Priority Mailing partners with Konica Minolta

Print Solutions

Priority Mailing was keen to investigate the latest technology solutions that would enable it to manage job throughput on monochrome devices, in the same way as it did on colour systems. In addition, it was looking for additional capacity and faster output speeds to support its target to double colour print volumes.

Managing director Paul Butcher went to drupa last year to have a look at the latest systems. ‘We had already decided that we wanted to continue utilising Konica Minolta systems and simply took the opportunity to go to drupa to have a pre-look at what was new,’ he said.

At drupa, Konica Minolta announced the launch of a new strengthened range of monochrome systems equipped with Fiery controllers. The controller enables printer operation and control via the Fiery Command Workstation, it unifies the operational environment by managing multiple printers with one single intuitive interface.

‘We were very excited about this development, we did have some issues with the third party software we were currently running on the monochrome printers to manage jobs through the print area, and the process wasn’t as slick as it was on the colour presses,’ Paul explained.

Priority Mailing was also impressed with the fast print speeds, the ability to handle high volumes, reliability and quality of colour output offered by the bizhub Press C1085.

Priority Mailing invested in four new bizhub Press 1250e monochrome print systems and one C1085. All of the devices were equipped with Fiery controllers. Priority Mailing retained one legacy colour press with service provided by Konica Minolta as part of the deal.

‘We really like the build of the Konica Minolta machines, they are metal and solid. Over the past four years, we have been delighted with the quality of output, speed and reliability, which made the decision to re-invest in Konica Minolta technology an easy one,’ Paul added. ‘The addition of the Fiery controller on the mono devices was the cherry on top.’

He continued, ‘Productivity has increased, we now have full control over the presses and the jobs coming in and the RIP speed is now where we need it to be. Previously if there was an error in a print run, we would have to go back to the beginning and re-supply the entire job. Now, with the Fiery on the front end, if there is a fault, we can simply restart from the point it went wrong. That is a huge benefit; it is saving us time and money as well as reducing waste.

Monochrome production accounts for the vast majority of printed output at Priority Mailing – almost 28 million clicks per annum. Colour volumes currently sit around 1.5 million impressions per year and the company has a target to significantly increase that.