EFI launches Fiery IC-308 and Fiery IC-310 digital front ends for Konica Minolta's new bizhub C1085 and C1100 digital presses, integrating workflow automation, enhancing speed, manufacturer says

Aimee Bellah

FREMONT, California , July 9, 2014 (press release) – EFI™ (Nasdaq:EFII), a world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation, and Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. Inc., announced the launch of a pair of advanced digital front ends (DFEs) for the new Konica Minolta bizhub C1085 and C1100 family of digital presses. The updated EFI Fiery® IC-308 DFE and the new, high-end EFI Fiery IC-310 DFE deliver exceptional performance and color quality, end-to-end workflow automation and integration with EFI's industry-leading MIS and web-to-print products.

The new Fiery IC-310 DFE brings accelerated production performance to the bizhub print engines with unique Fiery HyperRIP technology, which processes an individual job up to 40% faster than DFEs from other manufacturers by splitting pages to simultaneously process them with multiple processor cores, interpreters and rendering engines. The powerful hardware and feature set makes the IC-310 twice as fast compared to the IC-308 and streamlines the processing of graphic-intensive and variable data jobs to minimize data spikes and avoid lost production time.

"Our ongoing relationship with EFI continues to put our solutions at the forefront of market-leading technology," said Kevin Kern, senior vice president, Marketing, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. "The advanced EFI Fiery DFEs give us the ability to deliver new and continued value to our customers to ensure a seamless, integrated experience."

"Konica Minolta bizhub C1085 and C1100 users can use our advanced Fiery DFE technology to scale their businesses for the future so they are prepared for evolving customer demands in high-end digital printing," said John Henze, vice president, Fiery marketing, EFI. "With this multi-core processing speed acceleration and Fiery servers' proven, 'perfect pass' image reproduction, these DFEs provide an unmatched, competitive production advantage in commercial print and in-house CRD environments."

Industry-leading performance

With the extensive collection of standard and optional job and color management solutions the Fiery IC-308 and IC-310 DFEs offer, users can be assured their jobs will print correctly the first time. Plus, the DFEs are based on EFI's Fiery FS100 Pro platform technology - the first and only production platform to achieve a 100% perfect pass rating from industry organization VIGC's PDF RIP Audit. The rating underscores the DFEs' industry-leading capabilities for accurate, consistent reproduction of intricately designed files, including jobs with composite overprints, transparencies and other complex design elements.

The Fiery FS100 Pro platform also is the first to achieve a JDF1.3 Integrated Digital Printing Interoperability Conformance Specifications certification from industry organization CIP4. In addition, the Fiery IC-308 and IC-310 DFEs support all leading industry VDP standards, such as PDF/VT, VPS and the latest PPML 3.0 specifications.

The Fiery IC-308 and IC-310 DFEs' robust JDF capabilities allow for seamless integration with Kodak PRINERGY and other third-party prepress and workflow solutions, so users can streamline their business operations. Users can also reduce the touch points in their business and production processes by integrating their DFEs with EFI's industry-leading MIS and web-to-print products.

The optional Fiery JobMaster gives users the power to profitably produce higher-value jobs by automating complex document preparation and production. This intuitive make-ready product tackles some of the biggest production challenges, including visual tab insertion and design, bleed-edge and multi-bank tabs, late-stage page editing and numbering, page-level ticketing and chapterization. Fiery JobMaster is accessed through Fiery Command WorkStation®, the central job management interface for Fiery DFEs, along with imposition, color management and pre- and post-flight functions.

The new Fiery DFEs will be available July 9 from Konica Minolta and authorized Konica Minolta resellers. For more information about EFI Fiery Driven™ products, visit www.efi.com or contact 800-875-7117. For more information about Konica Minolta, visit www.CountOnKonicaMinolta.com and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

About Konica Minolta Business Solutions

Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is a leader in advanced document management technologies and IT Services. The company focuses on complete business solutions including production print systems, digital presses, multifunctional products (MFPs), managed print services, vertical application solutions and related services and supplies. Konica Minolta has won numerous awards and recognition including being recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for seven consecutive years, and "A3 MFP Line of the Year" award winner from Buyers Laboratory LLC for an unprecedented four consecutive years. In 2012, Konica Minolta received "Document Imaging Solutions Line of the Year" recognition from BLI. Konica Minolta, Inc. has also been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for two years in a row.

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