Konica Minolta Aims to "Make Print Easy" With EFI M500 Self-Serve Print and Copy Stations

RAMSEY, NJ--(Marketwired - April 08, 2015) - EFI™ (NASDAQ: EFII) and Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. announced the availability of the EFI Self-Serve M500 Copy and Print Station for Konica Minolta bizhub Multifunctional Devices (MFD) and single function printers, sold through KMBS's direct and dealer channels. Having a secure, self-serve cashless payment system will help Konica Minolta customers meet the growing consumer preference for card and mobile payment methods.

"This is one of the fastest, easiest and most efficient ways to make mobile printing convenient in a variety of environments, from retail establishments to educational and corporate campuses, government facilities and more," said Kevin Kern, senior vice president, Marketing, at Konica Minolta Business Solutions. "We are excited to add the EFI M500 station to our product portfolio as it provides KMBS and its dealer partners a new solution to continue meeting evolving customer needs."

"Mobile users are increasingly demanding print capabilities from their devices and cloud accounts, and the M500 station provides an easy-to-use, self-serve electronic payment system for copy and print services," said Micah Kornberg, vice president, self-serve products, for EFI. "The EFI solution frees users from needing cash on hand and merchants from the complexity and cost of managing cash-based systems."

Ease-of-use to meet rapidly growing printing needs

Barry University, a private Catholic institution located in Miami Shores, Fla., began evaluating the M500 as it was going through a 400% increase in the number of wireless devices connected to its network. IT leaders at the university realized that their printing capabilities had to adapt. "The former printing system wasn't enough -- students were telling us they wanted to be able to print directly from their device," according to Darrell Duvall, Barry University's director of Client Services for Information Technology.

M500 stations installed on Konica Minolta bizhub MFDs and printers on the university's campuses provide students with the easiest ways for them to access their files at a time of rapidly growing demand for mobile print. Barry University also found that copy and print stations "have been much simpler to use from a management perspective," says Duvall. "And the increased self-service capabilities of the M500 have made technical support much easier."

EFI AdminCentral, a cloud-based management system for the copy and print station, makes configuring and managing self-serve printing convenient and easy. Administrators can securely change pricing or add new products and devices at multiple locations with just a few clicks, saving significant administrative time. EFI AdminCentral is one of the first applications to be validated using the Payment Card Industry's latest Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS) version 3.0.

KMBS and authorized KMBS resellers will begin selling EFI 500 Copy and Print Stations in April. For more information on the EFI M500 Self-Serve Copy and Print Station, or the EFI Self-Serve AdminCentral cloud-based management system, visit efi.com/m500 or follow us on Twitter at @Mobile_Print.

About Konica Minolta

Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is one of the world's leaders in information management focused on enterprise content, technology optimization and cloud services. Our portfolio of offerings deliver solutions to improve our customers' speed to market, manage technology costs, and facilitate the sharing of information to increase productivity. The All Covered IT Services division offers a range of IT strategy, support, project and cloud computing solutions across all verticals. Konica Minolta has won numerous awards and recognition, including placement in the Leaders Quadrant on the Gartner 2014 Magic Quadrant for Managed Print Services (MPS) and Managed Content Services (MCS). Konica Minolta has been recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for eight consecutive years. Konica Minolta, Inc. has also been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for three years in a row. For more information, please visit: www.kmbs.konicaminolta.com and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter @konicaminoltaus.