With bizhub's Auto-Refining Developing System, carrier in the black developing unit is premixed in the toner cartridge and supplied as toner is consumed. Deteriorated carrier is expelled with the toner, reducing overall deterioration in the developing unit. This process helps to maintain stable black & white image quality over the long term. This feature is particularly relevant in offices that have high-volume black & white output.

The small size and consistent shape of Simitri HD toner particles ensure sharp reproduction of text as well as line drawings. Its smooth outer surface provides excellent hold and promises high image quality across a diverse media mix. Furthermore, bizhub uses low-temperature fixing to affix the Simitri HD toner. Using less heat saves energy and effectively reduces paper stress.

Induction Heating (IH) Fixing technology only heats the roller's surface, rather than the entire roller. This reduces power consumption during the fixing process and results in shorter warm-up times. In addition, this feature automatically cuts off residual fixing heat when no print jobs are taking place, further contributing to energy savings.

With the new compact print head, the four print heads employed on previous models have been reduced to a single unit. It also uses a high precision plastic lens to reduce the engine size. These features are aimed to consume less energy, as well as help reduce the size of the MFP and improve ease of maintenance.

A new paper dust cleaning mechanism for the ADF (Automatic Document Feeder) employs a cleaning brush with a large contact surface to ensure better removal of paper dust, which can cause striped noise. This improvement provides reliable scanning quality that is not dependent on paper type.

The FS-527 is a standalone floor-type finisher, which offers outstanding functionality and performance with a wide variety of finishing functions that support a broad range of tasks including presentation-quality business documents. It achieves 100 percent productivity during stapling with an innovative mechanism that holds onto the next original while the current one is being stapled.

Konica Minolta's latest bizhub MFPs ensure quiet operation during use and standby. As a key factor in MFP noise comes from the cooling fans, improvements to the internal airflow reduce the number of fans required providing efficient cooling with less wind noise. Not only is it quieter in terms of dB level ratings, but steps have also been taken to eliminate undesirable and unpleasant noises.

Other noise reduction measures include:

• Enhanced sound insulation through a larger right door for reduced paper noise.
• Quieter motors for the colour imaging unit and main drive, as well as a belt drive for the paper discharge drive unit for reduced drive noise.