KONICA MINOLTA LAUNCHES NEW LABEL PRESS

Dec 27, 2023

Andrew Cocker, general manager, production and industrial print, Konica Minolta Australia, told Print21 that, "Flexibility and productivity are keys to this press. It will print on virtually any stock, and its white ink opacity means one pass printing for white plus CMYK is the norm. Any printer looking to get to the next level in label printing will benefit from the new AccurioLabel 400."The press uses dry toner electrophotography, has a five-colour 3600dpi resolution of cyan, magenta, yellow, black and white, and has a high maximum print speed up to 39.9 metres per minute.The five-colour station with white toner is used in one pass when printing, widening the range of print applications while, says Konica Minolta, saving time, reducing costs, and improving productivity for printers.It uses electric web guides rather than tension for guiding the web in a precise path. The press tells the operator when the web needs to be changed, with splicing taking place at one point just beyond the unwind, meaning there is no need to guide the whole new web through the press.

Cocker said, "The AccurioLabel 400 Press has been designed with an array of functions for unparalleled flexibility and unmatched efficiency.

"Some of these standout functions include intuitive touch panels, AccurioPro Flux with label impose, faster printing speed, and higher run lengths. The new label press can print on a wide range of label media and offers personalised elements at high quality, and at a faster, simplified manner."For Australian customers, the AccurioLabel 400 Press will be instrumental for them to tap into the lucrative short run label market, particularly with the increased demand from businesses that develop and cater to the likes of, but not limited to, craft gin, beer, or coffee, as well as boutique and custom small businesses."The AccurioLabel 400 Press features multiple touch panel monitors in three areas on the machine, and includes on-screen instructions to ensure what Konica Minolta says is "ease-of-use" for operators, eliminating the need for extensive user training. A tablet separate from the machine can also be used as the main touch panel "for easy manouverability" when operating the press.The new press has resolution of 1,200 x 2,400 dpi (3,600 equivalent dpi), delivering "high precision" image reproduction. The inbuilt Intelligent Quality Optimiser provides colour stability, print registration, and density adjustments on the fly, while also reducing set up times. Konica Minolta says the automatic calibrations and profile creation "ensures the highest colour quality" during print runs and when reproducing the same print output over time.This new label press has been designed for label production with longer run lengths now possible, offering up to 3,000 metres of un-interrupted printing.

Cocker said, "The AccurioLabel 400 Press has been designed to help printers capitalise on the latest trends in the mid-high volume customised label market. The launch of new label press is testament to the work Konica Minolta Australia is doing to ensure a profitable, sustainable future for the local production and industrial print market, helping customers expand their potential with labels, packaging, and embellishments." Konica Minolta has been producing label presses for the past eight years, with some 1200 now installed. The current AccurioLabel 230 runs at 23 metres a minute, so the new AccurioLabel 400 is almost twice as fast. Whereas the 230 is designed for up to 50,000 metres a month, the new 400 is designed for up to 150,000, with a maximum peak volume of 500,000 metres a month.

The diameter of the feed roll is up to 800mm, which equates to 3000/4000 metres of substrate, with the unwind unit, supplied by GM, having an electro jack for easy operator loading. The rewind unit is also supplied by GM.Registration is achieved through Konica Minolta's Eye Mark system, located in the first unit. The second unit contains the dual toner hopper, meaning the operator can change toner units on the fly for non-stop printing. Adam Todd, solutions consultant, national industrial print - sales, at Konica Minolta said, "Dry toner technology has the advantage that it can print on a wide range of substrates, including films, PET, virtually anything."

Todd said, "Also key is the fact that with AccurioLabel 400 no stock needs priming first, it prints directly onto the substrate. Apart from taking a process out of the equation, the major benefit is that you get substrate fidelity. If the designer has specified a certain stock for its look and feel, a primer can adversely impact that. No need for a primer means the qualities of the stock are not impacted."The Konica Minolta Simitri V dry toner is food compliant, with validation coming from the FDA, LFGB and Nestle.The print engine has larger drums, larger chargers, larger fusers, and larger transfers, so it can achieve the throughput.After the printing unit comes the iQ520 quality control unit, which ensures density, registration, calibration are all correct. Todd said, "It can be matched to all quality control standards such as Fogra, G7 and the rest." The print speed of 39.9 metres a minute is halved if white is being used. Todd said, "White is a key element, in these days of bar codes, QR codes and the like, and of course for printing on films and metallics."Workflow is either Konica Minolta's own inbuilt software, or an external Creo, which Todd said was particularly useful if a lot of variable data was going to be used in the printing. Todd said the Konica Minolta workflow would enable a PDF of a single label to be imposed and prepared in less than five minutes, with the system telling the operator how many metres of stock are needed to print that job. He said, "It will also tell you what you click charge is going to be for the job, so you have an exact costing."Konica Minolta also supplies the GM Nano 330 finishing unit to go with the press, which can run at up to 65 metres a minute and provides the full gamut of converting options, including laminating, overprinting, slitting, die cutting.The new AccurioLabel 400 is designed to enable print businesses to service the rapidly growing labels business, which sees major brands versioning their popular products into multiple shorter runs, and a huge wave of new entrepreneurs making everything from candles to food, to beverages, with sales growing thanks to the power of internet marketing, which has given everyone a nationwide market.

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