Cover material for Bibles around the world
Heikki Suomala, Sales Director, St Michel Print Oy
We are one of the few printing houses specializing in light-weight papers in Europe and a family business that is more than one hundred years old. Our company has been in printing business in the Mikkeli region in Finland since 1889. Our clientele is very international and since the 1980s we have printed books in more than sixty languages.
We print approximately 7 to 8 million books annually. The thinnest fine paper, light-weight paper, is a traditional choice for books that have special value for readers and communities. These include, for example, religious works and law books. The paper has a very light shade, so the readability of the text is excellent. In addition, the paper is durable and keeps well. Unlike mechanical paper grades, it also does not turn yellow as it ages. The paper’s features are based on the chemical pulp containing undamaged wood fibers used in the manufacturing process.
Among other publications, we print Bibles for Christian churches around the world. For example, in Africa we have delivered them to 15 countries and in numerous languages. Most of the customers represent European or North American missionary organisations.
We offer our customers a wide range of different cover solutions to choose from. Kiiltoplast (Intermedius) has been an important partner of ours for decades. They have supplied us with coated cover material both for hardcover and paperback adhesive-bound books. The foil printing is done by us, and the success of the result is of course based on the high-quality of the covering material.
Our operational environment is quite unique. After all, Finland is known for its pulp and paper mills, and they are world leaders in long-fibre pulp. Very few places in the world have a high-quality printing house, a paper mill, and a cover material manufacturer in such a small area. It is naturally a competitive advantage considering the international markets.
I have been the CEO of St Michel Print for over 14 years, and we have been very pleased with the cooperation with Kiiltoplast. They have always been happy and able to meet our wishes and development needs. For us, it is essential that the selected partner has the capability to produce high-quality coated cover material even for large print runs.
St Michel Print Oy
St Michel Print is part of the Länsi-Savo Group. The roots of the company are in the newspaper printing house founded by Jaakko Päivärinna in Mikkeli in 1889. Today, the company is a printing house that specializes entirely in light-weight paper, and supplies both soft and hardcover books. Printing work is carried out on either coated or uncoated 25–40 g/m² light weight paper using monochrome technology.
The main products are Bibles, New Testaments, hymn books, law books, catalogues, and manuals, as well as dictionaries. About 85% of printed books are exported. www.stmichelprint.fi