The commercial photo segment is an important vertical for Konica Minolta India and the Consumer Electronic Imaging Fair (CEIF) 0an important platform to address this segment. The four-day event from 7 to 10 January 2016 in Mumbai showcased the company’s latest bizhub Press C71hc along with its next generation bizhub Press C1100/C1085. “The bizhub Press C71hc will offer a quantum jump in quality. There is marked improvement in skin tones, in shadows and there is no outline in the image,” said V Balakrishnan, executive general manager – marketing, marketing division, Konica Minolta India.
The bizhub Press C71hc provides enhanced printing services based on the advanced color reproduction capabilities of a high-chroma toner. The press also comes with an optional banner tray to support printing on media as large as 13 × 47 inches for big format photo albums. The bizhub C71hc has more reliable color reproduction with its advanced technologies including better color management. With Print Xpress workflow software and a wide range of finishing capabilities, the new C71hc delivers higher productivity than its predecessor.
At the CEIF, Balakrishnan stated that apart from the commercial photo segment, the company is now focussing more on the amateur photo market in India that require 4 × 6-inch and 5 × 7- inch prints. “So our underlying message at the event is not just about print but also how you can put together various technologies to construct a business and create more value.”
With value creation at the core of its message, Konica Minolta also demonstrated the MGI Jetvarnish 3DS and the latest smaller version of the Jetvarnish 3DS. The Jetvarnish 3DS, which was unveiled at the recent Pamex in December 2015, delivers digital spot UV coating on page sizes from A4 to 364 x 104 cm at speeds of up to 2,298 A3 pages an hour. The engine can spot coat digital prints, for highlighting defined areas, or for adding 3D effects.
According to Balakrishnan, the company is now looking to penetrate deeper to tier-2 and tier-3 cities. In the past year, Konica Minolta India acquired the production printing business of Monotech – its major digital press distributor in India. All Konica Minolta customers serviced by Monotech Systems have been transferred to Konica Minolta India.
“We have seen high growth rates in the commercial photo segment in the tier2 and tier-3 cities. With our wide network we want to further leverage that growth. One of the most important ways to reach these markets is through roadshows. We do about 150 roadshows every year and half of these are in smaller, non-metro cities,” concluded Balakrishnan.
