Inkjet & Digital Printing

Izvestiya pioneers high-volume digital book printing in Russia

Wednesday 24. July 2013 - Following its investment in a Screen Truepress Jet520EX mono web press last year, Moscow publishing house Izvestiya is on target to achieve its objective of printing 250,000-1 million books a month (depending on size) by 2015 and an annual revenue close to Euro 3 million. Izvestiya chose the Truepress Jet520EX, supplied by YAM International, to print high quality, short-run books and magazines and is the first project of its kind in Russia and CIS.

Izvestiya is part of the Presidential Property Management Department of the Russian Federation, and not only prints commercial books and magazines, but also documents for various public institutions. The decision to install the Truepress Jet520EX came after company research into the Russian book market revealed that the capabilities of conventional printing technologies no longer met customers’ requirements. In particular a considerable decrease of medium runs, a growth of the number of book titles, and a reduction of the share of hardcover editions created the right conditions to implement digital printing technology.
After in-depth research and a competitive tender, Izvestiya selected the high-quality Screen Truepress Jet520EX monochrome press offered by YAM International, Screen’s partner in Russia. The easy-to-use, single-operator inkjet printing system prints single-pass duplex on a 160 to 520 mm web width at 128m/minute. Screen’s aqueous inks provide high optical density of images and low cost per impression.
The Truepress Jet is installed in Izvestiya’s new 4,000 sqm production facility in Moscow along with a new sheet-fed press for printing book covers and finishing equipment. In total the company has invested close to Euro 6 million in new equipment.
Today, the aim is around-the-clock production of black-and-white books with colored soft covers in runs from 10-5000 copies and from 50-1000 pages. Magazines, booklets, and a variety of complex jobs are also printed in the new division. “The Screen Truepress Jet520EX delivered an optimal solution for our specific challenges”, says Erast Galumov, the General Director of Izvestiya. “This breakthrough printing system has allowed us to optimise the production process and achieve a high level of responsiveness while preserving the excellent quality of our printed products”.