Konica Minolta and Pent Net go back to school

Print hardware has found its software solution in the new partnership between Konica Minolta and Pent Net, joining forces to help customers save money and time.

According to Peter Ludwig, Manager at Pent Net, the partnership came completely out of the blue and it has an Internet search engine to thank for the business opportunity.

“Konica Minolta was looking to sign a $600,000 deal with Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE (MSIT) but they did not have the software solution to meet the client’s needs.

“They scouted online for companies who could provide the software solutions that MSIT required and in the end deciding to take a chance on Pent Net. The gamble paid off with MSIT loving the solutions the partnership brought to the table,” he says.

The officially inked partnership has been mutually beneficial, Pent Net required a hardware solution and Konica Minolta was looking for a software solution to complement its hardware solution.

“The manual procedure of ordering print used to be a painstaking slow process with approvals taking up to a week. However today through the Konica Minolta and Pent Net partnership, clients can receive instant quotes, edit artwork, order, fast track approvals and pay for print jobs online with the click of a button,” says Ludwig.

Matt Deeran, national workflow analyst for Konica Minolta, says when the MSIT deal came up over a year ago, the sales team headed over to demonstrate Konica Minolta’s products only to discover they did not have a suitable software product.

“Rather than letting that deal go by, I approached Pent Net for a solution and they delivered. The amount of customisation we had to do with the MSIT package was quite substantial,” he says.

Konica Minolta printers have been operational for some time now on an email-based system, after a collaborative effort merged two print rooms on separate Brisbane campuses into a single print hub. Installed B/W bizhub PRO 2000 and 1200 printers operate alongside a colour C5501 and an existing 1050e.

Tim Marsh, MSIT project officer, anticipates the Pent Net software handover at the end of the month. This enables resource development and printing for the entire campus via a web platform.

“We are very excited about the installation as it does more than printing. The software is a valuable too because it will manage workflows that require input from a number of team members,” says Marsh.

Pictured: Tim Marsh (left), MSIT project officer next to staff member Viga Misztal who handles the TAFE’s print hub. (Photo: Kassandra Bowers)


Konica Minolta has found its complementary software solution with Pent Net, says David Procter, general manager of production printing at Konica Minolta Australia.

“By adding Pent Net document streamlined web-to-print solutions to our product mix, Konica Minolta can now provide online job quotes, print-on-demand, re-orders, variable data or inventory management, on one easy to use web platform.

“We see Pent Net as a valuable partner to help address these challenges by helping customers save money and time,” says Procter.