The South Island’s first Fuji Xerox Iridesse digital production press has arrived at Caxton Design & Print Excellence in Christchurch.
Bridget Batchelor, managing director at Caxton, says the well-established business needed a new digital press. She says, “We installed the Fuji Xerox Iridesse to keep us at the forefront of technology. This is something you must do to thrive in a market like ours.
“Initially, it was the gold and silver metallics, plus the ability to print white, that attracted us to the Iridesse.
“We installed it in April. We also have a Fuji Xerox Versant 2100 but the Iridesse is now our main production machine. It is not just for the niche jobs; we have it running 10 hours a day. We work it hard. At this point, we have come to the end of any teething issues and we have achieved good results with the gold and silvers. The Fuji Xerox techs have taught our technical staff about it. That has worked really well. We had a Fuji Xerox technician down from Auckland and he spent the day with our operator.
The Fuji Xerox Iridesse prints six colours at 120ppm on stock rated from 52 to 400gsm. It prints banner sheets of 729mm (two-sided) and 1200mm (one-sided) and will handle paper from 52 to 400 gsm. It handles a range of media from plain and coated paper to variations of specialty paper (coloured paper, aluminised paper, films, envelopes, embossed paper, and so on).
At the front end, the 10-bit image processing of the new GX print server delivers improved image quality of 1200 x 1200dpi. New features include the ability to automatically distinguish texts and images and manage them on an object basis; it will process images at high speed while maintaining image quality. Owners can customise the operation screen and the operator can customise the items displayed and the display method.
Batchelor says, “For the Iridesse, we rate the quality highly. I am impressed. We have put it through its paces and it has stood up to its challenge. Our clients have been impressed as well, especially with the metallics. The gold and silver look much more authentic.”
Caxton employs 45 staff and covers the entire gamut of print work. She says, “Having the capabilities to offer the short runs as well as the larger runs means we can mix the work. For example, we do quite a few books so we can do 50 for a client on the digital and then do a larger run later on. We have had a 25-year relationship with Fuji Xerox, on and off and we have definitely been through some turbulent times. But, I have been quite impressed with the Fuji Xerox service and advice, especially recently.
“The team at Fuji Xerox has worked really hard and we are happy with where we are now.”
Innovations
THE Fuji Xerox Iridesse offers CMYK plus two specialty colour stations and a range of specialty dry inks (Gold, Silver, Clear and White), along with metallic effects with a mixture of gold/silver and Pantone metallic as well as enhanced finishing with three-sided trimming and creasing.
In an industry first, the new printer offers six colour stations, installed as a special feature. You can output multiple special colours in one pass, such as simultaneous printing of gold and silver.
The company has developed what it calls Super EA Eco dry ink. For higher image quality, the new ink has a high viscoelasticity and its particle size has shrunk by 20 per cent. The company says this smaller particle size means greater smoothness and better quality of fine detail with improved graininess and dot reproducibility. The toner has a lower melt point and a reduced viscosity, which uses less heat, saving power. Thicker substrates will travel through the machine faster.
The company adds that each toner cartridge can produce more printed pages, so operators can expect longer times for continuous printing, owing to less replacement frequency.
The designers have made the PC user interface vertical and attached the LCD monitor with a dedicated arm. Monitor options are 38cm to 60cm. The operator can move the monitor’s arm back and forth and around, and also adjust its height. The screen rotates 180 degrees, allowing the operator to check its screen from the back side.
The Iridesse offers a full range of digital finishing options including creasing, three-sided trim, and face trim even with dark-coloured paper.
It supports paper weights, on which crease lines can be inserted, of 60 to 350 gsm for booklet finishing and 157 to 350 gsm for manual paper folding. It has Fuji Xerox’s Finisher D6 series attached.
