Konica Minolta C8000

Describe your business

We are a 12-staff digital printer. We were established in 1977 as a pre-press house. Because we come from a pre-press background, we have a very strong involvement in colour management before a job actually hits the press.

What have you bought?

A Konica Minolta Bizhub Press C8000.

What does it do?

It is Konica Minolta’s latest generation of digital printing machine. It’s their flag-ship machine, running at the equivalent of 80ppm with next generation toner and additional features such as decurling.

Why did you choose this product?

I am a long-time customer of Konica Minolta and we have been able to grow our business as they have grown as well. We have collected one of everything they have done in production colour over the years so it seemed a natural progression.

Did you consider any other products?

We certainly did. At Ipex, we looked at wide range of machinery from a lot of vendors. I was sorely tempted but it came back to keeping it in the family.

What features do you like most?

The two features I noted right out of the box when we ran the first job was accuracy of sheet-to-sheet and back-to-back registration compared to what we have seen in the past. The other feature is the decurling – even really thin sheets come out flat.

Is there anything you wish it had that it doesn’t?

The little Japanese voice that tells you when you have run out of paper is not too appealing. I keep asking if we can get Sean Connery.

How fast is it?

The rated speed is 80 pages per minute but we are actually getting a little bit faster – about 90ppm.

How reliable is it?

There have been some issues of early adoption. Being the first one in the country and facing little patches and upgrades has taken its toll but I am happy with where we are now.

How easy is it to use?

The operators have well and truly sussed it all out now. There have not been any major learning curves. One thing I noticed straight away is there are a lot more controls on this device than we have had from KM in the past. It puts a lot more onus on the operators to know what they are doing. It is serious press in comparison to a glorified photocopier. It’s like the difference between flying a Cessna and flying a jumbo jet. As you can well imagine, with so many controls, it actually means there is more that could be done wrong, but when you get it right, it goes perfectly.

Has it saved time and money?

It will certainly save time – it runs almost 45% faster than any of our other machines. It has probably added 20-30% to our capacity. It saves money because newer machines tend to have more reliable components and cheaper click rates.

Has it won you any new business?

We have been telling people for two or three months that we would be getting it. I know of at least one job that I am 100% sure we would not have got if we didn’t say it was going on a C8000.

Were there any difficulties surrounding the install?

Installation went like a dream. We have brand new premises we moved into last November so we had a new space ready.

How has the pre- and after-sales service been?

Everything I expected it to be. Being a long-term customer, I was very acquainted with the people involved pre and post sale.

Who is this product right for?

It is definitely not the sort of machine I would suggest for the first time someone gets involved in digital. It requires some level of experience beyond your plug-and-play photocopier, though I am sure KM would love to sell more of them into new customers. I know with their relationship here with Heidelberg they are going to be able to push these into existing printing companies. They are taking this seriously and the marketplace is starting to take them seriously.

Would you buy another one?

When the volume builds up to warrant it, I would have no hesitation.

 


 

Supplier’s response

Pure Colours takes pride in ensuring they are set up to provide a premium quality product and service for their customers, with a fast turnaround and high-level finishing. Technology is essential in delivering this, so naturally John previewed the C8000 at the earliest opportunity. Pure Colours’ volumes had increased significantly and the introduction of the C8000 supported their expansion, providing the additional speed and capabilities needed to meet demand. Advances in print quality and customer confidence in the C8000’s performance have allowed Pure Colours to become more productive and put them firmly on the path for a very successful year ahead.

Sean Crichton-Browne, Konica Minolta

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