Konica Minolta and Plockmatic have extended their collaboration to launch booklet-makers for inline use with KM’s AccurioPress mono and colour toner presses, to bring an offering for heavy production finishing to small and medium sized CRDs/in-plants and commercial printers.
The inline version of the SD-435/450 booklet-makers will be available exclusively from Konica Minolta throughout 2022. The supported formats range from A6 to A4 landscape (via long sheet printing) and the units can perform corner and edge stapling, folding, spine forming and full bleed trimming in one system that is said to be easy to use.
Further options include the RCT 3.0 Rotate Crease Trimmer which allows production of professional-standard full bleed trimmed and creased booklets on sheets up to 620mm long. Anti-static bars can be fitted if required for more reliable paper handling. As an alternative KM offers its own TU-510 four-edge trimmer and creaser.
Another option in the FM-400 finishing module that includes a news design, face trimmer and square folding mechanism in one unit, and the high capacity BST4000 book stacker for long unattended runs; the latter can be configured straight after the SD-435/450 or at right angles to it to suit available space and physical workflow.
KM says that this completes its finishing portfolio, noting the various other Plockmatic binding units that have been launched for its digital presses since the partnership began in 2016. These include the SD-500 and PowerSquare 160 and 224 models.
Konica Minolta has also announced an HD version of its B2 digital press, the KM-1e HD. Technical and other details are conspicuous by their absence but the company claims that the ‘new’ press provides higher quality specifically in skin tones, uniformity of solid tints and reproduction of textures, which it expects to increase the machine’s appeal to producers of photobooks, art books and digitally printed packaging. It is not clear whether there is any change to the KM-1e’s physical, electronic or mechanical specifications or whether these improvement have been implemented in software alone. A first customer has been announced, however, Werner Druck & Medien of Basel, Switzerland, which has also bought an MGI JetVarnish 3D embellishment press and a MotionCutter laser cutter and plans to use the devices in packaging and finishing, according to managing director Roger Kessler.
The B2+ (585 x 750mm) 3000sph (simplex) KM-1e UV inkjet press was introduced in June 2020, four years after the introduction of the original KM-1 model at drupa 2016, and offers 1200 x 1200dpi resolution in CMYK only, with a wide range of media compatibility thanks to its UV-curing inks. In 2020, worldwide installations stood at around 100 but the company had ambitions to double that. No figure for current installations has been revealed and neither is it clear whether the HD version supersedes the KM-1e or complements it, whether an upgrade path between the models is possible, when the new version will be available, nor at what price.
Digital Printer will report further on this machine when we receive responses from Konica Minolta. We will also be focusing on B2 digital presses in our May/June 2020 issue so to ensure that your receive that report, please register if you have not already done so.
