Minolta Introduces DiALTA Di470 MFP
Minolta has announced the DiALTA Di470 printer/copier. Directed at mid- to high-volume workgroups and professional users in the distributed office, this new multifunction product (MFP) offers printing, copying, faxing and scanning capabilities.
Key capabilities/features include: 47 pages-per-minute (ppm) input and output; five paper sources and a maximum paper capacity of 7,250 sheets; optional print/scan controller for desktop control for printing and scanning, document finishing and advanced job handling (will be added in July 2003); optional Fiery Pi5500 print/scan controller offers Adobe PostScript Level 3, Fiery Docbuilder and Fiery Freeform; and scan-to-e-mail, scan-to-file transfer protocol (FTP) or scan-to-hard disk drive (HDD). The DiALTA Di470 has a suggested retail price of $11,250 (base unit). The Pi4700e and Fiery Pi5500 printer controllers have suggested retail prices of $2,495 and $4,995, respectively.
The new DiALTA Di470 printer/copier from Minolta is right in the middle of the revenue-generating Segment 4. By replacing the Di450, the Di470, based on the same chassis, is really positioned to compete in busy workgroups and light print-for-pay.
Rated at 160,000 impressions per month and at an approximate street price of $10,000, this product will quickly become the favorite trade-up product for Minolta dealers. Also, there is likely to be a broad competitive landscape with products such as the Canon imageRUNNER 5000, the Kyocera Mita 4530, the Ricoh Aficio 1045, the Konica 7145 and the Xerox DC545.
To differentiate itself, Minolta needs to wrap a more aggressive CPC program around the box - somewhere in the neighborhood of one cent or less for contracts in the distributed office, up to 50,000 impressions per month. Also, to really compete aggressively, Minolta must do more than turn over its own base of analog and older digital copiers. Dealers will need the flexibility of extending the service and support options beyond current levels. Gartner Dataquest anticipates that Minolta dealers will do just that with this and future MFPs in the distributed office.
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