where the effects of light and water are particularly harsh. Besides offset products, King Printing also offers super ink jet formats up to five meters wide under the registered trademark SPATIVE. Both paper and fabric can be used. King Printing's know-how is based on a tradition that goes back more than 80 years. Today, the company's 130 employees at two production facilities achieve annual sales of around EUR 28 million.