RAMSEY, N.J. & FOSTER CITY, Calif.--June 12, 2006-- Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. and EFI, the world leader in digital controllers, superwide format printers and inks, and print management solutions, today announced the availability of the Fiery IC-406, the industry-leading Fiery controller designed for the 35 pages per minute (ppm) color Konica Minolta bizhub C352. The optional Fiery IC-406 delivers exceptional color, productivity, flexibility and security with features such as enhanced scan support, LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) support, and tight integration with the Konica Minolta utilities standard on the bizhub C352. The bizhub C352 is designed for small- to medium-sized office departments and workgroups, as well as color-centric environments. "Throughout our long partnership with EFI, they have consistently delivered Fiery Servers that provide performance, color quality and innovative capabilities," said Kevin P. Kern, vice president, product planning and development, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. "With powerful new features, like the recently launched EFI Desktop SE, increased Fiery Security, and professional-level color, the Fiery IC-406 provides Konica Minolta bizhub C352 customers a new option with optimal performance and increased efficiencies that improve their bottom line." Highlights of the Fiery IC-406, designed for the bizhub C352, include: Great "Out of the Box" Color In designing the Fiery embedded controller for the bizhub C352, EFI recognized the importance of consistent corporate color and ease of use in achieving professional-level color in "Power Office" environments. This Fiery controller features EFI Fiery ColorWise, the EFI in-RIP color management system, delivering color that is consistent across applications, computer platforms, color spaces, and color file formats. ColorWise includes automated functionality and expert controls for managing color, productivity and automating color document workflow. The EFI Color Profiler is available as an option for finer control over color and print quality as is Spot-On, which provides the ability to measure and manage spot colors, particularly relevant in achieving corporate colors. Improved Productivity The Fiery embedded controller includes Fiery SmartRIP technology, the EFI software architecture introduced in next-generation Fiery servers that combines intelligent processing with the efficient utilization of the latest in hardware to significantly accelerate RIPing performance, ensuring the fastest possible processing speeds for all hardware configurations. The Fiery's Office Accelerator technology dramatically speeds printing of Microsoft Office and Adobe applications. To further improve productivity in the office, the IC-406 features Native Document Conversion, which enables printing a Word/Excel/Powerpoint document without a printer driver. Particularly beneficial in repetitive workflows, which are inherent in offices, EFI Hot Folders and Virtual printers are optional applications that increase printing automation. The bizhub C352 includes robust scanning capability, enhanced by the IC-406, which supports speeds of up to 50 scanned pages per minute in full color, and simultaneous scanning and printing for higher productivity. Available with the IC-406 are recently launched EFI Desktop SE (standard) and EFI Desktop Professional (optional), powerful new Fiery solutions that allow users to instantly organize, manage, find and share all of their paper and digital documents. Files stored on the desktop, network or on the IC-406 can be easily viewed, managed and shared with anyone, anywhere - in PDF format, with a simple drag-and-drop operation. While both provide easy-to-use scanning, image enhancement, PDF and document management capabilities to automate a wide range of document processes, EFI Desktop Professional includes additional features, such as built-in Optical Character Recognition (OCR), which translates scanned text into machine-editable text, and All-in-One Search(TM), a robust desktop search and indexing engine tightly integrated with OCR to enable users to easily find any document - scanned and digital - using a single keyword or phrase. Increased Flexibility Fiery NetWise(TM), features an innovative design that virtually guarantees easy connectivity and ensures seamless integration in any network environment including "peer-to-peer" (SMB) support for Windows workstation printing, and LDAP support for directory or a global address book access. The Fiery IC-406 features IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6) support and can be readily installed into IPV6 environments. A requirement for Government sites, IPv6 expands on the current Internet Protocol standard, offering better addressing, security and other features to support large, worldwide networks. Robust Security Because EFI Fiery technology is built on a truly open architecture, the IC-406, like all Fiery servers, adheres to industry standard certification policies and network authentication protocols. With its extensive security features designed to eliminate its unauthorized operation and reduce costs and down time, the IC-406 is readily accepted by even the most critical MIS/IT organizations, including the government. The Fiery IC-406 incorporates strong security utilities ranging from limiting who has access to the controller - with such features as IP Filtering, Port Blocking, and LDAP Authentication - to securing the data itself by encrypting critical information. Further, the IC-406 supports SSL/TLS to provide data privacy over the network, and the optional Secure Erase feature removes all traces of job data from the Fiery hard disk drive. "More than 14 million Fiery users worldwide depend on Fiery technology for precision color, consistently high quality output and workflow innovation," adds Frank Mallozzi, senior vice president, worldwide sales and marketing, EFI. "The IC-406 enables bizhub C352 customers to fully maximize the capabilities of their new system; Konica Minolta customers will experience exceptional value - dramatically improved productivity and security as well as color that's brilliant and easy." Availability The IC-406, among the Fiery servers and other EFI solutions designed for Konica Minolta customers, are available through Konica Minolta's North American direct sales, authorized dealer and value-added reseller channels.