Preserving Manga Art: How Shueisha Digitizes Japan’s Cultural Heritage with Phase One

How Shueisha Manga-Art Heritage preserves and unlocks the value of Japan’s manga legacy through high-resolution digitization

How Shueisha Manga-Art Heritage brings original manga masterpieces to life through high-resolution digitization

Manga is more than ink on paper — it’s a cultural language, a bridge between generations, and a living art form. But with time, many originals — especially color illustrations from the 1980s onward — are fading fast, locking away both their artistic and commercial potential.

Through high-resolution digitization with Phase One’s iXH-150MP, Shueisha not only preserves these fragile works but unlocks their commercial heritage, transforming once-untouchable originals into museum-quality fine art prints and new global experiences for manga fans.

Shueisha Manga-Art Heritage mission

Launched in March 2021, Shueisha Manga-Art Heritage set out to share manga as art with the world and preserve it for future generations. What began as an online archive, exhibitions, and video content has expanded into a physical home: the Shueisha Manga-Art Gallery at Azabudai Hills (opened November 2023), where tradition and technology meet.

We believed that to create the best results, we needed to use the best tools available.

Mr. Koyanagi

Shueisha Manga-Art Heritage

The preservation challenge

Original manga artwork is fragile. Many color pieces from the 1980s onward were created with dye-based inks that are highly sensitive to UV light and prone to fading, making them difficult to display safely. Even black-and-white pages rely on delicate screentone dot patterns that demand exceptional capture fidelity.

The Phase One solution

To make these cultural treasures viewable and lasting, Shueisha adopted Phase One Cultural Heritage solutions:

Phase One iXH-150MP camera system (150MP) for true-to-original capture and exceptional tonal range
Capture One CH for tethered workflows, fast processing, and precision color management
Motorized book & flat scanning copy stands

This workflow reproduces every nuance, from subtle color gradients to the texture of the paper itself and enables careful restoration when originals have faded or sustained damage (referencing period magazines to match the artist’s intent).

By achieving this level of accuracy, Shueisha not only preserves cultural heritage, it also unlocks new commercial value from fragile originals, enabling fine art reproductions and limited editions that share manga’s legacy with new audiences worldwide.

“After switching from the scanner to Phase One, those issues were resolved almost instantly. All tonal gradations were beautifully rendered—even the texture of the paper.” — Mr. Koyanagi, Shueisha Manga-Art Heritage

Color accuracy, profiled end-to-end

True preservation requires faithful output, not just faithful capture. With custom ICC profiles and a fully color-managed pipeline, Shueisha aligns camera, software, displays, and printers to match original colors in print, dramatically reducing manual tweaks and accelerating production.

“Just by applying a profile, we can get very close to the desired result. In terms of operational efficiency, that makes a huge difference.” — Mr. Koyanagi, Shueisha Manga-Art Heritage

From archive to art: The Press

Digitization doesn’t just preserve — it empowers Shueisha to share its heritage in new ways. A signature body of work, “The Press,” transforms iconic black-and-white manga pages into fine-art prints using a rare flatbed letterpress. Printed on 100% cotton ‘Gmund Cotton Max White’ paper, the pieces showcase manga’s bold contrast and screentone dot patterns with a tactile, museum-quality finish. Editions are limited to 20 and attract collectors worldwide, celebrating both manga and the preservation of letterpress craftsmanship itself.

Experiencing manga globally

Shueisha presents these works in Tokyo and abroad, including fairs like Art on Paper (New York), where visitors frequently remark that the booth feels “completely different.” The collection has moved viewers to tears, emotional responses rarely seen in traditional art shows. Select works (e.g., Keiichi Tanaami’s “TANAAMI!! AKATSUKA!!” gravure print and art book) have entered institutional collections such as the New York Public Library.

Impact

Access & longevity: Fragile originals become safely viewable in gallery and in print, without exposing them to harmful light.
Authenticity at scale: 70–80% of archived data is actively used across exhibitions, publishing, and sales, evidence of a well-designed, reusable archive.
New audiences: Beyond fans of specific titles, gallery visitors discover and collect manga art for the first time, expanding manga’s cultural footprint.
Craft preserved: Letterpress know-how and rare machinery live on through contemporary manga art editions.

Ultimately, Shueisha’s digitization strategy does more than protect. It transforms preservation into possibility, extending the cultural and commercial life of Japan’s manga heritage.