The introduction also marks the debut for a new press brand – Enthrone – chosen by the Japanese manufacturer because the 13,000sph Enthrone 29 is viewed as "an entry-level Lithrone".
Komori will have four different presses from its sheetfed portfolio running live on its 1,025sqm stand in hall six, and the five-colour Enthrone on display will be shown switching from 150gsm to 450gsm stock to emphasise the capabilities of its adjustment-free gripper system.
It borrows from the Spica model in that it has a small footprint and an integrated press control system at the delivery end; while also featuring the same inking unit, feeder and benderless clamp as the Lithrone S-series.
UK managing director Neil Sutton said pricing details for the Enthrone were still being finalised but the cost of the press would be "competitive".
"We are setting our stall out in the B2 sector; it's a big chunk of the market and we want to be in a position to grab it," he added.
Also receiving its debut at the show is a new UV curing system that Komori described as "unique" because it offers benefits over both conventional UV and the emerging LED UV systems.
H-UV is ozone-free, uses relatively low-cost lamps, does not generate lots of heat, and claims power consumption that is similarly low to LED UV, according to Komori.
"We've come at this thinking 'how can we really drive the cost of this down so it becomes a sensible option for customers?'," Sutton explained. "Installation and running costs are low, which allows the possibility of bringing UV into commercial printing. It overcomes the major current limitations with UV."
The new system will be shown in action on the eight-colour Lithrone S40P that will be printing PrintWeek's IpexDaily live at the NEC in Birmingham.
Also on display for the first time at a UK exhibition is the 18,000sph Lithrone SX40, in a six-colour plus coater configuration and a five-colour Lithrone S29 with coater and KHS-AI self-learning system. It will be shown printing three different jobs in 12 minutes.
In total, Komori will put on approximately 120 demonstrations throughout the event.
"We believe printers want to see presses running and we have actual presses, not virtual reality presses," said European marketing manager Philip Dunn in a thinly-veiled sideswipe at rival Manroland, which has said it will not show any machines at the show and focus on applications instead.
"We decided at the last Ipex what we wanted to do at this one, and there hasn't been a moment since when we haven't thought about going there with all guns blazing."
