Describe your company?
PrintStop India is a chain of digital printing stores present in Mumbai. With four retail outlets in Mumbai, we cater to SME’s and retail clients. The main backend hub caters to B2B clients and jobs from our retail outlets. We offer products like business cards, stationery, banners and brochures.

What does the system do?
Konica Minolta (KM) Bizhub C8000 is a high-speed color digital press which is ideal for the high quality short run jobs.

Why did you choose this particular system?
It offers printing on versatile media at a reasonable cost. We have nine other KM engines and that just seemed to be the natural choice when the need for a larger system arose.

Did you look at any other similar system?
Yes, we did look at a couple of other systems, but this system seemed to be the best fit for our production needs.

Why did you make the purchase?
Our volumes were continuously increasing and we needed some fast and reliable product to support the increasing volume.

What features do you particularly like?
The front-back registration and the vacuum belt feeding system. The decurling system is also a very good feature but needs some expertise to use it.

Is there anything you wish it had that it doesn’t?
Though the machine supports 350 gsm, it does tend to give problems. Maybe a more powerful feeding system would be good for the same.

How fast is it?
The machine prints at a maximum speed of 80 ppm (A4 100 gsm) at 1200 dpi with a maximum size of 330 x 487mm.

What’s the quality like?
The quality is pretty consistent. The colour gamut is pretty good. The different screening options give the opportunity to play around with different kind of prints.

How reliable is it?
There were quite a few teething problems. It was the first or second installation in all of India. Naturally it took some time and effort even for the technicians to get it into perfect running condition. But, after the initial struggle we would say that the machine is reliable now.

How easy is it to use?
We have chosen the Creo Controller which is supposed to have better colour control. Naturally, it is very different from the Fiery Controllers that our operators are used to. There is a little bit of a learning curve beyond which the main engine setup is easy.

How much time or money has it saved?
It saves time. It is about 40% faster than any of our other machines. It has added about 25% to our output capacity.

Would you say that it offers value for money?
Yes, it definitely does.

Were there any difficulties experienced during the installation or after?
There were quite a few teething issues which were ironed out eventually. We had quality issues till the first 100k copies after which it has been running very stable.

What about the pre- and after-sales service?
We have bought this machine from HCL Infosystems and have absolutely no service issues whatsoever. Their service team is always reachable.

Who do you think the system is right for?
The system is good for anyone who needs consistent colour output at a moderate price. Having said that, anybody opting for this machine has to have experience in the digital domain, it is definitely not a plug and play kind of printer.

Under what circumstances would you buy another?
If our volumes increase so as to warrant one more installation, we would consider this product as the first option.

 

Supplier's Response
Umang Singhal, product manager, at HCL Infosystems, says: “PrintStop India is the first print firm in Maharashtra to install the Bizhub C8000. They provide a wide range of jobs going through the device. The quality that their customers comment on is, in a large part, due to the unique toner technology that Konica Minolta has developed and which produces a much wider range of colours than other toner devices. It is very popular in corporate and public sector print rooms for the same reasons that Shah’s has identified: speed, productivity and cost effectiveness.”

Contact
Umang Singhal, HCL Infosystems
+91 120 2520977, +91 9810293512
umangs@hcl.com