THIS IS PROMOTIONAL ARTICLE PAID FOR BY KONICA MINOLTA

Konica Minolta digital print solutions have won a strong following since their entry to the market a decade ago, and would be on the short list of nearly every print business in the country looking for a new printer.

George Fryer, general manager production sales for Konica Minolta puts this success down to quality. He says, “Most printers are on a three or four or five year lease, and print business owners putting in a new Konica Minolta device do so with confidence knowing that it will maintain a quality image and consistency of run. Commercial print operations have to operate at commercial level, which means the same output not only throughout the job but also on repeat jobs, and whether the repeat job is a week after the initial job or a year afterwards the printed image needs to be the same. Konica Minolta’s colour management and quality technology ensures this will happen.”

The digital printer market is highly competitive, with myriad options for print businesses to choose from. Fryer says, “When printers come to look at a solution I would advise them to consider several important issues. First make sure you bring your own job files to the demo centre, don’t just rely on the jobs the vendors print, they are naturally optimised to show the printers in their best light, but the printer will not be operating in the vendor’s showroom, so it must demonstrate it is fit for purpose for that particular print business, and the best way to ensure that is to bring your own job files.”

“Secondly, printers should be thinking about service and support, and again don’t just rely on the vendor’s say so, ask around, check with other printers in your area that have bought kit from that vendor and see what their experience has been. In today’s on – demand business world a printer cannot afford to be kept waiting for service or parts.

“Third, have a look at the vendor itself, what kind of a company are they, check out their social media pages and you will be able to see their interaction with customers through customers’ feedback, including their reaction to developments and situations; and this way you will get an idea of who you are dealing with, as whoever you choose will be a key partner for years to come.

“More than ever I would say to printers to do your homework, ask the difficult questions because you are about to make a decision that will significantly impact your business.”

According to Fryer, key aspects of any digital print assessment should include the gray balance, in other words how is the black made up from CMY, the colour gamut, and what he terms the speeds and feeds. He says, “Productivity and quality are clearly crucial aspects of any digital print solution, and there are quantifiable criteria that you can use to assess them. Exactly what paper weights and stocks can it handle, what if any speed variations are applicable to different weights.”

The box itself isn’t the be all and end all of course, assessing its compatibility with software solutions such as web-to-print is also a necessary part of the buying process. Konica Minolta says it provides the most advanced solutions on the market, to help printers manage costs, increase workflow, control colour consistency and more.

Konica Minolta is a major partner with printers in all the main franchise groups, which is testimony to its ability to understand and meet the needs of diverse print business models.

Fryer says, “The success of Konica Minolta over the past decade has been built on its ability to deliver winning solutions to its customers, solutions that enable printers to develop their businesses in confidence that their digital printing technology will meet the demands of the market. At PrintEx visitors will see the full range of Konica Minolta print solutions that have proved their value to printers.”

PrintEx 2015 – Konica Minolta (stand 1025)

Transform your business

The Konica Minolta theme for the show is Transform Your Business. Konica Minolta experts at the stand will show customers how to achieve this with:

• Cutting edge technology- high speed, high quality output and a multitude of products for printers to offer flexibility to their customers.
• Solutions and professional services to improve productivity in business and reduce costs
• Partnership approach

At PrintEx Konica Minolta will offer customers and prospects a path way to transform their business, demonstrating an easy path to digital printing, bridging the gap between analogue and digital print technologies.

Experts available

Konica Minolta will have a team of experts available at the stand who will demonstrate the following areas of print solutions and applications, including:

• Web to print
• Variable data printing
• Print workflow management
• Colour management solution

Products on the stand

The following systems will be exhibited at PrintEx 15 on the Konica Minolta stand:

bizhub Press C1100 and bizhub Press C1085

The Konica Minolta flagship models bizhub PRESS C1085/C1100 extend the print provider’s range of high-volume job possibilities. With unmatched performance, high image quality and stability, they offer everything required to satisfy the growing demands of customers of in-house print rooms and graphic communication providers. Both digital colour presses provide extensive configuration options to grow the printer’s business.

bizhub Press C1070

Konica Minolta has designed the bizhub PRESS C1070 and C1060 to meet new generation digital challenges. Meticulously engineered for print providers and professionals, these machines offer outstanding colour reproduction and registration stability, combined with excellent overall print quality. They can be configured for a wide range of tasks, with a comprehensive range of modular in-line finishing options. It is a completely new design, using proven reliable technology and industry insight and experience.

bizhub Press 1250e

For powerful production output in high-quality B&W, the bizhub PRESS 1250 runs like a pro – with print/copy speeds up to 125 ppm, high-volume monthly duty cycle of three million impressions, and real-time image density and toner ratio sensors to maintain image stability over long press runs.

bizhub Pro C1060L

Newly engineered from the ground up, the bizhub PRO C1060L is completely ready for the new generation digital workflows. It delivers brilliant colour, high speeds, low costs and increased reliability. Especially tailored for the requirements of light production and central reprographics departments, the bizhub PRO C1060L operator panel enables easy system operation.

UV Coating Solutions

• New printed output possibilities with gloss coating technology
• Coats sheets up to 400mm wide from 150 to 600 gsm
• Three different coatings available: high gloss, satin and matt

KIP Wide Format

Offers print providers the opportunity to expand their print offering. Signage, POS material, posters, banners and book covers are just some of the many opportunities that exist.

KIP 770M

The new monochrome wide format Kip system, one of the first show appearances in Asia Pacific, delivers fast and accurate copies and prints using toner based imaging technology that produces UV stable prints. 100 per cent toner efficient KIP High Definition Print Technology ensures rich blacks and smooth gradients.

KIP 7170

Superior print, copy and scan resolution captures fine details with remarkable tone clarity, keeping reproductions true.

The bizhub Press range of professional print systems provide:

• Impressive media support/flexibility – Konica Minolta says its bizhub Press systems continue to lead in terms of media. It offers systems that can print on stocks up to 350gsm and can now also print on synthetic based media. Its systems are able to be adjusted to suit this media and accommodate customer demand, with operators able to adjust line speed, temperature in the fixing unit as well fan control for fuser separation and air suction media feeding.
• bizhub Press C1100 series uses the new Simitri HD E toner which the company says guarantees consistently high-quality, high-depth, image output, accurate colour reproduction and better environmental performance. The stability of the colour is enhanced by sampling the characteristics of the output paper and the colour feedback sensor. Advanced Sead. IV image processing technology also improves image quality and reproducibility. Both the bizhub Press C1100 and C1085 feature a wide range of finishing options such as booklet production, perfect binding, auto ring binding and of course high stacking capabilities – of up to 10,000 sheets – all of which facilitates one-step printing and finishing without manual intervention.
• The option to print banners up to 1200mm long, for POS and book cover production at a low cost, and supply to clients at a higher margin based on sheet size.
• The ability to print envelopes with ease- critical for variable printing of direct mail material
• High value-added finishing options – With one of the widest available ranges of in-line finishing options, you can tailor any bizhub Press system to meet your business requirements. Konica Minolta says this flexibility will ensure printers are equipped to add value to the finished printed product, enabling them to meet their customers’ needs today, and well into the future.

 Konica Minolta commits to transforming its future

Konica Minolta can report progress as it moves into the second year of its three year development plan to help the business meet tomorrow’s customer needs and grow its market share.

The company’s growth plan – Transform 2016 – which is focusing on achieving greater collaboration with customers and deliberately challenging traditional customer / seller thinking is now well established. As part of Transform 2016, Konica Minolta is seeking to understand its customers’ businesses in even greater depth to find creative and innovative ways to solve their problems and so add genuine value.

By focusing on understanding how customers’ businesses operate and perceiving the solutions that will solve their challenges, Konica Minolta is growing its reputation as a provider of business services as well as print products.

Last year Konica Minolta appointed Shane Blandford, one of its most senior executives, to spearhead the Australian implementation of Transform 2016. Blandford has overseen the development of new and valuable streams of income. He had already been instrumental in driving the software and services business, and so was the ideal person to help Konica Minolta build the Transform vision for Konica Minolta’s growth.”

Dr David Cooke, managing director, Konica Minolta Business Solutions Australia, comments: “Last year, we again rapidly increased our sales revenue for software and services. We also registered record hardware sales results, which defied industry trends. We are focused on making Konica Minolta an agile and responsive business partner, in a technological sense and in terms of the way we service our customers. Transform 2016 provides a global imperative to continue and expand on this approach and it is exciting to consider the future that lies ahead.”

“Konica Minolta started from a strong base,” adds Blandford, “We continue to have excellent relationships with our customers in an era when relationships are paramount. Those relationships are based on a long history of providing excellent products and services within our traditional, print centric portfolio. On top of this, we have always had an honest, accountable culture and a passion for collaborating constructively with customers.”

An important part of this global strategy has been the implementation of a one company mantra, which combines innovation and product development from within its own network and vendor partners, to enable Konica Minolta to concentrate its resources on the areas of business where high demand for process improvement is expected.

As part of the drive towards customer-centric innovation, Blandford has co-ordinated Australia’s relationship with the recently launched Business Innovation Centre in Singapore.

The centre is part of an international network which will collaborate with partners such as start-ups, incubators, universities and customers. It will use an open services innovation methodology to develop and incubate new service businesses, ICT solutions and new products.

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