With the official launch of the new system still one week away, Snap and Konica Minolta granted Australian Printer an exclusive preview of the machine in action after it was installed back in December.
Fitted with the latest EFI Fiery controller, the system is capable of printing 3060 A4 and 1620 A3 black and white and colour prints an hour at up to 600x600dpi. Paper weights between 64 and 209gsm are supported (up to 256gsm from bypass), and the unit has been optimised for personalised and variable data printing applications. A full range of finishing options, including folding, punching, stapling and trimming, are also available.
Dan Trbojevic, Snap Printing North Ryde centre manager, says he is extremely pleased with the machine and is looking to have the machine running at full capacity in the very near future.
“Basically, I was a bit sceptical at the beginning, but after about doing around 15,000 copies on it so far, I am very pleased with the outcome. Comparing the other digital printers, I think it is much better at printing the solid areas, which is a big advantage,” says Trbojevic.
“The price was the main, initial drawcard. Also, I have had experience in digital printing for a while now, and I found the 8050 to be extremely simple to use while other solutions out there can be very complicated.”
According to Brenda Pate, Konica Minolta Australia business development manager for digital print solutions, the 8050 is designed to cover the mid-range digital production and high-end office markets, but offers considerable cost and space savings over its competitors.
“When you do the sums on it, it makes the 8050 very competitive. Basically, the cost of the box, depending on the bells and whistles, is somewhere between $80,000 and $95,000. I think its nearest competitor stars somewhere around the $150,000 mark, and they don’t have the flexibility of this machine in regards to stock, calibration, and registration,” says Pate.
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