Unimaginable productivity was the deciding factor in the introduction

Matsumoto Printing Co., Ltd. is a general printing company established in 1932 and located in Shizuoka Prefecture. In addition to paper printing, the company is also involved in a wide range of other printing services, including digital content and special printing on acrylic and other products.

For this interview, we spoke with Matsumoto Printing's President Kenji Matsumoto and Creative Center DPG Section Chief Yoichi Matsuda about how the "JFX600-2513" was introduced and their impressions after the introduction.

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First, please give us a brief history of your company.

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Matsumoto: Matsumoto Printing was founded in 1932 and began by making paper bags. Later, as demand for printing increased, we turned our focus to printing and became a general printing company that handles everything related to paper printing, including business cards, slips, and forms.

We introduced inkjet printing about 10 years ago.
I wanted to try something new, and after consulting with my employees, we decided to introduce UV inkjet printing.
We had been receiving a lot of work printing on styrene board panels, so the introduction went smoothly.

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How did you come to install JFX600-2513?

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Matsuda: After using the UV inkjet printer from another company that we first introduced for 3 to 4 years, we replaced it with Mimaki's JFX200-2513 then JFX200-2513EX, and finally arrived at the JFX600-2513. The exhibition was just lost because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and I saw a web ad on YouTube, checked the website, and the performance was very good. The number of heads is extremely many, and I felt that the printing speed had exceeded what I had imagined, so I decided to install the JFX600-2513.

Of course, I considered other manufacturers, but when I looked at the JFX600-2513 from the standpoint of which would increase productivity the most, I decided to go with the JFX600-2513. Another point that made us feel secure was the fact that we could expect the same quality if we made the same adjustments.

From JFX200-2513 to JFX600-2513, why do you continue to use Mimaki?

Matsuda: Mimaki is really responsive. The support staff will come to repair the printer as soon as we call them, and most importantly, Mimaki will update the firmware when there is a problem. Other manufacturers almost never make firmware updates to printers that have been released. The difference is huge. The speed with which they respond to problems within a month or so after they appear is also a big advantage that other companies do not have.

Also, Mimaki is really fast at printing. We sometimes look at printers from other manufacturers, but again, nothing has yet to match Mimaki's speed. I continue to use it because it has a good overall balance of speed, quality, and price, and it has been a perfect fit for our company.

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What is your experience with the JFX600-2513 and other inkjet printers?

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Matsuda: When we first introduced the JFX200-2513 about 10 years ago, we set a sales target of 30 million yen per year, but things didn't go well at first, and we were only able to make 10 million yen. Gradually, thanks to the efforts of our sales staff, we began to receive orders mainly for signage POPs. Later, we also introduced a cutting plotter, and by the end of five years, our sales had exceeded 100 million yen, thanks to our promotion that we could make prominent POP that was not just a square. Sales have continued to increase every year since then, and although they have recently leveled off a bit, we have been able to increase our sales to just under 200 million yen.

Matsumoto: Printing goods was certainly a challenge in a new field, and I was worried about whether there would really be any work. However, I had confidence because I had the work I had done up to now as a foundation, and there was great merit in bringing in-house what had been outsourced.

What I used to say to my employees was, "Customers will foster the use of machines." We are a printing company and can only think within the framework of the printing business, so in order to break through that, it is important to discuss and consult with the customer about whether or not something like this or something like that can be done. I believe that Matsumoto Printing's current product lineup and know-how are the result of our past customers.

I also actively participate in exhibitions, and it was great to be able to talk directly with people in the planning and goods/novelty departments. Talking with people on the frontlines has enabled us to reach this point with a sense of speed.

About Godzilla-1.0 Artful Panel 2.5D

Matsumoto: The reason why we decided to sell goods for the movie "Godzilla - 1.0" released in 2023 was to participate in a new product development project sponsored by the Hamamatsu Chamber of Commerce and Industry. There, we were told that we would be promoting Godzilla in a new way, and we decided that if we could express the three-dimensional part of Godzilla, we would give it a try, and that is when we took on the challenge.

We had previously made stickers and key chains for a certain TV drama, so I guess we were approached because of our track record. We are still learning as we go along, so we hope to develop more and more new products in the future.

Matsuda: Our website and Instagram show what 2.5D printing of Godzilla looks like. I created the data, and since I paid attention to every detail, I think it turned out pretty well (lol). The key point is that the unevenness stands out when light hits it, so it looks like an optical illusion.

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Do you have any future plans for using inkjet printers?

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Matsumoto: Nowadays, that is exactly what printing on acrylic is really popular, but I think that as long as you have a certain amount of know-how and materials, you can make products with the same degree of quality anywhere. There may be areas where we lose out if we just use mass production methods, but we have a desire to create special value products such as clear acrylic, mirror acrylic, and 2.5D.

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We would like to continue to provide our customers with value that other companies cannot offer, while exploring what we can do with our machines.

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Click here to watch the interview video

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