Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ's:

Q: Why should I send my unit for maintenance service?

A: Konica Minolta preventive maintenance service assures that the instrument is maintained in perfect condition and within tolerances set by the manufacturer. The preventive maintenance service includes cleaning; necessary adjustments as well as certification of the instruments in form of a printed document including all conditions and measurement results.

Q: How often should my instrument be sent for maintenance service?

A: Konica Minolta recommends a yearly calibration and maintenance interval, which is found to be a good compromise for most applications.

Q: Who can provide service on my instrument?

A: Only authorised Konica Minolta service stations can provide maintenance service of Konica Minolta instruments.

Q: Where do I have to send the instrument for servicing?

A: Please refer to the list of authorised service stations or the Konica Minolta Sensing distributor in your country or area.

Q: What do I have to send in for servicing?

A: Please send all important accessories such as white calibration plate, AC adapter and data cable. These accessories will enable our service facilities to check the instruments in the same way you use them. The white calibration plate is an especially important part of a complete measurement system.
For some instrument models, the calibration data and unit driver are delivered on floppy disk or CD. These data disks are necessary for servicing the instrument, so don’t forget to send them.

Q: How to pack my instrument for sending to service station?

A: Whenever possible, use the original packaging of the instrument. If that is not available, please make sure that enough space around the instrument is filled with Styrofoam or other filling materials to prevent damage during transport

Q: Does Konica Minolta calibrate or repair instruments of other brands?

A: No, Konica Minolta service facilities exclusively provide maintenance service and calibrations for Konica Minolta instruments.

Q: What is the lifetime of a white calibration plate?

A: It is rather difficult to specify such lifetime as it strongly depends on the environmental conditions. A calibration plate which is used in a laboratory under stable environmental conditions of course has a longer lifetime than the same plate used in production facility. Respectively, Konica Minolta recommends an annual calibration interval for the white plate and the instrument.

Q: How can I clean my white calibration plate?

A: Cleaning the white calibration plates is possible with dry cleaning papers (take care not to scratch the surface) or with clear water. Never use any lens cleaning liquids or cloths as these can contain optical brighteners which can be applied on the plate and will result in wrong measurement values.

Q: What is the life time of the Xenon lamp?

A: Typically, 500.000 flashes, but this differs with the model. In addition the environmental conditions have some influence on the lifetime. During maintenance services Konica Minolta will by default check the condition of the xenon lamp and replace it when necessary.

Q: My software does not communicate with the instrument

A: Please check that both hardware and software have the same communication settings (for example same baud rate) Please check if the correct data cable is used. There are different cables on the market; some of them have different wiring whilst others have different screws for fixing the connector. In addition, low cost cables are more sensitive to noise, especially when using cable lengths of more than 2 meters. Konica Minolta strongly recommends using only original cables supplied by Konica Minolta.
Some software requires "English" style regional setting for decimal and list separator. Try to use "." as decimal symbol, "," as digit grouping symbol and "," as list separator. Not only must the number format be changed, but also the currency format. Therefore please also try to change the currency settings in case of software communication problem.