December 6, 2004 No.1032

MHI Launches High-Performance, Economical Newspaper Offset Press -"DiamondSpirit" Cuts Printing Plate Requirement in Half -

Tokyo, December 6, 2004 -- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has developed and commenced marketing a newspaper offset press, dubbed the "DiamondSpirit", that achieves printing of superlative speed (80,000 impressions per hour) and outstanding quality while simultaneously reducing running costs. The adoption of a four-page-wide and one-page-around (4x1) plate cylinder enables a reduction in the number of required printing plates by half, resulting not only in excellent performance but also in outstanding economic benefits, as printing plates account for a substantial portion of overall printing costs. MHI is targeting the new DiamondSpirit primarily for overseas publishers of small and medium newspaper circulations, along with domestic newspaper publishers.

MHI's newspaper offset press "DiamondSpirit"     The DiamondSpirit incorporates the high-speed printing technology MHI developed for the DiamondStar, the company's best-selling newspaper offset press capable of the world's fastest printing speed of 90,000 iph. The DiamondSpirit's 80,000 iph is the fastest speed offered in printing presses of its type. The new press also inherits four outstanding features of the DiamondStar: high productivity, high quality, high reliability and operator friendliness. The most outstanding feature of the new press is the achievement of significant reduction in running costs compared with conventional four-page-wide, two-page-around presses, made possible by halving of printing plate costs and swifter printing plate changes, all while maintaining high-quality printing. The company has also focused on minimizing paper waste and has achieved a 2% waste rate, the lowest in the industry. In addition, power consumption has been trimmed by 15% compared with conventional presses, largely through the adoption of a shaftless drive system and low-friction cylindrical roller bearings. High-quality printing at high speed is further supported by minimizing the vibration of printing plate cylinders and blanket cylinders, enabling the printing of remarkably clear images required in full-page advertisements, for example. The adoption of an innovative ink roller arrangement and high-precision auto-preset inking (API) system achieves sharp image quality and stable ink density on the paper. The API system automatically controls the amount of ink supplied during printing according to the image to be printed. In the DiamondSpirit, this function has been further enhanced to control ink supply more precisely, providing even higher quality color printing. MHI aims to conduct aggressive marketing activities of the new DiamondSpirit, a press that responds beautifully to the cost-trimming and other needs of the market, as a strategic product to go alongside its mainstay DiamondStar, the world's fastest newspaper offset press. # # # About Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading heavy machinery manufacturers, with consolidated sales of 2,373 billion yen in fiscal 2003 (year ended March 31, 2004). MHI's diverse lineup of products and services encompasses shipbuilding, steel structures, power plants, chemical plants, steel plants, environmental equipment, industrial and general machinery, aircraft, space rocketry and air-conditioning systems. For more information, please visit the MHI website (http://www.mhi.co.jp). PRESS CONTACT: Hideo Ikuno: h.ikuno@daiya-pr.co.jp Tel: +813-6716-5277, Fax: +813-6716-5929 Daiya PR (in charge of public relations for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.)

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