The 1052 and 1250 join the Pro 951, launched last June, in the range of monochrome digital printers from Konica Minolta.

The two new 1,200dpi machines beat the 95 A4 page (55 A3) per minute (ppm) 951 in terms of productivity, with the mid-range 1052 running at 105 A4 (60 A3) ppm and the top-of-the-range 1250 running at 125 A4 (70 A3) ppm.

The Bizhub Press 1052 and its compact version, the Bizhub Pro 1052, have an average monthly print volume of 300,000 and 500,000 and a monthly duty cycle of 2m, versus 1.5m on the Pro 951, and the 1250 reaching up to 3m monthly impressions at peak times.

The Bizhub Press 1250 meanwhile has an average monthly print volume of between 400,000 and 750,000 impressions and a duty cycle of more than 3m.

The 1250 can handle up to 18,000 sheets at a time, reducing the need for operator intervention during high volume production.

Both machines can print on stock from 40 to 350gsm simplex and 300gsm duplex, up to SRA3 size, enabling full size production of A3 documents with full bleed and the ability to create A4 booklets trimmed to size.

A smart punch unit for online binding is available for both the 1052 and the 1250, including customer replaceable die sets for plastic comb, wire and velo binding. Large capacity trolley stacking units are available for offline finishing.

Both can be powered with EFI Fiery Central Solo, controlled by the Fiery Command Workstation which enables users to manage multiple printers through one interface. They use Konica Minolta’s patented Simitri HD polymerised toner which fuses at lower temperatures.

The 1052 retails at a basic price of £66,500 and the 1250 costs £94,500 compared to the pioneer 951, which is £39,950.

Konica Minolta production print market development manager Mark Hinder said: "Mono production still accounts for the vast majority of printed output by CRDs, in-plant print rooms, data centres and commercial printers.

"These new systems are the result of Konica Minolta’s ethos of continual product improvement based on research into customer needs. Instead of producing a ‘one size fits all’ device, we have introduced a mono range tailored to meet the specific needs of differing market segments.

"Together with the Bizhub 951 and Fiery Central Solo controller once again Konica Minolta’s customer intimate approach ensures we are meeting and exceeding current market needs."