Deep in the heart of Texas, Seidl Bindery Inc. (SBI) is creating a new model of trade finishing services with their MGI JETvarnish 3D digital print enhancement capabilities. SBI is a success story of traditional postpress craft work and new digital technology. Three generations of Seidl family expertise have contributed to the development of a highly successful “Printer Partnership” business strategy. That experience was combined with a vision for new business development when the firm acquired a JETvarnish 3D print enhancement press from MGI and solution provider Konica Minolta.

The Industry Role of a Trade Finisher

Matt Seidl, SBI Vice President, explained their trade finishing business model by saying “We are business partners with the printers we serve. SBI is committed to being a professional outsourcing partner as a commercial bindery. Our job is to work together with printers to enhance their output in ways that help them to pursue more lucrative and profitable customer relationships. The MGI JETvarnish 3D solution is a key component of our strategy to help our printers succeed in the future.

The digital personalization and customization makes print fun, sexy and exciting for print buyers and end-users. The impact of MGI 2D/3D dimensional textures, special effects and variable embossed foil is to create more effective communications, more successful marketing campaigns and more attractive packaging applications. Adding value with the JETvarnish 3D strengthens our relationships across the entire printing supply chain.”

Prototyping & Production Power

Seidl, who serves on the board of the international Foil & Specialty Effects Association (FSEA), the leading postpress trade group, continued“Every finishing job is unique. With the MGI JETvarnish 3D system, the same job setup can scale up or down for a single prototype piece, short runs of a few thousand items or continued weekly, monthly and yearly projects that ultimately involve millions of pieces coming off the line.”

“That flexibility allows us to play a business consulting role with our customers by quickly adapting our operation to their specific job requirements and recommending profitable new ideas & options. That’s one of the key reasons why we invested in a new MGI digital infrastructure. Now, our commercial printing clients can deliver new print enhancement solutions that get people’s attention in the marketplace in ways never possible in the past. A JETvarnish 3D printed piece get noticed and touched. Whether it’s a business card, brochure, book or box, we create impressions that get remembered.”

Intelligent & Adaptive Print Registration

An integral part of the JETvarnish 3D solution is the Artificial Intelligence SmartScanner (AIS). The SmartScanner is an adaptive registration system that analyzes both print and substrate to automatically adjust and modify inkjet placement of varnish and foil. This unique MGI innovation eliminates makeready setup time and waste by treating each sheet as a separate job. No registration marks are needed. The AIS allows the JETvarnish 3D to serve as operational finishing center for all types of digital, offset and flexo output.

Enhanced Print Buyer Relationships

Seidl concluded “We offer a full range of end-to-end finishing solutions: from cutting, binding, stitching and gluing to intricate, luxurious decorative craftwork for special projects. However, because print finishing is such a specialized field, the end-user often needs help in deciding on the final product. The JETvarnish 3D helps us work together with printers, agencies and marketing firms to offer more creative ideas and more profitable solutions. That type of teamwork helps to build long-term relationships that benefit us all with repeat business and referral opportunities from print buyers.”

The Digital Finishing Future

Konica Minolta, MGI Global Business Partner, was the architect of the SBI JETvarnish 3D acquisition and played a strategic advisory role in the process. Konica Minolta VP of Southern Region Sales, Barry Nickerson said, “We’re grateful for the opportunity to support the future growth of the Seidl business with our “Industrial Print Solutions” portfolio of software, hardware & services. SBI is very well-known in the industry for the quality of their work and the JETvarnish 3D adds an entirely new digital dimension to their services. Their skill set and the MGI print enhancement technology represents the future of trade finishing in our industry.”

Kevin Abergel, MGI Vice President of Marketing & Sales, stated “SBI is part of a new vanguard of American finishers & binderies who are blending their traditional craft experience with digital technology to produce print output with tremendous impact and dynamic visual appeal. The Seidl family commitment to providing the best finishing technology support to American printers is very impressive. We’re proud to assist them in delivering exciting – and profitable – new digital enhancement options to their printer customer base across the U.S.A.”

For more information, please visit www.mgiusa.com. Follow MGI activities on Facebook & Twitter @MGI_USA for the latest MGI printing technology news.

About the MGI Group: International Printing Industry Leader

Founded in 1982, the MGI Group is a public company with offices around the world and is registered on the Euronext/Alternext stock exchange (ALMDG). The MGI Group is a global digital printing technology leader composed of MGI Digital Technology, headquartered in Paris (Fresnes), France and KÖRA-PACKMAT, located in Villingendorf, Germany and CERADROP, located in Limoges, France.

MGI USA, based in Melbourne, Florida, is a fully-owned subsidiary of the MGI Group that supports the North & South American, Caribbean and Asia Pacific markets. For more information, please visit:www.mgiusa.com

About Konica Minolta:International Printing Industry Leader

Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is reshaping and revolutionizing the Workplace of the Future™ (www.reshapework.com). With their comprehensive portfolio, they deliver solutions to leverage mobility, cloud services, and optimize business processes with workflow automation. Their All Covered IT Services division offers a range of IT strategy, support, and network security solutions across all verticals. Konica Minolta, Inc. has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for five years in a row. They partner with customers to give shape to ideas and work to bring value to society. For more information, please visit: www.CountOnKonicaMinolta.com and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter @KonicaMinoltaUS.

About: SBI:National Trade Finishing Leader

Since 1968, the Seidl family has been providing complete trade finishing solutions to the printing industry. In addition to all traditional postpress services, they provide full, turnkey campaign fulfillment solutions. They specialize in managing highly complex jobs involving multiple processes. The client base ranges from billion-dollar global brand names to small, boutique entrepreneurial firms. For more information, please visit:www.seidlsbindery.com

Konica Minolta has launched a Professional Print Division in Europe that has Charles Lissenburg in a new role of General Manager. He will be at the helm of the teams that will focus on providing products and solutions leading to business efficiency and value improvement for commercial and industrial printing customers.

This new division has been created to reflect the growing importance of the industrial and commercial printing sectors as Konica Minolta becomes more customer focused and moves more into marketing, software and cross-media services to take print applications on to a new level.

Lissenburg has moved from Nuance Communications where he was Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales, Imaging for three years. Prior to that, he was with EFI for 14 years where he was latterly Vice President, Worldwide OEM Sales.

“There are huge new opportunities within industrial and commercial printing markets which we seek to capitalise on. As we continue to grow our unique approaches into the high-end commercial print and industrial markets, it is key that we provide customers with insight and business tools to enable them to capture new market opportunities. The Professional Print Division aims to expand its digital printing business by leveraging its technologies to meet the need for high-mix, small-quantity variable production and short lead times, and by offering solutions to enhance printing operation efficiency.

Charles Lissenburg, General Manager Professional Print Divison„

Over the past few years, Konica Minolta has made huge moves into industrial markets with the launch of its AccurioJet KM-1 UV inkjet sheetfed press and bizhub PRESS C71cf on-demand label printer as well as other important developments in packaging and professional printing sectors.

Konica Minolta has a stated aim of replicating its success in the mid-production colour printing sector to gain leadership in the industrial printing market. Key industrial applications such as label and packaging are the focus of Konica Minolta’s research, as evidenced by its development of new printing technology and partnerships with companies such as MGI Digital Technology.

Given Konica Minolta’s heritage of being a world leader in Industrial Printing based on our outstanding inkjet technology which make us #1 in the textile market as well as a leading manufacturer for inkjet heads, we are now further expanding into industrial printing solutions for our professional print business in Europe. The new division has been established to further support these with dedicated knowledge, expertise and leading-edge solutions. We welcome Charles as he brings his considerable industry expertise to what is an exciting new opportunity in a fast-moving market.Indy Nakagawa, President of Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe GmbH„

Konica Minolta Business Solutions India, a leader in advanced imaging and networking technologies has appointed Insight Print Communications Pvt. Ltd as channel partner to represent its bizhub Press C71cf Label Press in East as well as in West India for the Label Printing Business.

bizhub PRESS C71cf comes as an optimum printing solution for small and medium size businesses in the label and packaging segment to help them explore the endless benefits of digital printing including catering to high volume demands and penetrating new untapped markets.

The machine harnesses Konica Minolta’s state of the art dry toner technology is a perfect end to end printing solution for mid range businesses, operating in the label printing segment with varied requirements. The machine also furnishes an impressive printing resolution of 1200 dots per inch (dpi), equivalent to 3600 dpi *1200dpi/8bit and prints images with a maximum size of 1195*320 mm. Compatible with a paper width of 330 millimetres, It also packs in low temperature fusing technology and Simitri HDE toner, enabling it to print on a broad range of different materials including synthetic paper and polypropylene.

”We are glad to have Insight Print Communications with us, which with its proven expertise will help us strengthen our commitment of transforming the printing segment in India. Our bizhub Press series has witnessed record deployment in India in recent times and we intend to further fuel this growth. We are expanding into the Industrial Print category with our flagship product AccurioJet KM1, Bizhub Press C71cf and the complete range of MGI Products” said Daisuke Mori, MD Konica Minolta Business Solutions India.

Konica Minolta aims to participate in the Industry growth by offering newly invented products for Label Industry through experienced Channel Partners like Insight Communications.

Incepted in 1992 in Mumbai, Insight Communications has charted its growth path based on its commitment to customer service and well-being. India’s largest dealer for Graphic Arts equipment sales, Insight has played a crucial role to establish some of the biggest global printing brands in India.

Insight group was built on the platform of highest quality standards, with the intent of providing world class product & solutions to the printing industry in India. It has always focused on adding value and building long term relationships with one and all. The group is an undisputed market leader in the printing industry that has transformed the industry from merely utilitarian to inspirational.

With the Group’s vision to evolve into a ‘Complete Print Solutions’ enterprise, it has successfully diversified into various Print verticals like Commercial, Publishing, Packaging & Signage.

About Konica Minolta

Konica Minolta Business Solutions comes as a leader in advanced imaging and networking technologies. The Japan headquartered company is the global developer, manufacturer of multi-functional peripherals (MFPs), printers, equipment for production print systems and graphic arts, equipment for healthcare systems, measuring instruments for industrial and healthcare applications, inkjet print heads and textile printers for industrial use, and related consumables and solution services. The company with its high quality printing solutions, particularly for SMBs, offers unmatched customer service in India. With ‘Digital Printing’ being the next big thing in the country’s printing space, the company is committed to fetch help businesses transit smoothly from conventional printing to digital printing.

MGI’s JETvarnish solution has earned a Diamond Finalist Award in the DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation. The JETvarnish 3D Digital Print Decoration Process for Folding Cartons & Labels is set to enable companies to achieve a premium branded look for their folding cartons and labels without the time, cost and expense of using traditional dies, screens or plates.

According to MGI, the French company has simplified the production decoration process for manufacturers, printers and converters. The JETvarnish 3D solution increases the speed and ability of consumer and commercial firms to bring new products to market at a lower cost. According to the company the workstation software offers rapid prototyping for new product launches and full high-volume production management.

The MGI innovation achieves 2D, 3D and Variable Foil Embossing on cartons and labels on a single line. The technology shall facilitate printers, converters and finishers to produce special effects with variable data personalization and customized short-runs faster than other printing technologies. According to MGI, the solution is suitable for brand owners who are looking for more multi-sensory packaging to attract consumers at the point of sale. MGI Jet varnish 3D enables businesses to garner a premium branded look for their printed documents without the time, cost and expense of using traditional dies, screens or plates.

DuPont awards program is an international, independently-judged competition that honours innovations in packaging design, materials, technology, and processes across the entire packaging value chain.

The DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation reflects how creative, committed and scalable the packaging industry is in catering to global issues and changing consumer demands. The other participants in Diamond Award included Fritz™ Water Vest, Zume Pizza, Cryovac® OptiDure™ Abuse Bag, Dow AgroSciences and Plantic™ R.

MGI is being represented by Konica Minolta in India. The industry leading JET Varnish 3D takes digital spot UV coating to an entirely new level with increased throughput for flat spot UV jobs and astounding 3D raised effects.It allows for fast start-up without plates, screens or waste, producing anything from one to several thousand sheets per hour easily. On the same document, the JETvarnish 3D can alter the coating thickness from 3 to 200 microns, depending on the user’s defined areas.

With extended formats ranging up to 52x105cm (20×42’’) and weights up to 600 Gsm, the JETvarnish 3D can be used to convert your every regular printed jobs into high margin spot UV jobs. The 100 percent digital JETvarnish 3D also enables businesses to take a few sheets from a job and spot UV coat it, creating a sellable proof so your customers can see the potential and additional visibility and impact that their jobs could have.

MGI’s exclusive inkjet technology also offers you the quality you deserve, from the first page to the very last. Precise piezo (drop-on-demand) print heads allows for lines as small as 0.5 mm (1/144”) or as wide as the sheet (max. width 515 mm/20”). With MGI’s patented coating formula, consumers can also switch from one job to another with no equipment cleaning required.

About Konica Minolta

Konica Minolta Business Solutions comes as a leader in advanced imaging and networking technologies. The Japan headquartered company is the global developer, manufacturer of multi-functional peripherals (MFPs), printers, equipment for production print systems and graphic arts, equipment for healthcare systems, measuring instruments for industrial and healthcare applications, inkjet print heads and textile printers for industrial use, and related consumables and solution services. The company with its high quality printing solutions, particularly for SMBs, offers unmatched customer service in India. With ‘Digital Printing’ being the next big thing in the country’s printing space, the company is committed to fetch help businesses transit smoothly from conventional printing to digital printing.

Konica Minolta, Inc. (Konica Minolta) is pleased to participate in the publication, G7 Climate Change The New Economy (CCTNE), with a four-page advocacy, focusing on its responsibility in accelerating environmental contribution with our stakeholders.

The Industry Role of a Trade Finisher

In this article, Shoei Yamana, President and CEO of Konica Minolta addresses the importance of cooperation by introducing how Konica Minolta shares its environmental management knowledge with other companies and communities. He also mentions that Konica Minolta’s environmental management will be one of the factors that enable us to grow into a company that creates new value for society that can survive through industries’ changes.

“Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda demands unified action and global cooperation to share knowhow and information,” he says. “Aiming to assume a leadership role in achieving the SDGs in the environmental field, Konica Minolta will continue to promote cooperation.”

The four-page spread, doubling the number of pages from previous issues, stands out for the global technology company’s commitment to environmental protection and quality of life improvement.

CCTNE is the flagship magazine published by London-based World News – Climate Change The New Economy Ltd. for the annual G7 Summit and the Conference of the Parties (COP) convention.

The print version of CCTNE is made available to a broad range of world leaders, global corporate business leaders and universities, among others, in time for G7 summit in Italy.
The magazine is also distributed to attendees for G7 summit at selected hotel rooms and first- and business-class passengers of 18 international airlines and departure lounges at the gate. In addition to 20,000 copies of distribution, the magazine is available online for the public.

• Konica Minolta’s advocacy on page 56 and 59 in the electronic version of CCTNE

Konica Minolta, a leader in advanced imaging and networking technologies has unveiled the new Accurio Press series which sets new standards for superior value combining digital print quality that rivals offset prints with advanced workflow and color management. It also helps increase the customer profitability by creating smooth and streamlined workflows to expand the print services.

According to MGI, the French company has simplified the production decoration process for manufacturers, printers and converters. The JETvarnish 3D solution increases the speed and ability of consumer and commercial firms to bring new products to market at a lower cost. According to the company the workstation software offers rapid prototyping for new product launches and full high-volume production management.

The series has dramatically improve every aspect of the printing experience, reaching a new level of innovation and precision to make this the best machine for the customers. The Accurio series comprises of C2070, C2070P, C2060 and Accurio Print C2060L models and replaces the bizhub PRESS C1070, C1070P, C1060 and bizhub PRO C1060L for high-end printing devices. Accurio Press combines the quality and performance of previous models with additional features to adapt to customer requirements and also helps in optimizing the processes and workflows in order to streamline customer print production.

Inspired from the word “accurate,” Accurio demonstrates advanced, automated as well as accurate image of the company.The company’s new Accurio series is armed with industry leading technology and offers a blend of cost efficiency and high quality print outputs to help businesses maximise their profits. The series also comes packed with a host of modular tools including software and cloud based tools for integration, digital press suites, managing workflow etc.

Salient features of the Accurio Press Series Include:

• Excellent colour reproduction meeting standards such as G7 and Gracol.
• Furnishes banner prints suitable for book jackets, tri-fold brochures, posters and more at an amazing speed.
• Fetches completely finished perfect bound books.
• Quick envelope printing with a host of layouts.

“Our new Accurio Press Series is a complete modular line-up of industrial digital printing solutions to help printing businesses achieves unprecedented efficiency and productivity, reduce labour related expenses and tap new unexplored markets. We will continue to expand our series with new models to strengthen our commitment of offering world class printing solutions to businesses,” said Daisuke Mori, MD Konica Minolta India.

About Konica Minolta

Konica Minolta Business Solutions is a leader in advanced imaging and networking technologies from the desktop to the print shop. Konica Minolta is the global developer, manufacturer of multi-functional peripherals (MFPs), printers, equipment for production print systems and graphic arts, equipment for healthcare systems, measuring instruments for industrial and healthcare applications, inkjet print heads and textile printers for industrial use, and related consumables and solution services. It is also engaged in the development, manufacturing and sale of electronic materials (including TAC films), lighting source panels, functional films (including heat insulation films), and optical products (including lens units). To know more please visit:www.konicaminolta.in

Konica Minolta has announced the appointment of Daisuke Mori as the new Managing Director of Konica Minolta Business Solution India. Mr. Mori has more than 25 years of hands on experience in the printing industry; he started his career in 1992 at Minolta’s sales division, Japan.

In his career span in Konica Minolta, Mr Mori has served many vital roles as he was responsible for handling Sales and Marketing in China and has also served as a chief representative for the Indonesian office where he was influential in solidifying the company’s position. He has also handled various operations in China and South east countries where he has shown a tremendous strength for growing company’s turnover.

Daisuke Mori has played a significant part through strategic and operational areas of Konica Minolta and has an excellent record of leading turnaround growth strategies in complex multi-channel distribution environment and has shown a tremendous strength in enriching corporate alliances and global partnerships.

As the new MD of Konica Minolta Daisuke Mori will be responsible for the strategic directions, operational executions and overall leadership of the Indian business.

Daisuke Mori, Managing Director, Konica Minolta Business Solutions India Pvt. Ltd said, “It is a privilege to be a part of this company; I am delighted and thankful to the KM, Japan management for showing faith & confidence in me by providing an opportunity to lead a team of the fastest growing operations in Konica Minolta worldwide community of more than 150 countries.. Konica Minolta has shown a tremendous growth in the Indian market and now has become a dominant technology company to in providing printing solutions. I look forward to use my knowledge and expertise to build a profitable growth and also creates value for various stakeholders including employees, customers and partners. In the coming year, Would like to meet as many customers and the partners to understand their challenges and how we can support our customers for mutual growth”

Konica Minolta is known for its outstanding productivity and reliability in printing technology with advance imaging and networking technologies from the desktop to print shop, among its versatile product portfolio Konica Minolta continues excelling in the Production Printing Market in India.

About Konica Minolta

Konica Minolta Business Solutions is a leader in advanced imaging and networking technologies from the desktop to the print shop. Konica Minolta is the global developer, manufacturer of multi-functional peripherals (MFPs), printers, equipment for production print systems and graphic arts, equipment for healthcare systems, measuring instruments for industrial and healthcare applications, inkjet print heads and textile printers for industrial use, and related consumables and solution services. It is also engaged in the development, manufacturing and sale of electronic materials (including TAC films), lighting source panels, functional films (including heat insulation films), and optical products (including lens units). To know more please visit:www.konicaminolta.in

Konica Minolta presented its vision for the Workplace of the Future at CeBIT 2017
At CeBIT 2017, Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe (Konica Minolta) was showcasing revolutionary concepts for the Workplace of the Future. As a representative of this year’s partner country Japan, Konica Minolta used the stage to give insights into what will drive digital transformation for the workforce. Face recognition, predictive software solutions and smart Internet of Things office furniture are just a few of the innovative answers to the changing demands of the workforce. The company appreciates the new concept of Deutsche Messe AG for CeBIT 2018.

Visitors had the opportunity to experience first-hand different solutions for the Workplace of the Future at Konica Minolta’s climate-neutral booth at CeBIT. Since the working environment is changing fast, so are the needs towards supporting technologies. Konica Minolta and their highly specialised cooperation partners are delivering cutting-edge solutions to answer these needs. Visitors were especially impressed by the approach, story and thoughts around the Workplace of the Future presented at the booth. Additionally, the integration of innovative technology that strongly focuses on people and fosters engagement hit the nerve of partners and customers alike and positioned Konica Minolta as a strong partner for IT services and solutions.

Konica Minolta’s IoT (Internet of Things) strategy

Together with MOBOTIX AG, a German specialist for intelligent IP video solutions, Konica Minolta demonstrated how employees without a fixed workplace could be guided to a free office desk through face recognition when they enter the company. As space is becoming an increasingly scarce resource in the corporate world, it is important to be able to manage and utilise it as efficiently as possible. With its predictive technology, Konica Minolta offers the opportunity to optimise the use of meeting rooms and office desk space, to ensure best collaboration and teamwork while maintaining privacy at the same time.

In collaboration with ARUP, Konica Minolta displayed an intelligent IoT office desk, which is able to measure room temperature, humidity, lighting, air quality and other parameters. The idea is to provide optimal working conditions for highest efficiency and productivity, as all these factors have substantial influence on the cognitive performance of knowledge workers.

To help empower customers in the digital workplace, Shoei Yamana, President and CEO, Konica Minolta, Inc., explained in his keynote on Tuesday Konica Minolta’s IoT strategy with two elements: Building a superior “cyber physical system” and offering a unique mix of cloud and edge IoT technologies to support cost-effective decision-making. Konica Minolta’s cyber physical system turns information from the real world into meaningful cyber analysis and the provision of solutions via superior input devices. Combining the company’s expertise in light, image processing, sensing and materials with cutting-edge IoT technologies, Konica Minolta creates devices, which compile images, video and data into quantifiable parameters to offer new value.

Designed to be sustainable

Konica Minolta, an ambassador for 2017’s CeBIT partner country Japan, proudly contributed to the opening ceremony on Sunday, March 19th. The “Japan Show Act” pictured the country’s thoughts and expectations towards future technologies through an artistic performance supported by Japanese companies and their innovations. With the groundbreaking Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) panel technology, which was incorporated in the performance costumes, Konica Minolta emphasised their environmental consciousness and their pioneer position among the Japanese IT and Tech companies.

“Ikuo Nakagawa, President of Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe Especially with the background of Japan being this year’s partner country, we are very proud to be an exhibitor at CeBIT for the third consecutive time and showcase our wide portfolio of innovative technologies. Ikuo Nakagawa, President of Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe„

For next year, Deutsche Messe AG announced a completely new concept for CeBIT 2018 and beyond.

“Ikuo Nakagawa, President of Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe
We from Konica Minolta consider the changes positively. The new concept shows courage for a change which we consider necessary.
Ikuo Nakagawa, President of Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe„

With the wide range of environmentally considerate products, such as the world’s first flexible colour-tuneable OLED lighting panels, and an officially certified climate-neutral booth, Konica Minolta reinforces its position as a sustainably acting company by supporting the EcoVision 2050 targets of reducing CO2 emissions by 80% compared to 2005 levels. By supporting the certified Carbon Offset Project: Hydropower Project Renun Indonesia, Konica Minolta compensates for the calculated 127,670 kg CO2 emissions of the company’s participation in CeBIT 2017.

Boilerplate
About Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe
Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe GmbH, based in Langenhagen, Germany, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Konica Minolta Inc., Tokyo, Japan, forming part of its Business Technologies business area. As a leading global services provider in the field of IT- and document processes as well as digital production printing solutions, the company excels in services-led business consulting, implementation and management and provides a range of world-leading printing systems and solutions. In this context, Konica Minolta’s Optimized Print Services concept (OPS) combines consultancy, hardware, software implementation, and operation in order to enhance business process efficiency and cost-effectiveness. To support customers optimally with powerful and sustainable solutions, technology leader Konica Minolta continuously invests in research and development work and regularly sets new standards.
Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe is represented by subsidiaries and distributors in more than 80 countries in Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa. With over 35,000 employees around the world (as of March 2016), Konica Minolta’s Business Technologies business area earned net sales of over EUR 6.2 billion in the 2015/16 financial year.
For further information about the company, please visit: www.konicaminolta.eu and http://newsroom.konicaminolta.eu/.
Product images are available at: www.konicaminolta-images.eu.
Terms and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and are hereby acknowledged.

Konica Minolta, Inc. (Konica Minolta) has introduced Workplace Hub, an innovative new enterprise IT solution that unifies all of an organisation’s technology via a single centralised platform. Designed to future-proof workplaces of every size as they work towards digital transformation, version one of Workplace Hub, available from Autumn 2017, directly addresses growing IT complexity by providing more efficient and effective management of the disparate array of tools, services and devices used by modern organisations.

This new platform represents the next phase of Konica Minolta’s long history in innovation, marking its position in the IT services market and perfectly placing the firm to meet the evolving needs of business customers. Acting as a central hub that simplifies IT for an organisation, Workplace Hub drives efficiencies by reducing the overall costs of IT management and service provision, and providing real-time data-driven insights that help to improve business processes. By creating an ecosystem to manage and coordinate the entire IT infrastructure and services across existing and future IT systems, devices and services, Workplace Hub provides users with a central dashboard showing 360-degree visibility of IT usage patterns across the whole business, allowing for simple management and optimisation of systems.

This new platform represents the next phase of Konica Minolta’s long history in innovation, marking its position in the IT services market and perfectly placing the firm to meet the evolving needs of business customers. Acting as a central hub that simplifies IT for an organisation, Workplace Hub drives efficiencies by reducing the overall costs of IT management and service provision, and providing real-time data-driven insights that help to improve business processes. By creating an ecosystem to manage and coordinate the entire IT infrastructure and services across existing and future IT systems, devices and services, Workplace Hub provides users with a central dashboard showing 360-degree visibility of IT usage patterns across the whole business, allowing for simple management and optimisation of systems.

Moreover, the platform’s product roadmap includes future integration of IoT, Artificial Intelligence, Intelligent Edge and Decision Support capabilities as they become more central to the business environment of tomorrow. Adding this cognitive layer of organisational insight unleashes an intuitive understanding of the world that empowers people to collaborate better and to make smarter, data-driven decisions more effectively and easily.

Global partnerships with Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Sophos and Microsoft deliver best in class hardware, security and IT solutions. Additional services from Canonical and BrainTribe bring the power of open source and advanced data management, helping to facilitate effective digital transformation for any business.

Dennis Curry, a Vice President and Director of Business Innovation and R&D at Konica Minolta, said “Workplace Hub will evolve to become the most comprehensive platform for the services and capabilities demanded by the workplace of the future. It means businesses can grow and manage their IT in tandem with changing business needs. It simplifies IT operations today and paves the way for exciting new integrations, such as AI and intelligent edge computing, to become a central part of the digital organisation of the future.”

This strategic shift will allow Konica Minolta to deliver more comprehensive digital transformation solutions, while continuing its heritage of providing the very best products and services for the business market as a whole.

“The workplace is evolving at an unparalleled rate and digital transformation is becoming increasingly important to both survival and future prosperity,” said Shoei Yamana, CEO and President of Konica Minolta Inc. “Workplace Hub not only allows businesses of all sizes to achieve effective transformation, but future-proof themselves against the next wave of technology innovations already infiltrating the business environment.”

Workplace Hub version one will be available from Autumn 2017 to organisations looking for enterprise quality managed services at an affordable price.

More information on the launch event, keynote speakers and panel discussions can be found at workplacehub.konicaminolta.comworkplacehub.konicaminolta.com New Window.

About Konica Minolta

Konica Minolta, Inc. is a global technology company that provides innovative solutions to businesses and society. With its strengths in the combination of its core technologies in advanced imaging, optics, sensing, materials and nano-processing, Konica Minolta is committed to create new values that help customers address challenges in their operations and work processes. Advancing its expertise in digital technologies, the company has been going through business transformation into problem-solving digital company across the board as One Konica Minolta in the era of Internet of the Things (IoT). Konica Minolta is also active in open innovation through various collaborations and alliances with academic, industrial and entrepreneurial partners.

Headquartered in Tokyo, Konica Minolta has its Group companies in 50 countries with over 43,000 employees and offers products and services in 150 countries around the world.

Konica Minolta Business Solutions, a global leader in advanced imaging and networking technologies recently organised a roadshow in Nalgonda, Telangana where it demonstrated its state-of-the-art Production Printers with the pivotal highlights of the event being the bizhub PRESS C71hc & C1060 production printer.

The roadshow was organised to showcase the company’s production printers as well
as to furnish a platform for the printing businesses about the next generation technologies in the vertical. It was also focused to meet the customer’s end to end demands and gain a 360-degree visibility in their industry related requirements.

About bizhub C71hc and C1060

The 3rd generation machine bizhub PRESS C71hc packs in immense benefits over its predecessor. This model incorporates advanced colour reproduction capabilities of the manufacturer’s proprietary high-chroma toner that produces enhanced printing outputs. bizhub PRESS C71hc also comes with an optional banner tray to support the printing on media up to 13×47. This gives the customers to print bigger format of photo albums. Another asset of the bizhub PRESS C71hc is their wide range of finishing capabilities and its combination with a workflow software Print Xpress.

Konica Minolta’s bizhub PRESS C1060 is an ideal solution for small as well as mid-range industrial printing businesses, delivering a fast print/copy output of up-to 60 ppm. With a superior colour image quality, purpose built reliability and simple touchscreen control, a business can receive every advantage of digital production like variable-data printing and scanning.

Konica Minolta’s highly skilled and dedicated engineers have also incorporated the bizhub PRESS C1060 with a 7,500-sheet maximum paper capacity for long press runs without interruption. The printing solution is compatible with paper sizes of upto 13’’x 19.2” and weights up to 300 gsm. It also offers versatile inline finishing options to suit any production requirements.

About Konica Minolta

Konica Minolta Business Solutions comes as a leader in advanced imaging and networking technologies. The Japan headquartered company is the global developer, manufacturer of multi-functional peripherals (MFPs), printers, equipment for production print systems and graphic arts, equipment for healthcare systems, measuring instruments for industrial and healthcare applications, inkjet print heads and textile printers for industrial use, and related consumables and solution services. The company with its high quality printing solutions, particularly for SMBs, offers unmatched customer service in India. With ‘Digital Printing’ being the next big thing in the country’s printing space, the company is committed to fetch help businesses transit smoothly from conventional printing to digital printing.