the printing business in hong kong

8/11/2019 The Printing Business in Hong Kong

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The publishing industry, in

general, has been quick to

move into digital by creating

apps at a dizzying pace, says

executive chairman Matthew

Yum of Hung Hing. How-

ever, given the crowded market, only the

best can thrive and profit, so publishershave become more wary about new tech-

nologies. In that sense, acceptance of new

ideas has slowed, and bigger publishing

houses have instituted a more diligent

process in assessing every new idea

involving nonpaper products. But that

means that interesting and promising

ideas may get passed over.

Yum believes that merging the physi-cal product with apps is the future. In

Adaptability and

diversity are key

to longevity in a

fast-changing

book world

B T T

Remember that production axiomQuality, turnaround,

price: choose any two? That has been debunked by Hong

Kong print manufacturers, whose collective expertise and

business savvy deliver proven quality at the required budget

on schedule. Now, these suppliers are upping the ante by add-

ing another dimension to the production challenge: digital,

as in digital products or digital printing. (And yes, you can

have all four.)

P U B L I S H E R S W E E K LY A U G U S T 1 8 , 2 0 1 48

THE PRINTING

BUSINESS INHONGKONG

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P r i n t i n g i n H o n g K o n g 2 0 1 4


the cover may still be printed using off-

set. So we offer a hybrid manufacturing

model that utilizes the best of both

methods to help publishers meet their

price points and quality standards. In

2013, Regal won a Benny Award in dig-ital printing forMoet & Chandon Cham-

pagne Cookbookand Fuji-Xeroxs Top

Growth in Print Volume Award.

Over at the print brokerage firm Jade

Productions, digital printing is rarely

used as clients invariably get better

pricing from their on-shore digital print-

ing suppliers. Sometimes, clients do

require a small quantity of sales materials

or samples for test marketing, and we

would go for HP Indigo digital process.

However, we classify such projects as pre-press works instead of actual orders, says

managing director Ken Kong.

But it is a totally different game for

CTPS with its HP inkjet web and Indigo

presses. The past two years (since its first

inkjet web press was unveiled) have

clearly documented the scope of accep-

tanceand adoptionof digital print-

ing in a region long recognized for its

offset printing expertise. Presently, we

are seeing digital applications across all

book segments with most of the orders

for customization and personalization of

book covers. Higher-ed publishers, spe-

cifically, are following their U.S. and

European counterparts in creating

regional flavors in a bid to further dif-

ferentiate their titles from the competi-

tion, says global business director John

Currie, adding that the next step is the

customization of text pages, where digi-

Hung Hing, we call this Apps Plus, and

our team currently has two such tech-

nologies that we branded as Bridging

Book and TouchCode. Both make the

content come alive by utilizing digital

apps that go beyond what a conventionalbook can offer. Interactive elements,

games, videos, animation, virtual reality,

you name it. The Little Musician series

(see sidebar, p. 26), for instance, applies

the TouchCode technology, while pat-

ent-pending Bridging Book, launched at

the 2013 Frankfurt Book Fair, allows a

seamless flow of content and artworks

between book and screen, where flipping

a book page will simultaneously refresh

the screen on the app. The first few

Bridging Book titles are expected to beout later this year.

Over at Leo Paper Group, its associate

company MotherApp augments its print

and digital businesses to offer both to

clients. StoryMate, our latest project, is

a concept connecting physical books

with an app. It synchronizes with the

physical book and interacts with the

reader based on the content of the physi-

cal storybook page, says director Alvin

Lai. It effectively turns traditional read-

ing on a printed book into a totally digi-

tal and interactive reading experience.

Offering Hybrid Printing

SolutionsNow that content has mostly been digi-

tized and books disaggregated into

chunks of information, the printing

model needs to evolve as well. Hong

Kong print suppliers are not standing

idle. Most have added digital printing

presses to their production lineup so as

to offer hybrid offset/digital solutions

that give clients the best features of both

worlds.Regal Printing, for instance, has been

offering digital printing s ince 2006.

We have Fuji-Xerox C800 and C1000

for four-color printing, and one Xerox

Nuvera for black-and-white projects.

These presses are supported by a slew of

machineries that cater specifically for

digital printing. So we can handle virtu-

ally all types of binding regardless of the

printing method, says managing direc-

tor Maurice Kwan, adding that his com-

panys digital printing services have beenextended to cater to exhibition and con-

vention needs with quantities as low as

10 copies. Urgent tender document

printing is another area that we serve,

and we find that digital printing pro-

vides the greatest flexibility and speed in

turning around such projects.

Small print runs is another area using

digital printing at Regal. Clients from

the educational market may print 10 or

20 copies to test the market, and then

order more if the project gets the green

light, Kwan says. Or they can opt for

offset printing if the quantity is high

enough to make it viable. On the other

hand, we have overseas clients who used

to do offset printing with us, but now

have to turn to digital printing due to a

drop in market demand or production

budget. In such cases, we help them to

switch to digital printing even though

HP T300 ( l.) and Indigo 7500 on CTPSs digital printing floor

PHOTO

COURTESY

OFCTPS


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ing order quantities. Retailers continue

to be cautious on overstocking and will

reduce orders suddenly to match demand.

I think the major challenges this year

and in the foreseeable futureare going

to be more shorter runs, quicker deliver-ies, and a much more pronounced spike

in the peak season.

Dealing with the above difficulties is

definitely on every print suppliers to-do

list. PWsits down with several major

export printers to find out what they

have been doing and how they plan to

move ahead.

C&C Offset PrintingOur core business of book printing con-

tinues to do well, especially in the U.K.and U.S. markets, says assistant general

manager Kit Wong, adding that while

the global purchasing strategy adopted

by the big publishing groups does exert

some pricing pressures, it does help to

ensure stable business throughout the

year once the agreement is in place. Nat-

urally, volume does sometimes come at

the expense of higher profit margin, but

in the longer run, it all works out well.

Meanwhile, Wong and her team are

committed to continuous improvement

in productivity and efficiency. Our mis-

sion is to work hand in hand with our

clients and help them cope with the

demands and changes in a highly com-

petitive market. Creating more value for

our customers has always been our belief,and we have been putting a lot of effort

tal printing with its variable data capa-

bilities will shine. This is where e-learn-

ing initiatives with customized text-

books come in, and publishers need to

quickly understandand seizethis

market potential.Publishers in Asia Pacific, adds Currie,

are beginning to grasp the digital print

model and are more open to explore dig-

ital applications that fit their specific

segment. Instead of looking purely at

unit cost per book, these managers are

now factoring in the total cost, which

covers inventory and warehousing and

the whole supply chain. Those focused on

reducing inventory by doing short runs

are seeing the financial benefits of digital

book production.STM and trade publishers have also

started using CTPSs digital printing ser-

vices to provide print on-demand. The

orders from these two segments have

been steady, says Currie, and the applica-

tion takes advantage of the companys

fulfillment and logistical support within

the region. Later this year, these clients

will be able to access CTPSs new digital

printing platform for auto-ordering and

stock replenishment.

Belaboring the Labor

TopicPrint manufacturing has always been

labor intensive, especially in the hand-

work/assembly segment. Even the most

efficient offset production floor requires

at least a dozen skilled operators to work

a line from paper-trimming to binding.

This poses a major problem in the Pearl

River Delta print manufacturing hub,

where the labor market remains tight

even as minimum wage spikes to the

highest ever. For many, automation is a

way out of this situation.

Leo Paper Group, one of the biggest

employers in town, has embarked on a

$37.8 million production automation

strategy to circumvent the issue. This

strategy is key to our customer service

pledge, where we strive to find ways to

reduce reliance on manpower while

working on enhancing our productionefficiencies, says managing director

Kelly Fok, pointing out that automation

is currently applied to secondary pro-

cesses (such as foil-stamping, silk-screen-

ing, and die-cutting) to improve produc-

tion quality, speed, and efficiency. For

handwork assembly, we are using roboticarms, and mechanical and electronic

tools that are either sourced from suppli-

ers or designed in-house to accommodate

our workflow needs. There are also auto-

matic lines for casing-in and perfect

binding, and five new HUV offset print-

ing presses to help replace manual labor

in bulk production.

Last year Leo Paper Group reorganized

its OEM business down to two pillars

business and manufacturingwith rel-

evant supporting units. Simplifying ourcompany structure has improved man-

power planning and management,

enhanced operational efficiencies and

effectiveness, and streamlined the overall

workflow to minimize overlapping

departmental functions.

Adds director Alvin Lai: We have

reduced labor by 16% in the past 12

months, with our total staff holding at

around 12,000. That is really amazing

when you consider that we once had

25,000 people in our Heshan production

plant. His team has also been imple-

menting value stream mapping to ana-

lyze and design the flow of material and

information while ripping out in-process

manufacturing waste. This lean manu-

facturing method helps to eliminate non-

value-added activities to drive down

costs, increase capacity and shorten the

production lead time. All these strategies

benefit both Leo Paper and its clients.

Thinking Back and

AheadWhile the overall economy seems to be

better than that of the previous year,

growth in the major economies has been

rather erratic. According to Yum of

Hung Hing: The first quarter of this

year saw extreme cold weather in the

U.S. affecting consumer patterns, and

that effectively slowed down new order

placement. Numerous retailers also cutback on inventory cycles, further affect-

Jackson Leung, CEO of C&C JointPrinting Co.


6/17

At Hung Hing, we continue to reinvent and innovate to offer new solutions

to our business partners. We enhance the joy of Reading and Learning by

integrating modern technology with physical books.

The Bridging Book (a patent-pending technology) is only available at

Hung Hing, your one-stop creative, concept development, print production

and apps development centre.

Visit our corporate website at

www.hunghingprinting.com orwww.belugabloo.com

for more innovative technology or contact one of our

sales representative at [email protected]

for a demo or more information.

Hung Hing Pr int ing Centre , 17-19 Dai Hei Street , Ta i Po Industr ia l Estate , New Terr i tor ies, Hong Kong

Tel: (852) 2664 8682 Fax: (852) 2664 2070 Email: [email protected] Website: www.hunghingprinting.com

Unleashing

the Power of Innovation

THEBridging BookTM

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right after the 2013 Frankfurt Book Fair,

and the volume since then has far

exceeded what we had in the past two

years combined. So, yes, we are seeing

multinational publishers operating in

this region coming onboard, and wereally like the year-on-year trajectory.

Currie points out that two HP inkjet

web presses (T300 and T410) and three

HP Indigo (W7250, 7500, and 10000)

are sufficient to cover the current market

demand. Ongoing investment in this

segment will be focused on the front-end

system catering to on-demand printing

solutions.

The migration of short runs from off-

set to digital is gathering momentum

while our overall businessin both off-set and digitalis rebounding after an

all-sector decline last year, adds Currie,

who has seen publishers either shutting

or downsizing their print-buying offices.

The print-buying function is going

back to being centralized, so printers

capable of stepping in and effectively

liaising with these centralized print con-

trol units are now more attractive to

these publishers. This scenario is not

unlike that of the financial printing sec-

tor, which saw document solutions pro-

vider Williams Lea growing rapidly.

Both Currie and CEO Peter Tse are

into various technical developments that

cover not just printing but also advanced

IT technology. In March, for instance,

the C&C team showcased an augmented

childrens book with multimedia content

for enhanced reading and learning expe-

rience during a vocational training coun-

cil exhibition. Adds Wong: John Tsang,

the financial secretary of Hong Kong,

who attended the exhibition, was shown

the innovative product, and he later

wrote in his blog expressing his belief

that the wizarding newspaper in the

popular Harry Potter series will become

a reality soon.

Meanwhile, C&Cs own stationery line

is gaining a strong foothold in the

domestic Hong Kong and China mar-

kets. Aside from offering stationery

items through different distribution

channels in the mainland, we have also

created an online portal to help statio-

nery vendors sell their products. Over in

Hong Kong, our focus is on paper crafts

that are popular with the locals such as

otegami, origami, and washi tape. We

launched several products at the recent

Hong Kong Book Fair, and they becamesome of the most sought-after items

when their photos went viral on Face-

book and Instagram, says Wong, whose

team works with local artists to ensure

local touch and flavors in the design. All

these products are sold at our sister com-

pany Sino United Publishings book-

shops throughout Hong Kong.

Next year, C&C Offsets parent com-

pany, C&C Joint Printing, will celebrate

its 35th anniversary, with numerous

events throughout the months. For

Wong, this celebration comes with high

hopes of continuing to create value-

added products and tip-top services to

our clients for the next 35 years and

counting.

CTPSConvincing offset supporters to try

ink-jet production is not an easy feat in

a region populated by well-known print

suppliers armed with the latest Heidel-

berg, Komori, and MAN Roland offset

technology. Creating the appropriate

cost structure to suit regional publishers

was one of the strategies we employed,

and this has driven an adoption uptake,

says global business director John Currie.Overall, our digital business went up John Currie (l.) and Peter Tse of CTPS

Persiana

ProjectShowcase

The special cover treatment of this 24.6

18.9 cm illustrated book certainly

gives a new spin to the term touch-and-

feel. Nowadays, effects such as 3-D

varnishing, drip-off varnishing, and deep

debossing have become very complex.

The same goes for grain-sand varnish,

which was used on the cover of Per-

siana, says general manager Kit Wong,

adding that the 240-page book is one of

the most challenging projects her team

had encountered in recent months.

After full-color printing, we had to, first,

laminate the case cover, and then apply

the grain-sand varnishing beforeembossing it. The outcome of the varnish, she adds, is affected by

factors such as screen angle as well as the temperature and duration

of the UV curing process. We are very happy to see this book go back

to print several times since January, and become one of the bestsell-

ing titles within our clients publishing group. T.T.


8/17


additional services have expanded our

market share and improve our respon-

siveness to client needs. The U.K. office

has also been restructured to meet cli-

ents front-end needs by having more

people in project development and

seeing publishers spending more time

evaluating digital printing as a compre-

hensive answer that offers reduced inven-

tory and more efficient supply chain,

with short-run and on-demand advan-

tages. There are clear findings on unnec-essary and avoidable costs when regional

printing and distribution are not

applied, says Tse, who has established a

Singapore office to offer distribution,

inventory control, and warehouse man-

agement in light of these industry

changeseffectively positioning us

beyond a pure printer.

Companies with more complex and

comprehensive offerings, adds Tse, will

emerge as the leaders in the next five to

10 years, and I want to see CTPS as oneof those leaders. But for that to happen,

we need to reorganize and manage our-

selves efficiently and professionally. So I

am working on restructuring the

groupwhere we have three compa-

niesto clearly define the scope of ser-

vices for each entity. We are also

progressing from being family

style to quasi-MNC in terms of

management.

Hung HingJune marked the 20th anniver-sary of Hung Hing UK, which

started as a partnership between

Hung Hing and MacLehose

Associates. What began as a

small two-person operation is

now a full-fledged office with 14

personnel providing the whole

gamut of print production ser-

vices for conventional books,

childrens products, and novelty

production. Two new divisionswere also created in recent years: HH

Deluxe packaging and HH/Creative,

says commercial director Richard Lim,

who points out, HH Deluxe is becom-

ing a household name for high-end pack-

aging printing in the U.K., and these

A: Room 1603, Eastern Centre, Shipyard Lane, No. 1065 Kings Road, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong T: (852) 2967 9360E: [email protected] W: www.jadeproductions.com.hk F: (852) 2967 1800

Nicholas Yum (l.) and Matthew Yum of Hung Hing


9/17


P U B L I S H E R S W E E K L Y A U G U S T 1 8 , 2 0 1 426

tory stocking and purchasing, capacity

planning, and value creation through

design and innovation. Cost, we believe,

is just one factor attracting clients to

work with Hung Hing. Our goal is to

offer a total package of products to attract

and retain our clientele.

Jade ProductionsBooks are customized products that

require service and hand-holding, says

managing director Ken Kong. Publish-

ers may not realize that by slightly mod-

ifying the books trim size or extent, they

can end up with a considerably more

cost-effective specification. Or that they

would have a less interesting or beautiful

product if they follow strictly the speci-fication or image on the file supplied by

account knowledge building while leav-

ing the day-to-day operations on project

follow-ups to its customer service staff at

the Hong Kong and China factories.

Hung Hing, now in its second year of

partnership with shareholder Rengo

Japan, is se eing it s cons umer ba se

expanding to include such brands as

Pilot, Suntory, Morinaga, Bourbon, Lion,

and Kokuyu. The Japanese point-of-

purchase print and display accessories

industry has benefitted from our proven

expertise in paper products that comes

with comparatively lower handwork

cost. This enables our clients to go fur-

ther with their budget and sales promo-

tion strategies, says executive chairman

Matthew Yum, adding that Rengo andHung Hing will be working together to

extend these services to the domestic

China market.

Growth in traditional markets for

Hung Hing, says Yum, comes from con-

solidation rather than true business

expansion. We will continue to provide

more products and service offerings to

expand our business. Deluxe packaging

and Apps Plus are on the right track, and

we will be able to build future demands

on these unique products.

Automation, he adds, is essential in

the pursuit of production efficiency and

effectiveness. We are refocusing on the

soft skills needed to drive efficiency from

upstream activities. Data mining will

enable us to build a wider knowledge of

our clients and their activities, and tohelp us improve in areas such as inven-

Little Musician Series

ProjectShowcase

The first print-electronic product of its kind, this series was created and produced by Hung Hing

and subsidiary BelugaBloo Ltd. in collaboration with a Hong Kong music school. Tar-

geted at kids aged two to eight, each book in the five-volume series comes with dedi-

cated iPad and iPad Mini apps. It uses a revolutionary print-

ing technique together with pattern recognition technology

to introduce children to new ways of learning music. Vol. 2:

Note Reading, for instance, comes with 28 printed music

cards and a free app. Users tap the card to the screen

to bring the app to life and activate the sound of a par-

ticular note, explains product development manager

Nicholas Yum, adding that the first four volumes are

now available in the market. More information is avail-

able from www.littlemusician.hk.T.T.

Pilot Corp.

Pro

jectShowcase

This order for one million sets took the Hung Hing team six weeks to complete.

One of the biggest challenges was the trimming of the 72-page miniature

books, which measure 36 22 mm each. That small size meant that the trim

tolerance was about 1 mm. Wrapping the plastic jacket over each book posed

another challenge as the cover used thin paper stock, and the risk of damaging

or wrinkling it during the process was extremely high, says commercial director

Richard Lim. He adds that the accessories used in the projectpolybag, jacket,

and string componentswere carefully selected and meticulously tested by the

quality-conscious Japanese client. This collaboration with our Japanese share-

holder, Rengo, enabled partial production in China and complete assembly

involving the pencil and pencil leadin Japan to cut down on the cost and time

needed to ship those Pilot items to China for packing. T.T.


10/17

MAGNUMCREATIVE PRINTING

ART BOOKS I MAGAZINES I PACKAGING PRINTING

www.magnumoffset.com.hk

6

At Magnum, clear understanding and creative problemsolving is our top priority. Together with over 26 years ofprinting expertise, we provide the best printing possible solutionwhich is guaranteed to exceed your expectations. Toachieve responsible production and accommodate inter-national standards, Magnum holds the below certifications:


11/17



for around 180 Leonians. This move

underscores our managements confi-

dence in Hong Kongs future develop-

ment, the printing industry, and the

groups business growth, says managing

director Kelly Fok, adding that his Euro-pean sales office is celebrating its 15th

anniversary this year. Our Italy sales

office, which relocated from Milan to

Bologna in July 2013, just celebrated its

10thyear in business, and we are all look-

ing forward to more anniversaries and

collaboration with clients globally.

In operations, with the childrens book

market trending toward increased focus

on education and interactivity, Leo Paper

has successfully created more interesting

products since Haptic Magic, its innova-tive solution, was launched in 2012.

This year we continue to offer inspiring

ideas and innovative product applica-

tions as well as demonstrate how Haptic

Magic can help create value to clients

products, adds Fok.

Then there is Leo Touch, whose 60-plus

secondary processes developed inhouse

offer clients an array of visual and tactile

enhancement to make their products

stand out from the crowd. At the 2014

London Book Fair, a special boxed set

entitled Leo Touch Five Elements (metal,

wood, water, fire, and earth) was soft-

launched to showcase a mix-and-match of

secondary processes applied with special

designs, printing technologies, and tech-

their creative person or designer. It is inour interestand our clients interest

that we assist in achieving the best pos-

sible product within their budget and

avoid any unpleasant surprises.

Jade Productions does not hesitate to

offer clients advice and tips, says com-

pany founder James Binnie. It has

always been the way we run this business.

Suggesting alternatives to make the proj-

ect fit the printing presses or suit the

paper stock better comes naturally. And

if the print run is too small, we will

encourage clients to put several titles

together for production and shipment.

Otherwise, they could run into problems

with minimum cargo size. On the whole,

this is about the personal touch and long-

term relationshipwhich defines the

print brokering business.

Sourcing and indenting paper is

another way Jade works to benefit its cli-

ents. We started purchasing paper and

keeping stock more than 10 years ago in

order to keep the cost stable. But at the

beginning, we only did it for special

projects requiring huge quantities of

paper or frequent reorders. Nowadays,

we keep a variety of stock to cater to dif-

ferent preferences. Smaller publishers

will benefit more from our bulk purchase

as they have wider choices while keeping

their manufacturing cost low, adds

Kong, pointing out that he keeps popu-

lar grades (115 gsm, 128 gsm, and 157

gsm) in different widths for coffee-tablebooks and juvenile titles, and one-sided

350 gsm and 400

gsm artboard for

boardbooks. For

boardbook projects,

paper is the biggest

co s t f a c to r . Wealways ins is t on

using the correct

grain to eliminate

cracked folding and

warpage issues, and

minimize waste

which will end up

with a better price

for the client.

There have been

no new or special

requests coming from clients in recentmonths, notes Binnie. However, we

have more small orders from people we

have known for many years, but do not

publish regularly. It is good to know that

they have not lost their interest in pub-

lishing books. Business was slow in the

first half of this year, he adds, and then

all of a sudden, the orders started com-

ing in when we hit July. So, that home-

work and preparation work done

months ago is finally hitting the produc-

tion lines now.

Leo Paper GroupLast October saw Leo Paper moving into

its new Hong Kong headquarters, a self-

owned two-story 32,000-sq.-ft. facility

Alvin Lai, Kelly Fok, Henry Woo, and Andy Lau (l. to r.) of Leo Paper Group

Ken Kong (l.) and James Binnie of Jade Productions


12/17

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13/17



receiving enquiries from

the Middle East, South

America, Eastern Europe,

and Africa, and these are

from clients who are look-

ing for high-quality prod-ucts and are willing to try

out creative production

ideas. Best of all, they are

happy to pay for the extras

that they are asking for. So,

while the general publish-

ing market may be down in

some parts of the world, there are pockets

of clients elsewhere looking for part-

nersfor book printing and packag-

ingin Hong Kong. We just have to be

optimistic and keep our eyes open, Chansays, while admitting that print runs for

bound copies are going down amid

intense industry competition and changes

roiling the publishing industry.

In the coming months, Chan antici-

pates that mature markets such as the

U.S. will recover more rapidly than those

in Western Europe. The U.S. Federal

Reserve, with its fiscal and monetary

policies, will help to quickly pick up the

economy. On the other hand, over in

Australia, lower interest rates will con-

tinue as beforethus no changes to the

currency exchangeand the demand for

imports will maintain at current levels.

Regal PrintingPrinting can no longer survive on its own

merit, observes managing director Mau-

rice Kwan. Printing has to be combined

with other means such as an electronic

niques. Adds Lai: This set guides our

clients and their designers on how to bet-

ter apply our secondary processes to their

products. It is about adding new value to

graphics and products, inspiring our cli-

ents and their designers, and letting themknow what is possible and available from

Leo Paper. At last years Bologna Book

Fair, Lai and his team successfully

launched Leo & Friends, a special edition

celebrating the 10th anniversary of the

secondary processes that is aimed at the

childrens book market.

Increasing business by deepening client

relationship is the business mantra at Leo

Paper. Supporting our clients business

development means continuing to

develop and expand our own business tooffer more value-added services, and get-

ting involved in our clients product

development as early as possible, says

Fok, whose team has continued to pursue

and upgrade its certification on sustain-

ability, security, and quality management.

Magnum OffsetThe business strategy at Magnum Offset

is all about focusing on clients and what

they need, says Vicky Chan, manager for

overseas sales development. That is a

continuation from our strategy of previ-

ous years, and it has worked well. Our

team will continue to provide profes-

sional advice to clientswho face tre-

mendous pressure on production budget

and ever-changing consumer demands

and work on a partnership to create prod-

ucts that will bring in the margins for

both parties.

Recent months have seen Magnum

broadening its service lines to offer such

packaging as rigid box, artcard box, and

e-flute box, as well as paperbag. This is

a natural progression when you considerthe increased demand for consumer

goods that also includes books and digi-

tal products. We have also introduced

new production ideas, unique finishing

solutions, as well as novel print materi-

als. For instance, our clients have benefit-

ted from our research in applying offset

printing on canvas, touch-and-feel coat-

ing, multicolor pattern lamination, and

use of waterproof paper and 3D metal

stickers, says sales manager Alice Fan,

whose team is focused on increasing

Magnum Offsets profile abroad.

We have been working with Ameri-

can and Australian publishers in the

book, magazine, and catalogue business

for a long time, adds Chan. Our exper-

tise is known and our solutions appreci-

ated. However, there is a much bigger

market out there that we have not even

looked at. In recent months, we have been

Janet Yau, Vicky Chan, and Alice Fan (l. to r.) of MagnumOffset

PropertiesThis 29.8 42 cm landscape catalogue with only 48 pages of text had unusual features

for Magnum Offset to handle. First off, the client wanted a shiny metal clamshell

box to accentuate the exclusiveness of the properties showcased in the cata-

logue. Aside from the oversized clamshell, the use of shiny metal required

a lot of vigilance during mass production and assembly. Every little

scratch or tiny bit of fingerprint can be seen very clearlyand avoid-

ing those were tough. Then, there are the application of spot

UV and spot matte UV for some of the text pages, adding to

the complexity. Overall, it took us several weeks to study the

project and produce the dummies before we went into final

production, says account manager Janet Yau. T.T.

P

rojectShowcase


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WWW.REGALPRINTINGLTD.COM.HK


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during this time, Regent remains strong,

reliable, competitive, and honest, says

national sales manager Valerie Harwell,

in the California office, adding, the abil-

ity to mediate challenging situations to

everyones satisfaction, and to continue

serving our clients and utilize our trusted

vendors even after problems have

occurred has set us apart.

While Regent has been diligently par-

ticipating in certifications and trends

ISO, Disney, and FSC, for instanceit

is our commitment to our core business

that has kept us afloat during the tough

times, adds Harwell, whose team has

been mindful of the ultra-low margins

platform to deliver the final product to theaudience. In a targeted one-to-one market-

ing campaign, highly personalized printed

matter can draw the audience back to the

product or company website, where his or

her preferences and purchasing behavior

are captured. Analytics is applied to fur-

ther customize and refine the print prod-

uctor create new content, either in

digital or print format, or bothfor that

consumer. To me, that is one direction that

print can go in the near future.

Recent years have certainly seen the rise

of e-publishing affecting conventional

printing, and few printers have not seen a

decline in production volume, Kwan

admits. Regal is fortunate in that we are

well established in the high-end quality

printing market, and this segment has

been largely spared the impact of e-books

or mobile apps. So we have our own brand-

ing and niche, and we are going to keep

growing in that direction. That niche has

seen Regal included as one of Sothebys

premium affiliates this year. Aside from

printing Sothebys auction catalogues, we

have also been busy working with many

reputable museums and art galleries, espe-

cially those in the U.S. for their coffee-

table books and collectible titles.

Combining the best of conventional

and digital printing is the way Regal

Printing operates nowadays. We are

equipped to handle ultra-short projects

requiring overnight printing and bind-

ing. One project saw us rushing outwithin hours 20 copies of spiral-bound

A3-sized construction tender documents

in landscape formatto form 64 pages

for a real-estate developer. Then there

was one super-urgent project where the

file came in at 1 a.m. and we had to

deliver a total of 10,000 copiesof a

32-page 16 11-in. newsletter in two

language versionsto the Hong Kong

Convention Center before 9 a.m. Project

size, quantity, and lead time basically

dictates the printing method used.

Increased demand for ultra-short runs

has resulted in Kwan purchasing a semiau-

tomatic case-making and casing-in

machine from Italy, the first of such

machinery in the country. We are now

capable of delivering short-run hardcase

books from our New Territories facility.

Our goal to continue expanding in high-

end quality printing means that we must

provide all sorts of flexibility to clients in

terms of print quality and speedy delivery.

Regent PublishingServicesHere is a print brokerage firm that began

30 years ago in Hong Kongs Regent

Hotel with a handshake between George

Tai and Laurence Orbach, founder of

Quarto. Today, Tai remains at the helm

of Regent while continuing his mostly

silent partnership with the Quarto

Group. While many brokers represent-ing Asian printers have come and gone

Maurice Kwan, managing director ofRegal Printing

Luxury Houses

Proje

ctShowcase

For this 300-page catalogue, the publisher

Hong Kong Economic Times specifically

requested that mosaic tiles be incorpo-rated into the cover design. Since the

tiles had to be of a certain color, grain, and

size, we had to source far more than what

we needed, and our team went through the

stock to choose the best pieces. Waste

was high, but it could not be helped. Then

there were the technical challenges of

assembling the tiles, fitting the assembled

piece onto the debossed part of the cover,

gluing it onto the board, and ensuring that it stay glued, says man-

aging director Maurice Kwan of Regal Printing. T.T.

George Tai, managing director ofRegent Publishing Services


16/17


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gon and ICC profiles floating around. In

fact, we deter clients from using any ICC

profile. If a client can produce a verifiable

G7 or Fogra standard proof, we can match

it, and in many cases we do so without

ever seeing that proof. Some clients haveeven gone so far as to calibrate screen to

Fogra and test our ability to match what

they see onscreen. We are able to achieve

it with D-tone, densitometer, and our

eyes, and we print almost entirely with

stochastic FM screen.

FM screen produces a wider color

gamut, better contrast, and no moire pat-

tern problems. Best of all, we do not

charge any more than we do for conven-

tional FM screen. And how many printers

do you know who can set up a Fogra standardsheet with stochastic screen in 20 min-

utes? Our staff has been doing it for every

job, and the major advantage here is cer-

tainty. WKT now has partners in China,

Europe, and the U.S. to market D-tone.

Meanwhile, WKTs lighter packing

solution, Airypack, won the merit prize

at the 2013 Hong Kong Awards for

Environmental Excellence (Green Inno-

vations) and recognized under Hong

Kong Green Label. It is now on track for

EcoLogo certification and the Carbon

Footprint credit scheme, Kuo says,

pointing that several high-profile clients

are using Airypack as a part of their envi-

ronmental commitment. As the pres-

sure builds for businesses to respect con-

cerns for sustainable packaging solu-

tions, we are confident that Airypack

will find itself in the mainstream of

environmental-friendly presentation

offerings.

and are careful not to over-extend our

sales and support staff in the U.S., Europe

and Hong Kong. We do realize that a

steady revenue without huge business

growth is actually a sales success in an

industry where less books are being

printed every year. As print runs go

lower, many projects are more economi-

cal going from web press to sheetfed

press, explains Harwell, and our typical

print run is from 1,000 to 10,000. So

many big projects that are scaling down

are coming to us.

Some might say that using a broker is

the choice of nonsophisticated buyers, she

says, but we continue to produce custom-

ized products for some of the biggest pub-

lishers in the industry. Our relationship,

consistency, and reputation are the basis of

our businessnot necessarily new and

innovative product lines or services. The

U.S. constitutes the bulk of Regents sales,

with the rest coming from Japan, the

U.K., South Africa, and Australia.

A profitable business, observes Har-

well, allows us to be there for our clients

reprints, sometimes five or 10 years later.

We find ourselves surprised at the busi-

ness strength of our largest clients as the

market changes, and we are proud to

serve them. Sure, the market has cor-

rected and we have lost business in someareas but we have held on to others in

some cases for 15 or 20 years. We see

those businesses thriving and it makes us

proud. We continue to find new and

exciting businesses that need our exper-

tise even more, and we continue to fight

to keep our place in this industry.

WKTTrust is something that companies like

WKT have taken years to build, says mar-

keting director Jeremy Kuo, and it is

working for us now as a bulwark against

the competitionthat, and the collective

industry expertise and logistical support

that makes this region such a printing

powerhouse. Our development with the

D-tone color bar is bearing fruit with cli-

ents who want some certainty in their

lives and, if possible, not having to travel

halfway around the

world to ensure it.

Kuo bel ieves

that clients work-

ing with his team

using Fogra and

G7 standards know

that WKT can

deliver print that

matches the proofs.

This is not some

vague claim with a

lot of complex colormanagement jar- Different packaging solutions using Airypack

DIY Type

ProjectSho

wcase

It took the Regent team more

than 15 months to move this

Potter Style book from the idea

stage to final product. While itmay look like a regular

paperback, this book actually has

three different paper stocks: 14

pages of reading section and 20

stencil cards with 19 sheets interleaving between each stencil card.

The 20 cardsthe books core elementcontain different stencil

images of the alphabet, and we have to machine-varnish both sides

of the card to improve its strength for repeated use, says national

sales manager Valerie Harwell, adding that manual binding with

additional stapling further reinforced the book. The perforation style

was also changed to enable the cards to tear off cleanly. The

technical issues were plenty, but our team managed to tweak the

usual production processes to deliver a great product. T.T.

the printing business in hong kong

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