Inkjet & Digital Printing
Konica Minolta hails drupa a success
Friday 11. July 2008 - Two weeks ago, drupa 2008 came to an end, and Konica Minolta for one can look back on a productive two weeks at the print industry exhibition. It was clear to see that in the next few years, the company will continue to be a force to be reckoned with when it comes to digital production printing.
In only their second appearance at drupa, Konica Minolta used more than 1,000m² of exhibition space to unveil a significantly extended portfolio, accompanied by the slogan “Scale Up”. This covered both the production printing hardware and innovative workflow solutions that go with it, and served notice of its emergence in the mid-production market.
“Overall, drupa went really well for us. Our stand and ‘scale up’ concept proved their worth, especially in view of the general visitor interest and customer demand”, explained Olaf Lorenz, General Manager International Marketing Division at Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe. “But we still have a few months to wait before we see just how much our sales figures have benefited.”
Between 29 May and 11 June, almost 400,000 people came to drupa, with around 60 per cent from outside Germany. Because of the quality, international character and sheer number of visitors, Konica Minolta had no cause for complaint. Plus, the volume of new orders received during the exhibition far exceeded that of 2004, confirming the generally healthy climate for investment.
The main attraction at the Konica Minolta stand was the new bizhub PRO 1200. This monochrome production printing system combines performance and image quality of the highest order with an outstanding degree of flexibility. With more than 30 different configurations, it can be precisely adjusted to meet the needs of the graphic arts and professional print services market.
Konica Minolta also took the opportunity to reveal the bizhub PRO C65hc. This high-end system is perfect for the exacting demands of the professional colour-printing market and uses toners with innovative high-chroma-dry technology: great news for graphic and design companies who work extensively with colour. The machine goes on sale at the beginning of 2009.
Also sources of excitement, as expected, were the combined workflows that seamlessly integrate digital and offset printing systems. Visitors packed out the Offset Connectivity area to see the bizhub PRO C6501e working in tandem with the Creo print controller IC-304 plus. There was also a buzz surrounding the opportunities for one-to-one marketing: the Konica Minolta team used the bizhub PRO C5501 – kitted out with Printgroove VDP Darwin and DirectSmile software – to demonstrate just how easy it is to personalise printed material.
“One of our key objectives for drupa was to establish Konica Minolta as a major player in the production printing market”, said Olaf Lorenz. “The reactions of the visitors and our customers tell us that we got a lot closer to achieving that goal in Düsseldorf. Graphic-design companies and large print service providers are increasingly likely to consider us as a professional industry partner.”
Market share on the up
Its not just the recent experiences at drupa that support this view. Sales figures for Konica Minolta’s existing professional colour systems also provide ample evidence. The bizhub PRO C6500e, for example – a system for the light production segment introduced in October 2006 was a bestseller last year. Konica Minolta’s overall share of the German market rose by 12.3 percentage points in 2007, and the bizhub PRO C6500e played a big part in this success. In addition, the monochrome bizhub PRO 1050e was the third highest selling system in the production printing sector.
These encouraging results bear testament to the strong reputation that Konica Minolta has cultivated in the production printing market. Since the company first appeared at drupa in 2004, the number of production printing systems delivered has risen from 1,500 to 4,250, a trend that shows no sign of stopping. “Our strategy of concentrating on the production printing market is now really paying off”, says Olaf Lorenz, “an achievement that drupa has once again served to underline.”