Screen Printing - August/September 2016 - 10

advertisement Cutting-Edge Technology Solutions Response from booth visitors was very positive based on the level of interest in both our sheetfed offset and screen press product lines. Sakurai demonstrated its 580 SDC five-color offset press with coating and UV-LED drying and our upgraded MS-80All cylinder screen press with many new features and capabilities. Frank Sakurai and Marilyn Sliney, Ryuta founders of Franmar Sakurai USA Sakurai Graphic SyStemS corporation, the parent company of Sakurai USA, marked its 70th anniversary this year with the introduction of new screen and offset products and technologies during a New Technology Open House at its Gifu, Japan factory and at the 2016 drupa exhibition. Approaching Sakurai USA's participation in the SGIA Expo, Screen Printing reached out to Ryuta Sakurai, president of Sakurai Graphic Systems Corporation and Sakurai USA, and David Rose, general manager of Sakurai USA, for this interview. the drupa exhibition in Düsseldorf has just ended. how would you rate the overall exposition in terms of attendance as well as the interest in Sakurai equipment and technologies? [RYUTA SAKURAI] Drupa was highly successful for Sakurai and exceeded our expectations based on the number of press orders received and serious new prospects identified. Was a specific press model or feature particularly well received? uV-LeD seems to keep growing in popularity as a technology for drying/ curing printed products. Did you see that trend at drupa and do you expect it to continue in north america? Sakurai is one of the industry leaders in UV-LED curing technology for offset and screen and we have developed strategic partnerships with dryer and ink manufacturers to provide innovative solutions for this drying process. This technology is spreading to the North American market as well. Sakurai does business around the globe. is there one part of the world market that seems to be growing the fastest? We are pleased with the level of business in the US and in North America as a whole. At drupa we were surprised by the number of potential prospects from the Middle East. What do you feel sets Sakurai equipment apart? We are aware that similar products to our cylinder screen press have been introduced to the market, especially from China. But when you look at the features and quality of our construction, we feel that Sakurai delivers the best press built in the world. What emerging screen-printing technologies or markets are Sakurai as a company thinking about for the future? Security printing and textile transfer printing are excellent markets today and in the future, and we expect to sell our screen presses for the printed electronics and touch panel overlay markets as well into the future. any other observations about the screen-printing industry from your perspective as a press manufacturer? Digital solutions, primarily inkjet technologies, are capturing a larger percentage of the conventional screen press market. A primary example of this is P-O-P retail store graphics. However, we see an expanding screen press presence in markets such as electronics, credit cards, bio-medics, appliances, and automotive. These markets will always require, because of ink deposits, the process of screen printing. at SGia, Sakurai will be featuring its newest screen press, the mS-80all. What are your expectations for the show? [DAVID ROSE] We are anticipating an excellent, well-attended SGIA Expo with considerable interest in our new MS-80All cylinder screen press which will be running live with our industry partner's Natgraph electronic UV dryer and stacker. This is Sakurai USA's 10th consecutive year exhibiting at SGIA, and we expect booth visitors to be looking to Sakurai for drying and curing solutions as well as computer-to-screen imaging.

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