Xerox Announces Fastest Digital Color Printer; Perfect for Personalized Newspapers and Magazines

New Xerox System at $1.8 Million, Targets Kodak VersaMark's VX5000e and Xeikon's 6000


Xerox has finally delivered on a rumored piece of equipment that will change the dynamics of the digital color web printing marketplace. Until now, Kodak VersaMark's VX5000e and Xeikon's 6000 machines both held the two strongest positions in the arena.

Kodak's VX5000e costs about $4 million, which places it firmly out of reach of most printers and publishers and also delivers a substandard ink jet quality more suitable for newsprint publications. It really only looks good on high-quality bright white digital paper.

Unlike Kodak, Xeikon's 6000 machine delivers superb image quality - ad agency quality and magazine quality printing - even on coated number 3 grade paper stock commonly used on the highest quality magazines, but management shuffles and reorganizations have stymied US operations for the Punch Graphix brand. Xeikon 6000 engines range in the $775,000 area, significantly less in price than Kodak but much slower although the printing quality is unmatched.

With Xerox entering the game, which was rumored and expected for several years (and I also had inside knowledge they were working on this system), is a major improvement on the iGen 3 engines.

The most significant aspect of the announcement is the last six words of this sentence: "In addition, print providers can produce direct-mail pieces that contain personalized coupons, loyalty campaigns that incorporate membership cards, and newsletters and newspapers with customized content by region."

Xerox acquired XMPie in 2006. Together with the new Xerox 490/980 and XMPie's PersonalEffect software, publishers are fully equipped to deliver personalized newspapers and magazines from a single provider.

I'm excited. I can't wait to test run MyIWN on the new Xerox 490/980 and evaluate the quality.