Shown to the public for the first time at North America’s Printing United event in September 2024, the new range is made up of two CMYK models, the C12010 and C14010, and their CMYK+W counterparts, C12010S and C14010S.
Due to begin shipments to Europe in mid-April or early May, Konica Minolta yesterday showed off the new machines’ features to a global press audience.
“When we were looking at the C14010-series through the development process, we wanted to look at what what was happening in the market, what’s happening for our customers, and what their requirements are,” said Jason Dizzine, vice president of portfolio management and planning at Konica Minolta USA.
“I feel that we have a responsibility to bring products that support our customers’ needs not only for today, but for where the market is going in the future.”
Accordingly the C14010, and sister models, have been upgraded with a focus on reduced downtime, better automation, and increased business opportunities – the last being the reason for Konica Minolta’s new white toner channel.
Among other upgrades, the machines have been fitted with a new generation of intelligent media sensor, which can automatically sense moisture content, paper resistance, stiffness, and – along with atmospheric data – select optimum print settings. The upgraded sensors also purge the machine’s feed into a dedicated tray in the case of paper jams or double feeds, and can pause production when mismatched paper settings are detected to prevent print issues.
The new models have also been fitted with new high-speed CPUs with solid-state drives (SSDs), as opposed to hard drives, making processing of artwork significantly faster through their Fiery or Creo print controllers.
“In the past, we’d look at our portfolio roadmap, and ask what speeds [of printing] we needed. Now, we’re taking a much more in-depth look at what level of automation we need, what applications we need to support, and where the [market’s] growth will be in the future,” Dizzine added.
Konica Minolta’s toner shipments have grown by 40% over the past four years, consistent with a 42% global total growth in shipments according to the firm’s market analysis, with Konica Minolta keen to keep on top of the sector’s growth.
Over the past four years, Konica Minolta installed nearly 27,000 production print engines in Europe, and 31,000 in the US.
“That’s why these product lines are so important to us, and we are going to continue to look at growing and advancing our products moving forward,” Dizzine said.
Alexander Späth, managing partner of Baden-Baden-based print firm Späth Group, was one of the first in Europe to get his hands on a test machine.
He said that Späth Group had been satisfied with its existing fleet of Konica Minolta machines, but had been “very impressed” with the C14010S during test runs.
“The productivity is very high, with quality having improved even further, and the auto-inspection unit helps us to remove dirty feeds and other problems in the print process without having to stop print production,” he said.
“We also tested the white toner, and it impressed us with a good colour range. It’s quick and easy to use, and the accuracy, if you print colours up over the white toner, is also very good.
“Everything’s rounded off by a significantly faster RIP, which we also use: basically, it can be said that the new machine surpasses the already very good 14000 systems. We’re very happy with it.”
