FRONTLINE: Oldest Print Shown

Last month's IGAS, the quadrennial print show that parallels drupa, PRINT and IPEX, drew tens of thousands from the Pacific basin to the Big Sight fairgrounds set on reclaimed land in Tokyo Bay. In addition to displays of today's innovative technologies was an exhibit that featured historic printing presses and print specimens from the Mizuno Printing Museum. One extraordinary item was the world's oldest existing printed piece, the Dharani sutra (shown). The Buddhist scripture, printed in China around 700 A.D., is the last copy left from an original run length of one million.

For more coverage on IGAS, see p.42 in this issue. Show organizers plan to move the show to a two-year cycle. www.igas-tokyo.jp, www.mizunopritech.co.jp