Iridescent Colors and Specialty Embellishments Never Seen Before in Digitally Printed Pieces Now a Reality

The company that invented the copier, laser printing and print-on-demand is announcing another first in the world of print – a high speed, six station color press that combines four-color printing with up to two specialty dry inks in one printing pass. The Xerox Iridesse Production Press is the only digital press that can print metallic gold or silver dry ink, CMYK and clear dry ink in a single pass, giving print providers an immediate competitive edge in the growing digital print enhancement market.

“Iridesse can do things no other digital production press can do, but it’s what it can do for our customers that’s most important,” said Ragni Mehta, vice president and general manager, Cut Sheet Business, Xerox (NYSE: XRX). “We created the press to produce these special effects and digital enhancements cost effectively and in a simplified workflow so our customers can seize the market opportunity and grow their businesses.”

Iridesse eliminates multiple presses and processes usually required for print embellishments, increasing capacity and profits for customers. According to Keypoint Intelligence-InfoTrends, digital print enhancement can result in a rapid return on investment as print service providers’ profit margins on such embellishments can be as high as 50 to 400 percent¹.

“Iridesse’s one-pass capability, workflow automation for incorporating metallics and varnishes combined with run-time quality control technology is a differentiator for Xerox and can give print providers a competitive advantage,” said Ron Gilboa, group director, Production Technology, Keypoint Intelligence-InfoTrends.

With two inline specialty dry ink stations, customers can create lucrative applications with spot colors, metallic and mixed metallic gradients, and specialty enhancements. Gold and silver dry metallic inks can be used on their own or layered under or over CMYK to create unique iridescent palettes. A layer of clear dry ink can be added for an extra touch of dimension or texture.

No designer, no problem

Xerox FreeFlow Core’s pre-built workflows enable print providers to automatically and selectively transform text and graphics for printing gold and silver without editing the source documents. This simplifies enhancing existing applications with high-value embellishments.

Printing at speeds up to 120 pages per minute, the press can run stocks from 52 -400 gsm. Additional press features include:

• The High Definition Emulsion Aggregate (HD EA) Toner process results in the optimal particle size to deliver lower gloss, smooth tints and fine detail more consistently.
• The Xerox EX-P 6 Print Server by Fiery enables customers to create customized workflows for metallic applications with advanced RIP capabilities and color management tools.
• Two Dual Advanced High Capacity Feeders, Bypass and Inserter options let customers run up to eight different stocks in a single job, or do production runs with a total of 12,500 sheets.
• A variety of finishing options are available including the new Xerox Crease and Two-sided Trimmer, which creates a durable crease fold and gives booklets a premium quality edge when used with the Xerox Production Ready Booklet Maker Finisher and Xerox SquareFold Trimmer Modules.