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Manga, a form of monochrome narrative expression, was produced since its early days using a letterpress, a quite primitive method of printing. Even today, manga magazines such as Weekly Shonen Jump are produced using letterpress rotary printing, commonly known as katsurin. On the other hand, letterpress 'flatbed' printing presses, which were once frequently used for printing proofs and for small print runs, are rarely employed today. Currently, letterpress flatbed presses capable of A2-size printing are in very limited operation, both in Japan and worldwide.
We posed the question as to whether it would be currently possible to produce manga, an expression originally optimised for letterpress printing, using the best possible quality of letterpress printing available today. With the cooperation of Kyodo Printing, which prints Weekly Shonen Jump, we found a letterpress flatbed press in active operation at Tsutatomo Printing in Nagano Prefecture, along with the staff skilled enough to run the press. The paper we use, 'Gmund Cotton Max White', is impressed by the letterpress with strong printing pressure. The resulting unique surface texture has a physical impact that is impossible to reproduce with offset, lithographic or silk-screen printing. When you touch it, you can feel that the printed surface area is concave.
The print series named 'The Press' was awarded the GMUND AWARD 2021 Grand Prize in the art category for its unique expression.
In spring 2023, we heard that Tsutatomo Printing would be going out of business. Surprised by the sudden news, we quickly searched for a company that could deliver large-format letterpress printing. We wondered if we would be able to locate something we could not find three years earlier.
Happily, two companies were discovered. And not only that, but both were also located in Tokyo. One is in Asakusa, and the other is in Kagurazaka.
Nikkodo (Asakusa) uses a Japanese-made printing press. Tokyo Letterpress (Kagurazaka) operates a German-made printing press. Both are valuable printing machines with different features and methods of printing. With the cooperation of each company, verification and research have enabled us to continue producing "The Press" series.
The aim of this collection is to pass on not only compelling manga artwork, but also the printing technology used by rare printing presses to future generations.
A maximum of 14 works are to be sold by lottery.
*They are also scheduled to be sold at Shueisha Manga Art Heritage Tokyo Gallery (Azabudai Hills).
Revisiting manga's roots with flatbed letterpress printing
Since its inception manga, a black and white storytelling medium, has been printed with a letterpress, one of the most primitive methods of printing. Even today, Weekly Shonen Jump and other manga magazines are created using the letterpress rotary printing method commonly known as katsurin.
However, flatbed letterpress machines, once frequently used for proof printing and small print jobs, are rarely in use today. These machines, especially those capable of printing in A2 size, are in very limited operation, both in Japan and around the world.
Is it possible to take manga, which has always been a medium optimized for letterpress, and turn it into artwork using the highest possible quality letterpress?
This is the question that we endeavored to find out.
The Press is the name of a series of works produced by printing with a flatbed letterpress on 100% cotton Gmund Cotton Max White paper.
In 1992, Oda received the Weekly Shonen Jump Tezuka Award for Wanted! Serialization of ONE PIECE began five years later in 1997. In the same year, the first tankobon (individual) volume of the series was released. In 1999, the title was made into an animated series. The first ONE PIECE exhibition was held in 2012.
In 1992, Oda received the 2nd place prize in the 44th Tezuka Award for Wanted! (under the pseudonym "Tsuki Himizu Kikondo"). In 1993, Oda was selected for the 104th Hop Step Award for Ikki Yako. In 2006, ONE PIECE chosen in the Japanese Media Arts Festival 100 Manga Selection. In 2012, Oda received first prize in the 41st Japan Cartoonists Association Award for ONE PIECE. In 2018, Oda received the Kumamoto Prefecture Honorary Award.
The magazine carrying the series was Weekly Shonen Jump, The year the series started was 1997. A heroic pirate adventure story revolving around a treasure known as "One Piece." In this adventure, Monkey D. Luffy sets out to become the King of the Pirates. The work was made into an animated television series in 1999. On June 15, 2015, One Piece attained the Guinness World Record for most copies published for the same comic book series by a single author. The total worldwide circulation exceeds 500 million copies as of August 2022.
