DIAMONDSPIRIT presses feature plate cylinders that use a 1-page circumference, thereby reducing their diameter, as opposed to the conventional 2-page circumference used on other presses. This innovation enables a 50% reduction in the volume of printing plates set to the plate cylinder, and also reduces power consumption and running costs.

Yamagata Shimbun celebrated its 140th anniversary in 2016. The company published its first issue in September 1876. Today the morning edition of the "Yamagata Shimbun" newspaper has a print circulation of approximately 200,000 copies. The company has long been a leader in introducing technological innovations to its operations. Notably it was the first news provider in Japan to print a daily newspaper in color, following the introduction of multicolor offset presses. The adoption of the newly ordered offset presses at its new production center means the newspaper's printing quality will be further enhanced.

In deciding which model to select for its new production center, Yamagata Shimbun gave a high evaluation to the DIAMONDSPIRIT for a variety of reasons. These include its operational stability, with a track record of over 40 sets delivered to date; outstanding print quality; low running costs; and technological solutions suited to the climate of Yamagata, including an anti-condensation feature tailored for operations in winter. The company was also attracted to MHI-PPM's customer support system and its service base in nearby Sendai.

Going forward MHI-PPM will further identify and respond to diverse customer needs for newspaper offset presses, both domestically and globally, and will devote further energy into providing pinpoint solutions-based marketing. In this way the company looks to make ever-greater contributions to the improvement of newspaper print quality and productivity.

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