New Mediacontinues to rake in the awards with a category clean-up at the Pearl Awards, which were held in New York last Friday. In the Best Print Experience (B2C) category, New Media won both the gold and silver awards with their publications for Sanlam and Woolworths. 

Taking gold, the Sanlam Centenary magazine was one of a series of publications produced for Sanlam to celebrate its 100th birthday in 2018. Woolworths TASTE magazine took the silver for the March 2018 edition of the incredibly successful monthly title. Elizka Ferreira, head of foods marketing for Woolworths says, “We are immensely proud of the experience that New Media creates for our customers in TASTE, and to have that recognised on the international stage is phenomenal.” 

Although primarily a digital content and strategy agency, New Media is thrilled to receive these awards for two printed products. The results reaffirm its belief in print as a powerful solution in the right circumstances. Both products illustrate how careful planning, a relentless focus on excellence and the very best talent can come together to create wonderful reader experiences in what is fast becoming the premium channel of print.  New Media’s group creative director Crispian Brown adds: “Although very different in subject matter, audience and purpose, Centennial and TASTE share a basic DNA for creating great content: a good brief, a client who trusts and collaborates with you, a clear strategy and the best creatives focussing on their craft. A good print execution should pique interest irrespective of where people choose to start reading, and surprise and delight the more they explore.” 

Run by the Content Council in the USA, the Pearl Awards receive hundreds of entries and recognise the very best in content excellence around the world. The awards ceremony was hosted in New York at Hearst Tower on Friday and agencies from the USA, UK, Sweden, Canada, Australia and South Africa were recognised for their world-class work. 

Aileen Lamb, MD of New Media says, “Both Sanlam and Woolworths are long-standing clients of New Media and, in both cases, the relationship of trust allows New Media to push the boundaries of creativity, put the customer first, and invest in quality talent and resources. I want to congratulate our clients and thank them and our teams for their relentless pursuit of excellence and their willingness to always make it one step better. The excellence that has been rewarded in these two products is backed up by a body of varied and excellent of work for both Sanlam and Woolworths of which we are very proud.”

Heidi Steyn, account manager at Konica Minolta South Africa’s Johannesburg branch, has been named top sales performer across the entire African region. Steyn accepted her prestigious award in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City.   03

October 2014 – Heidi Steyn, account manager at Konica Minolta South Africa’s Johannesburg branch, has been named the top sales performer across the entire African region in Konica Minolta Business Technologies Japan’s annual Colour Champions League incentive.

Steyn received her award at the recent Konica Minolta Colour Conference 2014, themed “The Year of Evolution” in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon. The global incentive places sales executives in opposition in a competition that is based on the number and type of Konica Minolta colour bizhub devices that are sold. Executives come from all over the world, including Africa, Asia and Oceania.

Through her tireless promotion of the brand, Heidi clinched the title, assisted through her involvement in a sizeable project at a local development finance organisation.

Andrew Griffith, Konica Minolta South Africa’s product manager for office products, says: “We are so pleased to have Heidi’s efforts in South Africa recognised at an international level. Her dedication to the bizhub brand is clear, something that we endeavour to foster within all members of the Konica Minolta South Africa team.”

ABOUT KONICA MINOLTA SOUTH AFRICA:

Konica Minolta South Africa is a leader in advanced document management technologies. Wholly owned by the Bidvest Group, the company focuses on complete business solutions, including production print systems, digital presses, multifunctional products (MFPs), managed print services, vertical application solutions and related services and supplies. Konica Minolta is one of the only manufacturers in the digital imaging industry, over the past 20 years, to have been awarded the Buyers Laboratory LLC (BLI) “A3 MFP line of the year” award for three consecutive years.

For more information, questions or queries, please contact Ritchi Smith | 0800 bizhub | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Debbie Sielemann |+27 (0) 82 414 4633 |This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |www.icomm-pr.co.za. 

Buyers Laboratory Inc. recognises Konica Minolta’s bizhub PRESS 1250 production printer as the best in the industry.

Johannesburg, South Africa – The Konica Minolta bizhub PRESS 1250 production printer has picked up yet another award, this time at the Buyers Laboratory LLC’s (BLI) 2014 PRO Awards. It scooped the prize for Outstanding Monochrome Light- to Mid-Volume Production Device.

In the highly competitive and complex world of production print, choosing the most suitable printing device is a tough task for buyers. BLI is the world’s leading independent provider of analytical information and services to the document imaging industry, with unmatched expertise in evaluating devices gained over the past 50 years. The PRO awards go to the best performers in BLI’s production test suite, which sheds light on how these production printing devices perform in the real world.

BLI’s field evaluations entail three full days of intensive testing during which tens of thousands of impressions are printed—from 30,000 to more than 150,000 depending on the model. Printing devices are tested for productivity with coated and uncoated media in a wide range of weights and sizes and using various finishing options to simulate a wide variety of real-world job scenarios. BLI technicians also evaluate image quality, including production of halftones, text and fine lines, plus density levels, variations in density and drift over the course of a 1,000-page print run. In addition, BLI assesses media-handling capabilities in terms of the paper sizes, weights and capacities supported; media catalogue integration and inline finishing options available. The test also includes an assessment of ease of use for setting up, submitting and managing jobs; loading paper and toner; switching out operator-replaceable components; and removing misfeeds.

Having generated tens of millions of impressions on production printing devices from the leading vendors over several years—both in the lab and in the field—BLI’s production tests reveal what separates the best from the rest. It is the best - the top performer in each category - that BLI recognises with its annual PRO Awards.

“The bizhub PRESS 1250 is a true production workhorse and its outstanding media handling, plus the wealth of feedback it provides, ensure jobs will not only get done quickly, but with minimal interruptions,” said David Sweetnam, BLI’s head of European Research and Lab Services.

Highly productive, the bizhub PRESS 1250 printer is the only model in its class to have earned BLI’s 5-star rating for productivity, with throughput speeds that were among the fastest tested to date on heavy-grade stocks and better than those of competitors with A3 and SRA3 media. “Mixed-media workflows were handled well, and virtually no drop-off in rated speed was experienced when running sub-set stapling and perfect bindery jobs. Plus, a new tandem print ability gives productivity a further boost by allowing a job to be split across two devices,” said Sweetnam.

BLI noted that the series is highly customisable from base to full configuration, meaning it can be tailored to the specific needs of an environment. The compact footprint of the base configuration makes it a good fit in in-plant and CRD environments, while extensive finishing and stacking options, including perfect binding, ring binding and 50-sheet saddle-stitch capability, serve the device well in print-for-pay or commercial print shops. Up to three high-capacity stackers can be added, for an above average stacking capacity of 15,000 sheets. Duplexing is supported for media weights up to 300 gsm, exceeding the capability of several competitors, and all drawers support paper weights up to 300 gsm, whereas some competitors limit support for 300 gsm to only certain drawers or do not support it at all. Several trays include air assist technology to prevent misfeeds and any tray not actively feeding the paper path can be opened and refilled during device operation.

BLI also praised the bizhub PRESS 1250 production printer’s control panel, citing that it is easy to master. Unlike with some competitors, the custom media catalogue is fully integrated with the print driver, which provides a high level of functionality and job programming capabilities. The control panel also provides detailed information on device status, consumables and paper levels, RIP resources and the job queue. While the Scheduler feature uses colour coding to indicate to operators when certain paper types need to be replenished. 

“Today’s printer market is a neck-and-neck race, so winning yet another international award for this series is a major accomplishment. We are delighted that our ongoing efforts to add substantial value to our customers’ businesses continue to be recognised,” says Leon Minnie, product manager of production systems at Konica Minolta South Africa. “After having won the BLI PRO Award last year for our bizhub PRESS C7000, the award for our monochrome flagship bizhub PRESS 1250 is a great achievement for us and proves Konica Minolta’s leading position in the production printing industry as well as the outstanding quality of our systems.” 

ABOUT KONICA MINOLTA SOUTH AFRICA:

Konica Minolta South Africa (KMSA) provides a comprehensive range of business solutions to businesses of all sizes, countrywide. The organisation is wholly owned by the Bidvest Group and believes in product excellence and exceptional service. KMSA is also the principal importer and distributor of the award winning bizhub collection of multifunctional printers, copiers, fax machines and other digital devices. Headquartered in Johannesburg, KMSA has an impressive distribution network that includes 17 branches and 49 dealerships in Southern Africa.         

Konica Minolta SA: Ritchi Smith, 0800 bizhub, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
icomm: Debbie Sielemann, +27 (0) 82 414 4633, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., www.icomm-pr.co.za                          

{pp}Television and the Internet are two of the most dominant advertising mediums.

To advertise on television has become increasingly expensive. For many PR and brand management agencies including video productions in this year's budget is now out-of-scope and many companies have had to cut-back on their advertising budgets due to the current global recession.