Konica Minolta Australia’s six-state UnPacked national roadshow made its way to NSW last week, bringing the energy and excitement of the company’s PacPrint stand to its Sydney showroom.
Held at Konica Minolta House in Macquarie Park, the event gave attendees a first-hand look at the company’s latest print technologies up close, including its newly launched AccurioJet 30000. It also gave a chance for those in attendance to celebrate the company’s 20 years in production print.
Andrew Cocker, general manager of Production and Industrial Print at Konica Minolta Australia, spoke on the success of the roadshow series to Print21, saying it was a great way demonstrate the company’s innovative technologies and market relevance.
“It has been really successful. In fact, the entire PacPrint run – whether it was at the show itself or our UnPacked series that followed, we always saw great attendance and interest from everyone,” Cocker told Print21.
“Our UnPacked roadshow series was a great opportunity for us to bring the event, our announcements, and the product launches, to states around the country, particularly to the people who weren’t there at the show.”
Cocker added, “We’ve had some good coverage, and it’s been no different here in Sydney, so we’ll see what comes out of the wash in the next couple of days in terms of leads.
“We’ve been gathering momentum, have had some genuine interest and some really good discussions, particularly with the AccurioPress C14010S – our first system with white, and then following that, with the AccurioJet 30000 – our next generation B2 ink jet presses.”
Talking on industry trends, Cocker discussed the evolution of colour management, emphasising the importance of relationships and shared experiences.
Key takeaways included the shift towards digital printing as a core business method, with 30 per cent of businesses now relying on it; inkjet technology receiving significant R&D investment; sustainability being a growing trend, and the recent growth in digital packaging and labels.
Another announcement highlighted from PacPrint was the launch of The Inkers programme, spearheaded by the Visual Media Association (VMA) and sponsored by Konica Minolta, and which aims to address the issue of talent retention in the industry. Marker representatives for the emerging talent programme had been named recently.
“We're focusing on anyone in any print organisation that is five years or less in the industry – they are the ones we want to speak to for this program in order to mentor and upskill them,” Cocker added.
“In our industry, we have a 57 per cent non-compliance rate with apprentices, which means over half of the people that get in the industry end up backing off and leaving for some reason. That is what we are trying to turn around with this program.”
The final leg of the Konica Minolta Australia’s UnPacked roadshow series will hit the ACT on Wednesday 23 July.
