Moving on from last year’s introduction of new products, Fuji Xerox demonstrates a solid dedication to printing with good news from drupa
Fuji Xerox sees the company’s reputation for innovation in the print industry as a logical outcome of its single focus on digital printing. Murray Miskelly, business development manager for Fuji Xerox, gets straight to the point. He says, “Our focus is on documents, on printing, and the workflow for efficient printing. We don’t get distracted by products that don’t relate to printing. I think that reflects in the bigger picture with us.”With this in mind, Fuji Xerox ensured visitors to its stand got the most out of drupa 08. Miskelly’s experience at this year’s drupa confirmed the view that Fuji Xerox is on the right track with its focus on printing. He says, “Drupa’s still aimed at the printing market. Basically, all of our New Zealand customers were astounded at how big it was.
“We had 120,000 people just on our stand.” He adds diplomatically, “Of course, some stands were busy and some stands were not so busy.”
Providing a more worthwhile experience for visitors saw Fuji Xerox moving outside the old exhibition paradigm of “set up shop, and wait for them to come.” Miskelly explains, “We decided to focus on customer applications, rather than simply exhibiting gear and equipment. The stand split into different zones so visitors could appreciate more of what Fuji Xerox is about.”
At drupa many of Fuji Xerox’s customers realised the benefits of accessing an organisation of this magnitude. Miskelly: “We only got positive feedback. I think it was the
first time some people were able to understand the size of Xerox internationally, and the scope of
the back up we can provide.”
Interestingly, the products manufactured in the different Xerox regions (US, Europe, Asia Pacific, “rest of the world”) often reflect that area's demographics. Take the Xerox 700 Digital Colour Press (featured in the digital buyers guide, page); originally it came out of the Fuji Xerox design market. Described as a nimble machine, the Xerox 700 prints at 70 pages per minute in colour, or black and white, providing an affordable way to start building or expanding a digital printing business. Specifically, for the likes of quick printers, commercial printers, creative agencies, photo specialty retailers, and departmental environments, it maximises output and quality within a small footprint.
Contrast that with the iGen series, which originally came out of the United States. At the high end of digital printing, the iGen series constitutes a solid run, non-stop full production system capable of impressive speed and quality eg up to 6,600 full process colour A4 4/0 sheets per hour with no additional time required for make ready, drying, or manual collation. The print quality rivals offset and the modular architecture allows for growth and flexibility. It handles a wide array of stocks, weights, and sizes: coated, uncoated, textured, smooth, and specialty stocks; postcard up to 364x571 mm; 60 to 350 gsm and mix stocks within a single run.
”Fuji Xerox’s range of machines provide options for all manner of printing requirements, from office applications to working print shops that need a smaller machine, to advanced printers that utilise advanced digital systems to complete sophisticated tasks in a modern printing environment,” says Miskelly. “Although each product in Fuji Xerox’s extensive range differs in features and capability, each shares the same workflow. So upscaling becomes easier. When you, as the owner of a Fuji Xerox machine, decide to move up a level in terms of speed or output, or both, you don’t need to relearn a new workflow. And each time you move up, the process remains the same.
Alistair Egan, production product manager at Fuji Xerox, believes with Fuji Xerox's focus on production digital printing machines, the printing technology has been successfully moved down from true production to entry-level graphic arts devices. He says, “Fuji Xerox spends the engineering dollars on each production segment whether it is proofing, entry level, mid-production or true production. Across the board you have an appropriate machine designed for the specific segment requirements and workload.”
And for Fuji Xerox it’s about more than just the equipment
Fuji Xerox helps its customer to create new business. Miskelly says, “We’re helping our customers to innovate and create new skills because they need to be able to guarantee a better return on what they've invested in.
“Anything we can supply to aid customers to grow their business and develop their business further will be useful. Part of what Fuji Xerox’s brings to its partnerships is the breadth and depth of its resources. It’s about tailoring solutions to customers needs”. Fuji Xerox customers have access to the Fuji Xerox ProfitAccelerator Digital Business Resources portfolio, which
is a collection of more than 75 tools and programmes designed to help print providers develop and grow their digital businesses.
Drupa provided Fuji Xerox an opportunity to utilise its product range to match customer’s problems with intelligent solutions.
Miskelly says, “With our Kiwi customers, we could match tailored solutions to individuals.
“Sometimes there’s a gap between what can be done, and what is currently in the local market. Recognising that the size of the New Zealand market demands quality and diversity, we can take advantage of the wide range of products at our disposal. But, more than that, we can help the customers with new ideas and concepts.
“So that’s where we might talk about variable data processing eg tailoring the piece to the person its intended for,” he says, “Now people say the technology can do it, but how does the customer market that? Fuji Xerox has access to a number of case studies and we make these available where they fit a customer’s need. So someone might say, “How do I do this? We can point them to the right case study.”
Past and Future
For Fuji Xerox the core business is, and will remain Digital Printing. Does Miskelly see that as a strength? “Absolutely,” he replies, “While the size of Xerox is paramount to us being able to provide the services we can offer, our strength lies in our ability to concentrate on this range of printing machines, and not being side tracked with other issues.”
And the immediate future? At drupa, but behind closed doors, Fuji Xerox demonstrated the iGen4, its next generation of top end printing from the Xerox corporation design stables in the USA. It should be available early 2009.
