Konica Minolta announced 11 sales during Labelexpo Europe, as the company states interest in its booth doubled compared to the show from two years ago. The “incredible interest” shown in Konica Minolta’s AccurioPress technology is also being underpinned by customer feedback that will help shape developments to provide more product enhancements in the future.

Konica Minolta was showing two versions of its new AccurioLabel 230 (AL230) as a central feature on its stand. One of its AccurioLabel 230 was being shown with a flexo station for printing white inline for the first time. Supplied by Danish company Grafisk Maskinfabrik (GM), its development and manufacturing partner in Europe, this option will be available soon. The AccurioLabel roll-to-roll toner press has been designed for short- and mid-production.

As part of the 11 sales, Konica Minolta also announced its landmark 450th installation. First up was Graphic Druck, based near Koblenz, Germany, which signed for an AccurioLabel 230. Traditionally printing offset and inkjet, Graphic Druck was looking for a reliable system to meet growing customer needs for shorter-run jobs and quick turnaround times. Another customer to take an AccurioLabel 230 was label printer and engineering company MultiPrint GmbH in a move it believes will add new business opportunities in a rapidly-changing label market.

Rotocel, based in Bologna, Italy, announced an investment in an MGI JETvarnish 3D Web to enable a new integrated technology that allows the finishing of graphics to be customised without any system constraints. Commercial offset printer Imprimerie Coste & Fils, based in Aubenas in the south of France, invested in an AccurioLabel 230 and a GM DC330MINI finishing system. Label printer Setag signed for an MGI Digital Technology JETvarnish 3D Web, the first company in Turkey to invest in the digital roll-to-roll embellishment finishing system that will work with existing digital and rotary machines.

Best Box in Armenia also opted for an MGI JETvarnish 3D Web. Rounding off the show announcements were three machine deals for the UK, which included one each for Cotswold Labels and Label Tec, one AL230 for Etiquettes Pierre Foucher in France, and an AL230 for Maschinenbau Sobkowiak in Germany. The show included eight sales for Konica Minolta label presses and three for MGI JETvarnish 3D Web.

Edoardo Cotichini, team manager industrial printing, Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe, says, “Labelexpo was an outstanding success and we had incredible interest from visitors to our stand. We doubled the number of leads we achieved in 2017 and announced 11 more customer sales at the show. It’s been an extremely rewarding journey since we shipped our first machine in 2016. We have grown to become No. 2 in the market, according to InfoSource figures, and our accelerated growth shows no sign of slowing. 

“These latest sales are yet again prime examples of how companies are increasingly turning to our world-class technology for label printing," he adds. "There is a seismic change in the industry toward shorter runs and just-in-time production, where label printers and converters need the highest quality printing which is provided on our AccurioLabel 230 digital label press. Our dedicated market approach is working. We are here for the journey. It’s not the start any more and we are on an upward growth path.”