Briggs & Stratton Graphic Services Among First to Use New Konica Minolta Press

One early user of the new bizhub PRESS 2250P monochrome digital press—launched this week by Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A.—is Briggs & Stratton Graphic Services. The device was viewed by 50 in-plant managers during a tour of the Milwaukee shop on June 12, following the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association Conference.

Developed by combining two bizhub PRESS 1250P engines in a single space-saving design, the new bizhub PRESS 2250P uses LED imaging and Simitri HD toner for true 1,200×1,200-dpi print resolution. Briggs & Stratton Graphic Services Manager Debbie Pavletich says the machine’s high speed of 250 duplex impressions per minute (15,000 per hour) and improved uptime have increased the in-plant’s productivity.

“We have also seen improvements in gradient quality on monochrome print jobs,” she notes.

In addition to fast output, the bizhub PRESS 2250P delivers accurate registration and excellent monochrome image quality, while also supporting an array of substrate types and weights and a range of inline finishing options.

“The bizhub PRESS 2250P was designed to outperform existing monochrome presses in the marketplace by delivering the three leading qualities that print providers are looking for—speed, quality and flexibility—not to mention the reliability that comes with the Konica Minolta brand name,” notes Kevin Kern, senior vice president, marketing with Konica Minolta Business Solutions.

The bizhub PRESS 2250P also supports Konica Minolta’s EngageIT Automation and EngageIT XMedia (cross media) software platforms. Part of the company’s EnvisionIT Production solution offering, these solution platforms aim to help printers maximize profits through increased workflow efficiency, and expand their capabilities to help their customers leverage the power of multi-channel marketing.

 

 

original post @ http://www.inplantgraphics.com/

Konica Minolta SA – Meeting the growing demand for value-added document management software

Companies around the globe are demanding improved, more comprehensive management and administrative control for their printing, copying and scanning operations.

So says Mohammed Vachiat, product manager at Konica Minolta South Africa, who believes that factors such as increasing cost containment, compliance pressures and growing marketplace competition are forcing businesses to reassess their document management and production processes, in order to save time and money, while also increasing productivity.

“With the commoditisation of hardware, software has become a major focal point for this market,” he explains. “This is where the real office automation value is being delivered and companies are clamouring for more, citing simplicity, flexibility, improved pricing models and lower risk as necessities in today’s print management world.”

New developments in print management software solutions can help improve efficiencies within businesses of any size, including curbing wastage, through fewer unnecessary print jobs and better control of colour prints versus black & white.

In addition, through centralisation, this type of solution can enhance the management of a company’s entire print infrastructure and help ensure system reliability.

“Companies today spend large sums of money on securing their sensitive data, but often underestimate the risk of information leaks in paper form,” Vachiat explains. “Each printed document within a company is a potential security risk, should it land in the wrong hands. This means that security and confidentiality have become a foremost priority when it comes to print management.

“Fortunately, today’s software can mitigate the risk by providing authentication measures at MFPs and encrypting communications, ensuring a highly secure print workflow.”

Konica Minolta South Africa’s strategy has evolved over a number of years, meaning that the company is well-positioned to provide solutions that can minimise wastage, improve productivity, as well as enhance centralisation and security.

“The Konica Minolta Professional Services division has combined in-depth knowledge and expertise with leading edge products and services, producing best of breed and comprehensive business solutions for our customers.”

In fact, the organisation’s bEST (bizhub Extended Solution Technology) offering enables the seamless integration of bizhub multifunctional devices with a range of third party business solutions and processes, such as enterprise content management (ECM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) technologies (including SAP, Microsoft SharePoint and Documentum and so on).

“Our status as a Microsoft Silver Partner with an Application Development Silver competency is a great achievement for Konica Minolta South Africa, as it means that Microsoft has given the bEST solution its stamp of approval,” Vachiat adds.

“We have developed a number of customised workflow and process driven applications for large enterprises and organisations locally, ranging in scale, system and complexity. On all fronts however, our clients have derived significant value – in terms of cost savings, productivity boosts and enhanced efficiency.”

 

 

Konica Minolta’s profit seen up 50% in first quarter

Konica Minolta Inc. is expected to post an operating profit of about 11.5 billion yen ($111.9 million) for the April-June quarter, up roughly 50% on the year as higher profits at companies in advanced countries prompt them to replace older business equipment.

The Tokyo-based company’s quarterly sales are on track to climb 5% to around 230 billion yen, driven by the imaging-based equipment business, which generates three-quarters of overall revenue.

Businesses in Japan, the U.S. and Europe cut back on investment in office automation equipment to keep costs down in the wake of the global financial crisis, but their earnings have now recovered. Aiming to boost productivity, many companies are buying new multifunction color-copy peripherals.

In addition to selling more machines, Konica Minolta is expanding corporate IT services related to them, including document management and information security.

An increase in demand for commercial printers is also contributing to profit growth. As economies recover, Japanese and foreign companies are increasingly in need of fliers and catalogs.

Although at the start of the fiscal year the company anticipated having trouble selling films for LCD panels, it is now doing steady business in the area, helped by brisk sales of big LCD television sets and an uptick in demand as corporate clients replace Windows XP-based laptops with notebook computers running newer versions of the Windows operating system.

Konica Minolta decided to stop making glass substrates for hard-disk drives in the latter half of last fiscal year. In the first quarter of that year, the business suffered an operating loss of about 2 billion yen. The move to withdraw from the area will contribute to profit growth in the current first quarter.

When the company announces first-quarter results on July 30, it will likely keep in place its full-year forecast calling for a 7% rise in operating profit to 62 billion yen. Office equipment sales tend to pick up toward the end of the fiscal year as businesses try to use up budgeted but unspent funds.

(Nikkei)

Konica Minolta’s “Emerald Learning Program” Series: Kowloon Bay Material Transfer Centre Site Visit

Konica Minolta has once again co-organized the “Emerald Learning Program” with Green Sense in 2014. The first activity, Kowloon Bay Material Transfer Centre Site Visit, was held on 21 June 2014. Besides site tour, all participants also experienced the process of plastic sorting and learnt how to conduct the sorting in proper way, such as removing the plastic cap from the bottle before recycling, etc.

On the day of the activity, pupils and Konica Minolta’s volunteers visited the food waste recycling center and plastic sorting center that is managed by Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and Tzu Chi Foundation respectively. A brief session was introduced by the tour guide, and all participants then observed the food waste recycling process by shuttle bus and attended a seminar on the environmental protection and also experienced in plastic sorting thereafter.

Konica Minolta will organize more environmental activities in order to spread our green message “Green At Heart” to the public.

 

Konica Minolta : Acquires Ergo Asia

 

Konica Minolta : Acquires Ergo Asia

Tokyo (June 23, 2014) – Konica Minolta, Inc. (Konica Minolta) today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Ergo Asia Pty Limited (Ergo), a leading Asian marketing production management services provider, to acquire all shares. Ergo has its global headquarters in Sydney, Australia.

Background

Under its Medium Term Business Plan “TRANSFORM 2016,” business expansion in the production print sector is one of Konica Minolta’s major management policies.

Among the production print sector, especially in the high-volume output segment, commercial printers expect vendors to offer solution proposals utilizing productive digital printing systems with stable and high-quality output capabilities for a wide variety of paper types. Moreover, enterprise clients that order print jobs to printers need offering of new approaches and services to bring added values to a diverse mix of production (print, digital, displays, artwork, etc) for sales promotion and other marketing efforts.

Purpose and effect

Ergo’s general enterprise customers take full advantage of Ergo’s expertise in the “Marketing Print Management (MPM)” services that improve marketing business process and assist planning and production of highly value-added products useful for promotion and marketing purposes. Ergo has been developing its MPM business across Asia.

With the acquisition, Konica Minolta intends to add not only Ergo’s sophisticated services management know-how and network but also its unique application system leading to higher productivity in running the business.

As a result of the acquisition, Konica Minolta will be able to offer a wider variety of options and solutions, based on the latest schemes and innovative technologies, in responding to demands from general enterprise clients in Oceania and Asia, not only for higher added value and optimized quality but also for better cost performance in their marketing production needs. Furthermore, along with the acquisition of UK-based Charterhouse PM Limited in November 2012, Konica Minolta will be well positioned to build a system to deliver MPM services for global corporations with offices in Oceania and Asia. Through the offering of MPM services, Konica Minolta will contribute to broadening the scope of commercial printers and general enterprise customers’ businesses.

Ergo’s customer base will continue to be supported and expanded through the continuing evolution of Ergo’s MPM business.

Scheme of acquisition

Konica Minolta will purchase all shares of Ergo. The two companies entered into the definitive agreement for the acquisition on June 11, 2014.

Overview of Ergo

Company name	Ergo Asia Pty Limited
Established	2004
Headquarters	Sydney, Australia
Number of employees	176 (as at August 20, 2013)
Countries with offices	Australia, New Zealand, China, Indonesia, India, Thailand, The Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore and USA
Business operation	Provision of marketing management services including Digital Production, Digital Asset Management, Studio Services, Software Provision, Retail Display Production and Print Production

With its Brand Proposition “Giving Shape to Ideas,” Konica Minolta will continue enhancing its presence in the production print field and the corporate values of the Konica Minolta Group through offering of solutions and services that fulfill the customers’ needs and bring high added values.

Delissa Kimmince joins Southern Stars

Allrounder added to player list for 2014/15

Cricket Australia (CA) today announced that Delissa Kimmince has been added to the 2014-15 list of Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars players.

The Women’s National Selection Panel (WNSP) made the decision to elevate Konica Minolta Queensland Fire all-rounder Kimmince from the Commonwealth Bank Shooting Stars squad to the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars squad following the retirement of Jodie Fields from international cricket last week.

Speaking about the decision WNSP Chair of Selectors Julie Savage said: “Delissa had a very consistent 2013-14 domestic season with the bat, particularly her player-of-the-match performance in the WT20 final, which culminated in her selection for the 2014 ICC Women’s World T20 in Bangladesh.

“While Delissa did not have many opportunities in Bangladesh she performed well with the bat in the games that she did play.

“Delissa is an exciting batting talent, has great potential with the ball, and is dynamic in the field; these skills are underpinned by her athleticism.”

Commonwealth Bank VicSpirit’s Emma Inglis has been added to the Commonwealth Bank Shooting Stars squad to bolster the wicket-keeping stocks across the two squads.

The upcoming international schedule for the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars includes home series against Pakistan and the West Indies, each of which will comprise One Day International (ODI) and T20 matches.

The Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars are supported by the Australian Government’s Women in Sport Media Grant program, which is designed to increase the profile of women’s sport through increased media coverage.

 

YSoft SafeQ: a valuable office solution that secures all print activities and keeps costs under control

 

Konica Minolta is supplementing its wide range of office application products with YSoft SafeQ, an innovative, feature-rich solution that enables central print administration while providing user and cost management meeting the highest safety requirements. The private cloud software solution is suitable for any business that requires increased productivity and efficiency from its print infrastructure. Thanks to its modularity, the new software can meet the needs of companies of any size or industry, from small, privately owned businesses to global enterprises and educational organisations.

The YSoft SafeQ print management solution allows customers to control the whole print infrastructure centrally while also enabling companies to gain added value by reducing costs. For IT administrators, the completely harmonised and customisable web-based administration interface is one of a kind and instantly makes their daily work a little easier.

The centrally installed office solution lets users release print jobs all around the world on any device in any location of the network, but centrally collects and accounts all print data across the network. Mobile printing makes it possible to submit print jobs more flexibly when on the go. Maximum efficiency, time saving and increased productivity are just some of the benefits.

In order to ensure security, the new print management solution only grants authorised users access to the device to commission print jobs, copy or scan. It is also possible to assign rights for printing, copying and scanning to individual users according to their needs or job roles. YSoft SafeQ thereby prevents security breaches and provides extensive protection of sensitive data and information at all times.

To keep costs under control, it is essential to monitor all print, copy and scan operations within an organisation. This is possible with YSoft SafeQ, which also offers a wide selection of detailed reports that help to optimise the print environment. Environmentally conscious companies, in particular, will benefit from green reports. These show how YSoft SafeQ reduces paper waste, toner and energy consumption and demonstrate the positive effect on the environment by quantifying the natural resources that have been saved.

For institutions wishing to charge for print services, YSoft SafeQ provides a comprehensive payment system including online/offline and even automatic recharging of user accounts for enhanced customer convenience.

“YSoft SafeQ is an extremely scalable and intuitive print management solution which leaves nothing to be desired in regard to print security, central print management, user access rights, reporting and even charging for specific print operations. The modular and feature-based licensing scheme makes it ideal for any customer looking for an advanced print management solution”, says Florian Loske, Product Manager, International Marketing Division.

More information on YSoft Safe Q

 

The Canada Games Announce Konica Minolta as National Partner and Official Supplier of the 2015 Canada Winter Games

At an event held today at the Lakewood Dental Arena at CN Centre (Kin 1), the Canada Games announced Konica Minolta as their newest National Partner.

With this announcement, Konica Minolta, a company committed to benefitting customers and society at large, enters a five-year National Partnership with the Canada Games Council and will be recognized as a major partner for the next three individual Games.

“We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Konica Minolta, a tremendous leader in providing high-performance products and attractive services and solutions,” says Tom Quinn, Chairman of the Canada Games Council. “We strive to collaborate with reputable corporations, and our new partnership with Konica Minolta certainly continues that trend.”

The announcement comes at an important time when the Canada Games are celebrating individual Games partners, but are also continuing to leverage long-term sponsorships and multiple Games partnerships. With this announcement, the roster of National Partners increases to nine. National partners enjoy the continuity of national rights and benefits in addition to the individual Canada Games rights and benefits.

“Our sports marketing initiatives have proven to be extremely effective in building brand awareness, and we’re always seeking new opportunities to promote Konica Minolta and our award-winning line of bizhub™ multifunctional products,” says David Armstrong, Vice President of Marketing, Konica Minolta Business Solutions (Canada) Ltd. “Plus, it provides Konica Minolta with a strong brand building opportunity in western Canada.”

Today’s announcement also introduced Konica Minolta as the presenting partner for short-track speed skating at the 2015 Games. For the 2017 Canada Summer Games in Winnipeg, Konica Minolta will be the presenting partner for the sport of baseball.

“Welcoming Konica Minolta as a supplier of the 2015 Games and the Canada Games Council, is very exciting,” says Stuart Ballantyne, CEO 2015 Canada Winter Games.

“We are proud to welcome Konica Minolta to our roster as an Official Supplier and the Presenting Sport Sponsor of short track speed skating during the 2015 Games.”

About the Canada Games

Held once every two years, alternating between winter and summer, the Canada Games represent the highest level of national competition for up and coming Canadian athletes. The Games have been hosted in every province at least once since their inception in Quebec City during Canada’s Centennial in 1967. The Games are proud of their contribution to Canada’s sport development system in addition to their lasting legacy of sport facilities, community pride and national unity.

The organization of the Canada Games is made possible thanks to the contribution and support of the Government of Canada, provincial/territorial governments, host municipalities and the Canada Games Council.

Konica Minolta wins its Fourth Consecutive Prime Awards for Eco Business – Gold Award

Konica Minolta Business Solutions (HK) Ltd. has won the Prime Awards for Eco Business by MetroBox for four times in a row. The ceremony was held on 6 June 2014(Friday) at Crowne Plaza Hong Kong Kowloon East. Mr. Leung Kin Hung, Manager of Technical Service, received the award on behalf of the corporation. This year, Konica Minolta has acquired Gold Award for two consecutive years, recognizing its efforts and achievements towards environmental protection.

In order to cope with the ever-changed market, Konica Minolta is continuously improving its products and services. With our 360 degree sustainability strategy in principles of 4Ps – Policy, Product, Program and People, we strive to achieve our mission in environmental sustainability.

In addition, Konica Minolta always organizes various educational activities such as Emerald Learning Program, to promote our green among our customers, staff and even their families, so as to accomplish our corporate Green Slogan “Green at Heart”.

All Covered Named to CRN’s 2014 Solution Provider 500 List

All Covered, a division of Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. (Konica Minolta), is pleased to announce that it has been named to The Channel Company’s CRN Solution Provider 500 list as one of the top IT services companies for the seventh consecutive year. The 2014 Solution Provider 500 list ranks the top revenue-generating technology integrators in the U.S. and Canada whose forward-thinking approach to the channel has helped them evolve and thrive in today’s cloud and services-driven IT era. The list spans eight categories from hardware and software sales, to managed IT services.

“Our continued placement on CRN’s Solution Provider 500 list validates our unique approach of partnering with customers to help them achieve their specific business technology goals and objectives,” says Todd Croteau, president of All Covered. “With our expanded cloud offerings, we have seen tremendous interest from our customers in adopting IT management and cloud services to simplify and reduce IT costs. This combination provides businesses an affordable and flexible technology solution that can grow with an organization.”

“The annual Solution Provider 500 list represents those companies that truly understand the needs of customers today as the IT landscape evolves,” says Robert Faletra, CEO, The Channel Company. “With so many options, this list has become an invaluable resource for vendors working hard to navigate the solution provider community and identify the best partner for their business. We congratulate the featured solution providers and look forward to covering their continued success.”

Earlier this year All Covered was named to the MSP Elite 150 list which is part of CRN’s Managed Service Provider (MSP) 500 annual list that recognizes the top technology providers and consultants in North America whose cutting-edge approach to managed services puts end-user customers in the best position to improve efficiencies, cut costs and speed time to market for their own products and services.

A sampling of the 2014 SP500 list is featured in the June issue of CRN Magazine and is featured online at www.crn.com.

About The Channel Company

The Channel Company is the channel community’s trusted authority for growth and innovation, with established brands including CRN, XChange Events, IPED, and SharedVue. For more than three decades, we have leveraged our proven and leading-edge platforms to deliver prescriptive sales and marketing solutions for the technology channel. The Channel Company provides Communication, Recruitment, Engagement, Enablement, Demand Generation and Intelligence services to drive technology partnerships. Learn more at www.thechannelcompany.com.