According to Xerox UK DocuColor marketing manager Kevin O'Donnell, the use of the Xerox iGen3, by firms including The Student Loans Company, DSi, Pims, 3D Digital and bezier, was evidence of a swing towards colour digital print for this market. He described this as "strategic applications".

"Transactional is the biggest area for growth, especially in colour, for the next four to five years," said O'Donnell.

"All of it is transaction driven and is all high-volume," he said. "Companies are coming to realise the value of that touch point, it's one that the customer dwells on and looks at longer than any piece of DM."

O'Donnell added that the market was reaching a crossover point as firms moved from considering the cost of production, where continuous feed black and white was still cheaper, to re-engineering their documents to focus on making them more effective.

"A lot more companies are looking at it including blue chips. I can think of four projects we're working on," he said. "They're a sea change in the industries they are in."

Xerox is also targeting the burgeoning digital photo printing market. "It's a massive market," O'Donnell said. "It's brand new volumes and revenues you can ring fence; it allows the supplier to set the price."

Story by Barney Cox