Konica Minolta takes stake in MGI

Konica Minolta's stake in MGI is valued at €13.7m (£11.2m), with the investment taking the form of a reserved capital increase the funds from which will be used to drive future growth.

In a joint statement the two companies said that their new alliance would include co-development and co-marketing of existing and future products and that both companies would "devote their best efforts to expand sales of existing and new products".

The initially focus of this sales drive would appear to be MGI's Meteor digital press line (the only product specifically named in the statement), which is actually a rival to Konica Minolta's top-end Bizhub Press C8000e.

The Meteor DP8700XL and the Bizhub Press C8000e both have an actual print resolution of 1,200dpi and an apparent resolution of 1,200x3,600dpi, while both have similar print speeds at 4,260 A4 sph on the Meteor and 4,560 A4 sph on the Bizhub.

The main difference is that the Meteor can take very long sheets, up to 1,020mm in length, versus 487mm on the Bizhub, and the MGI machine does not use a click charge, opening up the option of printing things like envelopes which would otherwise be too expensive.

Konica Minolta cited MGI's "expertise in digital printing" and its "capacity to innovate" as motivating factors in the deal, while MGI hopes to benefit from the additional exposure it will get via Konica Minolta's global network and brand reputation.

Edmond Abergel, chief executive and chairman of MGI, said: "We are very happy and proud that Konica Minolta recognizes our accomplishments and our unique capacity to innovate. This strategic alliance will be the basis for the development of tomorrow's innovative digital solutions."

Another area in which there is some overlap between the two new partners' product lines is in their fledgling inkjet offerings, where both are about to launch B2 sheetfed presses, running at similar speeds, the same 1,200dpi resolution and both using UV-cured inks.

Konica Minolta's press, the KM-1 (developed in partnership with Komori, which supplied the chassis and will also sell the press under it's own brand as the IS29) is a 3,300sph simplex (1,650sph duplex) four-colour machine (although five and six-colour versions are planned).

Meanwhile, MGI's Alphajet - shown as a concept at Drupa - is a 3,000sph simplex machine (duplex is planned but speed hasn't been confirmed), capable of printing up to six colours including an in-line white and UV coat.