FREEDOM PLUS

Konica Minolta AccurioPress C14000 delivers streamlined speed and efficiency, opens up new opportunities for Freedom Plus

Freedom Plus designs and manufactures unique print collateral for products, brands, and companies. Established in 2002 with a single press in a residential house, Freedom Plus now boasts almost 30 staff members in a centrally located commercial building. The team promises fast and efficient service as well as value for money. Freedom Plus offers printing options including signs, packaging, promotional products, and both digital and offset printing for marketing materials, stationery, mail, point of sale items, publications, and more.

The challenge

• Upgrade required for digital press
• Freedom Plus ‘On time or it’s free’ guarantee needed to be met
• Automation and increased efficiency required to continue building the business

Freedom Plus backs its service with a guarantee that jobs will be delivered on time or else they’ll be free. The business is an industry leader that has built its success on leveraging technology advancements. This helps Freedom Plus deliver high quality and very fast turnaround times. The business saw an opportunity to improve these turnaround times even further with automation capabilities that would be delivered with new digital presses.

Dan Wheeler, managing director, Freedom Plus said, “We’ve grown our print volume over the years with digital presses and part of the business plan is to upgrade to new technology every two to three years. Machines tend to evolve reasonably dramatically every three years, so this cycle works well for the business. As a long-term Konica Minolta customer, Freedom Plus has some insight into what new technology is being developed, so we can plan upgrades accordingly.”

Freedom Plus wanted a digital press that could offer increased levels of automation and productivity gains, as well as inline trimming, creasing, and perforation along with fully automated quality management and quality inspection. This would let the business get the print job from pre-press to invoicing in the fastest possible time, with the least amount of hands-on effort.

The solution

Freedom Plus was excited to consider the new Konica Minolta AccurioPress C14000 digital press for high-quality, high-volume colour printing.

Dan Wheeler said, “When it was time to upgrade, the AccurioPress C14000 was the obvious choice. The inline finishing capabilities were very cool. The automation capabilities were key; when I started in the printing industry this was the printing machine I dreamed of. It took some time to achieve these capabilities and it’s very exciting.”

The AccurioPress C14000 uses industry-leading technology including fully automated quality management and quality inspection via unique auto inspection technology. The IQ-501 technology automatically adjusts print quality on the fly, ensuring consistent quality across the entire print run. The closed-loop system constantly monitors and adjusts colour calibration and profiling, automating a process that used to require manual input.

The AccurioPress C14000 was also attractive because of its fast turnaround time of 140pp per minute regardless of stock used. Being able to print quickly and trust the output to be correct helps Freedom Plus deliver on its on-time guarantee.

With Konica Minolta re-entering the New Zealand market with a dedicated presence, Freedom Plus was offered additional assurance that it would be supported.

Customer benefits

• Automated workflows saved time and improved efficiencies
• IQ-501 technology improved quality and speed
• 40 per cent faster print speed, resulting in faster job turnaround
• Increased capabilities opened up new business opportunities
• 35 per cent waste reduction delivered sustainability benefits

With the AccurioPress C14000, Freedom Plus can speed up turnaround times due to a 40 per cent increase in page speed offered by the new press. The automated capability delivered by the IQ-501 technology reduces operator time and has lowered print waste for Freedom Plus by 35 per cent. This, plus the increased printing speed, gives Freedom Plus more production capacity, letting the business grow without adding costs around increased head count.

Dan Wheeler said, “It’s just so quick and easy to print to a high quality now. We have an operator who has been with Freedom Plus for more than 15 years and she’s very highly skilled. However, the speed that jobs are turned around at now is just amazing. The AccurioPress C14000 has proven to provide convenience and cost savings.”

The C14000 lets Freedom Plus increase its maximum board weight specification to 450gsm, which means the business can lead the market in board weights and also push into the light packaging space with digital print. This lets Freedom Plus convert more offset print to digital print, helping the business be more competitive in the market while still achieving high levels of profitability.

Dan Wheeler said, “Automation and faster turnaround time are key benefits of the AccurioPress C14000. In addition, Konica Minolta delivers high levels of service, which gives us the confidence to back up our guarantee that jobs are on time or they’re free, because we know the press is well supported.”

“When it was time to upgrade, the AccurioPress C14000 was the obvious choice. The inline finishing capabilities were very cool. The automation capabilities were key; when I started in the printing industry this was the printing machine I dreamed of. It took some time to achieve these capabilities and it’s very exciting.”

DAN WHEELER, MANAGING DIRECTOR, FREEDOM PLUS