Japan’s Largest Publisher Transforms Its Book Printing Process with Bronte software solution
About Kadokawa
Kadokawa is Japan’s largest publisher and a key player in the IP industry, producing books, anime, manga, movies, and games. In addition to publishing, Kadokawa operates its own printing facilities, producing over 5,000 new titles and more than 100 million books annually.
The Challenge
Managing digital book production in Japan comes with unique complexities. Unlike European or American books, Japanese books consist of multiple elements:
- The text body
- The cover
- Front illustration pages (Kuchie)
- The dust jacket
- Advertising bands
Kadokawa needed a flexible and powerful software solution that could seamlessly manage all these elements while integrating with their printing and finishing equipment.
The Solution: Bronte
In 2016, Kadokawa chose Bronte, Rotomail’s proprietary software solution for the full automation of book production workflows, the only software capable of handling the unique structure of Japanese books while adapting to the specific needs of their various production facilities.
Bronte was customized to:
- Manage all book components efficiently
- Integrate with diverse printing and finishing machines
- Adapt to the specific requirements of each factory
- Automate the entire production process, from order intake to shipping
No other solution on the market could offer this level of flexibility and customization.
The Results
Since implementing Bronte, Kadokawa has been able to:
- Produce between 20,000 and 100,000 books per day with seamless automation
- Optimize digital book production while reducing errors and inefficiencies
- Gain full visibility over orders and production
- Explore new business opportunities, such as offering printing services to third parties
Watch the full interview with Kenichi Igarashi, General Manager of the Digital Book Project
“Bronte understands what book production is, and it is not a modified version of the GCP solution software. Therefore, the customized Bronte-J is the best solution for us.”
Kenichi Igarashi, General Manager of the Digital Book Project at Kadokawa