Travel Notes from China
Maybe we have heard an expression that says seek knowledge from China. There are various reasons that can be discussed why this expression mentions China as a place of learning. At least in our travel experience to Amity Printing in China, we observed various developments and learned many good things. Amity is the largest printing house in China whose initial journey began with various social activities by the Amity Foundation. Since 1986, Amity Printing has started printing Chinese Bibles for Protestant and Catholic churches in collaboration with the China Christian Council, and then expanded its business to serve printing Bibles in various languages for international churches as part of the China partnership and the United Bible Society. When we visited the printing house between November 2-10, 2024, Amity had succeeded in printing 268,825,124 copies of the Bible in addition to other printed products such as dictionaries, books, magazines and others.
Before leaving for China, we had actually heard about the excellence of Amity Printing's printed products. Through our visit to Nanjing, we hope to learn and understand what makes their printed products so good and superior. How do they innovate their products? What kind of equipment is used for printing work? What is their work culture? What can be learned and what are the opportunities for collaboration?
At the Amity printing house in Nanjing, China, we were welcomed by Mr. Luke Liu as the CEO of Amity Printing and the Amity team including Mr. Yuhong, Mr. Carlos Kong, Mr. Fang, Mr. Alan Xian, and others. The LAI team consisting of Mr. Antonius Siahaan (Head of Production and Printing Department), Mr. Jemmy Toelle (Head of Printing Production), Mr. Markus Johan (Head of Product Development, Distribution Department) and I (Lady Paula Mandalika-LAI Translation Department) were given the opportunity to visit the Amity printing house and see up close their efficient and professional work process.
The Amity team explained the stages of the production process and showed us their high-quality Bible printing results with attractive designs. We saw up close the machines with the latest technology that make the printing process much more efficient, coupled with the implementation of well-coordinated work methods, from the ordering process to the finished product. From several people we had the chance to discuss with, there was no apparent concern about the digital era. Every year they participate in the international Book Fair. There they meet new clients and their customers.
We were all very impressed and understood the superiority of their products that have gone through a careful and innovative work process. For example, they can produce art-gilding edging so that each Bible can have 2-tone edging colors or can also have edging with illustrations in various colors. They also produce various types of Bible covers such as wooden covers, embroidered covers, covers with cultural design illustrations, and others which are the results of their design team's innovations. Amity tries to explore the wishes of its customers so that Bible orders can be adjusted to the needs and desires of the customer. Opportunities for cooperation with Bible institutions are also possible in various aspects. Another impressive thing is the information about the stages of a good work process, work targets and the waste recycling process that is clearly displayed in various printing work spaces. Amity also has its own machine that manages waste water so that it can be reused and also a machine to manage paper waste that can be resold.
Another thing we learned is how Amity grows with raw material suppliers and has a very good relationship with raw material suppliers such as Xianhe paper supplier and Alpha3 PU cover supplier. After visiting Xianhe and Alpha3 PU, we can understand that the superiority of Amity's printed products is also greatly supported by the superior quality of raw materials from Xianhe and Alpha3.
In addition to the superior quality of print production, Amity Printing has an advantage in communication. The teams from various departments at Amity Printing are able to communicate their products, work processes and vision well and confidently. They are so proud of the quality of their products and the message is so strong. There is a team that is indeed responsible for managing the coordination path between units so that communication can run well. Reflecting on the experience of the past few days, there are many things that LAI can develop in the future in terms of product innovation, communication and coordination, customer service, efficiency.
