Acoustic Test Laboratory Gains Qualification to Apply for Germany's
"Blue Angel Mark" Eco-Label

Tokyo (November 7, 2008) -- Having established a new acoustic test laboratory at its Mizuho Site, Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc. has now obtained ISO/IEC 17025*1 accreditation for the facility from the US-based organisation NIST*2. This means that the facility has been qualified as a test laboratory competent to carry out the acoustic measurements required when applying for the German environmental protection label known as the Blue Angel Mark.

The newly-established acoustic test laboratory is equipped with the world-class acoustic features. To carry out a variety of measurements for multi-functional peripherals (MFPs) and printers, Konica Minolta introduced a state-of-the-art system – the first of its kind in the world – whereby a maximum of 19 microphones can be held in position simultaneously in a multi-microphone traverse, and the angle of the microphones at the end can be adjusted. By introducing a traverse which can be switched with high precision according to the target, the reproducibility of the microphone positioning has been improved dramatically, enabling more accurate measurement.

To measure acoustic data for Blue Angel Mark applications for MFPs and printers developed in-house, Konica Minolta formerly used the services of an accredited test laboratory in Germany. From now on, the data-measurements can be carried out impartially and swiftly in-house, which means that the time taken to acquire Blue Angel Mark certificates will be considerably shortened. Through establishing this kind of system, Konica Minolta will further accelerate and pursue environmental consideration.

Introduced in Germany in 1978, the Blue Angel Mark was the world's first eco-label system, created to address environmental problems and to promote the development and sale of environmentally-sound products. Ever since Konica Minolta earned the world's first Blue Angel Mark certificate in the copier industry in January 1992, we have proactively cleared the new requirements for each revision, and continued to obtain certificates. In November 2006, our facilities in other sites had also been qualified to perform testing for the determination of chemical substance emissions required for the Blue Angel Mark application.

Konica Minolta aims to contribute to the creation of a sustainable society, and we see environmental management as one of our top priorities in corporate management. As a manufacturer, we take rigorous data measurements from the product-development stage onwards, and, based on this data, we diligently seek to reduce the burden we impose on the environment. This is part of our ongoing commitment to enabling our company to provide products, services and solutions worthy of our customers' trust.

*1

ISO/IEC 17025:General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories

*2

NIST:National Institute of Standards and Technology