Entrepreneur strikes Gold on his own

Starting with a love for books, Christian Soeseno develop a soft spot for special limited edition copies, That affair led him to his Gold at the 2006 Asian Print Awards.

Kisah Publishing commenced in March 2004 as a division of P.T. Suburmitra Grafistama (Subur), the latter being run by yje senior Soeseno. Subur was originally set up in 1997 wuth photocopying as its core business. In 1984, Subur invested in their first offset press - the Heidelberg SORM, and have today a stable of Heidelberg presses for high quality commercial printing including magazines. A third division was added in 1996 – that of digital commercial printing. However, it was not until Kisah Publishing was started in 2004 under the helm of Christian, when the company could truly offer personalised printing services at the highest levels.

"Kisah was conceived in response to the need for a company dedicated to digital printing for personalised, once-off limited edition books as at that time there were no digital printing companies with such an approach in Indonesia," shared Christian. Initially, Kisah's jobs were mainly bridal albums for the wedding industry. Subsequently, the company moved into into children's books, personal travel logs and biographies. Eventually, with increasing recognition of the good quality of their highly personalised products, the company was also awarded projects in conjuction with high profile occasions and personalities such as the birthday of a Government Minister.

At the 2005 Asian Print Awards Kisah Publishing won Silver for the category 'Digital Printing Electrographic / Laser'. Subsequently in 2006, the company won the Gold prize for the same category, and is worthy to be named as the firts in Indonesia to accomplish creative digital printing.

Christian said, "This award is our cue to strive for higher standards and also challenges us to produce better products in the future." Bagging this award did not come easily for the company. Christian shared that there is constant research and development due to the frequent introduction of more advanced technologies and embellishments. For example, there can be seven to eight different types of papers used just for one book to enchance the novelty of the product.

Christian's passion for creating a highly personalised piece each time, even extends to the packaging of a book. "Our customers' are constantly surprised we are willing to make a single copy of a book, to be presented as a special gift or to commemorate a special occasion in a person's life. It almost brings a customer to tears when they see it. We always strive to make an everlasting first impression, and emphasise the precious contents inside as a special keepsake."

When asked his definition of a good book, he said, "High quality print with good finishing, the book should reflect that personal attention was given to its creation." A self-professed perfectionist, Christian performs his own research and development by hitting the bookstores to check out the latest trends in printing and gets his ideas from there. Through looking at other books, he also gets insights on how the quality of printing has escalated and how he can either top it or remain in the league.

At a young age of 29, and a father of two, Christian is also assuming the responsibilities of a creative director in his own enterprise. However, he is readily steadfast in attributing the company's overall success to good equipment that supports high quality production, continuous research and development, thinking ahead and, of course, his dedicated team at Kisah Publishing.

Worth noting is the extra efforts the company goes through to ensure a unique product for each client - such as the different materials and handicrafts on them, and the combination must match perfectly in order to achieve the desired effect. Some of these materials are even brought in from other Indonesian provinces.

In addition, the ever-present challenge of colour management and consistency is something that Kisah has to manage all the time, not to mention feedback and requests from customers. In this case, Kisah too takes the opportunity to educate its clients on colour management whenever the need arises.

Kisah Publishing is currently planning an outlet where people can receive free design services. In addition, in the pipeline is a second line of personalised books. Custom designing is also one of Kisah's specialty, as shown here.

(Print Pack Publish Asia, January 2007)