Konica Minolta KM-1, KM-1e, KM-1e HD

[MrSchmidt]

First, Hello to all
I've got some questions regarding KM-1 (and all its versions) and it seems no one here is using them. We've been to a presentation. One would think, given this machine is sold now for around 8 years, that the guys know stuff about it.... But this is where it gets cloudy. People there just couldn't bring up real operating/maintaining cost for a specific job. Even asking us to give them our whole month of our jobs that could later be done on the KM-1e. ??? I mean my boss is not stupid and I guess anyone wanting to spend so much money on a machine like this should/must not be. This machine is done for "i dont know" runs to about 2000 copies which is great for us. But even with these numbers they dont know for sure..... Press like this should "eat" this numbers because its made for that and where is the point if you cant charge a normal price on the output. Or is this just a press for someone to have it regardless of end product cost?
So does anyone here got some idea of the operating cost and the cost of the ink which is supposed to be pricey? Does the UV cured ink work with normal offset paper (coated or uncoated)?
Any insights on stability of the press?
What we have seen was even above our expectation quality wise.... but this was all sadly in the shade of giving us the end production cost estimates.
Too bad. Press looks great and output is almost on pair with offset... Yes, of course there are some colors you cant reproduce on a press like this but its evolving. And in my experience we'll see probably a fifth or maybe more color option for even larger gamut in the future ..... if it wont be toooooo pricey
cheers, J

*hope you KM guys are thinking where is the market evolving, not just labels.

 

[jwheeler]

I used to sell production gear for KM. The KM-1 is clearly in a different class from the typical digital toner presses. However, in a typical sales territory, there are few companies who can cost justify one. Therefore, as a territory production print specialist (PPS), we received minimal training on how to sell one. The typical process was to make sure an account has the volume to justify one, see if there was valid interest in the product, then then we had to bring in a special regional team to do a full presentation. I did this a few times and my team on the west coast was excellent at presenting these costs and answering the questions you're referring to. Perhaps you're only talking to the local PPS and need to ask them to escalate to the regional team? I've been gone for over 4 years, so I don't remember the average costs per print, and I'm sure it's changed anyways. My regional team had several sample prints that were ran on high quality mode, and ink saving mode to show the difference in quality and cost per print. I do know PostcardMania was one of the big accounts they always referenced that loved the press so much, they bought a 2nd one.

 

[rcreveli]

I work for a digital book printer and we have a KM-1. We use it for the majority of our book covers and full color books that need to be high quality. Our other presses are two digital webs. We have a single toner based, a Ricoh 9110, that doesn't get a lot of use. The KM-1 is a great machine overall though I'm underwhelmed with the RIP.

 

[MrSchmidt]

I work for a digital book printer and we have a KM-1. We use it for the majority of our book covers and full color books that need to be high quality. Our other presses are two digital webs. We have a single toner based, a Ricoh 9110, that doesn't get a lot of use. The KM-1 is a great machine overall though I'm underwhelmed with the RIP.

thank for the reply guys.
So you didn not experience problems in post processing the material? Lamination, binding, creasing, cracking of the substrate (color) on the paper, applying varnish?
RIP.... what's up with that? Imposing, speed, missing stuff on prints, ease of use? I know its not Fiery or something else but I have my KM C6086 with KM RIP and its fine .... just slow....

 

[rcreveli]

thank for the reply guys.
So you didn not experience problems in post processing the material? Lamination, binding, creasing, cracking of the substrate (color) on the paper, applying varnish?
RIP.... what's up with that? Imposing, speed, missing stuff on prints, ease of use? I know its not Fiery or something else but I have my KM C6086 with KM RIP and its fine .... just slow....

Regarding issues in post press, I haven't seen any, quite the opposite actually. Because the machine is an inkjet you don't need to worry about super stick laminates or toner cracking. The RIP is a Konica proprietary RIP. The machine was here when I started 2 years ago and I don't know when it was installed. It seems to choke on some high res multipage books. We'll occasionally have to rasterize the PDF and resend the PDF. It seems like a KM issue not an issue with Impostrip or batch builder.

 

[Savage]

We are in the process of buying a similar machine for our company. One of our paper suppliers warned us that the KM-1 only prints in 4 default paper sizes. Is this true? If the machine maximum size is 585x750mm i cannot print in a 510x720mm size, for example?

 

[rcreveli]

We are in the process of buying a similar machine for our company. One of our paper suppliers warned us that the KM-1 only prints in 4 default paper sizes. Is this true? If the machine maximum size is 585x750mm i cannot print in a 510x720mm size, for example?

The version we have has a limited number of sizes. I would check with KM. My understanding is on our version the sizes are hard coded when purchased.

 

[holyoni]

The version we have has a limited number of sizes. I would check with KM. My understanding is on our version the sizes are hard coded when purchased.

There are sets of sizes you can print.
@MrSchmidt where are you in the buying process?

 

[MrSchmidt]

Stil nowhere. We have got some info about the price of prints but its not so great. From my point of view it should be a nobrainer when you got majority of volume in KM-1 window. And we still have to make room for the machine... if its ever going to be.

 

[lnpiper]

I used to sell production gear for KM. The KM-1 is clearly in a different class from the typical digital toner presses. However, in a typical sales territory, there are few companies who can cost justify one. Therefore, as a territory production print specialist (PPS), we received minimal training on how to sell one. The typical process was to make sure an account has the volume to justify one, see if there was valid interest in the product, then then we had to bring in a special regional team to do a full presentation. I did this a few times and my team on the west coast was excellent at presenting these costs and answering the questions you're referring to. Perhaps you're only talking to the local PPS and need to ask them to escalate to the regional team? I've been gone for over 4 years, so I don't remember the average costs per print, and I'm sure it's changed anyways. My regional team had several sample prints that were ran on high quality mode, and ink saving mode to show the difference in quality and cost per print. I do know PostcardMania was one of the big accounts they always referenced that loved the press so much, they bought a 2nd one.

Do the print modes run at different speeds or the same speed and different ink load?