Konica Minolta goes for high-end with new toner device

Konica Minolta has entered the high-speed cut sheet toner production print market for the first time with a new feature-rich device and the promise of rapid ROI for users.

The AccurioPress C14000 series received its worldwide premiere at the Printing United show in the US yesterday (23 October).

Kevin Kern, Konica Minolta senior vice president for business intelligence services and product planning, described the launch of the C14000 as “an extremely important global initiative”.

Konica Minolta gathered feedback from more than 100 customers worldwide to come up with the configuration for the C14000, and pledged the printer would offer “high productivity, unmatched reliability and advanced automation”.

The AccurioPress C14000 prints in CMYK at up to 140ppm A4 or 80ppm A3 with a resolution that is “equivalent” to 3,600x2,400dpi. It is 40% faster than the firm’s existing toner devices and detects paper types automatically.

Other features include inline trimming, slitting and creasing for full-bleed output, with simplex banner printing up to 129.5cm (51in) and duplex banner printing up to 90cm (35in) promised for next year. The TU-510 Versatile Trimmer Unit also means the printer can finish business cards inline.

Stock handling ranges from 52-450gsm, or 300gsm for textured stock, and it can also handle envelopes. Duty cycle is 2.5m sheets/month.

Kern said the level of automation on the C14000 was one of its stand-out features, describing it as “set and forget”

“We are using Industry 4.0-type technology that automates many of the onerous processes like calibration and setup time, enabling the printer to be more agile,” he stated.

“Users can take on short run and long runs profitably, so ROI comes quickly,” he added.

He also highlighted the capabilities of KM’s IQ-501 Intelligent Quality Optimiser system for handling registration and verifying print quality.

The C14000 can be driven by KM’s own controller or third-party frontends such as EFI’s Fiery.

The device can also work with other third-party inline finishing systems.

Sister model the C12000 prints at up to 120ppm.

UK pricing had not been confirmed at the time of writing. The AccurioPress C14000 will be available for sale from February 2020.