Konica Minolta has joined digital print giants Xerox and Fujifilm in withdrawing from rescheduled global print expo drupa 2021 over health concerns and says it will instead use digital and hybrid formats to engage with customers. Canon and Ricoh also bailed out of drupa this week, following the earlier exits of HP, Xerox, Fujifilm, Kodak, Komori, EFI, Screen and Heidelberg, amongst others.
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| The Konica Minolta stand at drupa 2016 |
Konica Minolta said the company has already taken the path of new, tailored and digital or hybrid formats of engagement with its target groups and will pursue these new rules of engagement further.
“We very much still believe in the power of personal relationships and of course the power of seeing our portfolio and touching the print products from our presses and are evaluating the potential combinations of virtual and real-life concepts,” said Toshitaka Uemura, executive officer, division president of professional print headquarters, Konica Minolta, Inc. “Our highest priority is always to make sure that our customers, colleagues and all their families stay safe and healthy. And while the coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt on a global basis, we have taken a decision to withdraw our physical presence from drupa.
“Our utmost goal has been and always will be to help shape ideas for our customers in a partnership approach – no matter the ‘communication channel’, whether face to face or virtually. We are fully convinced that print will endure as a communications medium even with the perceived threats from digital, mobile and virtual channels. In fact, despite the pandemic and less predictable environment in which we all now live, print is thriving and finding new ways to deliver impact and value, often alongside those other media channels.
“We will keep exploring these new ways of delivering value together with and for our customers and are excited by what lies ahead. With our customer-centric approach, we will continue proposing values and solutions to fully support our customers’ businesses with our digital printing products, including our world-class software and workflow solutions.”
In an announcement from its headquarters in Tokyo, Konica Minolta said: “With drupa in June postponed, the company’s rules had to adapt, and it had to rethink what’s possible for its customers and prospects. For example, Konica Minolta has planned to launch virtual showrooms, when the regions get ready respectively, that hold many features for an interactive exploration of their manifold product offers in printing. In many locations, the company offers virtual live demonstrations where people can experience products with a two-way camera set-up and interact with the Konica Minolta experts. In addition to the showroom offerings, its innovative product and solution updates will also be delivered through Konica Minolta’s corporate website and social networks.
“Not only its digital print products, Konica Minolta will also continue to provide value and solutions that support customers' businesses based on their perspectives, including the following:
Support customers for more efficient business environments through automation and resource saving.
Support the improvement of facility operation rate through the conversion of equipment with IoT and visualization of equipment data.
Support equipment maintenance management and printing in a remote environment.”
