Product of the Month: AccurioPress C6100/C6085

Konica Minolta’s AccurioPress C6085 and C6100 garnered overwhelming response when it demonstrated the two presses for the first time in India at Pamex in December 2017. Since then the manufacturer has notched up more than 25 installations especially in the B-tier cities like Kanpur and Chandigarh.

 

The two new machines replaced the Bizhub Pro C1085 and Pro C1100 machines. The two four-colour machines are very similar in the specification but the C6100 runs at maximum speeds of up to 100ppm and the C6085 at 85ppm. Main improvements over the predecessor Bizhub machines they are replacing include increased maximum substrate weight, from 350gsm to 400gsm at the same maximum speeds, and the ability to print on a wider range of substrates, including envelopes and embossed paper. The maximum resolution is still 1,200dpi. 

 

It has increased its top monthly duty cycle, from 1-million impressions per month to around 1.8-million. 

 

Manish Gupta, deputy general manager, PP and IP marketing, Konica Minolta, “With the higher frequency of short-run jobs and print firms looking at new avenues like packaging, there is a need for higher duty cycle in peak months.”

 

The machines also have a new design, a new paper catalogue on the machine, a paper tray with document feeder and dual scanner, enhanced textured paper support and a new Integrated Colour Care Unit (ICCU), which works for simplex and duplex.

 

Manish Gupta, deputy general manager, PP and IP marketing, Konica Minolta, highlighted the ICCU as an important new factor in reducing lead times and improving performance.

 

“The good thing with the ICCU is that in prior times you always needed a colour expert to do the colour management, a trained operator, and that’s now something of the past that you don’t need anymore. Everyone can now ensure that you get the best out of the machine. It handles complete colour management, automatically adjusts the machines, reads patches, creates profiles, has density adjustment and density variation adjustment. So it’s very easy, very comfortable and the operator doesn’t have to do anything with regards to colour management any more. This is unique to the market,” explains Gupta. 

 

With the integrated quality optimiser unit, printers will be overcome some of the biggest pain points in digital print production, such as time-consuming front to back registration, extensive colour set-up and complex paper set-up operations.

 

The series also includes a variety of optional finishing configurations, including a new stacking tray, a number of bookletmakers, punchers, auto ringbinders and folders. It has four optional controllers, two EFI, one Konica Minolta and one Creo, along with an Internal Web Server (IWS), allowing for screen customisation.  

 

Gupta adds, “From my point of view these are very unique sales points. The feedback from customers has been positive so I really think this machine will be dramatically successful.” 

 

Banner application

During the Pamex demonstration, the press was equipped with the LU-202XLm paper feed unit that could continuously feed up to 1,000 banner sheets of maximum 80gsm thickness and 762mm length.

 

The banner printing capability of the machine proves to be a significant selling point for the press. This coupled with the capability to handle 400gsm substrates enables producing three-fold, four-fold brochures, catalogues, short-run packaging, tags etc. 

 

It is for the banner printing application that Kanpur-based Om Calendar & Cards opted for AccurioPress C6085. The machine was installed in December 2017. 

 

Virendra Arya of Om Calendar & Cards, says, “There is no competitive product in the market which could deliver such a heavy duty cycle, banner printing up to 51-inch and support 400gsm paper without compromising on throughput.” 

 

Besides Om Calendar & Cards, Konica Minolta has installed the C6085 press at Meena Offset and The Printing World in Kanpur.

For Nawaz Khan of Meena Offset, following the installation of the Konica Minolta kit, since it’s the company’s first foray into digital, the short-term plan is to print around 1.5 lakh prints per month. “Production depends on the market demand, which keeps changing. Therefore it is important to have a machine that can handle a wide range of substrates. We found AccurioPress to be an ideal kit for beginners like us,” adds Khan.

 

Chandigarh-based Labels Unlimited has recently installed a Konica Minolta C6085. The company has been using a Konica Minolta C6000 for the past four years. 

 

Kewal Kishan, founder, Labels Unlimited, says, “We have been using Konica C6000, in which the engine is small and the production capability is limited. That is why we decided to purchase Konica Minolta C6085.”

 

Labels Unlimited used to produce about 70,000 prints per month in the Konica C6000. Now, the company is targeting about 1,50,000 prints per month.

 

Smart automation

The AccurioPress comes with optional Intelligent Quality optimiser IQ-501, which continuously monitors and adjusts colour and front-to-back registration during printing. So materials are produced with consistently high quality, less manual adjustment and no need for special skills.

 

This will help users overcome pain points in digital print production, such as time-consuming front to back registration, extensive colour set-up and complex paper set-up operations.

 

“Automation of density adjustment, colour management and front-to-back registration reduces time previously spent making adjustments. Since tasks such as manual measurements and input of numerical values are no longer necessary, there are fewer measurement and input errors. Colour profiles can also be created automatically to achieve highly accurate colour matching in less time,” adds Gupta.