The Komori 2018 calendar was produced using an underlying tone of colorful bingata (literally ‘red style’), the traditional Okinawan dyeing technique. ‘Red’
here refers to color in general, and ‘style’ means the various patterns. The bingata technique dates from the age of the Ryukyu Kingdom; red is the primary
color, with green, blue and yellow also used in dyeing the patterns on cotton and fine linen.
When considering the design of the calendar, I was captivated by Ryukyu culture when I visited Shuri Castle and other places in Okinawa two years ago and
a column by Yuuka Arakaki entitled “The Craft of Colorful, Exquisite Bingata.” From the desire to reproduce this technique in print, we achieved a
collaboration of dyeing and printing. Grace in Color, the title of the calendar, implies refinement in color, and the calendar itself broadly expresses Komori’s
corporate evolution.
Carrying on from last year, the cover was printed by the Impremia IS29 digital printing system, which provides digital printing that is four color and yet has
a wide gamut. The inside pages were printed entirely by H-UV offset. Against a background of vivid special colors, the distinctive bingata motifs selected
from Ms. Arakaki’s works are in the center, and the principal motif is made to stand out more by decorative printing (emphasis by patterns of full-area
varnish and coating, backgrounds of matte quality and granular patterns, and thin line patterns in a motif that reminds one of cloth). The November-
December page, in particular, achieved by a base of high gloss, smooth silver coating (K-Supply product for H-UV printing) and color printing with drip-off
effect, is finished as such a glittering, elegant work that it can be mistaken for printing on metallized paper.
For the binding, a screen printing technique from Seria Corporation, a Komori Group company, was used for the first time in this edition of the calendar.
Previously, this part has been printed by offset with a black base on white paper. The title, Grace in Color, and the Komori logo have been printed with
screen white ink on matte black paper, and the artistic line art (abstracted from bingata) has been printed with a thick raised layer of high gloss black screen
ink. Even as the months change, the binding can be appreciated all year. Look closely at the extremely fine lines and touch them with your hand.
Ultimately, it was the ideas and perspectives of women that advanced the creation of the calendar — from the initial planning stage, including design review
competitions with other calendar proposals, to design and production. Even after it was decided to use bingata and production started, Komori women
were preeminent in clarifying printing techniques, aspects of design such as the use of colors and production project management. In this regard, I believe
the impression made by this calendar is totally different, and it is sure to give a feeling of accomplishment to everyone involved.
