When Landa launched its Nanography presses at Drupa, the press platforms for the prototype models on show were supplied by Komori.

The two companies have now announced the signing of a long-term strategic alliance for production models. Landa said it had spent a year "evaluating proposals from the industry’s leading press vendors" and described Komori as being "in a class of its own".

It stated: "In making its assessment, Landa took into account the calibre of engineering, robustness of design, automation, reliability and cost effectiveness. The vendor’s culture of innovation, technical resources, commercial success and financial stability were also important criteria."

While Landa will use the Komori platform for its own-brand models, Komori will gain Nanography know-how for it own range of digital presses based on the technology.

Landa has placed orders for Komori platforms for its Landa S10FC B1-format press for folding cartons, slated to be the first model to ship in Q4 next year. Of the 430 presses Landa has letters of intent for, some 170 are for this model.

Landa founder and chairman Benny Landa appeared to contrast Komori’s position to that of financially challenged European press manufacturers in his statement, which said: "It is gratifying to have as our strategic partner the one global press vendor that continues to thrive despite the challenges faced by the industry."

Regarding the licence deals agreed with Heidelberg and Manroland Sheetfed announced at Drupa, Landa said: "Access to Landa Nanographic Printing technology is granted in stages, subject to the licensee meeting certain requirements at each stage. Komori was first to meet those requirements and will be first to market with its own-branded products. Others will follow."

Landa added: "We still expect Nanography to become a universal standard, but we are moving one step at a time, and that step starts with Komori."

Komori has just announced its half-year results and an upgrade to its revenue and profit forecasts for the full year. Sales were up 37.4% to ¥40.9bn (£260m) in the six months to 30 September, while operating profits were ¥3.4bn compared with last year’s ¥1.6bn loss. The firm’s share price has more than tripled in the past year, and is currently at ¥1,542 (low: ¥417).

Yoshiharu Komori, Komori chairman, said he was "amazed" at Landa’s progress, and went so far as to compare its potential with that of the advent of digital printing: "Our teams have been closely monitoring Landa’s development and have been amazed with the progress made so far, which exceeds our expectations.

"We believe that the impact of Benny Landa’s new invention, Nanography – with the Komori platform – will have a far greater impact even than his introduction of the first digital printing press," Komori stated.

Manroland Sheetfed and Heidelberg were unavailable for comment at the time of writing.