Launched by Fuji Xerox in the Asia Pacific region last November, the printer was released in Europe and the US in May. Closing out its first half-year on the market, Xerox introduced two new augmentations to the product at Print 18 in Chicago on Monday (1 October).

With the extra-long sheet capability, the Iridesse will be able to take banner sheets up to 330x1,200mm and auto-duplex up to 729mm long. The new feature can be field retrofitted onto machines by adding a manual sheet inserter (MSI).

High Definition Emulsion Aggregate (HD EA) white dry ink is the latest addition to the six-colour Iridesse’s “CMYK+” range – which initially allowed metallic gold and silver and clear dry ink to be added to the printer’s standard gamut. The extra colours can be placed before and after the CMYK inks, allowing for speciality colours to be mixed, over- and underlaid.

Xerox head of marketing Kevin O’Donnell said: “One of the key imperatives we have found in the print market today is the need to go beyond CMYK. With our speciality inks and the extra-long sheet, more applications are opened up to customers which is very exciting.

“In the six months since its release, people have been blown away by the Iridesse – you can see the cogs whirring when they get a look at the machine and think about the possibilities they can take back to their customers. With white, we will also be able to tap into markets where it is currently fashionable to print on darker and transparent stocks.

“There is not another press like this on the digital market – it is the most automated device out there and we see it as a platform from which we can develop further. We want printers to take it on in order to change the conversation and genuinely add value to people’s print.”

As the new features were officially launched in Chicago, O’Donnell also hosted around 60 guests at Xerox’s Uxbridge innovation centre to show potential UK customers the new features. He suggested POS and packaging as prime markets for the printer, which can take substrates from 52-400gsm.

Using an MSI, the Iridesse can continue to print extra-long sheets at the same standard speeds of up to 120ppm for A4 and 60ppm for sizes A3-SRA3. It can print at “ultra HD resolution” of 2,400dpi. HD EA toner, including the new white, is designed to have the “optimal particle size” for lower gloss, smooth tints and fine detail.

Though prices were undisclosed, the Iridesse was previously placed by Xerox “above the Versant and below the iGen” in its portfolio, and O’Donnell said additional costs for the new capabilities which come as standard on new machines would be “minimal”.

In June, Nottingham-based Hickling & Squires became the first UK firm to take on an Iridesse.