Last Christmas Fujifilm gave the printing world the gift of a new press although, by revealing its new baby a wee bit prematurely, you could argue that it gave its partner Xerox a headache.

That present was the Xerox Color 800/1000, which on paper has a very compelling specification - in fact in many ways it looked like a challenger to nothing other than the firm's own iGen. The 80 or 100 pages per minute (ppm) speed is just 10ppm below the rated speeds of 90 or 110ppm of the iGen, and with emulsion aggregation (EA) toner technology and a fifth imaging unit offering spot and flood varnish effects, in several respects it out-specifies the iGen.

Come the first round of pre-Ipex press conferences in March, Xerox was still tight-lipped about the launch of the Color 800/1000 in Europe, refusing to be drawn on whether it would be available, never mind at Ipex, stating: "we're assessing where it fits in the portfolio and what new applications it enables".

Since then Xerox has found a spot for its image quality, wider set of features and ability to handle heavier-weight stocks and more pages per month, nestled neatly between the DocuColor 8002 and the iGen. The machine was unveiled at On Demand in Philadelphia last month, and made its European debut at Ipex this week.

Japanese heritage

Several features of the machine betray its Japanese FujiXerox heritage, rather than coming out of Xerox in the US. Firstly, the core technology of the machine leans heavily on the Xerox 700, with its EA toner, which eliminates fuser oil and ensures high image quality (and before you ask there's no problem with toner supply any more, promise).

"It's more robust and is designed so customers can change parts for themselves," says Xerox Europe product manager Alan Clarke. "In the past, we've designed the machine, and then looked at what the user could replace for themselves.

"That reduces the total cost of ownership and it gives customers more control over image quality."

To deal with the heavier stock weights, the firm has increased the power of the fusing unit. Instead of having two rollers it uses a roller and a belt, because a belt can hold more heat, to complete the fusing process. After the fusing, there is a second cooling belt to take heat out of the paper to minimise curling.

Resolution is, as with the 700 and the 8002, 2,400dpi, but the firm claims it has enhanced the quality by making the laser spot rounder.

More accurate registration

One of the bugbears of digital print has been the registration of the images on each side of the sheet. In this respect the 800/1000 has been improved, taking the registration down to +/- 0.5mm. This is down to changing the way the sheets are registered. Imagine you're looking from above, older machines register from the front of the machine - the right hand edge of the sheet. The 800/1000 registers from the centre of the sheet, which Edwards says is more reliable.

Something else that belies the 800/1000's roots in Japan is the decision to put the paper input trays underneath the imaging unit, rather than off to one end of the press. This reduces the floor space of the machine, an important consideration where rent is expensive, and therefore a particular issue for FujiXerox's home market, but one that may resonate elsewhere too, particularly with space-pushed inplants.

If the machine's basic configuration of two trays, each holding 2,000 sheets, isn't enough, it's possible to add a high-capacity feed module increasing online storage capacity to 8,000 sheets in four trays.

Feeds and finishing units are common with the 700, with a range of options including a punch, up to two high-capacity stackers, each holding a 5,000 sheet stack with a 500 sheet tray and a booklet maker with optional squarefold trimmer. But, as befits a machine that is designed for more productive environments, Xerox is also developing an interface for the 800/1000 to its DFA (digital finishing architecture), so it can integrate with a wider range of finishing kit including Xerox's standard finisher plus and tape binder, the GBC eBinder 200 and the PlockMatic Pro 30 bookletmaker.

With an average monthly print volume (AMPV) range of 150,000-300,000 it sits neatly between the 100,000-200,000 of the 8002 and the 300,000 plus of the iGen. "We've closed the gap in our range significantly," says Clarke.

One of the applications that the new machine targets is packaging, where Xerox is starting to make inroads.

"The 350gsm maximum weight and oversized SRA3 sheet size compared to the 8002 will make the 800/1000 suitable for packaging applications," says Clarke.

Clarke expects the 100ppm 1000 to be the more popular of the two machines. As for the take-up of the clear toner option, he's not so sure. It will rely on the enthusiasm of the market to experiment and sell the potential, especially to designers.

Add effects in the RIP

Xerox has realised that there could be something of a chicken-and-egg situation, with no one exploiting the varnish effects because of a lack of experience designing for it. To that end, it is possible to add some effects in the RIP rather than at the design stage, and it's also working on samples to help show the possibilities.

There's no doubt that the effects such as spot UV over matt lamination are popular. However, while there is a difference between the gloss and matt areas of the 800/1000 it isn't as pronounced as spot UV over matt laminate, and neither can it provide a matt finish in areas of significant density. You can make a base stock glossier, you can add gloss to mid tones, and to a limited extent add gloss to the shadows.

The clear toner can be halftoned, screened and printed just like CMYK. The ability to lay down a percentage, particularly over the other colours, enables pseudo metallics to be produced. Other effects include boosting images, graphics or text with an extra depth and shine, or adding patterned varnish effects such as stars or checkerboards. Although an upgrade in the field to the fifth imaging unit and clear capabilities is possible, it's a "significant upgrade" and will cost more than having the option factory fitted.

Xerox is not the first firm to offer a clear coat using toner technology - Kodak pioneered it with its NexGlossser and Canon has since added it to its ultra-light production C1+, but this is the first production digital machine with the feature available for one-pass production.

Like the rest of Xerox's cut-sheet digital colour press range, the 800/1000 has the option of EFI Fiery (EX), Creo Spire (CX) and its own Freeflow Print Server digital front ends.

Fogra has granted the 800/1000 a validation printing certificate when it is used as a system with the Creo-based CX server and US paper mill Mohawk's ColorCopy Gloss 120gsm stock.

"Buyers increasingly want evidence that the machinery is capable of consistent colour reproduction," says Clarke.

UK pricing has yet to be set, although US pricing is available as a rough guide with the price for the Xerox Color 1000 press starting at $395,000 (£271,894) and the Xerox Color 800 press at $350,000 (£240,922).

The 800/1000 bridges a productivity gap between the DocuColors and the iGen, while introducing enhanced image quality and flexibility from the 700, along with offering new applications through the fifth clear toner.

SPECIFICATIONS

Speed
800 - 80 A4 pages per minute
1000 - 100 A4 pages per minute

Maximum sheet size 330x488mm

Stock weight
55-350gsm (full speed at all weights)

Imaging technology Toner

Toner type Emulsion aggregation (EA)/chemical toner

Colours CMYK plus optional clear

AMPV 150,000-300,000 pages per month

Price
800 from $350,000 (£240,922)
1000 from $395,000 (£271,894)

Contact
Xerox 0870 873 4519 www.xerox.com

THE ALTERNATIVES

Canon Imagepress 7000VP

Canon's flagship machine was launched at the last Ipex. The VP version, has a rated speed of 70ppm on all stock types and weights. For less-demanding users there's the 7000 and the 6000VP and 6000. The firm emphasises the colour quality and colour management features of its range.

Speed 70ppm

Price £120,000

Contacts Canon UK 01737 220 000 www.canon.co.uk

Kodak Nexpress 2500

The Nexpress with NexGlosser is a cut-sheet digital press that offers toner-based coating and the ability to produce spot-varnish effects. The NexGlosser can also create texture effects more commonly associated with screen-printing.

Speed 83 sheets per minute

Price
Nexpress 2500, five-colour with
NexGlosser £298,000

Contact                 
Kodak UK 020 8424 6514
www.graphics1.kodak.com

Konica Minolta bizhub Press C8000

A demonstration at Ipex, with units due to ship in the UK this autumn, this is the first of the Bizhubs that Konica Minolta has termed a press with claims of offset image quality and consistency.

Price not supplied

Contact Konica Minolta 01908 200 400 www.konicaminolta.co.uk

Ricoh C900 Pro

Ricoh's first production colour machine has notched up a fair degree of success since it was launched two years ago at Drupa. Earlier this year, Ricoh widened the front end offering with a Creo in addition to the original EFI.

Speed 90ppm

Price £145,500

Contact Ricoh 020 8261 4000 www.ricoh.co.uk