KONICA MINOLTA Wins ''Pick of the Year'' Award; Buyers Laboratory Names the magicolor(R) 2480MF ''Outstanding Small Workgroup Color Multifunction Printer of the Year''.

MOBILE, Ala. -- KONICA MINOLTA PRINTING SOLUTIONS U.S.A., INC. announced today that its magicolor 2480MF color laser all-in-one has earned Buyers Laboratory's Spring 2006 "Pick of the Year" award for "Outstanding Small Workgroup Color Multifunction Printer." Last year, two other products in the magicolor 2400 Series also won "Pick of the Year" awards--the magicolor 2400W was named "Outstanding Personal Color Laser Printer," while the magicolor 2430 DL garnered the "Outstanding Small Workgroup Multi-Pass Color Laser Printer" award. KONICA MINOLTA has also previously received "Pick of the Year" awards for the magicolor 2350, magicolor 5450, magicolor 7300, PagePro 1250W, and PagePro 9100.

Buyers Laboratory (BLI) is the leading independent office products test lab and business consumer advocate. Its "Pick of the Year" awards recognize the most exceptional performers from among the many products it tests semi-annually in each product category. "Clearly, any product receiving a BLI 'Pick' award has earned it the hard way and truly proven its worthiness," stated Anthony Polifrone, managing director of BLI. "As a result, buyers can feel confident that they are investing their hard-earned dollars safely and wisely when basing their decisions on a BLI award."

Outstanding Small Workgroup Color Multifunction Printer

Providing print, copy, scan, PC Fax, and Camera Direct Photo Print functionality, the KONICA MINOLTA magicolor 2480MF "produces high-quality color output without a high price tag," stated Paul DePaolo, senior test engineer at Buyers Laboratory. "The device is also very user friendly as it features pre-installed supplies and auto-run installation software, so setup takes only a few minutes."

Buyers Laboratory was especially impressed with the magicolor 2480MF's "strong reliability, remarkable output quality and excellent ease of use in a compact design." According to the test report, "the magicolor 2480MF completed its 17,500-impression durability test without requiring any service or experiencing a single misfeed." BLI technicians commented on "the excellent consistency of the unit's color output, citing no noticeable change in color photographic images from the beginning to the end of the test period. Black output was also impressive with crisp, clearly formed characters and no toner stray visible."

Senior Printer Analyst Marlene Orr continued BLI's praise of the magicolor 2480MF, noting that "with a low acquisition cost and the lower cost per page of comparable models tested, the KONICA MINOLTA magicolor 2480MF is an excellent value." This color laser all-in-one "offers a combination of value, ease of use and output quality not seen in other models tested to date."

"It is an honor to receive Buyers Laboratory's Spring 2006 'Pick of the Year' award for the magicolor 2480MF," commented Stephen Fletcher, president and COO of KONICA MINOLTA PRINTING SOLUTIONS U.S.A., INC. "Although we have won several previous 'Pick of the Year' awards, we are especially proud of this one because the magicolor 2480MF is our first color laser all-in-one. This prestigious award confirms that we have successfully merged our legacy of innovative color laser and multifunction technology to bring another high-quality product to market. We are excited that our products continue to excel even when subjected to rigorous evaluation."

The magicolor 2480MF has a one-year exchange warranty and ships with a pre-installed set of supplies, including cyan, magenta, yellow, and black all-in-one imaging cartridges. It is available through KONICA MINOLTA's network of e-commerce partners, dealers, and authorized distributors. To find the location nearest you, call 800-523-2696 or visit www.buymagicolor.com.

KONICA MINOLTA PRINTING SOLUTIONS U.S.A., INC.

KONICA MINOLTA PRINTING SOLUTIONS U.S.A., INC., is an innovative developer, manufacturer, and supplier of document printing solutions. The product line includes color and monochrome laser printers and all-in-ones, and associated supplies and accessories for general office, electronic publishing, graphic design, advanced imaging, and home office applications. KONICA MINOLTA PRINTING SOLUTIONS U.S.A., INC. headquarters are in Mobile, Alabama USA, and its products are distributed through a broad network of e-commerce, retail, reseller, and distribution partners.

Buyers Laboratory Inc.

For 45 years, Buyers Laboratory has been the leading independent office-equipment testing lab and business consumer advocate. In addition to publishing the industry's most comprehensive and accurate test reports on office document imaging devices, each representing months of exhaustive hands-on testing in BLI's 10,000-square-foot lab, the company has been the leading source for extensive databases of specifications and pricing on copiers, printers, fax machines and multifunctional products. The company's databases cover more than 6,000 products and have a long-standing reputation for being the industry's most trustworthy and complete. They are available to BLI subscribers in the form of printed specification guides and online via the company's bliQ competitive information service. This encyclopedic resource also provides quick and easy access to BLI's First Look Reports, Field Test Reports, Lab Test Reports, Solutions Reports, Digital Imaging Review and Business Consumer's Advisor newsletters, and OEM library. In addition to the testing of office equipment for its subscribers, Buyers Laboratory provides a vast array of confidential for-hire private testing services that includes document imaging device beta and pre-launch testing, performance certification testing, consumables testing (such as paper, toner, ink, photoconductors and print controllers) and print media testing (including virgin and recycled papers). Buyers Laboratory's consulting division, the Buyers Alliance, provides comprehensive purchasing support services to business consumers in the process of acquiring office equipment, which includes the creation of customized RFPs, user needs assessments and analyses of vendor responses. For more information on Buyers Laboratory, call [phone], visit www.buyerslab.com, or email [e-mail].

Editors' Note:

If your publication prints direct reader contact information, please
use the following:

KONICA MINOLTA PRINTING SOLUTIONS U.S.A., INC.
One Magnum Pass
Mobile, AL 36618
[phone] or [phone]
Internet Address (http://printer.konicaminolta.com)

KONICA MINOLTA and the KONICA MINOLTA logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of KONICA MINOLTA HOLDINGS, INC. magicolor is a trademark or registered trademark of KONICA MINOLTA PRINTING SOLUTIONS U.S.A., INC. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.