Ramsey, N.J. and Pembroke, Mass. – 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 announced that seven of its bizhub PRO C6500 production print systems have been successfully implemented at The Ready Group, an interactive direct marketing firm located in Pembroke, MA, which is driving remarkable customer response rates with the help of Konica Minolta's leading-edge digital printing technology.

Since The Ready Group installed its first bizhub PRO C6500 in February 2007, it has seen productivity and volume of its direct marketing productivity increase to the point where they are now running seven of the bizhub PRO C6500 systems full time, printing more than 100,000 pieces of mail during an 8-hour shift. Working with their strategic partner AmeriMail Corporation, The Ready Group has expanded its digital printing usage from one machine to seven machines in only 12 months. Having previously relied upon HP printers, production was extremely limited. Recently though, by leveraging the award-winning bizhub PRO C6500 systems on a recent 12,000-piece mailing, which included a personalized-URL (p-URL) for New England's #1 Lexus Dealer, The Ready Group and their client were able to track 133 site visitors based on recipients' visits to their personalized web landing pages. Of those visitors, 72 respondents completed surveys regarding their potential trade-in, their purchase or lease interest, etc. and as a result of the dialogue between customer and dealer, over 50 vehicles were sold over a 4 day period. Perhaps most impressive, the return on investment (ROI) within only 10 days was 1,000 percent based on the dealer's total investment for the campaign. The variable data capability was instrumental in capturing the attention of the mail recipients and enticing them to interact with the dealer rather than reading the message and then discarding the piece.

"The quality of our direct marketing products using the bizhub PRO C6500 systems from that of the previous printers had run has increased so significantly that we have quickly begun attracting the interest of major automotive manufacturers, including Volvo Cars of North America," said Dan Ready, president and founder of The Ready Group. "Not only do the marketing pieces created with the Konica Minolta technology look better, but we have drastically reduced direct mail lead time and exponentially increased the volume of pages we can print in an 8-hour shift. We are excited that the Konica Minolta approach to digital printing meshes with our slogan of 'Art and Technology Driving Measurable Results.' "

The bizhub PRO C6500's paper capacity, flexible finishing options and cost-efficiency are ideal for light- to mid-volume on-demand color production printing. The bizhub PRO C6500 has the ability to duplex print heavy and coated stocks – up to 256 gsm (10 point) through any tray – and 300 gsm (14 point) stock simplex prints through a dedicated paper tray. Finishing options include a perfect binder finishing option which produces up to 600-page perfect bound books; a saddle-stitch booklet maker for up to 200-page trimmed booklets; a multi-folding unit with post-inserter and hole-punch; and a 5,000-sheet stacker unit for increased productivity and lower labor costs.

The Simitri HD Color Polymerized Toner was developed specifically for the production printing market and was first available on the bizhub PRO C6500. Its small particle size provides smoother halftones and a vast improvement in text reproduction and sharpness. In addition, the small particle size leads to less toner use resulting in cost savings.

"When we launched the bizhub PRO C6500, we were focused on redefining the price/performance curve for color production print systems, and that's exactly what we were able to do for the Ready Group," said Kevin Kern, vice president marketing and product planning, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. Inc. "We are excited by the quality, speed and volume that The Ready Group has been able to manage since growing their fleet of the bizhub PRO C6500 systems to seven full-time machines."