ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Digital color printing remains a bright spot for the graphic communications industry as demonstrated by Xerox Corporation's iGen4 press owners around the globe reporting increased revenues and enthusiastic customers.
 
Xerox is an industry leader in high-end production printing in the U.S., with its Xerox iGen3 and iGen4 presses garnering nearly 50 percent market share in the first half of this year. IDC, a leading industry research firm, tracked production color devices in the $300,000 and higher segment. 1  
 
Digital printing will continue to grow at an aggressive pace, according to industry consultancy Pira International. In 2007, the global digital printing market was valued at $68 billion and is expected to double again by 2012 when it will account for more than 21 percent of the total market value of the print industry.
 
Success stories
Equipped with nine Xerox iGen4 presses Bowne, the global leader in shareholder and marketing communications, produces millions of customized and personalized reports, enrollment kits, booklets and 1:1 marketing pieces monthly. In the space of a few months, the digital color presses have boosted both profits and customer satisfaction.
 
"Since the iGen4 presses rolled onto our production room floor we've been receiving very positive feedback from our customers," said Jack Egan, managing director, Bowne Marketing Communications. "We pride ourselves on quick turnaround and outstanding image quality – and the iGen4 press has delivered on both fronts."
 
Bowne is using the iGen4 presses to produce high-quality recruitment brochures for a major brokerage firm and asset management reports for large financial services companies. Using the digital printing power of the iGen4 press, Bowne customizes these documents to include clients' individual financial details as well as their agents' biographies, photos and contact information.
 
In addition to Bowne, iGen4 press owners are using the breakthrough digital color system to dramatically increase productivity and produce offset-quality collateral, direct-mail pieces and photo specialty products.
 
Florida Times Union, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based newspaper company, has grown its commercial print revenue nearly 40 percent in 2009 with help from the Xerox iGen4 press. While many companies in the newspaper industry are struggling from declining advertising revenue, the Florida Times Union is benefiting from the installation of the iGen4 press by expanding its business to produce personalized direct-mail pieces for existing and new advertising customers.
 
Tóth Bookstore and Publisher Ltd., an online book publisher in Hungary, uses an iGen4 press and FreeFlow Print Server to produce a variety of publications, including chidren's books, photo books and self-published titles. The company recognized the market shift toward short-run, on-demand books and selected the iGen4 press, reducing production costs and turnaround time. Publishers are now able to moderate their investment when launching a new title by printing only the number of books that are needed rather than warehousing extra copies.
 
Wittusen & Jensen, a leading Norwegian supplier of office equipment, supplies and communication/marketing services, uses the Xerox iGen4 to produce a range of advertising material and documents with variable data, such as personalized marketing pieces. The company's volume growth has been fueled by easy-to-order Web-based applications, driven by Xerox Web Services powered by PressSense and extensive customized cross-media campaigns driven by XMPie PersonalEffect.
 "The iGen4 press consistently delivers the highest image quality, and enables us to print more in less time," said Pål Kristiansen, marketing director, Wittusen & Jensen.
 
Press wins Encore award; productivity enhancement debuts
In conjunction with Print 09, Sept. 11-16 at Chicago's McCormick Place, Xerox's iGen4 press received an Encore Must See 'ems award, from the PrintCom Consulting Group. Additionally, SpencerLab Digital Color Laboratory recently reported the Xerox iGen4's photographic image quality eclipsed that of competitive high-end digital color systems.
 
Show attendees will also see the latest enhancements to the iGen4 press, including the large sheet productivity license that increases 8.5" x 11" print speed by 20 percent to 120 pages per minute for customers running multiple up jobs on 11" x 17" sheets. This new option is available worldwide Oct. 1. The EX Color Server powered by Fiery for the iGen4 press will also be on display.