On-demand printing is a printing concept that has been mentioned more and more in recent years. It has once again become one of the topics of concern on Drupa 2000. Many manufacturers have introduced corresponding hardware and software. The following takes three digital presses as an example. Through the introduction of the technical characteristics of these three digital presses, we can further understand on-demand printing and introduce some corresponding software. The three digital presses are:
1. A new generation of DocuColor digital presses. Xerox's DocuColor 2000 series presses will change the color printing market's view of print speed and single-page costs.
2. Xeikon's sheet-fed digital presses. Xeikon introduced its first sheet-fed press CSP320D, which, despite its low printing speed, guarantees high print quality and includes some interesting technologies.
3. High speed press from Indigo. Indigo has introduced a group of fast presses, including a monochrome press that can run at speeds of up to 8,000 colour prints per hour, so that it can eventually compete with some offset presses in speed.
On the software side, the PPML standard (Personalized Print Markup Language) established by the PODI (Print On Demand Initiative) is worth mentioning. This standard will make it easier to print variable data prints without having to consider the special software requirements of the output device. This will solve the biggest obstacle in accepting variable data printing. Among the variable data packages on display are the single-user versions of Pageflex and Persona-Almighty Mpower software packages.
First, the new DocuColor improves speed and reduces costs
Xerox's new DocuColor 2000 series color digital printers consist of 2045 and 2060 models. They will have a significant impact not only on Xerox itself but also on the entire color digital press market, and will become Xerox's dominant player in the color digital printing market.
The reader must have noticed that this is not Xerox's first big move in this market. With its early product, the DocuColor40, Xerox already has a leadership position in color digital presses with a print speed of 30 pages per minute or more. It is estimated that nearly 10,000 machines have already been installed. However, in this market DocuColor40 digital printers are always considered to have not reached the current printing standards in terms of print quality, operability, and service life.
The DocuColor 2000 series that Xerox takes great pride in is different from DocuColor40 in that it uses a completely new technology and incorporates a completely new design. Its development dates back three years, when Xerox and its partner FujiXerox began planning to develop a new machine that will truly meet the needs of the printing market, in addition to improving quality, operability and reliability. In the design process, the most critical point is to consider the user's operating costs and machine ownership costs, thereby improving its profitability. In this regard, Xerox claims to have achieved success and its single-sheet operating costs have been reduced to less than 10 cents.
1. Speed ​​and quality
The DocuColor 2045 and 2060 models are actually two printers of the same type. They only have different running speeds. They are A4 format sheets of 45 pages per minute and 60 pages respectively. This is the printing speed of one-sided printing. It can also For double-sided printing, the number of prints per minute is halved, which is 22.5 pages and 30 pages per minute for A4 format sheets. We noticed that unlike the DocuColor 40 digital press, the new series of presses did not reduce speed during double-sided printing, which was achieved through a reasonable paper path design and paper turnover mechanism design.
Since there are only differences in the printing speed between the two types of printers, we will see these two types of machines as the same type in the future.
The machine's print resolution is 600 dpi, and it has 10 pixels per pixel to ensure color quality, 8 points to ensure the image color, 2 points to determine the characteristics of specific image pixels (if this feature increases, we Later called I-Tracs).
2. Media selection
DocuColor 2000 can print a wider range of substrates (from 64-280g/m2) than DocuColor 40. In addition, since the 2000 series was designed from the very beginning, it was required to be able to print plain paper as well as art coated paper, while the DocuColor 40 was designed for non-coated paper printing. Only this feature makes this new type of equipment the same one. Art-type printing press, not just a regular press.
Xerox has reached an agreement with the paper supplier to ensure that the paper supplier guarantees a variety of substrates suitable for the DocuColor 2000 press, thus guaranteeing the printing level and quality that only offset printing technology can achieve in the past.
3. Digital blanket technology
This technology has been applied in the 12.5-page-per-minute DocuColor 12, which was called IBT (Intermediate Belt Transfer) technology. However, it was recently renamed Xerox Digital Blanket Technology.
Similar to the earlier DocuColor 40, the 2000 series uses an image separation drum as a vector for each color in four-color printing. However, a new technology used in the 2000 series improved print quality and reliability. The new technology transfers the image of each of the four units to the digital blanket DB first, and then transfers the entire four-color image from the DB to the printing substrate by one embossing. With the DocuColor 40, each color is transferred directly to the printing substrate through a four-color imaging drum without mediating.
Digital blankets and a one-off printing method improve the color overlay accuracy and achieve better impressions. Because of the greater press force that can be used to achieve better image transfer, this DB method is very similar to printing with a single blanket cylinder, such as Heidelberger's fast D146/4 presses, and also the Indigo Omuins presses. The One-Shot Color technique used in this is similar.
The advantage of DB technology is not only that it can apply more pressure when transferring an image onto a substrate, but that a wider range of grammage and type of substrate can be used. When the image is transferred directly from the drum to the substrate, the available substrate has limitations in terms of roughness and grammage due to the limited pressure used to transfer the colorant. With DB technology, image transfer can use more pressure to meet the printing of printing materials that are more rough and heavy.
4. Fusion Technology
DB also cooperates with other new technologies, including improved improved fusion technology, one of which is called BeltNipFuser. It first accurately transfers the image to the DB, and then transfers the image onto the substrate under high pressure, at which time the image is also fused to the substrate. Another technique is called LLOFT (Low Iil Fuser Technology). It uses a very small amount of oil (developer) to transfer the colorant to the blanket. The key to this technology is to put the colorant and developer in a separate, dry developer cartridge, and the box is In the toner supply device above the printing press. In this regard, DocuColor 40 requires 10 μl of developer per sheet, while DocuColor 2000 uses 1.5 μl, resulting in better image quality and lower toner costs.
The technique of splicing pigments onto substrates has also been strengthened. Fusion was once one of the most time-consuming processes in this type of printing process. It used heat and pressure to permanently consolidate the colorants on the substrates. This can only speed up the printing speed by increasing the heating or pressing method, but any one of them will cause damage to the paper or image damage. BeltNipFuser technology uses a belt and a roller instead of two rollers to handle the fusion of the colorant. The tape is wound around the roller to enlarge the "contact zone" (the area where the roller and the printing contact are in contact with each other). This ensures that the printing material can have the longest contact time with the heating roller. This longer "stay time" can compensate for printing. The heating time caused by the increase of the speed is reduced, which can achieve a good fusion effect for a high-weight substrate or a thick color printing ink. This application is for the color of some special printing materials, such as non-absorbing printing materials. Printing has a special meaning. When using DocuColor 40 to print this non-absorbent printing material, the speed will drop to 3.6 pages per minute, and up to 22 pages per minute when using DocuColor 2000.
5. Quality characteristics
A Xerox technology applied with the above technique is called I-Tracs classification technology, which can classify marks according to the printing layout content (text, image or line) to improve the printing quality (this is the extra per pixel we have mentioned Required two layout feature parameter points). Using this technology, it is possible to classify and mark different elements of each layout so that different screening techniques can be used to improve the printing quality.
During operation, when the printed image elements are fused and before the sheet is unmounted, I-Tracs can use differential photometry to automatically detect each image element on the print sheet and compare it with the standard proof sheet to generate rapid feedback and make necessary The adjustments were made to obtain accurate color reproduction and stable print quality, while also ensuring a high degree of consistency in the overall quality of India's print quality.
The method to further improve the print image quality is the positioning of the paper. Most sheetfed printers guarantee positioning accuracy by stopping the paper first, then determining its exact position along one side of it, and then scaling the position based on where the image was printed on the print sheet. The DocuColor 2000 is used to position the paper by dynamically adjusting the edge and edge of the sheet, the position of the head and the tail, and then using the center position of the image position on the sheet, which is particularly suitable for ensuring the accurate positioning of the front and back when printing on both sides.
6. Paper processing
One of the major changes in DocuColor 2000 is paper processing, designed to meet high productivity requirements. So, it is more effective than DocuColor 40 to reflect the potential capabilities of DocuTech technology. DocuColor 2000 can support unattended operation for a long time due to its large input and output capacity.
The DocuColor 2000 has an input capacity of 5600 A3 pages and an output capacity of 6,520. The printing speed of 45-60 pages per minute for these two models will mean a long unmanned operation time. (2000 series also adopts DocuTech technology's high-capacity paper table, and can use carts to pile paper. Transfer).
The 2000 series supports some of the vendors' automated finishing components that allow the entire system to have "complete" printing capabilities.
7. reliability
Another key to printer design is its maintenance and technical support. Xerox completes the design of the aircraft with the concept of "ideal maintenance and financial integration time". In the case of 100,000 impressions per month, it is foreseen that the number of maintenances per month is 3.2 times. The DocuColor 2000 design uses a combination of components, some of which can be replaced by operators, while others are completed by dedicated service engineers. In general, a replaceable part of any operation requires a replacement time of approximately 30 seconds, and parts replaced by an engineer are also required to be completed within 2 minutes in the case of hand tools. Between the entire maintenance time is melted between 3,500 and 4,000 prints. The fault referred to here does not mean that the machine is down, but it means only the printing interval necessary for a certain degree of maintenance to obtain the best print quality. .
8. Digital front end
The 2000 Series' standard optional controller comes from the new Spire front end of EFI, Splash and Scitex. Its input can be performed with an optional 40-page scanner per minute. Note that this is the first Xerox color digital printer that does not have the scanner set as a standard in the machine, and it regards the scanning of the original document as the system's optional capabilities.
9. Into the market (price and status)
DocuColor 2000 was in the United States in early April 1999
1. A new generation of DocuColor digital presses. Xerox's DocuColor 2000 series presses will change the color printing market's view of print speed and single-page costs.
2. Xeikon's sheet-fed digital presses. Xeikon introduced its first sheet-fed press CSP320D, which, despite its low printing speed, guarantees high print quality and includes some interesting technologies.
3. High speed press from Indigo. Indigo has introduced a group of fast presses, including a monochrome press that can run at speeds of up to 8,000 colour prints per hour, so that it can eventually compete with some offset presses in speed.
On the software side, the PPML standard (Personalized Print Markup Language) established by the PODI (Print On Demand Initiative) is worth mentioning. This standard will make it easier to print variable data prints without having to consider the special software requirements of the output device. This will solve the biggest obstacle in accepting variable data printing. Among the variable data packages on display are the single-user versions of Pageflex and Persona-Almighty Mpower software packages.
First, the new DocuColor improves speed and reduces costs
Xerox's new DocuColor 2000 series color digital printers consist of 2045 and 2060 models. They will have a significant impact not only on Xerox itself but also on the entire color digital press market, and will become Xerox's dominant player in the color digital printing market.
The reader must have noticed that this is not Xerox's first big move in this market. With its early product, the DocuColor40, Xerox already has a leadership position in color digital presses with a print speed of 30 pages per minute or more. It is estimated that nearly 10,000 machines have already been installed. However, in this market DocuColor40 digital printers are always considered to have not reached the current printing standards in terms of print quality, operability, and service life.
The DocuColor 2000 series that Xerox takes great pride in is different from DocuColor40 in that it uses a completely new technology and incorporates a completely new design. Its development dates back three years, when Xerox and its partner FujiXerox began planning to develop a new machine that will truly meet the needs of the printing market, in addition to improving quality, operability and reliability. In the design process, the most critical point is to consider the user's operating costs and machine ownership costs, thereby improving its profitability. In this regard, Xerox claims to have achieved success and its single-sheet operating costs have been reduced to less than 10 cents.
1. Speed ​​and quality
The DocuColor 2045 and 2060 models are actually two printers of the same type. They only have different running speeds. They are A4 format sheets of 45 pages per minute and 60 pages respectively. This is the printing speed of one-sided printing. It can also For double-sided printing, the number of prints per minute is halved, which is 22.5 pages and 30 pages per minute for A4 format sheets. We noticed that unlike the DocuColor 40 digital press, the new series of presses did not reduce speed during double-sided printing, which was achieved through a reasonable paper path design and paper turnover mechanism design.
Since there are only differences in the printing speed between the two types of printers, we will see these two types of machines as the same type in the future.
The machine's print resolution is 600 dpi, and it has 10 pixels per pixel to ensure color quality, 8 points to ensure the image color, 2 points to determine the characteristics of specific image pixels (if this feature increases, we Later called I-Tracs).
2. Media selection
DocuColor 2000 can print a wider range of substrates (from 64-280g/m2) than DocuColor 40. In addition, since the 2000 series was designed from the very beginning, it was required to be able to print plain paper as well as art coated paper, while the DocuColor 40 was designed for non-coated paper printing. Only this feature makes this new type of equipment the same one. Art-type printing press, not just a regular press.
Xerox has reached an agreement with the paper supplier to ensure that the paper supplier guarantees a variety of substrates suitable for the DocuColor 2000 press, thus guaranteeing the printing level and quality that only offset printing technology can achieve in the past.
3. Digital blanket technology
This technology has been applied in the 12.5-page-per-minute DocuColor 12, which was called IBT (Intermediate Belt Transfer) technology. However, it was recently renamed Xerox Digital Blanket Technology.
Similar to the earlier DocuColor 40, the 2000 series uses an image separation drum as a vector for each color in four-color printing. However, a new technology used in the 2000 series improved print quality and reliability. The new technology transfers the image of each of the four units to the digital blanket DB first, and then transfers the entire four-color image from the DB to the printing substrate by one embossing. With the DocuColor 40, each color is transferred directly to the printing substrate through a four-color imaging drum without mediating.
Digital blankets and a one-off printing method improve the color overlay accuracy and achieve better impressions. Because of the greater press force that can be used to achieve better image transfer, this DB method is very similar to printing with a single blanket cylinder, such as Heidelberger's fast D146/4 presses, and also the Indigo Omuins presses. The One-Shot Color technique used in this is similar.
The advantage of DB technology is not only that it can apply more pressure when transferring an image onto a substrate, but that a wider range of grammage and type of substrate can be used. When the image is transferred directly from the drum to the substrate, the available substrate has limitations in terms of roughness and grammage due to the limited pressure used to transfer the colorant. With DB technology, image transfer can use more pressure to meet the printing of printing materials that are more rough and heavy.
4. Fusion Technology
DB also cooperates with other new technologies, including improved improved fusion technology, one of which is called BeltNipFuser. It first accurately transfers the image to the DB, and then transfers the image onto the substrate under high pressure, at which time the image is also fused to the substrate. Another technique is called LLOFT (Low Iil Fuser Technology). It uses a very small amount of oil (developer) to transfer the colorant to the blanket. The key to this technology is to put the colorant and developer in a separate, dry developer cartridge, and the box is In the toner supply device above the printing press. In this regard, DocuColor 40 requires 10 μl of developer per sheet, while DocuColor 2000 uses 1.5 μl, resulting in better image quality and lower toner costs.
The technique of splicing pigments onto substrates has also been strengthened. Fusion was once one of the most time-consuming processes in this type of printing process. It used heat and pressure to permanently consolidate the colorants on the substrates. This can only speed up the printing speed by increasing the heating or pressing method, but any one of them will cause damage to the paper or image damage. BeltNipFuser technology uses a belt and a roller instead of two rollers to handle the fusion of the colorant. The tape is wound around the roller to enlarge the "contact zone" (the area where the roller and the printing contact are in contact with each other). This ensures that the printing material can have the longest contact time with the heating roller. This longer "stay time" can compensate for printing. The heating time caused by the increase of the speed is reduced, which can achieve a good fusion effect for a high-weight substrate or a thick color printing ink. This application is for the color of some special printing materials, such as non-absorbing printing materials. Printing has a special meaning. When using DocuColor 40 to print this non-absorbent printing material, the speed will drop to 3.6 pages per minute, and up to 22 pages per minute when using DocuColor 2000.
5. Quality characteristics
A Xerox technology applied with the above technique is called I-Tracs classification technology, which can classify marks according to the printing layout content (text, image or line) to improve the printing quality (this is the extra per pixel we have mentioned Required two layout feature parameter points). Using this technology, it is possible to classify and mark different elements of each layout so that different screening techniques can be used to improve the printing quality.
During operation, when the printed image elements are fused and before the sheet is unmounted, I-Tracs can use differential photometry to automatically detect each image element on the print sheet and compare it with the standard proof sheet to generate rapid feedback and make necessary The adjustments were made to obtain accurate color reproduction and stable print quality, while also ensuring a high degree of consistency in the overall quality of India's print quality.
The method to further improve the print image quality is the positioning of the paper. Most sheetfed printers guarantee positioning accuracy by stopping the paper first, then determining its exact position along one side of it, and then scaling the position based on where the image was printed on the print sheet. The DocuColor 2000 is used to position the paper by dynamically adjusting the edge and edge of the sheet, the position of the head and the tail, and then using the center position of the image position on the sheet, which is particularly suitable for ensuring the accurate positioning of the front and back when printing on both sides.
6. Paper processing
One of the major changes in DocuColor 2000 is paper processing, designed to meet high productivity requirements. So, it is more effective than DocuColor 40 to reflect the potential capabilities of DocuTech technology. DocuColor 2000 can support unattended operation for a long time due to its large input and output capacity.
The DocuColor 2000 has an input capacity of 5600 A3 pages and an output capacity of 6,520. The printing speed of 45-60 pages per minute for these two models will mean a long unmanned operation time. (2000 series also adopts DocuTech technology's high-capacity paper table, and can use carts to pile paper. Transfer).
The 2000 series supports some of the vendors' automated finishing components that allow the entire system to have "complete" printing capabilities.
7. reliability
Another key to printer design is its maintenance and technical support. Xerox completes the design of the aircraft with the concept of "ideal maintenance and financial integration time". In the case of 100,000 impressions per month, it is foreseen that the number of maintenances per month is 3.2 times. The DocuColor 2000 design uses a combination of components, some of which can be replaced by operators, while others are completed by dedicated service engineers. In general, a replaceable part of any operation requires a replacement time of approximately 30 seconds, and parts replaced by an engineer are also required to be completed within 2 minutes in the case of hand tools. Between the entire maintenance time is melted between 3,500 and 4,000 prints. The fault referred to here does not mean that the machine is down, but it means only the printing interval necessary for a certain degree of maintenance to obtain the best print quality. .
8. Digital front end
The 2000 Series' standard optional controller comes from the new Spire front end of EFI, Splash and Scitex. Its input can be performed with an optional 40-page scanner per minute. Note that this is the first Xerox color digital printer that does not have the scanner set as a standard in the machine, and it regards the scanning of the original document as the system's optional capabilities.
9. Into the market (price and status)
DocuColor 2000 was in the United States in early April 1999
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