Ramsey, N.J. – March 4, 2008 – Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. (Konica Minolta), a leading provider of advanced imaging and networking technologies for the desktop to the print shop, today unveiled the perfect binder finishing option for the bizhub PRO C6500/C6500P Series. The new perfect binder option (PB-501), which is the latest addition to Konica Minolta's range of finishing options, allows these workhorse production print machines to handle everything from full-color company reports to paperback books and technical manuals.

Developed by Konica Minolta, the perfect binder works with a hot-melt gluing technology that ensures high reliability for perfect binding, whether the book is 10-sheets or hundreds of pages in length. The results are impressive – sheets are so securely bound that manuals, handbooks and reports still hold after significant wear and tear. The PB-501 works with the bizhub PRO C6500/C6500P Series to provide high-speed output of up to 65 color pages per minute, to help print production environments stay ahead of heavy workloads and tight deadlines.

"With the introduction of our perfect binder finishing option into the marketplace, Konica Minolta has essentially redefined publishing by allowing the bizhub PRO C6500/C6500P Series to produce high-quality, full-color books," said Kevin P. Kern, vice president, marketing and product planning, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. "We're confident that more production print organizations will have the capacity to print higher value jobs because of the perfect binder's introduction into the marketplace."
With the bizhub PRO C6500/C6500P series, robust internal components handle a monthly duty cycle of up to 300,000 pages, and a sophisticated air-assist paper feed system with optional internal heating and dehumidifying unit keeps even heavy coated stock running 

smoothly. The C6500/C6500P also offer many versatile print control options via a choice of either Fiery or Creo Image Controllers. With advanced color management and color matching capabilities as well as imposition, job handling and print queue control, the bizhub PRO C6500/C6500P Series is an ideal choice to reduce labor costs and increase profit for commercial printers, corporate CRDs, data centers, as well as quick printers.

Pricing and Availability
The bizhub PRO C6500 with Perfect Binder finishing option is available through Konica Minolta's North American direct sales, authorized dealer, and value-added reseller channels. The manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) for the bizhub PRO C6500 is $45,000. The MSRP for the bizhub PRO C6500 is $45,000. The MSRP for the PB-501 Perfect Binder finishing option is $35,000.

Editor's Note: See the bizhub PRO C6500 with Perfect Binder finishing option in action at the 2008 ON DEMAND Conference and Exposition in Konica Minolta's booth (#916) from March 3-6, 2008. Konica Minolta will hold a press conference on March 4, 2008 at 11.00a EST in Room 54 of the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Boston, Mass. To reserve your attendance at the press conference and/or to schedule booth tours, call Rachel Reed at 781.782.5785.