Printing put to the test by the cloud and cyber threats
Gradually, the systems installed by CK are integrating more and more advanced security features, such as hard drive encryption or user authentication (by code or badge), to meet organisations' confidentiality requirements. Machines are no longer isolated peripherals: they are at the heart of a global digital ecosystem, laying the technical foundations that will enable, from the following decade onwards, the opening up to the cloud and mobility.
Quite far from the “paperless” utopia, the modern multifunction printer has established itself as an essential intelligent digitisation gateway to the Cloud. Devices are no longer mere peripherals, but genuine access points to the information system. Faced with cybersecurity requirements, these devices incorporate very high levels of protection in the event of a cyberattack. The range is taken to a higher level during 2024 with the advent of the bizhub One i-Series.
By 2050, printing will no longer be perceived as a simple function, but as an intelligent, integrated and invisible service within digital workflows.
Powered by artificial intelligence, printing systems will be able to anticipate needs, fully automate document processes and optimise usage in real time to reduce costs even further. In 2050, MFPs will become intelligent document assistants capable of understanding, analysing and managing information even before printing it.
At CK, we firmly believe in this, which is why we have already begun developing intelligent tools that will integrate with your devices and enable you to process your documents.
In the future, your multifunction printers will be natively connected to the cloud, collaborative tools and business platforms, they will be part of hybrid working environments where the boundary between paper and digital will continue to fade. MFPs will become more autonomous and will be designed according to much more advanced circular economy principles, these devices will continue to be strategic components of IT infrastructures, actively contributing to the performance, security and sustainability of organisations.
Less waste, more value: the promise of sustainable printing
This technological transition is accompanied by a strong environmental commitment. Echoing Konica Minolta's efforts in eco-design, CK is deploying its “Refresh” offering in Luxembourg to meet its customers' demand. This circular economy initiative offers high-end printing systems fully refurbished by CK technicians. Validated through strict inspections, these “like new” devices enable companies to drastically minimise their environmental footprint while optimising their costs.
More than ever, printing is part of a global approach, at the crossroads of hardware, software and managed services.
→ More than ever, printing is part of a global approach, at the crossroads of hardware, software and managed services.
A shared vision, towards a cleaner future
Charles Kieffer Group is pursuing its development through an ESR-labelled approach, structured around environmental, social and societal pillars, with concrete actions such as sorting and recycling, donating refurbished computers or collaborating with local sheltered workshops. This approach naturally aligns with the vision of Konica Minolta, a committed partner aiming by 2050 to achieve net-zero emissions and the integration of 90% of materials from the circular economy in the manufacture of its equipment, thus reinforcing a shared ambition in favour of a more sustainable and responsible model.
By celebrating half a century of historic partnership in 2026, CK and Konica Minolta crown fifty years of unique technological collaboration. This alliance has guided Luxembourg's economic fabric from the era of the first analogue mechanical copiers to the advent of the intelligent bizhub i-Series generation. Far from remaining fixed in this rich history, the two partners are resolutely looking to the future by co-developing the foundations of tomorrow's working environments. Through an ecosystem where the local circular economy of the Refresh offering, integrated cybersecurity, automation through artificial intelligence and the transition to the cloud come together, they are transforming document workflows into sustainable, responsible and secure performance drivers for the decades to come.