Bytes Document Solutions unveiled the new Xerox Iridesse Production Press at Birchwood Conference Centre on 14 August. Senior Xerox executives discussed Iridesse’s unmatched capabilities, workflow automation for integrating metallics and varnishes as well as run-time quality control technology, which are key differentiators for Xerox and can give print providers in Sub-Saharan Africa a competitive advantage.
The Xerox Iridesse Production Press is the only digital press that can print metallic gold or silver dry ink, CMYK and clear dry ink in a single pass, giving print providers an immediate competitive edge in the growing digital print enhancement market.
James Kelly, Divisional Director Production Systems Group, said, 'Xerox has launched an innovative product that can create new applications and opportunities and help clients win new business.'
The Xerox Iridesse press creates these opportunities by taking digital enhancements to the next level. Digital printing enhancements, such as coatings, metallics, white inks, spot colours and gamut extenders, are some of print's best opportunities today. Print volumes are projected to grow at a 27% annual compound growth rate through 2020 while delivering margins range as high as 50 to 400 percent.
The press features Colour FLX technology, the six-toner-station configuration that brings incredible flexibility to the process of creating jaw-dropping effects and a rainbow of iridescent colours, which is the source of and inspiration for Iridesse's name. Three Specialty Dry Inks are available: HD EA Silver and Gold Metallic Dry Ink, and HD EA Clear Dry Ink, delivered from either of two toner stations, one laying down ink before CMYK, the other after.
Chris Lynch, Head of Production Technology business for the Middle East and Africa
region of Xerox’s Developing Markets Operations, said that print providers need to go beyond CMYK and embrace CMYK+ to differentiate their offerings. 'Print providers need to do more than just four colour printing to stay competitive. Xerox's new technology commands attention and makes brands stand out, allowing you to differentiate yourself by adding significant value to existing jobs that no one else can. Printers can also command more profit on enhanced prints.'
Lynch outlined the findings of a Color Reignited survey, which shows that print buyers are willing to pay a premium for specialty effects, and that 54.3% of respondents are considering purchasing a digital printing device with enhancement capabilities this year. Keypoint Intelligence-InfoTrends also shows that digital print enhancement volume is expected to reach 25 billion pages by 2020.
The appeal of specialty enhancements is the intriguing design options they present for delivering a stunning 'wow' factor to almost any application, attracting attention, amplifying content and captivating recipients, to boost a brand's image. Print buyers cite brochures, business cards, direct mail, greeting cards, point-of-purchase signage and book covers as their top applications for in-line digital enhancements.
To achieve the intended 'wow' effect, digital enhancements need high-quality imaging. Iridesse delivers with the market-leading Ultra High Definition (HD) Resolution. Ultra HD Resolution is alone in the marketplace in combining 2400 x 2400dpi imaging resolution with up to 1200 x 1200 x 10-bit rendering resolution to deliver four times more addressable shades than competitive presses.
Iridesse goes a step further with a new low-gloss, small-particle (five microns) HD EA toner formulation for each CMYK colour. This new toner technology enables even transfer of up to six layers of toners while delivering greater image quality for vector graphics, finer lines and text, and smoother gradients without visible stepping. It achieves this high quality using less toner and no fuser oil, delivering prints that can be written on or coated post printing. The new formulation also improves the sparkle of metallic prints, with flat metallic flakes embedded into the toner particles, boosting the dry ink's Flop index, a measure of metallic reflectance.
During printing, colour quality is maintained by closed-loop process controls that continuously monitor colour patches. Any needed quality adjustments are made immediately and automatically.
The press's industry-leading production automation expands users' capabilities and simplifies production with industry-leading automation that takes costly human touch out of production processes. Key calibration, profiling and alignment tasks are all automated via the system's full-width array with automated colour quality suite, which uses an in-line scanner with RGB sensors to ensure quick, accurate colour reproduction. To further boost productivity, some of these automatic adjustments can be batched together and scheduled with a single click at the start of a shift or before essential jobs using the new EZ Press Check function.
Xerox FreeFlow Core's pre-built workflows enable print providers to automatically and selectively transform text and graphics for printing gold and silver without editing the source documents. This simplifies enhancing existing applications with high-value embellishments. Printing at speeds up to 120 pages per minute, the press can run stocks from 52gsm to 400gsm.
Additional press features include:
– The High Definition Emulsion Aggregate (HD EA) Toner process results in the optimal particle size to deliver lower gloss, smooth tints and fine detail more consistently.
– The Xerox EX-P 6 Print Server by Fiery enables customers to create customised workflows for metallic applications with advanced RIP capabilities and colour management tools.
– Two Dual Advanced High Capacity Feeders, Bypass and Inserter options let customers run up to eight different stocks in a single job, or do production runs with a total of 12,500 sheets.
– A variety of finishing options are available, including the new Xerox Crease and Two-Sided Trimmer, which creates a durable crease fold and gives booklets a premium quality edge when used with the Xerox Production Ready Booklet Maker Finisher and Xerox SquareFold Trimmer Modules.
