Dai Nippon Printing

DNP, Dai Nippon Printing, was established in 1876 as the first full-scale printing company in Japan. Always applying and developing its printing technology, the Company has expanded and diversified its operations to include packaging, decorative materials, electronic components and information media supplies. The wide variety of DNP products and services are essential to our daily lives. In addition, these products and services which enrich our lives are now taken for granted in every aspect of our society. By combining its innovative technology and expertise, DNP offers products and services that fulfill dreams, ensure a more enjoyable livelihood, and afford better communication. The company updates its equipment, installing a steam motor to run its presses, thus becoming the first private-industry user of steam power in Japan. Dai Nippon Printing Company International, Ltd. is established in Hong Kong; the company builds a plant in Hong Kong, primarily to serve U.S. publishers. Dai Nippon establishes P.T. Dai Nippon Printing Indonesia, mainly to produce food packaging and decorative cartons for the Indonesian market. The company forges an agreement with the Japanese division of Microsoft whereby Dai Nippon's smartcards will be applicable to Microsoft's Windows operating system and backed by Microsoft's technical support. Dai Nippon was founded as Sh¯ueisha in Tokyo in 1876. Japan's modernization process was just beginning. As it took hold, more newspapers and documents were printed and Sh¯ueisha grew. The only modern Japanese printing firm at the time, it was well positioned to get this business. It printed virtually all the metropolitan newspapers, its only competition being tiny printing houses which used wood blocks. Sh¯ueisha initially printed movable type by hand, but in 1884 the company updated its equipment, installing a steam motor to run its presses, thus becoming the first private-industry user of steam power in Japan. From then on new techniques and improved equipment were added constantly as Japan's papermaking and publishing industries grew. In 1874 Japan manufactured only 35,000 pounds of paper. In 1884 it manufactured 5.3 million pounds, and in 1894, 36 million pounds. Most of that paper was used for printing, much of which was done by Sh¯ueisha, at least until 1900 when its chief rival, Toppan Printing, was formed. The Sino-Japanese War of 1894 created an increase in printing orders and demand for paper as more newspapers were read and more documents needed. A slump in printing and papermaking followed the end of the war in 1901, but in 1904 the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War increased the demand for newspapers and magazines. Japan defeated China and Russia. A period of military and economic expansion began, assisted by a modern currency system, established during the 1880s. As the economy grew, so did the demand for printing. Printing boomed during World War I. By 1927 printing and publishing were approaching Western scales; nearly 20,000 new book titles and 40 million magazines were published that year. In 1935 the company changed its name to Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. During the 1930s Japan was ruled by an increasingly repressive military dictatorship that suppressed publishers and writers and banned books, making printers cautious about what they printed. Publishing, and thus printing, did not flourish in such an atmosphere. Paper shortages and the devastation of the Japanese economy during World War II further hurt the printing industry. The industry recovered fairly quickly after the war, however, growing rapidly during the 1960s and 1970s. The most important printing during the boom was encyclopedias and the complete works of authors. Periodical printing was also important. Dai Nippon was growing at about 6 percent a year by 1966. As Japanese industry began its slow but steady postwar expansion, Dai Nippon took advantage of opportunities in new sectors of the economy. For example, Dai N