Konica Minolta is already a major developer of inkjet technology, which so far has been used in the textile industry. The two companies have also entered a global sales agreement, which will begin at drupa, and will see Komori selling Konica Minolta printers, although not in Australia.
The inkjet project marks Komori’s entrance into the rapidly developing field, in which it was in danger of being left behind by German press manufacturers. KBA and RR Donnelly will launch a jointly developed inkjet press at drupa, manroland and Oce will show the firstfruits of their year old agreement, Heidelberg as yet has no inkjet press of its own, but is developing its Linoprint inkjet technology, and is now a global partner of Ricoh, which owns the InfoPrint press technology, which along with Oce is market leader in high speed inkjet.
This year’s drupa will see a host of inkjet technologies, some commercially available and some in prototype form, on display, and which will be the main story of the show.
According to David Procter, general manager production printing at Konica Minolta Australia, “The preview of a technology display highlighting the joint development of an inkjet printing system will be an exciting highlight at drupa 2012. This technology development demonstrates our firm entry into the production inkjet market. We have had a long and successful history with inkjet on other media including fabrics, this prototype illustrates a new direction.”
While the preview of Konica Minolta’s high speed inkjet is likely to grab the headlines at drupa 2012, Konica Minolta will also unveil a new colour bizhub press, faster mono presses and an inline three edge cutting device.
Procter says drupa 2012 will be a game-changing show for Konica Minolta, which will be showcasing its biggest booth to date. Encompassing a 2,000 sqm footprint, the booth’s size is indicative of the company’s expected future growth.
Konica Minolta will supply Komori Corporation with bizhub press series across four regions of Japan, the US, Europe and China, and under the Komori brand on an OEM basis, Konica Minolta will expand its distribution channels to customers who use offset print systems as their main production system. In Australia Konica Minolta presses are sold by Heidelberg under an agreement which has another 15 months to run.
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter
