Xerox Unveils 'FutureColor' at Print 01

After roughly seven years in the works and a $1 billion investment in research and development, Xerox Corporation at Print 01 is officially unveiling its next-generation digital production press, code-named "FutureColor," and has given it a moniker: DocuColor iGen3 ("i" for imaging, innovation, individualization, Internet-capable, and intelligent, say managers; "Gen3" for the third generation of imaging technology).

"This press will be ahead of anything in the market, period," claims Anshoo Gupta, president of Xerox's Production Solutions Group.

Targeted at commercial, quick, and in-plant printers, the machine—the concept of which was outlined at Drupa 2000 but whose development under code-names Jadis and later Constellation began in early 1994, building on the success of the company's black-and-white DocuTech digital printer—complements traditional printing on offset presses, says Xerox, and can connect directly to networks, databases, and the Internet.

It is slated for commercial availability in the second half of 2002.

Xerox officials state that the DocuColor iGen3 is designed for printers whose customers require quick turnaround on color documents, shorter print runs, and even personalized jobs, yet demand offset-printed quality. At Graph Expo/Converting Expo 2000, the company notes, 75% of show visitors who saw DocuColor iGen3 output couldn't distinguish it from offset print in side-by-side comparisons.

The DocuColor iGen3, referred to by a long-time Xerox engineer who worked on the project since its inception as the most complex machine the company had ever built, required the development of new control systems, new approaches to paper transport, and a new imaging system. The resulting "SmartPress" technology is so advanced, says Xerox, that it is covered by roughly 300 patents.

To achieve color and registration consistency, 85 microprocessors and 14 sensors control all aspects of the machine's printing processes, including ink laydown, front-to-back registration, and the moisture content of the paper. The press makes 270 million calculations per second, and automatically handles the kind of on-the-fly adjustments that require skilled operators on any other press, claims Xerox.

The DocuColor iGen3 generates 6,000 four-color letter-size impressions an hour (100 a minute) regardless of the kind of stock being run, an output rate that is 50% faster than any other commercially available press that is capable of handling variable data, says the company.

Two controllers are employed to accommodate different printing environments: CreoScitex's Spire platform and Xerox's DocuSP Printer Controller for variable-data printing.

Both feature open software architectures and run PostScript and PDF files, handle a variety of color workflows (including SWOP), provide job management functionality, and support variable-data printing of all kinds.

The DocuColor iGen3 can print on (and switch on-the-fly between) coated and uncoated stock, textured and linen papers, and specialty papers from 16-lb. bond to 100-lb. cover, in sizes from 7x7" to 14.33x201/2". Two feeders are employed, each of which has two trays capable of holding 2,500 sheets of coated stock or a 10" stack of alternative substrates, for a total capacity of 10,000 sheets.

In order to avoid potential marking problems caused by mechanical grippers, Xerox engineers developed a high-speed vacuum pressure system to feed paper through the machine. The paper path itself has no sharp turns so as to prevent the marring of coated stock and eliminate sites where potential jams could occur.

Says Xerox, each sheet is optically guided to the image transfer station with pinpoint accuracy; same-edge perfecting assures front-to-back color registration.

The machine's patented SmartPress xerographic imaging system is unique.

Xerox officials say that it differs both from first-generation color systems, where an image is developed on a drum and then transferred to paper in four passes that are required to lay down four dry-ink colors, as well as second-generation machines, which transfer the inks from the development medium to an intermediate belt or blanket in four steps, but then transfer all four colors simultaneously to the paper.

The SmartPress single-pass printing process removes the intermediate step and transfers the image directly from the development medium to the paper.

In operation, the DocuColor iGen3's digital controller sends to the printer four color separations for each page as 600x600x8-dpi data. The image then is processed at a rate of 100 million pixels per second for each color, and optimized for best-possible rendering.

Each separation is passed to one of the four stations of the xerographic subsystem. As the development medium rotates past each station, an imaging laser "exposes" the area where the color is to be placed, and the dry ink is dispensed pixel by pixel and "developed."

The image is built up sequentially and floats above the development medium in a cloud of color that never touches the belt, say Xerox officials. It then is transferred in a single step with the aid of a patented ultrasonic horn that excites the ink and causes it to precisely settle on the paper.

The micron-size dry ink particles used in the process also are new. Xerox says that the uniform, small particle size and proprietary formulation offer great advantages in reproducing demanding hues and dot patterns, graphic curves, font serifs, fine lines, shadow detail, and highlights.

Further, the dry ink containers are designed for simple and clean replacement while the machine is running, thereby enhancing productivity even further. To achieve color consistency, an array of small color calibration patches is imaged on the drum between every print, controlling 256-level tone reproduction curves for each color separation.

To bind the dry ink to the paper, the fusing system uses information about the paper weight and coating as well as the amount of toner dispensed to apply the correct amount of pressure and temperature, making adjustments on the fly as paper and toner characteristics change.

Once the page has been printed, DocuColor iGen3's decurling station removes any paper curl that might have been introduced so that printed output is flat and ready for finishing. Here, the machine uses information about image coverage and paper type for each page in the run to automatically adjust its decurler on a page-by-page basis.

Automatically collated and ready for finishing, pages are delivered in order to a stacker module (or bypass tray in the case of a proof), where covers and inserts await. The machine's wheeled stacker cart holds 3,000 sheets of 80-lb. coated text paper.

Xerox says that the DocuColor iGen3 has a common interface that will enable third-party suppliers to add stitcher/folders, binders, laminators, trimmers, and other postpress devices. It also plans to offer in-line finishing capability, such as bookletmaking or perfect binding, in the future.