Japanese digital manufacturer cites level of commitment to the printing industry as the motive behind its major presence at the challenged IPEX show. Support for the industry as well as for its UK customers sees the company emerge as the largest exhibitor in the Excel space as well as being the subject of most news reporting for its new product range.
According to Olaf Lorenz, European director, Konica Minolta is well pleased with the response to its decision to swim against the tide of cancellations by other major suppliers to the industry. He said that its presence clearly demonstrates its commitment to the commercial printing and graphic arts industry.
The cold clear weather on Monday morning saw a good turnout of industry types at the opening of the trade show that many wondered would survive. The much-diminished exhibition space had a sometimes makeshift sense to it but it provides an easy and comfortable show that has a solid UK supplier and agency feel.
Among a multitude of paper handling equipment companies, digital suppliers such as EFI, Epson and Xeikon and Fujifilm stood out. The organisers are predicting that the numbers attending will grow as the week progresses.
At the Konica Minolta press conference to a packed media room, the company claimed number one position in mid-production colour print systems in Euope. It said its ambition now is to be leader in print volumes too.
According to Lorenz, the European offset printing market is 107 billion Euro with digital only accounting for 7.7 billion of that. “ The potential is huge. Digital’s share of total output is a mere fiver per cent today, but the scope for digital printing is increasing by the day, as is demand,” he said.
Much attention was focused on the progress of Konica Minolta’s upcoming KM-1 B2+ sheetfed UV colour digital inkjet press. The UV inkjet press enables printing on coated or uncoated paper including standard offset paper without any pre-coating. With a sheet size of 585 x 750 mm the press is likely to have a major impact on short-run commercial work. The KM-1 is expected to be in beta sites this year with a full launch at the end of 2015.
More immediately, IPEX sees the debut of the new Konica Minolta colour flagship, the bizhub PRESS C1100, as well as the bizhub PRESS C1060/2070 and the bizhub PRESS 2250P mono press. On a booth dedicated to showcasing business applications label and packaging solutions give a direction to Konica Minolta’s ambition to be across most of the commercial production printing world.