#Digital Printing

2022-05-05

Konica Minolta first to launch presses with EFI Fiery FS500 pro software and new hardware

Electronics For Imaging, Inc. and Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe GmbH (Konica Minolta) have announced a continuation of their long-term partnership with the release of five new EFI™ Fiery® digital front ends (DFEs) based on the newest Fiery platform, Fiery FS500 Pro.

Five new Fiery servers reduce job prep time while helping to ensure colour accuracy and higher overall throughput

In today’s fast-paced business environment, customers are faced with demands for shorter runs and competitive pricing. These new, higher-productivity Fiery DFEs offer preflight tools, intelligent automation features and colour management technologies that help ensure that print businesses produce documents correctly the first time, every time, at the lowest cost – correct job properties are selected by JobExpert, spot colours are optimised with Spot Pro, errors are caught with Fiery Preflight, and finishing marks are visually added with Fiery Finishing Designer. With these features, customers can increase overall output volume and complete more jobs per shift while also giving printing operations the ability to capitalise on new growth opportunities.

The new solutions EFI and Konica Minolta are announcing include:

· EFI Fiery IC-319 and IC-318 v2 DFEs that will drive the Konica Minolta AccurioPress C14000/C12000 colour production presses for the high-end production printing market

· EFI Fiery IC-319 and IC-318L v2 DFEs that will drive the Konica Minolta AccurioPress C7100/C7090 light-production colour presses

· EFI Fiery IC-317 and IC-419 v2 DFEs that will drive the Konica Minolta AccurioPress C4080/C4070 and AccurioPrint C4065 printers.

“With these new EFI Fiery DFEs, we continue to extend the range of what AccurioPress users can achieve,” said Olaf Lorenz, General Manager DX Branding Division Konica Minolta, Inc. “We are pleased to be the first to bring these powerful new DFE solutions into our portfolio as they bring more competitive capabilities to Konica Minolta’s digital printing portfolio.”

EFI Fiery FS500 Pro servers offer a higher value proposition

The new Fiery FS500 Pro server platform offers many benefits to print service providers operating Konica Minolta presses, including:

· Even faster processing time. The EFI Fiery DFEs are the fastest in the industry and just became even faster with FS500 Pro. With this new hardware/software platform, a graphics-intensive, 100-page photobook processes 36% faster than previous Fiery DFEs, enabling operators to turn jobs around faster, optimising the capacity of the Konica Minolta presses, and accepting additional jobs to boost revenue.

· Less waste, more sellable prints. Customers can use the new Preflight tools to easily find file errors, speeding time to print. External Fiery servers now come standard with Fiery Preflight, which automates basic preflight checks for problems such as missing spot colours or low-resolution images. For more advanced preflight checks, Fiery Preflight Pro* verifies file compliance with industry standards and specifications such as PDF/X, PDF/VT 1 and 2, PDF 2.0, or GWG (Ghent Workgroup) with an easily understood visual report. Fiery JobExpert’s intelligent automation technology saves customers valuable production minutes from job setup time by automatically choosing the right colour and imaging settings. It enables less experienced staff to produce optimal output like a pro. They also gain greater efficiency producing high-quality and personalised prints thanks to a native Adobe PDF Print Engine 5.5 workflow.

· Accurate brand colours and real-time colour adjustments. The new version of Fiery Spot Pro makes it faster to prepare media for print by optimising all spot colours at once for the most accurate reproduction of brand colours with PANTONE® Colors or customised libraries. Operators can minimise waste, reprints, and customers rejecting jobs due to inconsistent or inaccurate colour with the included EFI ColorGuard™ subscription – a cloud-based verification solution to track colour quality.

· Finished products completed with ease. The Fiery Finishing Designer is a fully visual interface included with Fiery Command WorkStation® that simplifies creating and editing finishing definitions for the Konica Minolta TU-510 Inline Trimmer Unit. Customers can see a unique, live preview of their job content while setting the cut, crease, and perforation marks. In this way, they can be confident that the finishing setup is accurate before sending the job to print, eliminating costly bindery waste.

“The Fiery FS500 Pro new platform offers advanced speed, higher automation and more capability than other digital front ends,” said John Henze, vice president of sales and marketing, EFI Fiery. “Intelligent automation solutions in these new EFI Fiery DFEs also save customers labour cost and time by minimising the need for manual inspection of print jobs, improving automated u management, and eliminating the need to print a test file to determine where to place finishing lines.

“All this decreases cycle time and increases customers’ profit opportunities, while ensuring that they can delight their clients with printing that gets completed accurately and quickly. Reducing the time prepress and press operators must spend on these repetitive tasks also helps print business owners make staff more efficient, offsetting the difficulties they have hiring and retaining talent in today’s labour-constrained economy.”

The new Fiery DFEs are available from Konica Minolta and authorised Konica Minolta resellers. For more information about EFI Fiery Driven™ products, visit http://www.efi.com.

textile.4U publishes special edition “Top 100 Textile Recycling Companies 2025”

With a comprehensive 176-page special edition, textile.4U is dedicating its latest issue entirely to one of the most dynamic and influential topics in today’s textile industry: textile recycling. The new issue, published exclusively in high-quality print, presents the Top 100 textile recycling companies researched and selected by TexData – organizations that already play a key role in the transition to circular textiles or are expected to have a significant impact in the near future.

Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024 signed by Governor

Senator Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) is proud to announce that Senate Bill 707 (SB 707), the Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024, has been signed into law by the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom. This groundbreaking legislation establishes the country’s first Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) textile recycling program, marking a significant step forward in the state’s efforts to combat waste and promote sustainability.

Modtissimo promotes sustainability with 28 coordinates in the Green Circle

Modtissimo is proving more and more to be a textile and clothing show that delivers the latest innovations in the area of sustainability, with the iTechStyle Green Circle being the main showcase for companies' creations. In this 60+4 edition, taking place on 12 and 13 September, 28 coordinates will be exhibited in a section organised by CITEVE and curated by Paulo Gomes.

The EU and Egypt team up to mobilise private sector investments at Investment Conference and sign a Memorandum of Understanding underpinning €1 billion in macro-financial assistance for Egypt

At the EU-Egypt Investment Conference, co-organised by the EU and the Government of Egypt on 29-30 June, the EU and Egypt are teaming up to intensify private sector investments in Egypt. They are also signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the disbursement to Egypt of up to €1 billion in Macro-Financial Assistance.

Epson launches SureColor G9000: high-production Direct-To-Film printer delivering greater productivity and reliability

Epson today announces the launch of the SureColor G9000, a new high-production Direct-To-Film (DTFilm) printer designed to meet growing global demand for flexible and efficient textile transfer printing. Expanding Epson’s DTFilm line-up alongside the SC-G6000, the SC-G9000 introduces enhanced speed, reliability and ease of maintenance for commercial garment decorators and textile producers.

Mimaki upgrades TS330 series for vibrant and seamless dye sublimation printing

The TS330 Series now provides users with an extended colour gamut, offering the flexibility to serve different markets profitably from one solution – from fashion to décor to signage – with improved colour vibrancy, fidelity and accuracy. Mimaki also introduces a larger solution to the TS330 Series, the TS330-1800, able to accommodate single-piece, wide textile fabrics, ideal for larger home décor applications.

Sustainable, lightweight, and sound absorbing: Polyester-based front trunk solution for BEVs

As car manufacturers look to further reduce their carbon footprint, Autoneum has developed an innovative front trunk solution for battery electric vehicles (BEVs), made entirely from polyester-based textile. The Ultra-Silent Frunk offers significant weight reduction, improved acoustic and thermal insulation, and uses up to 70 percent recycled material, supporting sustainable and efficient vehicle design. Autoneum, global technology leader in acoustic and thermal management for vehicles, has already received orders for the new frunk from three major OEMs in Asia and Europe to be built in three BEV models. Series production for two BEVs has been underway in China and Germany since last year.

Modern testing methods for raw cotton

The 38th International Cotton Conference Bremen will take place from 25 to 27 March 2026 at the Bremen Parliament. This conference has traditionally stood for in-depth expertise and international exchange. The program will focus on technical innovations, market trends, and regulatory frameworks across the entire value chain – from agriculture to the circular economy. With high-profile speakers, the conference is regarded as the key meeting point for the global cotton industry. Today’s focus: Cotton quality and testing methods.

Rieter responds to higher raw material prices

Global political and economic developments have been leading to rising raw material and energy costs for some time. The textile machinery industry is also affected by this trend. Rieter machines and components consist to a large extent of steel, copper, aluminum and electronics. These materials in particular have seen higher demand and higher prices in recent months.