KONICA MINOLTA LAUNCHES ACCURIOSHINE

Imaging giant Konica Minolta has launched a new digital embellishing system, the AccurioShine 3600, which has a dozen effects, and which is targeted at commercial printers seeking added value solutions for the clients.

Andy Cocker, general manager of Konica Minolta Production Print, said, the AccurioShine comes out of Kankei, the term used to cover innovation, digital transformation, sustainability, and collaboration.”

The AccurioShine 3600 will produce multiple embellishments with 12 different effects, including embossing, spot UV and hot foiling, using Konica Minolta printheads and LED lamps. The inkjet heads spray UV varnish onto the substrate. The embossing technique means there is no indentation on the rear side of the page.

The digital optional iFoilOne system sees the foil is placed onto the varnish. The iFoilOne solution does away with the need for the traditional foil stamping requirements of metal dies and metal blocks, and has minimal makeready times.

Variable data printing is enabled, and the AIS coaxial light system will deliver register even on metallic stocks.

The new AccurioShine comes out of the relationship between Konica Minolta and MGI, with Konica Minolta now owning 46 per cent of MGI. This is the first Konica Minolta branded product from that relationship. It is the most compact and cost-effective system in the portfolio.

Konica Minolta’s inkjet heads used in the AccurioShine are a proven technology, they are already used by Konica Minolta, MGI and swissQprint.

The AccurioShine 3600 is targeted at the long sheet SRA3 market, while MGI systems go all the way up to B1 size, and there are already eight of them in Australia.

Adam Todd, at Konica Minolta, said, “Digital embellishment on the AccurioShine 3600 means short-runs are now possible, with quick turnarounds.

“Among the many innovations, you can make changes to the embellishment in the Editor suite on the AccurioShine 3600, you don’t need to export it back to InDesign.

“The AccurioShine will enable print businesses to go to their clients with an inhouse solution that adds value in multiple ways, with the added margin that enables.”

The AccurioShine emables multiple jobs to one printed in one run, thanks to the use of barcodes and cameras.

It will accommodate sheet sizes up to 364x750mm, which is a 6pp A4 trifold, and substrates up to 450 micron. Throughput depends on the build of the varnish, a typical 21 micron thickness will enable 2077 A3 sheets an hour to be embellished.

It has a Konica Minolta vacuum feed. The varnish is the same whether used for low build, high build or foiling. There is a Corona treatment station, only necessary in the case of ultra smooth surfaces. There are five inkjet print heads, and two drying systems, the first located immediately after the heads to seal the dot in what Konica Minolta calls pinning, similar to dotfreeze in its KM-1 printer, the second set to dry it through.

The AIS artificial intelligence takes any job, interrogates the file, which ensures that the registration is aligning the image, so allowing for the different tolerances on different print systems.