EFI and Konica Minolta Business Solutions Establish Wide-Format Printer Distribution Agreement

LOS ANGELES—February 18, 2015—EFI and Konica Minolta Business Solutions (KMBS) are bringing advanced, high-quality wide-format inkjet imaging technology to a broader selection of the printing industry through an expansion of their existing partnership. Under the terms of a new agreement between the two companies, KMBS and its authorized dealer network will service and sell EFI wide-format LED and UV inkjet printers.

The non-exclusive agreement expands the market presence for EFI to KMBS’s extensive customer base of North American digital printing providers. It also provides KMBS with a stronger wide-format production offering, using advanced technologies from EFI—a leading provider of LED and UV inkjet printers and inks.

“This new agreement expands upon our long term partnership with EFI,” said Kevin Kern, senior vice president, Marketing at Konica Minolta Business Solutions. “The unique attributes of EFI’s inkjet products allow us to offer new capabilities to our Graphic Communications Customers, providing them access to new markets for high-value print.”

“EFI has longstanding, successful strategic alliance with KMBS centered on the development of EFI Fiery products for Konica Minolta production equipment, and we are very pleased to have the opportunity to expand our partnership,” said Frank Mallozzi, EFI’s senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing. “We are excited that KMBS, with its extensive distribution and deep relationship with customers, chose EFI Wide-Format products as a high-quality inkjet graphics platform to offer to its customers.”

Dino Pagliarello, director of product marketing for KMBS, announced the wide-format distribution pact during Konica Minolta’s National Dealer Meeting in Los Angeles. The two companies already work together to develop digital front ends that provide advanced color imaging and production capabilities on Konica Minolta digital presses and printers.

High-quality imaging and an even higher return on investment
EFI’s top-selling hybrid roll/flatbed wide-format product, the EFI H1625 LED printer, is the first printer available in KMBS sales channels through the new agreement. The versatile, 65" printer gives KMBS customers the benefit of higher-end imaging using four color grayscale printheads producing near-photographic image quality with saturated colors and smooth gradations.

The printer also offers EFI’s industry-leading white ink, a truly differentiating feature that expands the productivity, value and quality users can offer on backlit signage, aluminum and aluminum composite signage, window clings and other popular offerings printed on clear, metallic or colored media. EFI’s industry-leading “cool cure” LED technology on the printer reduces energy consumption and costs compared to arc lamp UV and latex inkjet printers, plus it gives users the ability to print on a broader range of substrates, including media that cannot withstand high-heat drying or curing methods.

Thanks to its reduced energy usage and an affordable price, this hybrid printer model has a low total cost of operation, which makes the printer an even more valuable addition to the line-up of inkjet products KMBS sells.

KMBS and authorized KMBS resellers will begin selling EFI LED wide-format hybrid printers in May.

About Konica Minolta Business Solutions
Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. is one of the world’s leaders in information management focused on enterprise content, technology optimization and cloud services. Our portfolio of offerings deliver solutions to improve our customers’ speed to market, manage technology costs and facilitate the sharing of information to increase productivity. The All Covered IT Services division offers a range of IT strategy, support, project and cloud computing solutions across all verticals. Konica Minolta has won numerous awards and recognition, including placement in the Leaders Quadrant of the 2014 Magic Quadrant for Managed Print Services (MPS) and Managed Content Services (MCS). Konica Minolta has been recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for eight consecutive years. Konica Minolta has also been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for three years in a row.

About EFI
EFI (Nasdaq: EFII) is a worldwide provider of products, technology and services leading the transformation of analog to digital imaging. Based in Silicon Valley, with offices around the globe, the company's powerful integrated product portfolio includes digital front-end servers; superwide, wide-format, label and ceramic inkjet presses and inks; production workflow, Web-to-print and business automation software; and office, enterprise and mobile cloud solutions. These products allow users to produce, communicate and share information in an easy and effective way, and enable businesses to increase their profits, productivity and efficiency.

Source: EFI.