High Performance Solid Technology

the solid advantage

Introduced over twelve years ago, 's exclusive solid ink technology is not only a viable, affordable option for those companies looking to add color to their business documents, but it has also become a competitive force in the industry. Other companies have tried to compete with Xerox's long history of color expertise, but none have come close to match- ing the convenience and quality offered by solid ink technol- ogy.

Solid ink adds value to businesses. It is the only technology that can create brilliant, vibrant prints on a wide range of media. It is the easiest technology on the market to use. It is the only technology that produces minimal waste. And, with a low entry price and cost per page, solid ink printers truly give customers the most value for their money.

This white paper takes a closer look at the technology that continues to make Xerox stand apart from the rest.

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High Performance Solid Ink Technology

Today’s Business Office Solid Ink Hits the Mark Designed for Color Printing Office color printers need to address a Solid ink technology addresses key user Physics, chemistry, electronics and broad range of applications and serve requirements, expectations and human manufacturing expertise all come diverse teams. While one group may factor issues by how it works. Its excel- together behind the scenes in solid ink demand flawless rendering of complex lent image creation method, simplicity, printing technology. Solid ink has the PostScript® files and detailed photo- and ease of use set it apart from other critical property of remaining in solid graphs, another team may want fast printers. form until heated to a very specific printing of text documents or quick temperature whereupon it turns to liquid, business presentations. The need for Moreover, it offers remarkable print then instantly turns back to solid when color and versatility is everywhere. quality on the broadest range of print printed. media, including cardstock, envelopes, Considerations include: and transparencies, as well as recycled The solid ink is applied through a precise • How can I get black & white and paper and custom page sizes. For exam- stainless steel print head with tiny holes color at the same time? ple, solid ink printers can accommodate smaller than a human hair. It uses 1,236 • What does the typical user need to media from 16 lb. bond to over 80 lb. nozzles jetting more than 30 million know to successfully use the cover cardstock. Laser printers vary and drops per second. Years of investment, day in and day out? can be limited to 58 lb. cardstock. Inkjet research and experience have yielded • How quickly can consumables be printers generally require specially and print heads that work together replenished? treated media which is not always avail- as a system. • How many users can share the able in a wide range. printer before print times become The ink is jetted from the print head to a unacceptably long? With a small footprint, solid ink printers heated drum where it remains in a • How well does the driver software offer versatility in the office, as they malleable state that ensures precise integrate the printer into the user’s work well on desktops, credenzas or transfer to the paper. This reduces the workflow? small tables. amount of ink that can wick into the • If the printer is shared among paper fibers and controls dot spread. groups, can it account for usage? Solid ink printers are also easy to use and maintain. Ink loading is simple— The Phaser controller is based on a each color has a unique shape-coded and 500Mhz processor and high-speed 64 bit numbered ink stick which ensures bus. This heavy duty hardware is there’s no mix up. The right color goes powerful enough for sophisticated only in the right place. And, because , so it can make short work of solid ink is solid, there’s no mess. The general business printing. only other consumable is a maintenance kit, which takes less than a minute to Xerox’s constant evolution of solid ink replace, about once a year. and single-pass technologies has resulted in a printer that today is very fast and very economical. With print speeds up to 24 pages per minute (ppm), and first- page-out within six seconds, the solid ink printer can be three times faster than a comparably priced laser printer.

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High Performance Solid Ink Technology

Reliable Engineering Stringent Manufacturing A solid ink printer consists of only three Xerox manufactures the solid ink print major assemblies: the print head (applies head in clean rooms to ensure perform- ink to print drum), the print drum ance, consistency and reliability. Xerox (transfers image to paper) and the operates a world-class chemical plant to controller (the brain of the printer that produce solid ink, with a state-of-the-art converts data from the computer to controller to ensure batch consistency. information required to print the image To deliver the reliability that solid ink on paper). Add a cabinet and a paper tray has become known for, Xerox employs and you have a solid ink printer. 100 percent inspection rather than the common statistical sampling—every ink This simplicity is responsible for the high batch must meet specifications before it reliability, ease of use and low cost of is shipped to the solid ink. With fewer parts, there’s customer. simply less that can go wrong. In short, solid ink printers do a lot more with a lot Design Advantage less. For many organiza- tions, limited floor Built Better and desk space gives Rather than using the more common bent the compact design sheet metal, Xerox uses a one-piece, of solid ink printers a injection molded frame in its solid ink distinct advantage. printers. This allows for tighter Compared to color mechanical tolerances that yield both lasers, solid ink improved mechanical reliability and print printers require only quality. The solid construction also half the space. contributes to the printer’s durability and Further, Xerox has long haul robustness. designed its solid ink printer to minimize Solid ink printing technology requires a the space needed to access print trays much lower parts count than laser and perform routine printer maintenance. technology. Lifetime components with a Solid ink printers can be integrated into high duty cycle give a clear maintenance more environments with less impact than and operating advantage to solid ink. color laser printers.

Additionally, the new generation of solid ink printers include a configuration card, making hot-swaps and feature upgrades a no-hassle process. Just install the card into another printer and it takes on all the attributes of the first.

Xerox is committed to this technology for one simple reason: it delivers user benefits that no other color printer technology can provide.

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High Performance Solid Ink Technology

Laser Printing Options Color laser printers create an image by Highly magnified views of color laser (left) and solid ink fusing powdered toners to paper — the (right). Note the gaps in the printed areas in the laser image toner is melted onto the paper. Depend- versus the dense, crisp appearance of the solid ink image. ing on the architecture, lasers can have almost three times as many parts as solid ink printers. Traditional color laser printers typically include parts such as photoconductors, transfer rollers, fuser rollers, fuser oilers, waste toner bottles and four toner cartridges, all of which wear out or whose contents are con- sumed during printing. The life expec- tancy of these components is tied to either the number of pages or the amount of each color printed. Frequently, these parts need to be replaced independently of each other so there are more times when the printer needs maintenance. Vivid, Saturated Colors With Xerox’s introduction of 2400 From page-to-page solid ink has excep- The simplicity of the solid ink imaging FinePoint ™, solid ink printing delivers tionally consistent color quality, an process is an advantage itself. In addition photo quality images. This technology important attribute for long print jobs or to fewer places where things could go enhances images by using complex multiple prints of the same page. The wrong, solid ink accepts a wide variety algorithms to intelligently select and quality of the image depends on consis- of print media, which can be fed through substitute dots. Its software uses halftone tent dot size and placement. Solid ink one of the printer’s main trays. and post-processing techniques to does both extremely well. All of these attributes contribute to an optimize the image as it is applied to the exceedingly simple automatic two-sided print drum while smoothing out fills and Color laser printers frequently fail to printing capability. After printing the transitions to eliminate disruptive maintain precision. The dot size varies patterns. (laser dots are clumps of toner particles Pressure Roller that can scatter on the paper) and there’s Because solid ink is transferred from the sufficient jitter in the laser system so that Printed Image misplacement of dots occurs. As a result, Paper print drum to paper in precise state, the ink does not spread into the paper. This color shifts occur with laser, as well as makes its color quality far less dependent banding within areas of solid fill color. Print Head on the paper’s surface allowing it to maintain excellent color quality on the During printing, the print drum in a solid Drum broadest range of media types. ink printer smoothes the solid ink, creat- ing a flat surface that transmits light Xerox solid ink printers offer four print well, making for dense, saturated colors. Major Components of a Solid Ink Printer modes for the utmost flexibility in Laser toner has a rougher surface that quality and speed. Users choose settings fails to transmit light as well, resulting in first side of the sheet, the paper is re-fed that range from High Resolution/Photo less vibrant color. from the exit rollers back into the printer Mode to Fast Color Mode. through a very short path. It then quickly passes through the high-speed imaging process a second time and is delivered to the output bin.

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High Performance Solid Ink Technology

Solid Ink is Fast Xerox solid ink printers require no The most complete measurement of print synchronization. They have a very short How Long is a Print Job? speed is called “throughput” -- the time paper path so the page travels a minimal Xerox tabulates solid ink customer between clicking the “print” button and distance to receive the image. By usage. Most jobs are under 5 pages and seeing the print job arrive in the printer’s contrast, color lasers frequently require many are 2 pages or less! output tray. more than one sheet of paper in the paper path to achieve optimum timing, how- The combination of color-optimized ever the same is not true with solid ink, architecture and fast controller/processor one page is all it takes. gives the most important advantage for typical office color printing: fast first- Solid ink printers are designed from the Solid ink printers require few user page-out time. With single copies of ground up to be color-optimized. Color interventions for maintenance. The skill small documents, the time it takes to laser technology is essentially a mono- level required is a fraction of that print the first page can be a significant chrome (single color) print technology required by even the simplest of color factor in total printing throughput. that has been adapted to print with four lasers. The only mechanical consumable colors, using cyan, magenta, yellow and in solid ink printers is a long-life mainte- Solid ink excels in overall throughput by black toners. In many ways, it is like nance roller that supplies the oil for the delivering fast first-page-out time. The putting the complexity of four printers imaging drum. The environmentally first page shows up in six seconds, which into one cabinet. friendly replacement rollers last up to is more than twice as fast as most color 30,000 pages and can be installed in less lasers. At full speed, the solid ink engine Reloading: Couldn’t Be Easier than a minute. prints 24 ppm versus 12 to 17 ppm for The unique, shape-coded ink sticks are many color lasers. Speeding up the simply dropped into specified slots on These features make solid ink the best process even further, the Intelligent the top of the printer. Even a child could choice for the majority of users, who are Ready feature monitors usage history easily match the solid ink colors and concerned about getting their prints, not and warms up the ink just before the first shapes to drop them in the appropriate about maintaining their printers. page of the day is anticipated. slot. There’s nothing to spill or vacuum out of the carpet. Inks can be A color laser printer must synchronize its replenished at any time, even imaging components, warm up its fuser during printing. roller, and set the paper path which lengthens the print time. In fact, color Reloading on the fly is not lasers typically achieve their rated speed possible with any other printing only on multiple copies of the same technology because they store ink image. or toner in sealed containers inside the printer. When the ink/toner is exhausted, printing is interrupted.

Color laser printers have up to nine different mechanical consum- ables (assemblies that are depleted during printing), while Xerox high performance solid ink printers have only one.

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High Performance Solid Ink Technology

Green Technology: Environmentally Focused on Office Productivity What about Liquid Ink Jet? Friendly For a printer to be truly productive in a Liquid ink jet technology does not work Solid ink printing produces 90% less busy office it must be easy to set up, well in multi-user network environments. waste than , giving it a easy to use and easy to share. The hidden The major issues are slow print speed, much lower environmental impact. Solid costs of printer downtime, user low consumables capacities, high levels ink printers have only one consumable frustration, and delayed print jobs can be of user intervention and high print cost. item, compared to numerous consum- enormous. For example, purchasing a Low acquisition cost might make liquid ables in color laser printers. low-cost but underpowered or hard-to- ink jet printers appear attractive, but they share color inkjet or color laser printer present a case of false economy for The result is dramatic: after 100,000 can be far more costly in the long run workgroup use as organizations discover prints, a color laser can produce 157 than investing in the right tool for the how much attention they require and pounds of waste, while a solid ink printer job. Likewise, the complexity of using how surprisingly expensive they can be produces only 5 pounds. and maintaining a high performance to operate. These printers require special, color laser can have significant expensive, coated paper to deliver their productivity costs. best print quality.

Solid Ink is Smart Business By virtue of its unrivalled simplicity and About The Author unique strengths, solid ink technology Cheryl Currid and Andy Gibbs of satisfies a broad range of user expecta- Houston-based Currid & Company tions and requirements. research emerging technologies and 157 lbs 5 lbs • Low acquisition cost for superior techniques for a better workplace. Comparison of waste between HP LaserJet 4600 and the quality Xerox Phaser 8400 • Fastest printing of most common

office print jobs Affordable Performance Solid ink printing technology follows the • Low cost for consumables standard rule of computers — perform- • Unsurpassed ease of use ance improves while prices decline. • Bright, vivid colors Today, a solid ink color printer costs no • Handles the broadest range of paper more than a network monochrome laser types printer with similar features. • Small size allows printers to fit in almost any environment from desktop to credenza to small table • Minimal environmental impact

For More Information To request printer information and a print sample, go to: www.xerox.com/office or call (877) 362-6567

Copyright © 2004 XEROX CORPORATION. All rights reserved. Xerox®, The Document Company®, the Digital X, and Phaser® are registered trademarks of XEROX CORPORATION. All other trade- marks are the property of their respective manufacturers.

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