EFI and Konica Minolta have launched two new digital front ends (DFEs), the Fiery IC-308 and IC-415, designed to drive the bizhub Press C1060, C1070 and C1070P digital presses.
Running on the latest, Fiery FS100 Pro platform, the Fiery DFEs provide high end performance, colour management and workflow automation tools.
‘The new additions to the Fiery line-up for the Konica Minolta bizhub Press family deliver almost 2.5 times performance improvement over their predecessors,’ said John Henze, vice president, Fiery marketing. ‘This means that print service providers can increase their capacity by shortening turnaround times for even the most challenging and complex files, including increasingly popular variable data jobs.’
The two Fiery DFE models are targeted at production print operations, ranging from CRDs to commercial printing firms, and bring powerful functionality for high-margin print jobs such as photobooks or personalised communications.
Users can also couple the Fiery IC-308 with Fiery Central, EFI’s centralised job production solution, to drive both the new colour Konica Minolta bizhub Press models and black-and-white bizhub Press 1052/1250/1250P digital printers.
This configuration provides a centralised workflow with the common Fiery Command WorkStation job management interface to automatically balance printer fleet workloads for more efficient and lower cost production.
The Fiery FS100 Pro platform used for the new DFEs is the only production platform to achieve a 100% perfect pass rating from industry organisation VIGC’s PDF RIP Audit. This means that users can accurately and consistently reproduce even intricately designed files developed with tools like Adobe Creative Suite, avoiding costly reprints, delivery delays and dissatisfied print buyers.
Establishing an integrated workflow that saves time and minimises touch points in business and production processes is critical to success in today’s print market. Print organisations using EFI MIS and web to print solutions can seamlessly integrate with the IC-308 to increase operational efficiency. In addition, users can integrate the new DFEs with Kodak Prinergy and other third-party prepress and workflow solutions to achieve higher-level efficiencies that streamline business operations.
Customers can also take advantage of Fiery JobMaster, an optional make-ready product that includes productivity enhancers such as visual tab insertion and design, easy-to-use page editing, chapterisation, and many other late-stage job editing features. This allows operators to set up and execute complex print jobs faster and more efficiently, saving time and increasing overall profitability.
