OAKDALE, Minn. & ROCHESTER, N.Y.-July 24, 2001-- SWOP, Inc. has named Imation Corp.'s Matchprint Professional Server and Xerox Corporation's DocuColor12 Printer/Copier with the Imation-Xerox co-branded media as the first printer/copier and the first xerographic system to meet the publishing industry's Specifications for Web Offset Publications (SWOP) certification. The Imation-Xerox solution now offers new benchmarks for low cost -- both for the system itself and for the proofs it creates -- and for fast turnarounds among SWOP-certified systems. SWOP enables publishing and production professionals, agencies and their clients to be "color confident'' of the system's output when following the SWOP-approved application data sheet (ADS) specifications. Under the terms of the certification process, Imation supplied the SWOP Technical Committee numerical specifications, measurements and target samples to consistently match color output from the Matchprint Professional Server and DocuColor 12 to the appearance of a certified press proof. "Having a proof from a SWOP-certified system - built around the Xerox DocuColor 12 and Imation's digital front-end server - is a fast, low-cost way to be confident very early in the creative process that the color output will simulate the final print,'' said John Schloff, general manager, Imation Color Technologies, Network Color Solutions. "SWOP certification of a high-volume, color printer/copier like the Xerox DocuColor 12 represents a powerful productivity benefit to everyone in the publication workflow.'' "This certification validates the superiority of the technology in the Xerox-Imation digital color proofing and short-run printing solution to deliver significant cost, speed and productivity breakthroughs,'' said Gerhard Moll, vice president, Color Solutions Business Unit, Xerox Corporation. "Together, Xerox and Imation will help our customers meet their deadlines within the accepted standards of publication printing.'' The color management technology in both the Matchprint Professional Server and DocuColor 12 are prime components that enabled the system to meet SWOP specifications. The DocuColor 12's Intermediate Belt Transfer (IBT) technology expands paper options and improves reliability, imaging consistency, and delivers clean color output. Imation's Matchprint Professional Server provides patented color management technology and a simple calibration that allows each customer to ensure the same superior color consistency each day. The system includes Imation and Xerox co-developed proofing media, necessary for simulating SWOP-certified press proofs. "The SWOP committee's analysis verified that Imation and Xerox have a system that meets the stringent level of quality required for SWOP certification,'' said George Leyda, chairman of the SWOP Technical Committee. "By setting these specifications and ensuring there is a rigorous certification process in place, SWOP is vouching for the capability of the certified proofing systems to have the ability to match the press proofing specifications in a visual sense. It is then up to the user and the vendor to ensure that each proof meets these expectations by using the Application Data Sheet specifications to insure that the proofs meet the stated objective criteria used in the certification process.'' The Matchprint Professional Server joins Imation's family of SWOP certified products, including the Matchprint Digital Halftone System, the Matchprint Analog Negative Proofing System, and the Matchprint Analog Positive Proofing System.