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Xerox, Adobe Urge Print And Design Executives To Differentiate, Offer Services

Press release from the issuing company

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 23, 2006 – Today’s successful print providers can no longer just print. That is the message Quincy Allen, president, Production Systems Group, Xerox Corporation, delivered here at Adobe System’s Momentum in Print conference. In a keynote address, Allen urged graphic communications professionals to develop and deliver the right value-added services to help clients gain loyalty and increase response rates, while generating more profits for their business. “Printers need to differentiate from their competitors,” said Allen. “They must push the boundaries of digital and seize new opportunities in services such as Web site design, Web hosting, e-mail campaigns, signage, and cross-media campaign management.” Allen highlighted four new opportunities in digital printing: Promotional transactional print – taking applications to the next level by including targeted, full-color advertising messages in credit-card statements. Web-ordered print-on-demand – communications allowing consumers to customize and order items such as calendars and greeting cards directly though the Web, in quantities as few as one. One-to-one marketing and cross-media publishing – areas that are expanding to include personalized marketing campaigns and Web sites to increase the response rates of jobs and grow a company’s profits. Book production – digital technology allows print providers to use efficient workflows that drive both digital and offset book operations. To help support these opportunities, Xerox announced a tool that gives designers a how-to approach for designing files for digital printing. The Xerox Job Preparation Guide for Designers is aimed at maximizing the full potential of digital printing equipment, providing tips and techniques to ensure files are printed right the first time. Part of Xerox’s ProfitAccelerator collection of business development resources, the guide covers topics such as selecting the right paper, achieving better color consistency, and how to properly prepare files. It was designed using Adobe’s Creative Suite 2 software. The Job Preparation Guide for Designers will be available worldwide in mid-February to all Xerox customers – at no cost – through their sales representative. Xerox also announced it will sponsor the Adobe Design Achievement Awards. It is a campaign targeting 2,800 design schools in 24 countries including the U.S., Australia, China, Italy, Japan, Germany, South Africa and the United Kingdom. As the official print communications sponsor, Xerox is working with one of its customers, Toppan America, to print all the materials on a Xerox iGen3 110 Digital Production Press using Xerox paper and supplies. This will include 11,000 posters and 207,000 postcards in seven languages, and the official program guide for the awards banquet to be held July 20 at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. The Adobe Momentum in Print conference is a three-day event for print and design professionals to explore issues affecting a printer’s business and the graphic communications industry. It is the first of several initiatives Xerox and Adobe will work on together this year, building on a 16-year relationship. Xerox also will be the digital print technology sponsor for the Adobe Art Directors Invitational Master Class, March 29-April 1, and it will collaborate with Adobe on a commemorative poster – to be printed on a Xerox iGen3 110 press – for graphic design professionals at the HOW Conference, June 12-15.