Chicago - 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, and EFI, a world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation, today announced that Fiery technology is powering the new bizhub PRESS C7000/C6000 Series of Color Digital Presses from Konica Minolta.  Designed to meet the unique needs of commercial print, print for pay and in-plant customers, the Fiery IC-306 server delivers the highest performance in its class for demanding operator-led environments, superior image color and consistency, intuitive job management, and powerful Variable Data Printing (VDP) capabilities to increase return on equipment investment for customers.

"Customers in demanding production print environments now have additional outstanding, Fiery-driven bizhub PRESS systems to address their needs for greater productivity, brilliant color and easy to use job management features," said John Henze, vice president of Fiery marketing, EFI.  "The Fiery server is synonymous with high performance and exceptional color, which translates into reliable production, higher profits and more customer wins."

"Our innovative bizhub PRESS product line delivers tremendous results for high-volume environments and we are excited to have the support of EFI's Fiery server as part of making these new color digital presses a success," said Kevin Kern, senior vice president, marketing, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc.  "The Fiery IC-306 server is a perfect match for our presses, supporting superior throughput speed, excellent output quality, time-saving tools and reliable workflows - all great reasons why print professionals can count on the Konica Minolta-EFI partnership to meet their needs."

The Fiery server has intuitive and integrated make-ready tools so that document management and preparation can be performed quickly and effectively with minimal waste. The Fiery Command WorkStation 5 job and device management console centralizes the entire print workflow, connecting to all Fiery servers on the network. It eliminates bottlenecks and maximizes engine utilization, raising the productivity and profit potential on every job.

The Fiery server's VDP workflow offers the most flexible and scalable solution available today, with optimized tools that work with all industry languages including PPML and legacy languages. The technology accelerates the merging of variable and global objects, as well as the processing of multiple images, to drive output at the print engine's maximum speed.

Embedded JDF technology resident on the Fiery server enables powerful integration with EFI web-to-print and MIS solutions, third-party prepress and other workflow applications. Customers can integrate their JDF compliant applications with their Fiery-driven workflow without the need for additional software or hardware.

With this release, customers can take advantage of the most popular Fiery options, including Color Profiler Suite (CPS), Fiery SeeQuence Suite, and Graphic Arts Package, Premium Edition. Fiery Color Profiler Suite provides complete color quality control at every stage of the printing workflow. CPS offers its users simple, yet professional functionality that ensures color accuracy and consistency. Integration of profile making directly into the Fiery-driven printer reduces the time needed to optimize color quality, decreases the possibility for errors, and enables color matching of multiple engines in a production environment.

Fiery SeeQuence Suite is comprised of document composition and imposition functions that simplify and automate labor intensive job preparation tasks via a newly redesigned and intuitive interface, with key functions accessible in only one or two clicks. Fiery SeeQuence Impose and Fiery SeeQuence Compose work independently or in a tightly integrated workflow through Fiery Command WorkStation, allowing operators to accurately set-up jobs and soft-proof.

Another popular option available on Konica Minolta's bizhub PRESS C7000/C6000 Series is the Fiery Graphic Arts Package, Premium Edition, which provides color critical users with professional tools for managing color, proofing and controlling workflow, which ensure accurate and repeatable color every time. The integrated FOGRA control bar is just one example of how users can check and validate print output for conformance to common industry standards such as SWOP and GRACoL.

The Fiery IC-306 and other EFI solutions designed for Konica Minolta color digital presses are available now through Konica Minolta's North American direct sales, authorized dealer and value-added reseller channels. More information is available at http://kmbs.konicaminolta.us or at booth #2244 at Graph Expo through Oct. 6.  More information regarding EFI is available at Graph Expo booth #2000, www.efi.com and 800.875.7117.

Witness bizhub PRESS C7000/C6000 Series in action at GRAPH EXPO 2010 (October 3 through October 6) at McCormick Place South in Chicago, Illinois.