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Although Dainippon Screen was established in 1943 the roots of the company go back to 1868 when Saigiro Ishida the great grandfather of the current president, Akira Ishida, established a copper plate and lithographic printing shop in Kyoto. The subsequent acquisition of several patents by Saigiro Ishida, and his son Keizo Ishida, laid the foundation for the formation of Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Company Limited on October the 11th 1943 in Kyoto Japan.

Initially, Dainippon Screen concentrated on the production of glass screens, but in 1946 it broadened its product line with the development and manufacture of wooden process cameras, arc lamps and vacuum printing frames with the aim of becoming a comprehensive manufacturer of photographic reproduction equipment.

Notable milestones since then include:

1953
Screen builds its first manufacturing facility in Horikawa, Japan, the first of 10 plants it has today.

1957
Screen is first Japanese company to mass produce contact screens

1962
Screen is listed on the Osaka securities and Kyoto stock exchange and starts marketing its first electronic colour scanner. First appearance at Drupa.

1963
Screen starts production of a metal mesh for color CRT's. The Auto Graver, an electronic machine for engraving halftone blocks directly onto the plate from a reflection or transparency original, is launched.

1966
The company launches its first colour scanner - the Scanagraph mark 1 and opens first overseas office in the US.

1973
The direct Scanagraph SG701 is launched

1974
First European subsidiary established in the UK

1977
Dainippon Screen Electronic Company Ltd established, the worlds largest fully automatic PCB production line

1980
Together with Toppan Printing Co., Ltd., Screen develops a system that directly inputs video image signals to a scanner and then outputs four-colour film.

1981
Screen introduces its first electronic page make up system

1988
Screen acquires a majority interest in US software company Island Graphics Corporation

1989
Akira Ishida is appointed president

1990
Screen recognizes the need to meet the requirements of the rapidly growing desktop market and introduces several new products including:
    - the first desktop colour scanner the DTS1015
    - a wide range of Postscript imagesetters

1993
The TaigaSPACE open prepress workflow system is launched.

1995
The last step towards fully digital prepress production or computer to plate is achieved with the introduction of the first PlateRite at the Drupa exhibition in Germany.

2000
Screen launches its first digital presses at Drupa: the TruePress 544 four-colour digital offset press and the TruePress V200 monochrome printing system. The year also marks the launch of the PlateRite 8000, which exposes data directly onto thermal plates, and the Trueflow web-browser based PDF workflow solution.

2001
The eight-page PlateRite 8600 is launched in May with the ability to handle Heidelberg GTO plates. July marks the launch of the B1 Tanto 6120 imagesetter.

2002
The eight-page PlateRite 8000II is launched. Trueflow planned upgrades take workflow flexibility and automation to new levels. This year marks the launch of Screen's CtP flagship, the PlateRite Ultima, a remarkable new large, multi-format thermal platesetter. The thermal PlateRite 4300 is launched to support the new larger format 4-page presses.

2003
The high-resolution GenaScan A1 flatbed CCD scanner is launched for flat and 3-D items. Trueflownet, Screen's innovative JDF-enabled business environment is announced - a JDF-based, end-to-end operating environment designed to drive highly-automated and streamlined print ordering and production, with fully integrated print production management. Screen enters the B3 plate imaging market with launch of the PlateRite Micra thermal device. The high-speed B1 PlateRite 8800 thermal platesetter with GLV technology enables 30 plates per hour production.

2004
Bumper year for new products launched at Drupa including: next-generation TruePress 344 digital offset press featuring the latest in processless plate technologies and advanced automation; launch of the 16-page PlateRite Ultima 16000 CTP device and higher speeds on the 32-page Ultima 32000Z; the PlateRite 8800II - the 35-plates per hour flagship of Screen's 8-up range and a 30mW version of the PlateRite Micra to enable photopolymer plate imaging. Trueflow 3, the latest version of Trueflow, Screen's award winning PDF workflow, with enhanced JDF capability is launched alongside the introduction of: Riteportal PDF delivery system; Riteonline online print ordering; Ritetransfer intelligent job transfer; Riteapprove online proofing. The USA introduces Screen's first CTP device for newspapers - the PlateRite News.

2005
Screen expands its PlateRite range with the addition of the basic version, 14-plate an hour, PlateRite Ultima 16000S and launches Trueflow Rite TP specifically to optimise the TruePress 344 performance. Print 05 in September in Chicago see the launch of the 21 plates an hour PlateRite Ultima 24000, alongside the PlateRite News 2000 producing up to 80 plates an hour, while the innovative TruePress Jet520, a new full-colour variable printing inkjet printer for transactional print applications, receives its world preview.

Today
The Company now ranks among the leading manufacturers and suppliers to the graphic arts industry worldwide. Screen dominates the CtP market with a market share of almost 40%. Following the successful introduction of Screen’s first inkjet machine (Truepress Jet520), the company has also launched the Truepress Jet2500UV – a wide format inkjet machine for the display market.