Shinohara UK is a joint venture between Graphic Arts Equipment (GAE), currently sole UK agent for the presses, and Litho Supplies.

Initially, the company will be based at GAE’s showroom in west London, but GAE managing director Tony Hards believes that the company will eventually have its own site.

He said: “It has yet to be decided where the company will be registered, but initially it will share our showroom. Further down the line, though, it will have its own separate facility.”

GAE and Litho Supplies have not yet announced how the running of the company is going to work.

At the moment, GAE has a Shinohara B3 press (pictured) in its showroom, but within a couple of months, a B2 press, probably a five-colour, will also be on show.

The new company will not be going on a mass recruitment drive. Hards explained that a salesperson would be required to cover the South of England, but someone was already in place to look after the North.

Hards said the firm would be looking for a fairly small segment of the market.

He added: “We are looking to get something like 24 to 30 [press] units of each size (B2 and B3) installed annually. It is quite a small amount, but it is achievable. We are just aiming to have a good niche market.”

According to Hards, around 250 Shinohara units are already present in the UK, although some of these have come in through secondhand purchases.

Litho Supplies is set to feature a Shinohara B3 colour press on its stand at Northprint next month.