On 1 December 2020, Konica Minolta (KM) Business Solutions India launched the AccurioPress C14000/C12000 series through a local but virtual event. As a part of the launch of its latest series of high-volume production presses, the company has introduced two machines – a 140 A4 pages a minute (ppm) AccurioPress C14000, and the 120 A4 pages per minute AccurioPress C12000.
Tai Nizawa, the newly appointed managing director of Konica Minolta Business Solutions India, referred to its commitment to making life more productive and profitable for its customers. In his opening remarks, he said, “The launch of our latest machines is in sync with this vision. It further reaffirms our commitment to meeting the changing needs of our customers and offering them products that ensure higher quality and productivity with minimal waste of resources and time.” Recently arrived from Japan to take up his position, Nizawa added, “Going forward, we will continue to follow an agile approach, innovate our existing portfolios, and offer the best to our customers in the following years.”
Enhanced media capability
The new presses sport resolutions equivalent to 3600 x 2400 dpi and an enhanced media capability of up to 450 gsm. They are equipped with new duplex banner printing up to 900 millimeter and a simplex banner length capability of 1,300 millimeter. Combined with envelope and embossed media printability, these products enable customers to offer new types of work, including four-panel gatefold brochures and book covers for finishing offline. Printers can also do envelope printing using the standard fuser more seamlessly.
Besides, the machine’s technology, including finer toners, improves the image quality on textured paper stocks.
During the virtual launch, Manish Gupta, head of marketing at Konica Minolta Business Solutions India, said that the new presses are easy to calibrate for color and paper stocks. They can efficiently print items such as posters, magazines, catalogs, books, and business cards – a staple product for digital print businesses.
The AccurioPress C14000 fills the gap for Konica Minolta in the higher volume production print segment in India. “With the C14000, we will be now present in the high production print segment. We will bridge the gap between the mid and high production print segments,” Gupta said. “We can now address a market that requires higher productivity.”
Operational Efficiency
Paired with Konica Minolta’s enhanced IQ-501 Intelligent Quality Optimiser, the new presses
automatically and continuously measure and correct color, so the first print in a run matches the last. The company has also improved its two-dimensional registration correction feature through the higher output resolution. The automatic media detection sensor comes standard on these models. It detects the stock, assigns the appropriate tray, eliminates time-consuming paper settings and operator error, reduces waste, and eventually amplifies productivity.
New inline accessories for the presses include the TU-510 versatile trimmer unit, an inline, four-edge trimmer, and creaser that allows full-bleed finishing support for banners, booklets, direct mail, and a dedicated business card cutting option. Additionally, the LS-507 large stacker supports higher speed, permits banner bypass, and offers operators the advantage of offloading while the machine is still running.
Convenient colour management and job management utilities are available with Konica Minolta’s proprietary controller. A customizable operation screen makes the products extremely easy to operate.Other third-party controller options include the latest Fiery and Creo RIPs.
Improved total cost of ownership
Konica Minolta’s IQ-501 Intelligent Quality Optimiser’s enhanced auto inspection options offer expanded inspection performance. It is capable of verifying print quality and detecting streaks, spots, and blemishes. It ensures maximum stability even during long-run jobs, while better registration and quality increases total usable print volume. The new presses offer a duty cycle of 2.5 million, up from 1.8 million with the AccurioPress C6100, with double the toner capacity of earlier models.
Rs 1,000 crore target delayed by pandemic
Konica Minolta Business Solutions India has experienced consistent double-digit growth over the years. This track record made the company confident of getting to the Rs 1,000 crore revenue milestone in a couple of years. However, due to the temporary setback owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, the lockdown, and continued constraints on economic and social activities, that target has moved a bit further away.
“Last year we generated a revenue of Rs 700 crore, and that is why we were hoping to touch the revenue of Rs. 1,000 crore by 2022-2023. Unfortunately, due to the current market conditions, it looks very tough to touch that figure [within that time frame],” said Kuldeep Malhotra, vice president sales and director, Konica Minolta Business Solutions India.
