7th April 2006: The Berufsgenossenschalt Druck und Papierverarbeiting presented
three BG certificates to the Komori Corporation at Komori's International Press
Conference held at the UK's National Space Center during IPEX 06.
In presenting the Certificate for the new Lithrone S29 range to Komori's President and CEO,Yoshiharu Komori, BG Head of Technical Inspectorate, Albrecht Gloeckle, commented "In our experience, it is most unusual for products to achieve certification prior to launch and it is confirmation that Komori makes environmental considerations even at the intrinsic stages of press design."
He continued:"Environmental conservation is gaining importance in the printing industry,with many customers demanding not only the highest quality print but also proof of ecologically friendly production. Solvents in particular have been in the spotlight recently. Following the Kyoto Protocol many countries have committed themselves to reduce the emission of solvents and therefore endeavour to create incentives for such a reduction.
Switzerland, for example, has even introduced an additional steering tax on solvent consumption.
"Reducing, and if possible preventing, emissions in the printing industry is important not only for the environment but also for healthcare. This is one of the reasons why our Berufsgenossenschaft has introduced the "Emission Tested" certificate.
"For more than 15 years, Komori has been bringing presses into the European Market which not only produce high printing quality and also meet the relevant European safety standards.It is evident that Komori only releases products into the market that will pass rigorous safety inspections by our notified European test and certification body and thus have earned a GS safety certificate.
"It is, therefore,with pleasure that I'm able, to-day, to extend our GS certification to the continued fields of "Environmental Protection" and "Protection of Health" for all the Komori Lithrone ranges."
Before the BG Emission Test Certificate was awarded, the Lithrones had to pass extensive measurements in Japan, in the UK and also in Denmark. In multiple tests the machines had to print on paper as well as on cardboard(carton),using standard ink, UV ink, varnish and also UV varnish. The result of these tests showed that the Lithron presses are designed and built so that the relevant emissions are well below the internationally recognized limit values.
The emissions involved are:cleaning solvents;dampening solution additives;inks and/or;varnishes(mist);powder; noise;ozon and UV radiation(at UV printing).
Mr.Gloeckle also said at the presentation,"All the Lithrone series machines passed these tests brilliantly.
"He referred especially to two points;"Firstly, it is acknowledged that Komori machines are operating in Japan and also in several European countries with low alcohol content in the dampening solution-in many cases not only completely without alcohol but also without the requirement for problematic substitutes. We have also seen that at IPEX all Komori presses are running alcohol-free,with the exception of the UV machine, and even that is running with a low level of 4% alcohol, so it is clear that Komori is making an essential contribution to the reduction of emission of solvents, Besides the ecological advantages, Komori's customers also receive economic benefits-as the costs for dampening solution additives are reduced.
"Secondly, I would like to highlight the particularly low noise emission values of the Lithrone presses. Printing on both paper and carboard(carton)we have measured 73-80 dB(A). These are considerably below our current valid noise emission values.The significance of this is obvious when we look at the new European directive regarding noise which, as of February of this year, considerably tightens the requirements on noise emission in printing firms."
At the press conference, BG Certificates were also awarded to Komori Managing Directors, Mr. Satoshi Mochida or the Lithrone S40 series and to Mr. Hiroshi Sasaki for the new Lithrone S40 SP perfectos.