Digital Printing Innovations

Xerox wowed visitors as soon as they stepped onto the show floor with its new Xerox Color 1000 press. Crowds milled around the new digital press throughout the show. With a smaller footprint than an iGen4, and standing about 6 feet in height, the color press seems targeted at space-strapped in-plants. The Xerox Color 1000 prints 100 pages per minute (there is also an 80-ppm version, the Color 800) at 2,400x2,400 dpi. A new clear dry ink station allows images and text to be highlighted for visual impact. It can print on a range of papers, up to 350 gsm.

Konica Minolta launched itself into the digital color press arena with its new bizhub PRESS C8000. Here, Steve Dimond, who oversees the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s in-plant, discusses the digital press with Konica’s Barbara Stainbrook. The 80-ppm printer, winner of the On Demand Best of Show award for color digital printing, uses Simitri HD+ color polymerized toner for 1,200x1,200-dpi resolutions. It boasts an image density control sensor for real-time color density adjustment.

The centerpiece of Océ’s booth was the new VarioPrint 6320 Ultra perfecting system, which prints 306 letter-size ppm. Océ ScreenPoint technology provides intelligent screening and tunable print quality. Targeted at digital book printing operations, it can produce 2,950 book blocks (6x9˝) in a three-shift operation. At On Demand, the 6320 was shown with the new Océ DFS30 tape binder, which can bind from 10 to 120 sheets.

Canon U.S.A. launched the monochrome imageRUNNER ADVANCE 8000 series at On Demand. Featuring color scanning at up to 200 images per minute, the three printers in the 8000 series offer 105-ppm, 95-ppm and 85-ppm speeds, and run off of 120-volt power. Other highlights: “pO” toner, a twin sleeve developer, auto calibration, and 1,200x1,200-dpi resolution.

Crowds gathered at the MGI Digital Graphic Technology booth to see its Meteor DP60 Pro four-color multi-substrate digital press. It can print on paper, plastics and envelopes (up to 130-lb. cover), and can switch between paper and plastic in just seconds. The press can output up to 3,900 A4/letter-size sph, and has a maximum sheet size of 13x40.15˝. It uses oil-free toners to print 2,400 dpi.

Several in-plants came to On Demand just to see Xanté’s Ilumina Digital Envelope Press+ for four-color envelope printing at up to 60 pieces per minute. It has an 800-piece input capacity, can handle envelopes up to 13x15˝ and can print on window envelopes. Visitors were also excited about Xanté’s free iQueue Print Management System.

InfoPrint showed its Pro C900 digital color printer, with print speeds up to 90 ipm and resolutions of 1,200x1,200 dpi. Air-assisted feed lets it maintain rated speeds with heavy stocks. Recommended for up to 240,000 impressions per month, it takes a maximum paper size of 13x19.2˝.