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DataMaster at the Ipex 2014 show in London

20 000 2014

The Ipex 2014 is the largest print event in the world in 2014, and will be running all week at the London ExCeL exhibition centre.

The focus is no longer just on print.  It will be a highly focused print and multi-media experience promoting the essential role of print today, and tomorrow. 

Although they are the only digital manufacturer at Ipex 2014, Konica Minolta will be the largest exhibitor.  Their first commercial inkjet press, the KM-1 will be the focus of attention.  We were allowed to see it - from a discrete distance - at Drupa in 2012.  This B2 cut sheet inkjet machine has now been honed to perfection and is ready for the market.  It has taken some 15 years to develop.  Development has not just involved the machine itself.  The UV-LED technology coupled with bespoke workflow and variable data applications will make it a very serious competitor to the HP Indigo 10000 and the FujiFilm JetPress.  It can now print duplex onto 0,6mm stock at 1200 dpi and will run at 1,750 sheets per hour in duplex - 3,300 in simplex mode. 
The machine will be given its new name and will be launched on Monday 24th March at the Ipex.

The World Print Summit is about the changing role of print, and how printers can roll with these changes to their advantage - making the most of the opportunities new technologies present, and tapping new revenue streams.  Innovators from the offset world who have adopted digital in recent years include Francis Atterbury, who will be making a keynote speech.  Benny Landa will also be taking part.

Olaf Lorenz, General Manager of Konica Minolta Europe's Marketing Division is hosting a session on how digital print can co-exist with digital communication, and how marketeers and print suppliers can both benefit.  The main focus of Konica Minolta´s offering at Ipex 2014 in London will be to underline its goal to become the preferred supplier for printers looking to implement digital to compliment offset, and promote how businesses can capitalise on additional opportunities within the print and communications market.

We will be studying the latest technologies in color control and variable data management.  On the Solutions side, Clarity and Esko's Web2Print offerings will be on display - and there are several workflow apps and strategies to be analyzed too, including efi's. 

Look out for our Tweets from Ipex @datamaster_EN, and for our full report after we get back.