konica minolta 1100

[h j commercial printers]

hi any info for konika 1100. is it worth its salt

 

[Wunder08]

hi any info for konika 1100. is it worth its salt

We've been running our Konica 1100 for two weeks now and it just had its 1st Jam after 55K clicks, all 11x17 or 13x 19 cover.
The selling point of the vacuum feeder was a key point for us, along with the speed. We took a long hard look at a Xerox 2100 also, both presses register very good on a 12 pt test, under .5mm sheet to sheet and front to back. Color is excellent, we calibrated to some offset work yesterday and you would be hard pressed to tell the difference for most applications.

 

[cec-prepress]

We've been running our Konica 1100 for two weeks now and it just had its 1st Jam after 55K clicks, all 11x17 or 13x 19 cover.
The selling point of the vacuum feeder was a key point for us, along with the speed. We took a long hard look at a Xerox 2100 also, both presses register very good on a 12 pt test, under .5mm sheet to sheet and front to back. Color is excellent, we calibrated to some offset work yesterday and you would be hard pressed to tell the difference for most applications.

Do you run long runs from multiple trays? If so, is the registration consistent from tray-to-tray? Do you only run cover weight? Do you run multiple finishes (gloss, matte, uncoated)?

 

[Wunder08]

Yes we do, using both trays and have not noticed any difference yet on registration. We run some 11x17 lighter weights also, in a matte, cover is gloss. The best path if you are shopping is bring your stock and run every scenario you can think of on a demo.

 

[gg2017]

Are you running to a stacker? We have 2 1100's and both stackers will dump paper after filling up halfway. We think it's static related, but they're still looking for a fix.

 

[jwheeler]

I actually sell Konica Minolta production printers, so I may be slightly biased, but I'll try not to be. I only started with Konica about 8 months ago, coming from a background of working in print shops with Xerox gear. We got the C1100 in our demo room about 6-7 months ago and it has been awesome.

Shortly after I started, we were going to have a show with Kelly Paper and I was assigned the task of printing media guides. These are about 20 page booklets, wire-o bound and every sheet is a different type of stock aimed at showing the versatility of the printer. I was nervous when it came to the typical problem stocks for digital like linens, heavyweight uncoated, and vellums. All handled flawlessly.

Additionally I had to print saddle stitched brochures for the show. These ranged in page count, but we have the robust SD-506 saddle stitcher which can do up to 200 page books with a face trim. Again, these printed flawlessly. I was most impressed when it came time to print the perfect bound books because I had not had this function in-line on a digital printer before. We always had to do it offline or we did the double staple or even tape binding. The perfect binder on the Konica can handle up to 600 page books! Just over an inch thick!

Now that I've used it for many more months, I would say one of the features I love most is the vacuum feed paper drawers. Coming from the Xerox background, everything is friction fed using rollers. It was always frustrating when they would start to wear out and/or leave scuff marks on your prints and I would have to clean or replace the rollers. No feeding problems whatsoever on the Konica.

Another great feature that I've enjoyed, again, compared to Xerox, is I don't have to deal with 3 different fusers. Normally, I'd have a fuser for legal (or Letter SEF), another for tabloid, and a 3rd for 12x18. This is because after you run alot of 11x17, then switch to 12x18, you get slight lines at the 11" marks. (called shouldering) This is virtually eliminated on the Konica's because their fusers oscilate back and forth as they print.

Upgrades from C8000
It should be noted that the C1100 or C1085 are not just relabeled C8000's...but and entirely different machine. Here are the 2 big upgrades (among many more that I can list if you want to know):

-Most noteable is the speed increase...not just 80 pages to now 100 pages. But the C1100 actually maintains 100ppm at all paper weights up to 350gsm thick. The C8000 would slow down to nearly half speed for thicker stocks.

-You will note there are no trays on the main body of the C1100, but there were on the C8000. This is because the C8000 would use a 2nd fusing unit when you had thicker stocks resulting in using more floor space and worse registration since it left the engine and went back in. The C1100 now uses the extra space of the paper drawers as a wider paper path to keep the sheet in the engine the whole time for all paper weights....freeing up more floor space as well.

I'd be happy to answer any other questions you might have about the Konica line up!

 

[wonderings]

What sort of tools does the 1100 have for calibrating for skew, density and colour? We have a Xerox J75, incredibly displeased with the machine and trying to deal with Xerox. If things fall through we will be looking elsewhere for a replacement. I do like the SIQA tools that Xerox has, and when they work, they work well.

Does Konica have similar tools?

 

[jwheeler]

What sort of tools does the 1100 have for calibrating for skew, density and colour? We have a Xerox J75, incredibly displeased with the machine and trying to deal with Xerox. If things fall through we will be looking elsewhere for a replacement. I do like the SIQA tools that Xerox has, and when they work, they work well.

Does Konica have similar tools?

Hi Wonderings,

Yes, Konica has tools to address these issues. I'd suggest watching this video which visually shows how it does. Feel free to watch the whole video, but starting at about 3:30 in the video is when it gets to what you're asking about for the skew, and about 5:00 into the video for the color. Once I did an initial calibration with the included spectrophotometer for calibrating off-line, these built in tools have taken care of the color all on their own. I remember running the Xerox 242/252's and I had to calibrate every morning to maintain the color. With these tools on the Konica, I only have to recalibrate after a PM or other major service call.

Oddly enough, I just had a customer who was debating between the new Xerox Versant 2100 and the Konica C1100, and decided in December to go with the Versant strictly because of price as well as brand comfort/familiarity. He just called me last week complaining about all of his frustrations with it and regretted making the decision. He was having several issues such as the envelopes not running as promised or the square-back booklet maker not handling the thicker books very well, but his main gripe was the color... detail and smooth gradients were fine, but it just lacked contrast and saturation. Everything just looked flat. He asked me to run some recent files on the same paper for comparison since that's always the first think people blame and we both immediately saw the difference. He's had about every type of specialist from Xerox in there trying different profiles, calibrations, etc and no luck so far.

I wish you luck on getting your J75 printing where you need it! Maybe try setting up color output profiles by calibrating to each type of paper you use and not just the usual broad categories of coated and uncoated.

 

[jwheeler]

Are you running to a stacker? We have 2 1100's and both stackers will dump paper after filling up halfway. We think it's static related, but they're still looking for a fix.

Hi gg2017,

I have not heard of this issue from my customers that use the stackers, but can you please post what the tech's figure out so I know if it ever does come up? I'll ask my branch's service techs too in case they have heard of it. If it is in fact static, I'd suggest 2 things:

1) Ask your rep about adding the humidifier to the relay unit. This adds moisture back into the paper since the paper dries out from the heat of the fusing process. If you already have one, make sure the tech's check that it is full of water and is activated. They are not commonly installed so a tech may forget to input the DIP switches.

2) Our first beta site to have a Konica 2250 (250 ipm black and white printer) was having static issues in the perfect binder stacker because of the speed the paper was moving. To fix this, our techs installed a 3rd party static bar which now is standard on all of the installs done by my branch. Here's the details if you're interested:
Brand: Meech
Static Bar: Model 914, Part Number 915-12 $299.00
Power Supply: Model 905-60, Part Number 905-60 $488.00
View attachment 4646

 

[thebluesdude]

You mentioned you produced 200 page books but the maximum amount of pages for the SD-506 is actually 50 pages?

 

[jwheeler]

You mentioned you produced 200 page books but the maximum amount of pages for the SD-506 is actually 50 pages?

It's 50 signatures (sheets), at 4 pages per signature, for a total of a 200 page book (Based on 20# bond)

 

[Sev]

Bent corners

Bent corners

Our brand new KM C1100 keeps bending the corners of the stock. We place a service call, service comes and fixes the problem, it works fine for a couple days, and the problem returns. This is happening constantly. The KM rep says there is no known fix for this problem. I have had to reprint job after job because of this issue. Do others have this problem, and if so, how do we overcome this challenge?

-Sev

 

[printmore]

For thebluesdude
The SD506 is a 50 sheet\200page fold n saddle booklet maker with face trim. It is now on its 4th generation, a proven finishing device.

 

[thebluesdude]

Would just need to see to believe, we have an offline 32 thousand pound booklet maker that I wouldn't get away with a 200 page booklet on? Would love to see the creep on that one...

 

[gg2017]

We have 2km 1100s for last 6 months and have not had this issue at all.

 

[jwheeler]

Would just need to see to believe, we have an offline 32 thousand pound booklet maker that I wouldn't get away with a 200 page booklet on? Would love to see the creep on that one...

I would definitely recommend doing a demo to put your mind at ease. Keep in mind that it's spec'd for 200 pages on only 20# bond. So that decreases the page count even with standard 28# color copy or 80/100# gloss book. Or if you add a thick cover, you take away some page count. And the page creep will happen on any device...however, if you get the Fiery controller, it has a great creep adjustment mode to help out with that in the Impose mode. Lastly, it currently offers only a face trim (which is adjustable in, out or off altogether). Soon...I'd say June/July-ish, we are going to be offering a 3 knife trim with scoring and squareback options.

 

[dpolglaze]

For thebluesdude
The SD506 is a 50 sheet\200page fold n saddle booklet maker with face trim. It is now on its 4th generation, a proven finishing device.

Hey, Sev,
Could be something simple being over-looked, or setting or something seemingly unrelated to the problem is causing it to return after a time. Ask your KM dealer or KM direct service manager to engage their regional SSD or SDM for an on-site visit. Some are reluctant to do this because it sometimes requires a lot of extra work, formal support tickets, etc. These units are excellent runners and you should not be having this issue.

Happy Printing!
Dwight

 

[dpolglaze]

Our brand new KM C1100 keeps bending the corners of the stock. We place a service call, service comes and fixes the problem, it works fine for a couple days, and the problem returns. This is happening constantly. The KM rep says there is no known fix for this problem. I have had to reprint job after job because of this issue. Do others have this problem, and if so, how do we overcome this challenge?

SORRY--HAD THE WRONG QUOTE IN FIRST REPLY RESPONSE

Hey, Sev,

Could be something simple being over-looked, or setting or something seemingly unrelated to the problem is causing it to return after a time. Ask your KM dealer or KM direct service manager to engage their regional SSD or SDM for an on-site visit. Some are reluctant to do this because it sometimes requires a lot of extra work, formal support tickets, etc. These units are excellent runners and you should not be having this issue.

Happy Printing!
Dwight

 

[dpolglaze]

What sort of tools does the 1100 have for calibrating for skew, density and colour? We have a Xerox J75, incredibly displeased with the machine and trying to deal with Xerox. If things fall through we will be looking elsewhere for a replacement. I do like the SIQA tools that Xerox has, and when they work, they work well.

Does Konica have similar tools?

Keep in mind that industry standard for basic controller-to-engine calibrations is daily, and once for each paper type (CoatedGL, Plain, CoatedML, etc) Yes, units like the KM1100 are way more stable than their predecessors like the KM8000, but there are many reasons for the regular calibrations. One is that as the engine ages and you experience daily climate changes (temperature and humidity) the daily calibrations help the controller keep pace with this. It's best to get color management advice from your color management expert. This person would have certifications like G7, or at least be officially designated as the expert by your dealer or KM direct branch.

Happy Printing, and may your color be the same on Monday as it was on Friday!
Dwight

 

[Sev]

Hey, Sev,

Could be something simple being over-looked, or setting or something seemingly unrelated to the problem is causing it to return after a time. Ask your KM dealer or KM direct service manager to engage their regional SSD or SDM for an on-site visit. Some are reluctant to do this because it sometimes requires a lot of extra work, formal support tickets, etc. These units are excellent runners and you should not be having this issue.

Happy Printing!
Dwight[/QUOTE]

Our dealer found the cause of the problem. It was a loose part near the fuser. They fixed it, and the problem has not returned. The machine is a strong runner, and I would highly recommend it. The speed and the quality of the printing is incredible! To say that I am very happy with the machine is an understatement.

-Sev