Xerox’ speedy digital press
Xerox’ speedy digital press
June 2, 2008: Xerox has unveiled its fastest, full-colour, cut-sheet digital press at drupa, the giant printing show being held in Dusseldorf, Germany.
The ConceptColor 220 can print up to 220 pages per minute is being shown along with five new product announcements for the enterprise and service bureau print markets.
By integrating two iGen3 engines in-line, it prints 220 ppm and features front and back full-colour matching and can approach a monthly print volume of up to seven million color pages. The ConceptColor 220 builds on the tandem architecture technology of the Xerox Nuvera 288 Digital Perfecting System, a twin-engined monochrome press that also uses pass-through programming - a technology that keeps one engine running at full speed, even if the other one stops.
Xerox also showed the iGen4 Press, a new cut-sheet digital press that increases productivity by 25 to 35 percent by automating operator tasks, reducing the need to interrupt the press for adjustments and decreasing overall operating costs.
Operating at 110 pages per minute, the iGen4 creates offset and photo-quality images with consistent colour. It is designed for producing high-end collateral, direct marketing and photo specialty products - the type of print jobs that typically generate the most profits for print providers.
Xerox also recently launched the Automated Color Quality Suite Press Matching System, for new and existing users of the Xerox iGen3 90 and 110 Digital Production Presses. These enhancements enable faster press set up, quicker time to production, greater colour stability and automated Pantone colour matching.
The company also introduced an integrated in-line digital packaging solution for the pharmaceutical industry that can produce customised, variable data on each package cost effectively, without having to stop production and manage offline equipment. Jointly developed with Stora Enso, the solution is powered by the Xerox iGen3 110 Digital Production Press and consists of an Epic CTi-635 varnishing unit with both aqueous and UV-coating options from Xerox, a KAMA die cutter with 580 x 400mm sheet size and a stacker-conveyer unit from Stora Enso.
Xerox is also using drupa to showcase next-generation ink in the form of "cured gel" ink, which offers more ways to print on many substrates - from coated paper to plastic to aluminum.
Advances in the integration of Xerox FreeFlow software with two leading offset workflow systems - Prinect from Heidelberg and FUJIFILM Workflow XMF - help print providers to leverage existing offset workflows for a single point of control for both digital and computer-to-plate offset print work. In addition, FreeFlow Express to Print brings powerful workflow automation to light production environments at an affordable price. Xerox will also adopt the Adobe PDF Print Engine in Xerox's Xerox FreeFlow Print Server.