BLI 2021 A3 Line of the Year

Konica Minolta has claimed the coveted BLI 2021 A3 Line of the Year Award from Keypoint Intelligence thanks to its…

• Exceptional reliability, with just six  misfeeds experienced over nearly 1.5  million impressions 
• Very good to excellent ease of  use from both a walk-up and a  workstation perspective throughout  line, so users can consistently and  fully optimize their Konica Minolta experience 
• Extensive array of software solutions as well as apps and onboard tools that significantly enhance personalization, productivity, and workflows

Konica Minolta is once again the titleholder of the BLI A3 Line of the Year Award. This marks the first time the company has received the accolade since 2014. At that time, Konica Minolta had won the prestigious award for an unprecedented four straight years.

“Konica Minolta has skillfully crafted an A3 portfolio that is extremely reliable
and easy to use, from top to bottom,” said George Mikolay Keypoint Intelligence’s Associate Director of A3 Hardware/Production. “Moreover, Konica Minolta has done a masterful job of incorporating the software solutions, along with the apps and onboard tools, that are necessary in this day and age to bring a level of personalization to their line for every user, wherever they are. The outstanding reliability, as well as the consistency in both performance and usability throughout the line, ensures users can seamlessly jump from one speed band to the next based on workload and availability, with little if any drop-off in efficiency and effectiveness.”

“Thank you to Keypoint Intelligence for this honor, we are tremendously proud to be recognized for the best A3 product line in the market,” said Dino Pagliarello, Senior Vice President, Product Management and Planning, Konica Minolta. “As an organization  that has expanded into many different areas, we have remained true to this industry and  driving our core business by continuing to incorporate advanced technology and functionality  to improve customer experience. Winning the BLI 2021 A3 Line of the Year Award is a testament  to our unwavering dedication.” 

Keypoint Intelligence congratulates Konica Minolta on earning the BLI 2021 A3 Line of the Year  Award! 

Remarkable Reliability 

A machine that can consistently deliver with minimal to no downtime isn’t a luxury—it’s a  necessity, for every business. “We ran nearly 1.5 million impressions on Konica Minolta’s A3  MFPs and experienced just six misfeeds,” said Mikolay. “That’s an incredible rate of just one  misfeed for every 246,666 impressions run. And most maintenance procedures are so simple,  from loading paper to replacing toner and drums to clearing misfeeds, which in and of itself  in a very rare occurrence. This maximum uptime is complemented by a higher than average  maximum paper capacity compared to the competitors for 10 of the 12 tested devices, which  means little time needs to be spent reloading paper during longer runs. Add it all up, and you  have an A3 line that operates reliably and effectively, with minimal if any downtime, on a day-in  and day-out basis.” 

Superior Usability, Solutions and Apps and Onboard Tools to Boot Users have come to expect intuitive operation, with minimal touches for optimum efficiency.  Users have also come to expect the ability to customize the control panel and tailor workflows  based on how they like to work, whether it’s at the control panel using native MFP operations, at  the workstation, or with integrated solutions, apps, and onboard tools to simply and streamline  workflows. Konica Minolta delivers on all these fronts—and in spades. In fact, Konica Minolta  was the recipient of the BLI PaceSetter 2020-2021 in Ease of Use: Enterprise Devices in August  2020. 

“Konica Minolta’s latest technology advances the future usability demands in the enterprise  space,” said Mikolay. “The engines feature a large, fully tiltable control panel with slide-and swipe capability, making the user experience intuitive, easy, and efficient. Print functions  continue to be elite, as an entire tab can be customized to meet users’ needs. Presets, and  detailed comments indicating the functions of each preset, can be added and saved from every  tab. The strong ease of use of these devices further extends to the IT team in an enterprise.  The web user interface also offers a breadth of functionality and is easy to use, allowing IT  administrators to manage a device quickly and effectively.” 

In today’s digital age, quality hardware requires the accompaniment of strong software, apps,  and onboard tools to truly raise productivity to higher levels within each workgroup. Users  want quick and streamlined access to the features and functions they use most often, wherever  they are. To this end, Konica Minolta’s MarketPlace allows for high-usage apps such as Scan  to Gmail, Sharepoint, or OneDrive to be easily downloaded at the control panel. In addition,  the Personalize Follow-You Persona allows users to personalize their MFP panel with the apps,  tools, and tiles they use most often and then access them from any MFP, anywhere. Productivity  and convenience get an additional boost thanks to flexible mobile support including standard  NFC, and support for the bizhub Remote Panel app, which allows users to operate the control  panel from their mobile device. 

Top-Flight Performance From Top to Bottom 

All 12 Konica Minolta A3 MFPs tested in 2020 were Highly Recommended/Highly Reliable,  with 10 earning BLI Winter 2021 Pick Awards in their respective segments. 

Pick Winners 

• Konica Minolta bizhub C250i 
• Konica Minolta bizhub C300i 
• Konica Minolta bizhub C450i 
• Konica Minolta bizhub C550i 
• Konica Minolta bizhub C650i 
• Konica Minolta bizhub 300i 
• Konica Minolta bizhub 360i 
• Konica Minolta bizhub 450i 
• Konica Minolta bizhub 550i 
• Konica Minolta bizhub 750i 

Highly Recommended/Highly Reliable

• Konica Minolta bizhub C360i
• Konica Minolta bizhub C750i

About Keypoint Intelligence  

For 60 years, clients in the digital imaging industry have relied on Keypoint Intelligence for  independent hands-on testing, lab data, and extensive market research to drive their product and  sales success. Keypoint Intelligence has been recognized as the industry’s most trusted resource for  unbiased information, analysis, and awards due to decades of analyst experience. Customers have  harnessed this mission-critical knowledge for strategic decision-making, daily sales enablement,  and operational excellence to improve business goals and increase bottom lines. With a central  focus on clients, Keypoint Intelligence continues to evolve as the industry changes by expanding  offerings and updating methods, while intimately understanding and serving manufacturers’,  channels’, and their customers’ transformation in the digital printing and imaging sector. 

About BLI Line of the Year Awards 

Line of the Year Awards salute the companies that provide a broad range of hardware or  software and whose products consistently performed above average throughout testing. Much  consideration is also made by Keypoint Intelligence analysts and technicians in areas such as  ease of use, features, and value, across an entire portfolio for that product area, with the end  result being the most prestigious Buyers Lab Awards offered.