Our Story

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL PRINTERS LAUNCH EVENT 

Asia One is the first company in Hong Kong to put KM bizhub PRESS C1100 into production. The superior capabilities of the digital printers were introduced. Guests were all amazed as the digital printed publications are almost indistinguishable from those by offset printing. After the guided tour, the guests gathered at the rooftop garden to enjoy the roasted pig and refreshments. Sales Director Andy Chan, Business Manager Ringo Lui and Konica Minolta Director Robert Yip were interviewed by reporters from The Hong Kong Printers Association and Graphic Arts Association of Hong Kong afterwards. 

LASER DIGITAL PROOF SERVICES 

With the recent launch of the new Konica Minolta printers, AOG has started making use of C1060’s superior function to provide the laser digital proof services. The proofs are also used for the colour proof process of offset printing with excellent results. 

THE 2015 PREMIER PRINT AWARDS 

Congratulations to Asia One Printing for winning a ‘Benny’ statue at the Premier Print Awards. As well as gaining the top honour, Asia One also took home three Awards of Recognition and six Certificates of Merit from the event: 

THE 13th HK DIGITAL PRINTING AWARD

The HK Digital Printing Award is organised by the HK Digital Printing Association to promote digital printing in Hong Kong. Asia One won 3 prizes this year:

2015 HONG KONG AWARDS FOR INDUSTRIES 

Organised by the Hong Kong Young Industrialists Council, the Hong Kong Awards for Industries recognises industrial enterprises that have achieved sustainable development outcomes and expanded their market through effective reforms. The award is highly regarded as the Olympic Award for Hong Kong Industries. Asia One won the Award in recognition of its successful implementation of three cultural-related businesses, namely Asia One Product & Publishing Ltd., AO: The Photo Book Center and AO Vertical Art Space. We have leveraged this ‘Golden Triangle of Culture’ as a market positioning tool to turn Asia One Communications Group into the leading printing and communications services provider in Hong Kong. 

THE 27th HONG KONG PRINT AWARDS The Hong Kong 

Print Awards are the SAR’s largest and most respected competition for publishing, printing and graphic design industry. Asia One won one Champion and two Merit awards at this year’s gala event. 

INTERVIEW WITH GAAHK BULLETIN 

Highlighting its big win at the 26th Hong Kong Print Awards, Asia One was the cover story of issue 376 of the Graphic Arts Association Bulletin. In the interview, Sales Director Andy Chan described how the award-winning publications were produced, and the difficulties solved along the way.

PRINT CHINA 2015

In April, sales and project team members visited Print China 2015 in Dongguan to keep abreast of the latest technologies and exchange ideas with other printing professionals. 

HP DIGITAL PRINT EXCELLENCE AWARDS

The Asia Pacific/Japan HP Digital Print Excellence Awards presentation ceremony was held on 17 June at Universal Studios Singapore. Asia One is the Winner in the Photo Book – Consumer category (Homebound by KC Kwan). Also, Asia One earned two‘Special Recognition’ awards at the event; in the Photo Book – Premium (AOV – Ho Fan Show Catalogue) and General Commercial Printing – Marketing Collateral (125 Years: Swiss History of Time) categories. Andy Chan, Rachel Shum and Joseph Cheung were invited to attend the ceremony, as well as the Brand Summit and HP User Summit.

Improving Efficiency with New Machines

Asia One recently welcomed the arrival of a brand new Heidelberg Speedmaster eight-colour offset printing machine and a paper cutting machine to their new home on 3rd floor. Together with the early introduced saddle stitching binding machine, our productivity has doubled while ability to deal with large-scale projects enhanced.

TRAINING PROGRAMME

A series of training sessions for Asia One Printing staff were presented by a professional training company Craftses Studio in May. Bryan Tong, Managing Director of Craftses, provided a number of practical insights on colour management and leadership for AOP sales, technical and management teams.

Adaptive leadership: Mobilising for Change

Focusing on communication skills, the 8th May training session focused on gaining an understanding of people’s behavior– something which is crucial to obtaining the support of subordinates. Also examined was the importance of effective communication in addressing issues while leading change.

Controlling colour quality: Densitometry & colourimetric numbers

On 12th May, training for field starters focused on introducing colour management tools from ABC to intermediate. The workshop explained the best practices in production control.

Enhancing sales through understanding colour management

In the final training session on 23rd May, senior AOP sales executives were offered an in-depth look at solving typical challenges related to the colour of printed materials.

PRINTING SOUTH CHINA 2014 – THE 21^stS OUTH CHINA INTERNATIONAL PRINTING INDUSTRY EXHIBITION 2014

By invitation from HP Indigo 10000 Digital Press, four members of the Asia One Communications Group’s managerial staff attended Printing South China 2014 in March. The annual event was a high-profile one for the global printing business, serving as a hub for printing-related firms and a buying platform for industry professionals.

A highlight of the event for Asia One was gaining a deeper understanding of supplier products such as the 30 inch wide roll-to-roll HP Indigo 20000 Digital Press, which is capable of producing the vast majority of flexible packaging applications. The attendees also received insights on green packaging and 3D printing, and used the event to interact with peers from elsewhere in the industry.

Premier Print Awards 2014

Congratulations to Asia One Printing for winning a ‘Benny’ statue at the Premier Print Awards. As well as the top honour, Asia One also took home three Awards of Recognition and four Certificates of Merit at the event:

The 5th China International Exhibition for All Printing Technology and Equipment

Three representatives from Asia One joined the Graphic Arts Association of Hong Kong delegation at this influential event in Shanghai during 14 to 17 November. Held in November and themed ‘Inspiring Vision of New Printing Era’, the programme included displays of printing technologies as well as presentations on industry innovations and restructuring.

The 26th Hong Kong Print Awards

The Hong Kong Print Awards is the territory’s largest and most respected competition for publishing, printing and graphic design industry. Asia One won one Merit and five Champion awards combining with one Best Publishing Concept award of Distinguished Publishing Awards at this year’s gala event.

Summit 2014 – Global Printing Standardization & Integrated Media

On 19 December, 13 Asia One staff members attended Summit 2014–Global Printing Standardisation & Integrated Media – an event hosted by The Hong Kong Printers Association (HKPA) and funded by the government’s SME Development Fund by Trade and Industry Department. The event was also attended by a variety of experts who shared their insights on printing standardisation trends, and how integrated media may bring new opportunities for the printing industry.

Prior to the Summit, APTEC arranged for the international experts to visit several local printing companies, including Asia One. Focus of the visit was to exchange ideas with our digital printing team about technologies, practices and development trends.

The 12th Hong Kong Digital Printing Award

Asia One Printing Ltd was honoured towin no less than three awards at this year’s competition. Added tothe trophy case is a Canon Grand Award, plus one Gold and one Silver award.

Certified by FSC and ISO14001

Asia One has maintained its competitive position as a leading ‘green’ printer with the renewal of its FSC certification in November 2012. More recently – in March this year – came the renewal of our ISO14001:2004 certification.

4/F Workshop Opens as Showroom 

Our 4/F digital printing workshop is now open for viewings by distinguished guests and clients. A range of the latest samples, including Neenah paper and Sotheby’s fine Chinese paintings, are displayed in the showroom.

New equipment – pressSIGN & Techkon SpectroDrive

A new piece of advanced equipment recently went to work at Asia One Printing Limited: the Techkon SpectroDrive. The device is used to measure and control the lithograph printing process to produce consistent accuracy in print-to-print colour. They will also dramatically reduce make-ready times and enhance print quality, ultimately increasing press productivity and profitability.

The 11th Asian Print Awards

For the first time, Asia One joined the Asian Print Awards, winning 2 Bronze awards in the ‘Calendars and catalogues’ category.

The 25th Hong Kong Print Awards

In the largest local printing competition, Asia One earned 2 Champion and 1 Bronze award.

The 6th Sinar Mas Awards

Bronze awards in the ‘Magazine (sheet-fed)’ and ‘Promotional Material (32 pages and above)’ categories

2013 Premier Print Awards

New additions to the trophy case include five Certificates of Merit.

FRANKFURT BOOK FAIR 2013

Frankfurt is one of the most important of the world-class exhibitions in which Asia One participates each year. For the 2013 edition, Asia One Printing joined Soaring Creativity – Hong Kong Publishing and Printing Industries in International Exhibitions in submitting outstanding works for the fair’s Hong Kong pavilion. By participating in international fairs every year, Asia One hopes to help enhance the reputation of Hong Kong’s publishing and printing industries while expanding its relationships with printers and clients from around the globe.

AO: CALENDAR – A YEAR ON THE CREATIVE EDGE

Asia One has always striven to be a true, multi-capability ‘one-stop shop’. In that vein, in 2013 we introduced a brand new marketing channel, AO: Calendar, which offers clients artistic, cost-effective items for new year promotions. Calendars by AO: Calendar are more than unique art pieces: they also create a year-round connection with the target audience.

One of these is the ‘Yuanyang: Hong Kong Artists Collection’, a series of products showcasing Hong Kong via the works of a number of well-known artists and photographers. To raise social and cultural awareness of the community, AO: Calendar has also established a collaboration with language-impaired children from Benji’s Centre. A portion of the proceeds from the project will go to support the Centre.

Visit to Singapore

In March, our Group’s Managing Director Peter Lau, Equity Group’s Managing Director Catherine Chan, Business Development Director Evan Cheung, and Sales Director Andy Chan were invited to attend the‘Empower Your Growth – Big Ideas Mean Big Business’ event organised by HP Indigo Digital Press in Singapore.

During their trip, the quartet visited HP Indigo’s headquarters and production lines for electronic ink and the new Indigo 10000. The group later proceeded to KHL Printing for an inspiring demonstration of the efficient use of digital printers.

By exchanging ideas and insights with other professionals in Singapore, Asia One has gained a better appreciation of its own strengths, areas where there is still room for improvement, and how to refocus its efforts to the introduction of new trends to the local market.

The 8th Beijing International Printing Technology Exhibition

Staff from the project team, the sales department and Asia One Graphic Limited attended the 8th Beijing International Printing Technology Exhibition held in May this year. One of the largest events for the printing industry in China, the exhibition showcases the latest printing technologies from around the world, including mechanised production equipment such as digital printers, gold stamping, spot UV and spot lamination.

The event offered an excellent opportunity for Asia One to exchange ideas with peers from elsewhere in the industry. Gained out of the discussions was a deeper understanding of supplier products such as Indigo 5600, which is commonly used for paper and package label printing, as well as insights on the increasing popularity of digital printing. The market shift from standardised printing to printing-on-demand has caused more traditional printers such as Komori to develop digital printing equipment.

Asia One Communications Group 15th Anniversary

On 9 November 2012, over 300 guests joined us at The Helena May for a lavish ceremony marking the 15th anniversary of Asia One Communications Group.

New equipment

Digital printer: HP Indigo

New 5-colour press

New CTP Magnus 800 Quantum Platesetter

Installation of HP Indigo Digital Printer

The installation of an HP Indigo 5600 Digital Printer in October 2012 now enables us to offer state-of-the-art short-run digital printing services to our clients. This professional press produces ink-based digital prints of offset printing quality at high speed.

GO OUT magazine

GO OUT is an outdoor fashion/trends magazine that is one best-selling of its kind in Japan. Its Chinese version published in Hong Kong was printed by Asia One Printing Limited since the first issue.

Fresh Graduate Management Trainee Program

In 2012, Asia One Printing Limited achieved a remarkable growth in its business. To help sustain and even accelerate that pace of development, we have recently employed more than a dozen recent university graduates as Management Trainees.

The 24th Hong Kong Print Awards

This year, Asia One won three Merit and two Champion awards at the 24th Hong Kong Print Awards.

New five-colour CD offset printer

As part of Asia One’s continuous improvement policy, AOP has replaced its old five-colour CD offset printer with a new, more modern piece of equipment that will maximise the efficiency and quality of our printing standards.

MoMA – Russian Children: Baggage

Baggage is one of a number of remarkable collaborations by artist/illustrator Vladimir Lebedev and poet/translator/author Samuil Marshak featured in the collection of New York’s MoMA.

This facsimile edition printed by Asia One Printing Limited reproduces the original book’s size, shape and design, and adds new English translations. To accurately reproduce the original work, our colour management team used four Pantone colours for the whole book.

Hypebeast magazine, issue 1

Founded in Hong Kong, Hypebeast is a global online media platform which aggregates different parties to announce and discuss fashion, arts, design and culture. The impact of Hypebeast on lifestyles has been considerable: it attracts more than three million unique visitors around the world, with 20 million page views per month.

And now, Hyperbeast isn’t just a digital thing anymore – the first issue of its print version is now available. The printer of this premier issue of one of the most influential magazines in the region? Asia One Printing Limited.

University Museum and Art Gallery –The Multiplicity of Simplicity

AOP has gained excellent feedback from the University Museum and Art Gallery on our previous print work Early Hong Kong Travel 1880-1939. Such was the response that the same client returned to us for the printing of The Multiplicity of Simplicity: Monochrome wares from the Song to the Yuan dynasties in May. This latest book showcases 118 pieces of ceramic ware from the University Museum and eight other collections in Hong Kong.

2011 Hong Kong Print Awards:

Distinguished Publishing Awards – Publishing Concept

Installation of Digital Security Room

Digital Printer: 

Fuji Xerox4112 Copier/Printer & Digital Printer: Fuji Xerox 700 Digital Colour Press 

2009 Premier Print Awards  - Best of Category

Move into Asia One Tower

Asia One Communications Group reaches a significant milestone when it consolidates into self-owned headquarters building. The renovation and relocation exercise begins in October 2007, with the building’s inauguration taking place on 18 March 2008.

2008 Premier Print Awards- Best of Category

Presentation Folders/ Portfolios (1, 2 or 3 colours)

Purchased Group Headquarter - Asia One

A historic moment is reached when the Asia One Group purchases the Yan Nin Industrial Building at 8 Fung Yip Street, Chai Wan, and renames it as the Asia One Tower.

Acquired ‘Caring Company’ accreditation

Asia One gains 'Caring Company' accreditation in recognition of its approach to corporate social responsibility.

Property expansion

Asia One’s continuing growth leads to the purchase of 9/F Wah Shing Centre in Chai Wan.

Capacity expansion

Asia One continues to enhance its core printing capacity with the installation of an eight-colour press. The addition of a second CTP and other printing and output facilities elevate Asia One’s capabilities to the forefront of the industry in Hong Kong.

8-colour press: Heidelberg Speedmaster/ SM102-8-P

2nd CTP: Magnus 800

Education First (EF) – one-stop services

In 2006, Asia One began an increasingly active partnership with EF. Initially providing high quality printing only, since 2008, Asia One has also provided the firm with design services, and since 2011, with warehouse fulfillment.

Capacity expansion

Asia One takes its first step into an advanced new printing field with the purchase of a digital printer.

Capacity expansion

Asia One adds to its range of expertise by offering fulfillment services. The ability to deliver products directly to customers does much to increase Asia One’s appeal in a competitive market.

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Fully mechanical lettershop facility

Property expansion

A new property – 3/F Sum Lung Industrial Building, Chai Wan – serves as home to Asia One’s marketing office. The factory base meanwhile becomes concentrated on 1/F. – 8/F. in Wah Shing Centre.

Cooperation with Hong Kong Disneyland

Asia One becomes a proud provider of design and printing services to one of the world’s favorite international theme park’s Hong Kong division.

Capacity expansion

6-colour press - Heidelberg Speedmaster/SM102-6-P

Property Expansion

Asia One stretches its legs once more with its purchase of the eighth floor of Wah Shing Centre. The additional 10,000 square-foot space allows the factory to be expanded to two floors, with four sets of colour presses on 1/F and the binding department located on 8/F.

Asia One Graphic Ltd. established

Asia One moves closer to its goal of offering comprehensive integrated communications services with the launch of its output company, Asia One Graphic Ltd.

1st CTP: Lotem 800

Property expansion

Asia One is on the move with its purchase of its first fully-owned facility. The first-floor property at Wah Shing Centre in Chai Wan allows the company to expand into over 24,000 square-feet of a full printing & binding factory.

Expansion of binding department

The addition of two more paper-folding machines and a perfect binding machine transforms Asia One into a full-scale, round-the-clock bindery operation.

Inline 21-gathering station perfect binding system

Printing capacity expansion

To consolidate its market position and meet rising demand from local and overseas clients, the company installs an additional five-colour press.

2nd 5-colour press: Heidelberg Speedmaster/CD102-5

Set up of binding department

Growing market demand leads Asia One to take the step of establishing a binding department. Accordingly, the firm purchases saddle-stitch and paper-folding machines, and developed the miniature of a full binding service.

Inline 6-station saddle-stitch machine binding system

Set up of logistics department

Another phase in Asia One’s expansion occurs with the purchase of a single lorry for local deliveries. Ten years later, this single-vehicle ‘fleet’ will evolve into Schneider Logistic Services. 

Asia One Printing Ltd. established  

Asia One Printing Ltd., the core of what will eventually become the Asia One Communications Group, is established by Peter Lau. Its staff of 12 work from two rented units in Chai Wan, with a total 7,000 square-feet serving as both a head office and a factory.

2-colour press : Heidelberg Speedmaster/SM102-2-P

5-colour press: Heidelberg Speedmaster/102FP