Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Indigo 5500 sold to ProGraphics


- Hewlett Packard announced that it sold an Indigo 5500 production color system to ProGraphics Communications, a printshop in Atlanta, GA.

In addition, it sold an Indigo 7000 system to L&D Mail Masters, a print shop in New Albany, IN.


-=cheers=-

Friday, December 18, 2009

bizhub PRO and magicolor Products Recognized for Overall Performance and Achievement


Ramsey, N.J. - December 16, 2009 - Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. (Konica Minolta), a leading provider of advanced imaging and networking technologies for the desktop to the print shop, today announced that Better Buys for Business has named Konica Minolta a 2010 Editor's Choice Award winner in the Color Laser and Business Ink Jet Printer Guide, iGuide and High-Volume Copier & Multifunctional Guide. Selections were based on rigorous analysis of all current competitive models for inclusion in comprehensive product guides.

The Better Buys for Business recognized Konica Minolta with the following awards:• magicolor® 4650/4650DN, magicolor 1600 Series (magicolor 1600W, magicolor 1650EN, magicolor 1680MF, and magicolor 1690MF) and magicolor 7450 II grafx as Editor's Choices in the 2010 Color Laser and Business Ink Jet Printer Guide• bizhub PRO® 1050e and bizhub PRO 950 as Editor's Choices in the 2010 High-Volume Copier & Multifunctional Guide• bizhub PRO C65hc, bizhub PRO 1200 Series, and bizhub PRO 1051 as Editor's Choices in the 2010 iGuide in the High Volume Printer, High Volume Copier category(s)

In addition to featuring award winners, each of the Better Buys for Business 10 annual product guides includes: product features and technology; vendor profiles; full specifications; and pricing information.

"Konica Minolta's presence in the color printing and copying sector continues to grow with strong upgrades to an already fine lineup of products," said Steve Hannaford, editor-in-chief, Better Buys for Business. "In the light production areas especially, the company has established its credentials as a market and technology leader."

"Moving into 2010, we continue to be focused on delivering the most innovative and high-quality solutions and products," said Kevin Kern, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. "Recognition from Better Buys for Business is always an honor and further demonstrates this commitment. Our award-winning product lines of bizhub MFPs, bizhub PRO digital presses and magicolor printers continue to distinguish themselves from competitors and ensure that customers can always count on Konica Minolta for a wide range of industry-leading digital imaging technology."

About Konica MinoltaKonica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is a leader in advanced imaging and networking technologies for the desktop to the print shop. For the second consecutive year, Konica Minolta was recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys. For more information, please visit http://www.countonkonicaminolta.com/ and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook and Twitter.
Konica Minolta ContactJames NorbertoKonica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc.+1 201.825.4000mailto:201.825.4000PR@kmbs.konicaminolta.us

Konica Minolta is a trademark of Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc. magicolor and bizhub PRO are registered trademarks of Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.




-=cheers=-


Friday, December 11, 2009

Weekend Print Production Notes


- Staff at three Sappi paper mills went on strike in Europe. Union workers in Finland and The Netherlands are upset over allegations of serious safety issues, and demand a one year wage increase of 1.5%, despite the poor economy.

- According to Jim Cohen, Executive VP of Consolidate Graphics:
- print shop revenues are down 25%-50%
- Before, 9/11/2001, there were 50,000 printing companies
- By 2003, there were only 35,000
- Predicts that by 2010, there will only be 20,000
- Own 70 different printshops
- 66 of the printshops they own, have digital presses
- Own 70 HP Indigos
- Own 30 Kodak NexPress’s
- Own 25 Xerox iGen’s
- Own some Xeikon’s

- Kodak announced it sold a NexPress S3000 production color system to Contac Services, a print shop in Canada.

- Fuji claims it has 41 iGen production color systems installed now in Australia.

- According to Tenon Recovery, an insolvency specialist, 9 out of 10 printshops are in danger of collapse due to the economy.

-=Cheers=-

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

EFI MicroPress Powers Konica Minolta bizhub PRO 1200 Series of Digital Presses


Dec. 9, 2009 – Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. (Konica Minolta), a leading provider of advanced imaging and networking technologies for the desktop to the print shop, and EFI™ (Nasdaq: EFII), a world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation, today announced that the EFI MicroPress® RIP and production workflow solution is driving the bizhub PRO® 1200 Seriesof monochrome digital presses. This technology combination enables mid-to-high volume digital print environments to maximize their Konica Minolta equipment investment by providing a high-performance, feature-rich document solution for the control of many pre-press processes.

The newest series in Konica Minolta’s award-winning line of monochrome digital presses combines long-run reliability and image quality with fast output speeds – 120 ppm on the bizhub PRO 1200 and bizhub PRO 1200P, and 105 ppm on the bizhub PRO 1051.

“Our bizhub PRO 1200 Series is built to be a professional replacement for offset systems in the digital era, so we once again joined forces with EFI, a leader in digital RIP and workflow technology, to drive these systems,” said Kevin Kern, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. Inc. “Delivering unmatched flexibility, speed, efficiency and customized capabilities, the bizhub PRO 1200 Series is further proof of how customers can count on Konica Minolta for their entire spectrum of production print needs.”

With EFI MicroPress, users will realize increases in efficiency and reduction of costs through streamlined and automated workflows, allowing for even more productivity and greater engine utilization. EFI MicroPress supports the latest industry standard file formats, with the power to natively process PostScript®, PDF and XPS, resulting in faster, more accurate output. The offering takes advantage of powerful hardware to provide production print environments with the fastest, most capable, late-stage editing solution available. Addressing last minute job changes without reverting back to a native file or requiring changes to the production workflow saves operators time and increases efficiency. EFI MicroPress is scalable to manage up to 12 digital print engines, providing a seamless growth path to support expanding future production workflow demands.

“Today’s production print providers are constantly facing the challenge of delivering high volumes of documents with complex requirements in a short time,” said John Henze, vice president of marketing, Fiery division, EFI. “The combination of EFI MicroPress and the new bizhub PRO 1200 digital presses help alleviate these headaches, ensuring high-quality output at top speed to meet the most demanding customer requirements.”

About Konica Minolta

Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is a leader in advanced imaging and networking technologies for the desktop to the print shop. In 2009, Konica Minolta was named Supplier of the Year by both the Allegra Network and the National Association of Quick Printers (NAQP). For more information, please visit http://www.CountOnKonicaMinolta.com and follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/KonicaMinoltaUS.

About EFI

EFI (www.efi.com) is a world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation. EFI’s award-winning solutions, integrated from creation to print, deliver increased performance, cost savings and productivity. The company’s robust product portfolio includes Fiery® digital color print servers; VUTEk® superwide digital inkjet printers, UV and solvent inks; Rastek™ UV wide-format inkjet printers; Jetrion® industrial inkjet printing systems; print production workflow and management information software; and corporate printing solutions. EFI maintains 23 offices worldwide.

-=Cheers=-