Konica Minolta bizhub C350

Built to be the “Hub” of the Office’s Imaging Operations

BERTL Praises the Fully Featured bizhub C350 for its Tandem Printing Process, Extensive Paper-Handling Capabilities and its Printing, Scanning and Finishing Options

RAMSEY, N.J. – September 1, 2004 – Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. (Konica Minolta) today announced that its bizhub C350 received a “Four Stars – Highly Recommended” rating from BERTL^® Inc. in a recent Color at Work^® Report.

BERTL was particularly impressed with the combination of features available on the 35-ppm monochrome, 22-ppm color MFP. Aggressively priced, BERTL praised the device’s standard full features, including network printing; as well as its tandem printing process; extensive paper handling; high monthly volume; long-lasting consumables; finishing and scanning capabilities; desktop utilities (PageScope Cabinet Pro); user-friendly, Section 508-compliant, touch-screen control panel; full-bleed 11" × 17" duplex capability; network management (PageScope NetCare) and security features; and extensive document production options.

“As the competition for business color supremacy heats up, Konica Minolta has stepped up to the plate with the introduction of its bizhub C350,” said BERTL CEO Carmel Rowley. “The device looks like a force to be reckoned with in the highly competitive office color/ business-to-color market and is a strong first offering from the new Konica Minolta company, setting the bizhub brand off on excellent footing.”

According to BERTL, one of the bizhub C350’s differentiating features from many competing devices is its use of a tandem printing process versus a single central drum design. By using the tandem process, which uses four LED imaging units aligned in a row, and requires only a single pass of the document over the imaging units, the bizhub C350 does not suffer the up to 75 percent slowdown during color printing that plagues single central drum systems. In addition, since color documents only pass through the device once versus four times, imaging drum yields are not affected by the split between monochrome and color workloads.

Additionally, the bizhub C350 comes standard with a Konica Minolta PCL print controller and offers the optional IC-401 Image Controller (EFI) with PostScript^® 3 support for graphic-intense environments. The IC-401 Image Controller was acknowledged by BERTL for its powerful 700MHz processor and its comprehensive Fiery print utilities, including graphic arts functionality (Auto Trapping, Hot Folders and Spot On Color Matching), DocBuilder™ Pro, EFI Densitometer and the EFI Color Profiler Kit. The IC-401’s new Fiery Driver 2.0 printer software was commended for its “Mixed Media” capability, which enables users to specify the desired paper source for each individual page.

Praised by BERTL as “a valuable resource” for offices that use a wide range of paper sizes and weights, the bizhub C350 also offers extensive paper handling options. A 150-sheet bypass tray and two standard 250-sheet trays can handle paper weights up to 140 lb. index and sizes up to 12" × 18"/A3 wide, and a 500-sheet universal cassette handles weights up to 24 lb. bond and sizes up to 11" × 17"/A3 wide. An optional 2,500-sheet letter/A4 large capacity unit expands the maximum paper capacity to 3,400 sheets. BERTL went on to note that the Konica Minolta bizhub C350 is advertised as having a maximum monthly volume of up to 100,000 pages, giving it one of the highest volumes in the workgroup business-to-color sector.

The bizhub C350’s scanning features were also recognized by BERTL for delivering a high-level of functionality. In particular, BERTL noted that unlike the manufacturer’s previous business color devices, the bizhub C350’s Scan-to-Email functionality offers the ability to add a subject line to emails and users can also add their own email addresses to emails as the sender, rename file attachments, and attach files previously stored on the hard drive. In addition, BERTL praised the device’s LDAP integration, Scan-to-FTP, Scan-to-HDD (with optional hard drive upgrade) and Scan-to-Internet Fax capabilities. The optional PageScope Router software package, which is offered at a low single site license price that supports up to 100 MFPs, was noted as “one of the most affordable advanced workflow scanning solutions offered by a copier manufacturer.”

Carmel Rowley summarized, “The Konica Minolta bizhub C350 offers excellent value for the money, with a good upgrade path and a wide range of functions and features. The C350, while not perfect, offers few holes for the opposition to exploit.”

“BERTL’s recognition of the bizhub C350 as a ’force to be reckoned with in the highly competitive office color/ business-to-color market’ affirms that we have accomplished our goal. With the introduction of the bizhub C350, we wanted to provide business professionals with more flexibility and more opportunities to capitalize on the real power of color at a cost-effective price,” said William H. Brewster, Jr., vice president, marketing, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. “We are proud of the many differentiating features that the bizhub C350 has to offer over the competition, such as high quality, 8 bit color as compared to typical 2 or 4 bit office color offerings.”

Highlighted bizhub C350 Features

• Copy and print speeds of 22-ppm color and 35-ppm B&W
• Konica Minolta Simitri^® Color Polymerized Toner
• Network scanning standard integration, including Scan-to-Email, Scan-to-FTP, Scan-to-URL, Scan-to-HDD, Internet faxing, TWAIN scanning and Scan-to-Hold Queue
• 512MB standard memory
• 600 × 600 dpi copy resolution; 600 × 1800 dpi enhanced print resolution
• Toner yield of up to 11,500 impressions (5% coverage)
• Imaging unit yield of up to 50,000 for color and 80,000 for B&W
• 900-sheet standard/3,400-sheet maximum paper capacity
• Standard Konica Minolta PCL print controller with 350 MHz processor and 256MB of standard memory
• ISO-15408 Level 3 Security (standard controller only)
• Optional IC-401 Image Controller (EFI) for graphic-intense environments
• Multiple advanced finishing options, including the FS-501 Stapling Finisher with sort, group, and corner staple capabilities; and the FS-601 Booklet Finisher with standard sort, staple and saddle-stitch capabilities, and optional two- or three-hole punching
• PageScope document processing and network management suite, including: PageScope Net Care, PageScope Web Connection, PageScope Network Setup, PageScope EMS Plug-Ins, PageScope NDPS Gateway, PageScope Cabinet Pro and PageScope Router
• Energy Star certified

Pricing and Availability

The bizhub C350 is available through Konica Minolta’s North American direct sales, authorized dealer and value-added reseller channels. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) for the bizhub C350 is $11,500. The MSRP for the optional IC-401 Image Controller is $3,950. Pricing for additional options is available upon request.

About BERTL

BERTL^® Inc. is the premier source for objective, independent product-evaluation reports and comparative analyses on digital imaging devices and software. BERTL’s evaluation reports, customer satisfaction research, awards and product ratings are undertaken entirely at BERTL’s expense for the benefit of its international subscriber base. At all times, BERTL’s primary focus is the end user. BERTL publishes the world’s largest library of evaluation reports on copiers, printers, MFPs, fax and color and production devices. The reports are available in a range of specialized subscription services: Color at Work^®, LabCheck^® and Imaging at Work^®. Also available is the DataCheck^® service, a database of more than 4,000 products covering all major manufacturers. To learn more about BERTL, visit www.BERTL.com or telephone 1-732-761-2311.

About Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc.

By bringing together the strengths of its two founding companies, Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc., headquartered in Ramsey, New Jersey, is dedicated to providing its customers with complete solutions for their document creation, production, and management needs. Konica Minolta provides the essentials of imaging to companies and organizations ranging from the small office/home office to large production operations with its full line of digital color and black & white printers/copiers, multifunctional peripherals, desktop laser printers, plain-paper facsimile machines, software and network solutions, and professional services.

An industry leader in image capture, output and management, Konica Minolta provides world-class service through its extensive network of direct sales offices, authorized dealers, resellers and distribution partners in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America and South America. For more information, please visit Konica Minolta on the World Wide Web at www.konicaminolta.us.

All terms, product and company names used in this document may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners, and are hereby acknowledged.

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