Inkjet & Digital Printing
Productivity of New Xerox Digital Color Press Gives Mid-Production Market a Turbo Boost
Thursday 29. May 2008 - Print providers looking for exceptional color image quality and the capability to run on an extensive range of media without sacrificing productivity have a new option in Xerox Corporation's (NYSE: XRX) DocuColor 5000AP Digital Press.
The system is the latest addition to Xerox’s award-winning DocuColor line. It runs at 50 pages per minute regardless of paper weight and can automatically duplex heavyweight stocks (up to 300 gsm), making it one of the most productive in its price range. Competitive systems often offer a maximum speed that drops significantly when running heavy or coated paper, reducing productivity.
Based on the Xerox DocuColor 5000 Digital Press, the new system delivers exceptional image quality on an extensive range of media such as coated, uncoated and heavyweight papers, transparencies and specialty media. As a result, the press drives the high-value and more complex applications that clients request, including brochures, books, magazines, photo specialty products, promotional fliers and personalized direct mail. With this new system, print providers can enter the lucrative digital color print market or expand their capabilities and capacity.
“This press builds on our heritage of maximizing productivity for print providers,” said Quincy Allen, president, Xerox Production Systems Group. “Speed is just one part of the equation – when a print provider selects a digital system they need to gauge the applications they are running and evaluate which press is the most productive option. The range of our digital portfolio allows them to make the right technology choice, right now.”
Visitors to the Xerox stand in Hall 8b at drupa, held from May 29 through June 11 in Düsseldorf, Germany, can see firsthand the image quality of the DocuColor 5000AP with samples of a brochure, poster and personalized postcard from a recent direct-mail campaign by retailer Market Square Polish Pottery. The company was looking for a cost-effective way to create direct mail with high image quality that would showcase its products’ beauty, and ultimately generate store traffic.
The DocuColor 5000AP is equipped with an “all weights” mode that sets the press to run at 50 ppm, regardless of paper stock, weight or type – from 16 lb. bond/45 lb. text to 110 lb. cover (60 gsm to 300 gsm). It features 2400 x 2400 x 1 dpi print resolution for sharpness and color uniformity and tight front-to-back registration of +/- 1.0mm.
The system also includes a standard two tray feeder with a paper capacity of 4,000 sheets to allow long jobs to run without interruption. A Secondary Feeder Module is available that holds up to 2,000 sheets per drawer – extending the paper capacity to 8,000 sheets and increasing the system’s flexibility for running mixed-stock jobs with up to four different media types. Additional in-line finishing capabilities – including booklet makers and stacking devices – enable a range of professionally finished applications, which in many cases can be produced without human intervention.
Offered with the choice of a Xerox FreeFlow Printer Server or options from Creo or EFI, the DocuColor 5000AP integrates seamlessly into a print provider’s existing workflow across a variety of environments. The Xerox FreeFlow Digital Workflow Collection, together with the DocuColor 5000AP, deliver 24/7 printer accessibility, cost reduction and support for new applications and revenue streams such as profitable short-run and high-value variable-information printing.
Customers who purchase the DocuColor 5000AP also have access to Xerox’s Profit Accelerator Business Development Portfolio, a collection of more than 75 tools and resources that help print providers promote and expand their digital printing businesses.
Pricing and availability
Worldwide order taking for the DocuColor 5000AP will begin in July 2008. The U.S. list price for the press is $144,000 including a choice of color servers. A productivity kit for DocuColor 5000 digital presses purchased between June 2006 and July 1, 2008 will be available at the beginning of the third quarter at a U.S. list price of $7,500. The kit enables the digital press to run all stocks at rated speed and automatically duplex heavyweight stocks (up to 300 gsm). It also allows current customers to get increased productivity and produce greater volumes of high-value applications.