Konica Minolta launches the PKG-675i corrugated packaging printer

| 11 February 2021

Water-based digital inkjet printer opens doors to short run and personalised corrugated and folding carton packaging, helping serve fast-growing sectors such as e-commerce

Konica Minolta has today announced the launch of a new digital inkjet press for corrugated packaging. The PKG-675i enables printers, converters and brand owners to benefit from an easy-to-use solution for their on-demand packaging production – matching the trend towards more customised printing for corrugated boxes.


The PKG-675i is a high-quality inkjet device that can print short run and personalised corrugated boards and folding cartons, flat or pre-die cut, quickly and economically. For packaging converters, it also offers a perfect solution to create quick mock-up packaging designs, helping to improve time to market and reduce waste. Typical applications are short runs on corrugated packaging for personal and household care and processed food, where the box is required to protect, promote and deliver the product.

Today’s packaging market has been profoundly affected by COVID-19, and many of the changes are likely to remain long-term. While overall volumes of corrugated packaging have declined during 2020, it is expected that they will recover in line with international trade. However, it is in the way that goods are being sold and distributed that the big changes have come, with a trend away from retail-ready designs, and towards mail order, distribution, internet and e-commerce formats.

Research by Smithers[1] suggests that the pandemic has accelerated the demand for e-commerce packaging by two to three years, compared to pre-COVID forecasts. The global e-commerce packaging market was worth more than $49 billion in 2020, and Smithers says that 80% of that value is for corrugated packaging.

"The growth of e-commerce is one of the defining trends of the packaging industry going forward, and this will have a major impact for those in the corrugated packaging sector. In particular they need to be able to react fast, and develop e-commerce-specific packaging designs that solve the inherent challenges of postal distribution, rather than those of retail. Versioning and personalisation are also on the rise. Creating high quality proof-of-concept prototypes and short run, individualised batches is the sweet spot for the PKG-675i digital inkjet printer." says Edoardo Cotichini, Senior Manager Professional Print at Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe GmbH.

Manufactured by Konica Minolta’s partner MTEX NS, and based on five Memjet® CMYK printheads, which enable it to achieve a print width of 1,067 mm, the PKG-675i prints rich graphics on corrugated board at 1,600 x 1,600 dpi. With minimal pre-press interaction, on-demand jobs can be produced in high resolution at speeds of up to 18 meters per minute. The printer comes with a Caldera RIP and uses water-based inks which are FDA-approved for indirect food contact.

"This cooperation with Konica Minolta will have significant benefits for customers. Over the last decade MTEX NS has developed a strong reputation for quality and innovation while continuously expanding its service offerings and global presence to more than 40 countries across five continents. This technology will provide a perfect solution to create quick mock-up packaging designs, helping to improve time to market and reduce waste in areas such as folding carton and corrugated packaging." emphasizes Elói Ferreira, Executive President and Founder at MTEX NS.

 

[1] “State of the Packaging Industry 2020” – Smithers


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About Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe


Konica Minolta’s journey started 150 years ago, with a vision to see and do things differently. We innovate for the good of society and the world. The same purpose that kept us moving then, keeps us moving now.


Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe GmbH, based in Langenhagen, Germany, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Konica Minolta Inc., Tokyo, Japan. With its unique expertise in imaging, data processing and data-based decision making, Konica Minolta creates relevant solutions for its customers - small and medium-sized businesses, large enterprises and public sector - and solves issues faced by society.


As a digital workplace solution provider, Konica Minolta helps its clients to identify and unlock the potential digitalisation holds and reach the next level in the digital maturity of their organisation by rethinking the workplace. In support of an ‘Intelligent connected workplace’, Konica Minolta offers cloud, IT, managed print and video solution services for remote working, collaboration, workflow management and automation and security. The company’s success in driving transformation is also confirmed by IDC, since the ‘IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Print Transformation 2020 Vendor Assessment’ stated that Konica Minolta is ‘recognised globally as a leader in print transformation’. Konica Minolta has been a Microsoft Global Managed Partner since 2021.


Konica Minolta's Igniting Print Possibilities offering helps printers, converters and brand owners maximise workflow automation to increase efficiency. The company delivers consultancy in all communication matters as well as top-of-the-line production, packaging as well as label printers. Its finishing devices create print products that stand out and create added value. Konica Minolta has established itself as the production printing market leader for more than a decade in Europe (InfoSource).


For an increasing number of organisations, success today is more than the narrow definition of financial prosperity – it also includes protecting the environment and having a positive impact on their workforce as well as the societies they are embedded in. With its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Konica Minolta has pledged to consistently pursue its sustainability and social responsibility goals.


The company has been repeatedly recognised for its rich history of social contribution as well as for working towards achieving the SDGs throughout its business and supply chain. Konica Minolta is listed among “2022 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World” and received the highest level in EcoVadis Sustainability Ratings.


For its innovative service approach that complements their devices perfectly, Konica Minolta was awarded the prestigious ‘Buyers Lab PaceSetter Award for Serviceability and Support 2020/2021’ from Keypoint Intelligence.


Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe is represented by subsidiaries and distributors in more than 80 countries in Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa. With approximately 8,700 employees (as of April 2022), Konica Minolta Europe earned net sales of over EUR 1.9 billion in financial year 2021/2022.


Worldwide, the company has over 39,000 employees and is operating in over 150 countries.


For more information, please visit https://www.konicaminolta.eu/eu-en/news and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook and YouTube.


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Contact

Contact

Silke Ehmann-Cotichini

Silke.Ehmann-Cotichini@konicaminolta.eu

+49 (0) 151 622-06-281