Heidelberg's
strong reputation in the market has helped win over "two customers a month" to
Konica Minolta digital engines through the sales partnership, though one printer
was not blown away by the result.Lighthouse Press invested in a Konica Minolta Bizhub Press C6000 through existing supplier Heidelberg.
Gregg Wragg, director of the Caringbah, NSW-based print shop, said he had been frustrated by service.
"Heidelberg has always looked after us, but it seems their new partner is letting them down."
Wragg noted that KM offers a four-hour turnaround on servicing its machines, but claimed Lighthouse had often had to call repeatedly and wait much longer.
Konica Minolta national marketing manager David Proctor said Lighthouse's case was isolated and said technicians had been thoroughly trained on the C6000.
"All the servicing in this relationship is carried out by Konica Minolta and all the technicians are fully trained here in Australia at a very high level," he said.
Another printer that invested in a 60 pages-per-minute C6000 through Heidelberg was Lionheart Offset, based in Banksmeadow, Sydney. General manager Steve Bujeia said his company's strong relationship with the offset manufacturer was one of the reasons for its investment.
"We chose the machine because of the trust we had in Heidelberg as a company," he said.
"Heidelberg has done its homework in terms of the digital machines offered through KM, and the C6000 works well in conjunction with our Heidelberg machines."
Heidelberg general manager of sales for northern regions Richard Timson noted he was impressed by how smoothly the partnership had been going so far.
"I'm very pleased with everything so far. I think KM is a great organisation. Definitely with the lower-run work they service and our higher-run work, it is a natural pairing.
Timson added that Heidelberg has had success approaching its existing clients for digital solutions and will be installing six new KM machines in the coming months.
The tie-up between Heidelberg and Konica remains strong despite the German press maker announcing a global partnership with Ricoh. Heidelberg ANZ managing director Andy Vels Jensen told ProPrint last week: "We have been selling two digital presses a month since we kicked off our venture with KM. It's business as usual here."
Heidelberg ANZ and Konica announced the venture at Ipex 2010. Heidelberg, Konica Minolta and Kodak are set to demonstrate their alliance at PrintEx11.