Konica Minolta’s bizhub PRESS was ranked the highest in Image Test Labs’ (ITL’s) quality evaluation process, which compares leading manufacturers in image quality and colour. ITL, the leading think tank in imaging science, measured the quality over the last twelve months from a vast population of digital presses globally, concluding that Konica Minolta attributes surpassed the quality of high priced devices.
Solidifying its premier position within the industry, test runs from the cost-effective Konica Minolta digital presses consistently scored at or near the top. This clearly debunks the myth that commercial printers need expensive solutions to produce high quality printing. ITL conducted independent evaluations at commercial printing plants, collecting empirical data from press runs in production environments, not from a manufacturer’s R&D facility or lab.
Of the entire sheet fed toner digital presses that ITL graded, including both liquid and dry toner products from six different leading manufacturers, 75% of the Konica Minolta graded presses are in the top 10%. The Konica Minolta bizhub PRESS line holds the dominant position for printed colour image performance. This performance was measured against a large international database of ITL press grades from presses run in real printing production environments.
‘Konica Minolta is thrilled with the results and will continue to work with Henry (Freedman) and ITL to exceed our customer’s expectations,’ said Kevin Kern, senior vice president, Konica Minolta USA, Inc. ‘The fact that this study goes well beyond a typical laboratory validation demonstrates our commitment to delivering the highest quality at an affordable cost and keeps us ahead of our competitors.’
‘Image Test Labs pioneered a new printed image evaluation process that is independent, even-handed and authoritative,’ said Henry Freedman, principal developer, Image Test Labs. ‘Image Test Lab’s patent pending process is used by the majority of manufacturers producing all types of printing presses in the graphic arts. Our greatest contribution is a new way to measure and report printed imagery that is both comprehensive and extremely easy to understand, using typical proven school A, B and C etc. methods understood by all.’
Image Test Labs grades individual machines and delivers a report card with those grades including where they rank against presses in the same classification, such as sheet fed digital, wide format, inkjet web and so on. The non-published reports are only shared with the customer.
