TATSUNO, JAPAN—  An explosion at a Japanese Konica Minolta (KM) toner plant last month has resulted in an impending  shortage of toner supply. The incident took place at Konica Minolta plant in  Tatsuno Japan in August. There were no injuries, but production equipment  was damaged, As of mid September the operation is still stopped while KM, is evaluating the causes of the explosion in collaboration with local fire department. Konica Minolta has warned that graphic arts toner production will not resume until November as it attempts to source alternative supply to keep customers presses running. Regarding toners for on-demand digital printing systems, Konica Minolta is trying to recover at an early stage, including adoption of alternative toners. As for some colour toners, KM says they have  no choice but to halt new orders. The KM statement appeared to hint that a third-party toner option could be under consideration. How this toner shortage will effect Canadian customers is not clear.