FUJIFILM Business Innovation has proudly held the No. 1 market share^* across Asia Pacific region, earning trust through advanced printing technologies that continuously meet evolving customer needs. This excellence results from decades of accumulated experience by dedicated developers.
In this interview, we reveal the unyielding passion and technical mastery of the marking unit development team responsible for image formation during printing.

• * IDC data Source: IDC WW HCP Tracker, 2025Q3, Share by Company A3 Color Laser Shipping units, Year: CY2024
•   Target market: Whole AP

Mitamura: My focus has been on ensuring image quality through transfer technology. ‘Transfer’ is the process of moving developed toner images from the photoconductor drum onto paper via the transfer belt. This step directly impacts image resolution and sharpness. If transfer is inadequate, toner does not fully transfer to paper, resulting in faint or broken images. Additionally, ‘transfer belt cleaning’ after this step is critical. Removing leftover toner prevents contamination in subsequent prints, ensuring output matches the original. Thus, successful transfer technology depends on both accurate toner transfer and effective toner removal from the belt. To perfect this, we conduct thorough lab tests under various conditions to ensure the best performance across different environments.

Miyata: I have worked with Mr. Mitamura on transfer technology, and also specialize in the fusing process, which follows transfer. Fusing uses heat and pressure from the fuser to melt toner and permanently bond it to paper. We must pursue how to best fix toner onto paper to ensure printed materials are durable. This step is crucial in determining the final print quality.

Mitamura: One of the most important aspects of technology development and improvement is 'truly understanding how customers actually use MFPs in the field'. Sometimes their usage environments exceed our expectations. Most people imagine MFPs being used indoors in offices. However, I found the customer using an A3 MFP inside a temporary construction site office when I responded to a request to improve image quality. It was summer, and the paper absorbed moisture due to high humidity. Seeing this environment firsthand was eye-opening and made me realize the necessity of thoroughly adapting our products to varying temperature and humidity conditions. This direct customer engagement led to meaningful improvements beyond what we had assumed within the development team.

Miyata: In addition to customer visits, I also visit production sites and communicate closely with manufacturing teams. We share challenges and improvement ideas related to parts and discuss how to maintain stability in the marketplace. Currently, we’re focusing on recycling parts used in the IH fuser. By reviewing collected parts together, we explore efficient methods to recycle with consistent quality. The unique insights and experiences of production members are invaluable in driving effective recycling solutions.

Mitamura: What sets us apart in development is our commitment to deeply engage with real-world challenges. We pride ourselves on developers personally visiting sites and listening to customers and related departments — a level of responsiveness that surpasses our competitors. This approach enables us to design better technology that is not only more durable but also reliably delivers the output quality customers expect throughout the parts’ lifecycle.