Konica Minolta Engagement Center Event Puts Printers Up Close With Inkjet, Labels, and Embellishment
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On Tuesday, Konica Minolta opened the doors of its Ramsey, New Jersey, Client Engagement Center (CEC) to a group of about 50 print service providers from across the country. They toured the 18,500-sq.-ft. showroom, which holds 90% of the company’s print and embellishment portfolio, and got in-depth demos from product managers.
Frank Mallozzi, president of Industrial Print at Konica Minolta, welcomed the crowd of print providers to the CEC.
The day started with a welcome and industry analysis from Frank Mallozzi, president of Industrial Print at Konica Minolta, who noted that the company is doing very well in the B2 inkjet market, with 300 global installations. The newest iteration of its KM-1 press, the AccurioJet 30000 UV inkjet press, launched in April 2025, boasts a 94% uptime, he said, and continues to generate strong interest.
He brought one satisfied customer to the stage, Mike Custer, vice president of prepress at PostcardMania, whose company installed the world’s first KM-1 in 2016 and now runs four of them. Custer said his company had $20 million in sales before getting into digital print; today it generates $120 million.
About 50 print providers traveled from all over the country to Konica Minolta's CEC VIP demo event.
The digital label segment is also important to Konica Minolta, Mallozzi continued, and the company boasts 2,000 global installations of its label presses in this growing market. The company just announced it is now a Platinum Sponsor of the Tag & Label Manufacturers Institute (TLMI) for 2026, underscoring its long-term dedication to the narrow web and label converting industry.
Embellishment is another hot market, Mallozzi added, and Konica has seen 1,300 installations of its embellishment equipment worldwide.
“The market has finally caught up where there is a demand for embellishments,” Mallozzi said.
Attendees crowd around the AccurioLabel 230. Konica Minolta boasts 2,000 global installations of its label presses
To give attendees a broader look at industry trends, Marc Masscara, principal analyst at Keypoint Intelligence gave a presentation. He talked about the fast growth of the digital label printing business, though he clarified that digital labels make up only a small portion of the total label printing business.
He cautioned the print providers in the audience that efficiency alone no longer defines success; value is shifting from volume to responsiveness.
Sam Errigo, president and CEO of Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., greets attendees.
“If you can respond, and if you can move that work out, that's where that advantage comes from,” he noted. “That's where you have that added margin, that added value, because you're able to respond to the needs that are coming down.”
Leaders, he added, are able to monetize complexity.
“A job that's coming in, that's complex, that has five different versions that have to go out at the same time – there's complexity,” he said. Those who master that complexity and can execute that work consistently will pull ahead.
Attendees hit the display floor at the CEC.
Tour of the CEC
In the CEC, attendees crowded around the AccurioJet 30000 UV inkjet press to hear about the advanced technologies it employes. Its new Generation 4 inkjet heads have heaters across the heads, an innovation that allows for more even printing, said Bret Riecke, vice president of Industrial Print Solutions.
Bret Riecke, vice president of Industrial Print Solutions, shows off a sample of the AccurioJet 30000's work.
Konica Minolta’s patented dot freeze technology solidifies ink when it hits the paper, fixing dots in place and delivering sharp text and fine lines. Cameras on the press detect misfires, which are corrected in real time. A sheet lift detector prevents sheets from striking and damaging the heads. And one of the biggest time savers is that the press sets itself up automatically based on the stock profile.
“Ninety-five percent of the settings are programmed into that paper stock profile,” said Riecke.
AccurioJet 30000 UV inkjet press
Visitors also got a close look at the AccurioLabel 230 and 400 and at the AccurioShine 3600 and JETvarnish 3D Web 400. Print samples abounded, giving attendees a close look at the machines’ capabilities.
Ashley Gorfine, vice president of Industrial and Production Print, talked with In-plant Impressions about the digital label printing opportunity.
Attendees check out the AccurioLabel 400.
“That it is the fastest growing segment in print,” she said. “It's the highest margins. It is a market that we're seeing a tremendous opportunity, tremendous growth.”
She also highlighted the digital embellishment opportunity.
“Embellishment is now being heavily adopted here in the US,” she noted. “The reason for it is, years ago, four-color print was enough, and now four color print is commoditized. So, if you want to stand out … you need something else. Embellishment is a way to do that. The key with embellishment as well, is it's a market accelerator. As growth and sales kind of flatten out in the industry, you're able to expand your margin of the work you currently have.”
Here’s an inside look at Konica Minolta’s CEC from a 2021 visit by IPI, shortly after it opened.
Bob has served as editor of In-plant Impressions since October of 1994. Prior to that he served for three years as managing editor of Printing Impressions, a commercial printing publication. Mr. Neubauer is very active in the U.S. in-plant industry. He attends all the major in-plant conferences and has visited 200 in-plant operations around the world. He has given presentations to numerous in-plant groups in the U.S., Canada and Australia, including the Association of College and University Printers and the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association. He also coordinates the annual In-Print contest, co-sponsored by IPMA and In-plant Impressions.
