Komori's Second Curve: Offset vs. Printed Electronics

Komori is moving into printed electronics because traditional offset printing has hit the ceiling of a mature market, while electronics manufacturing still needs what printing presses do best: steady inking, precise registration, and thin-film control

Komori Corporation is a century-old Japanese printing equipment maker, known across commercial, publishing, and packaging print shops for its offset presses. Offset printing transfers ink from a plate to a rubber blanket before pressing it onto paper or paperboard, making it ideal for stable, high-volume commercial and packaging runs

According to the August 7, 2026 report on Komori shifting to printed electronics, Komori posted Q1 FY2027 sales of 23.1 billion yen, up 2.5% year over year, with 33.2 billion yen in orders. International markets contributed over 70% of revenue. These numbers show that Komori's core business can still fund investments while successfully charting its second curve

Printed electronics works by taking the inking, screen, tension, registration, and drying controls from printing presses and applying them to electronic material deposition and patterning

Printed electronics refers to using printing methods to form circuits, sensors, and antennas with conductive inks, thin films, or functional materials. The focus is on material deposition and precise registration. Komori develops this sector through Seria Corporation, covering electronic circuits, Micro LEDs, RFID, perovskite photovoltaic cells, and semiconductor interconnects

・Touch sensors: The key lies in uniform deposition of transparent conductive materials, where any defect directly causes touch inaccuracy

・RFID antennas: RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) uses antennas and chips to give physical objects readable identities, commonly seen in inventory, logistics, anti-counterfeiting, and ticketing

・Semiconductor package substrates and interconnects: The focus shifts to finer line widths, tighter registration, and strict cleanroom environments, speaking the language of electronics foundries

Komori is not giving up on offset. Conventional presses remain its primary profit driver, and orders for sheetfed offset presses even grew by 46%

Komori currently divides its business into four divisions. This setup reflects the pivot strategy I have seen at mature equipment makers in recent years: protect the core, and chase growth in materials, electronics, and high-security manufacturing

・Offset printing: Serving commercial, publication, and packaging print, this remains Komori's best-known core line

・Security printing: Using specialized processes, materials, and patterns to make documents harder to forge, typically for banknotes, passports, and secure documents. Komori serves over 30 countries

・Digital printing: Handling variable data, short runs, and high-mix custom jobs that are uneconomical for offset

・Printed electronics: Applying printing technology to electronic circuits, RFID, Micro LEDs, and semiconductor-related processes

When I looked at Komori's messaging for the J-throne 29 a while ago, I noticed their pitch had shifted from selling standalone presses to complete production line solutions. This four-division structure makes that direction crystal clear

The warning for Taiwanese print shops is that global commercial print market growth has slipped below 1% annually. Upgrading equipment simply out of habit based on old orders will no longer work

Komori saw slowdowns in Japan and North America, while sales grew 41% in Europe and 74% in Greater China. Demand for printing equipment is still there, but orders are migrating to shops that are more efficient and capable of handling hybrid processes. Bet on the wrong equipment, and the cost is not just a single bad quarter, but an entire depreciation cycle

ISO 12647 sets color targets for proofs and production runs, giving suppliers, designers, and clients a shared standard. Smaller shops need to lock down these fundamentals before talking about variable data, security printing, smart labels, or electronics manufacturing. Get the order of operations right

・Check existing offset lines for color consistency, delivery reliability, and post-press error sources

・If clients frequently ask for serial numbers, anti-counterfeiting, or supply chain tracking, put digital printing and security printing on your evaluation list first

・If a vendor only pitches speed and sheet counts but cannot clearly explain material compatibility, maintenance, and quality control support, do not rush into signing for that press

What brand clients need to do now is nail down their basic print specifications before evaluating whether anti-counterfeiting, traceability, or smart packaging actually belong in their procurement plans

Do not rush

Komori's acquisition of Maruyama Chiller Corporation aims to secure cooling equipment for semiconductor processes and electronic component clients. That is still far from everyday brand print buyers, but the direction signals one clear reality: future printed products will increasingly touch materials, identification, and data flow, rather than stopping at pretty layouts

General clients should first use the Mai Strategy Three Print Checkpoints to manage what is within control

・Requirements Check: Define the purpose, quantity, deadline, and budget first. For complex substrates and brand color management, turn to MINDS; for standardized print products and online ordering, use MINDS Print

・Prepress Check: Verify bleed, resolution, color mode, and finishing placements before final output. Do not leave prepress issues to be discovered on press

・Acceptance Check: Check physical proofs for brand colors, paper texture, and finishing effects. Never replace hard proofs with verbal descriptions

That is enough

・Komori's pivot to printed electronics reminds print shops not to tie equipment investments strictly to paper volume

・Offset printing remains profitable, but the ceiling in mature markets leaves little margin for error

・Small and mid-sized shops should first stabilize color, turnaround times, and file delivery before exploring variable data, security printing, and smart packaging

・Brand clients do not need to chase electronic buzzwords. Turn every print job into verifiable specifications first

For print manufacturers, the next step is not rushing to buy printed electronics hardware, but organizing existing offset, digital printing, post-press, and quality control data to guide smart investment decisions. For designers, file handoff requires paying closer attention to materials, color reproduction, and finishing constraints. For AI and SaaS teams, the most practical entry points are quotation assistance, file preflighting, job scheduling, and customer spec management, addressing where print shops hurt most every day

・Komori Continues Its Industrial Transformation, Shifting from Offset Presses to Printed Electronics