Why the time was right for Kyocera to move into production print

Our industry is evolving rapidly, as the world goes digital and people feel less inclined to use printers in their personal and professional lives. Innovations in modern technology have made it possible to get things done without the need for paper, ranging from signing contracts to boarding planes. The global printing market is therefore in decline, and the industry can no longer rely on office and home devices for growth. In a market that’s crowded with mature technology, there is little room left for innovation.

However, at Kyocera we’re not afraid of a challenge, and we have identified fresh opportunities in this changing landscape. Our organisation is currently immersed in a transformation of its own, as we shift our focus to include a comprehensive, total document solutions and consultative approach that embraces the best of hardware, software, and services. This updated roadmap will equip the company for continued success in coming decades. Our new worldview is reflected in our novel brand identity, offering our organisation a greater feeling of unity across the globe to strengthen our brand and give the entire company a common voice.


Identifying room for growth

With this business approach, the hardware industry remains a prominent interest for Kyocera. Inkjet technology is revolutionising the production print market, with Smithers Pira forecasting that it will drive growth for digital print through 2023 and beyond. The dramatic rise of inkjet can be put down to several key factors including its unique feature set and changing consumer trends.


Inkjet combines the benefits of digital technology, such as quick turnaround and variable data printing, with the high-volume capabilities of offset presses. This enables users to produce personalised content in large quantities while it’s still relevant, which is valuable for a range of industries looking to enhance the customer experience.


Keeping customers satisfied has always been a top priority for businesses, and today’s consumers are more demanding than ever. In the digital age, they will no longer settle for generic or outdated content. Thanks to inkjet, personalisation and relevance are now possible to achieve on paper in high volumes.


Investing our expertise

We have more than 60 years of experience and a proven track record in the print industry. Our MFPs and printers have received countless awards for their performance, reliability, and minimal environmental impact. This recognition makes us proud of what we do and drives us to improve further. As we look to the future, we intend to invest our global knowledge and experience gained over the past few decades into expanding our portfolio with new solutions. Inkjet is not entirely new to us, as we already have a wealth of experience producing inkjet printheads. Our components are frequently used by our competitors’ machines, which underscores the respect we enjoy in this specialised corner of the market.


Now the time has come for us to launch our own high-volume hardware. We have the components and expertise to produce our own inkjet printer that will shake up this segment of the market. The production print industry craves productivity and reliability, both of which are synonymous with the Kyocera brand, and this makes us confident that the TASKalfa Pro 15000c will not disappoint.



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Taking a closer look

In terms of productivity, the TASKalfa Pro 15000c is up there with the best. We worked hard to develop the fastest device we could, and we are more than happy with the results. With a warmup time of just 60 seconds, it’s among the quickest in the industry, allowing users to spend more time printing and less time waiting for their device to start up. Once warmed up, the first impression takes just 5.5 seconds to complete, and A4 jobs can be churned out at a speed of 150 pages per minute. Our debut device can hit production rates of 1,000,000 impressions a month with no increase in costs per page.


As for reliability, you can always count on Kyocera to produce dependable products. Inkjet devices generally have fewer moving parts than toner printers, and the TASKalfa Pro 15000c is carefully designed to keep maintenance to a minimum. As a result, the likelihood of malfunctioning or paper jams is significantly reduced. What’s more, if any component does break down, it's easy to repair. On certain devices, it can be difficult to perform repairs without removing and replacing a host of other components. However, on Kyocera printers you replace only the broken part, providing huge cost savings and downtime prevention within businesses.


Stepping into the future

We are pleased to announce that Kyocera will be present at the upcoming drupa 2020 trade fair in Düsseldorf, Germany. The largest printing equipment exhibition on the planet takes place once every four years, bringing together experts and consumers from across the industry. The previous edition welcomed 260,165 visitors from 183 countries, 75% of whom were decision makers in their company.


Drupa 2020 provides a way to reach out to our target group and discover new ones too, as visitors also come from other industries like banking, healthcare, and education. To understand the importance of the event in terms of potential business, 65% of the visitors in 2016 turned up with concrete investment intentions, and a massive 34% actually placed orders during drupa. The next edition will be held in June 2020, and anybody interested in learning more about Kyocera should head over to Hall 6 at the fair.


Staying true to our roots

The Kyocera philosophy, handed down to us from our founder Dr. Inamori, continues to define our actions. Throughout our history, we have always sought to do the right thing. As a technology company, this means innovating to create increasingly efficient and intelligent devices. We therefore strive to improve our product offering and technology on a daily basis, using every achievement and experience as a learning tool to grow and do better.


Our intention is clear. Kyocera is moving into the production print industry. We see an opportunity for improvement that we cannot ignore, and as experts in our field we have a responsibility to share our knowledge and expertise to create a better society. The TASKalfa Pro 15000c represents our contribution to the inkjet revolution that will change the face of production printing in years to come.​​​​​​​