Xerox has launched its latest digital production colour cutsheet press, the iGen5, which features an expanded colour gamut with an optional fifth colour.
The machine is the first in the iGen range to offer a fifth colour option alongside CMYK. The optional fifth colours are orange, green or blue dry ink. Xerox iGen worldwide Product Marketing Manager Paul Miller said: “These dramatically increase our ability to match a variety of Pantone stock colours. This helps with brand consistency and minimises any impact on productivity for our customers. “The use of the fifth station also helps us to be more brand accurate and helps our customers choose the production method based on the economics of a job. This also expands the benefit of on-demand printing like personalisation and eliminating warehousing.”
The press features a new architecture with a single, configurable platform and is available in three speeds: the 150ppm iGen5 150, the 120ppm iGen5 120 and the 90ppm iGen5 90. The fifth colour is optional on all models apart from the iGen5 90, which is CMYK only. Modifications to the frame of the press were made to incorporate the optional fifth station. The fifth station uses an LED bar while the CMYK stations use a ‘Vector Imaging System’. The five-colour mode runs at the same speed as the four-colour mode.
The device has a resolution of 2,400dpi, a maximum sheet size of 364x660mm and can handle coated, uncoated, textured and speciality stocks of 50-350gsm. It uses either Xerox Standard Dry Ink or Matte Dry Ink although fifth colour options are available as Matte Dry Ink only.
Xerox has developed tools to help its customers manage four- or five-colour jobs.
The Gamut Extension Tool will help iGen5 users to assess whether or not to use a four- or five-colour workflow and ascertain which of orange, green or blue would best match the job in hand.
Xerox said the iGen5 range will be field upgradable in the future if users wish to upgrade to the next speed up or to add a fifth station, however it is not field upgradable from previously existing iGen models due to the change to the frame of the press. “As the platform has evolved, we continue to add features and capabilities that help our customers respond to the challenges of an increasingly competitive and evolving industry,” said Miller. “Our focus on improving quality, automation and workload efficiency will give customers the competitive advantage they need to succeed.”
