New Xerox Platforms Promise $$$ Savings In The Office

New Xerox Platforms Promise $$$ Savings In The Office

New York

In an extravagant multimedia event said to be broadcast to 10 locations worldwide, Xerox Corp. recently launched two new technology platforms and attendant office products that should be of interest to independent agents and their carriers alike.

These platforms fundamentally change the competitive dynamics of todays markets, delivering ways to help customers make and save money, according to Anne Mulcahy, chairman and chief executive officer of Rochester, N.Y.-based Xerox. She said the platforms would ultimately transform the way work flows through enterprises of every kind.

Of particular interest to carriers and larger agents and brokers are two new black-and-white 100- and 120-page-per-minute digital systems, the DocuTech 100 and 120 Copier/Printers. According to Xerox, the products on this platform can produce customized black-and-white brochures, newsletters, manuals and booklets.

A Xerox representative at the event said the two DocuTech copier/printers have 40 percent fewer moving parts. Among other money-saving features, the units may allow print operations to have slightly less staff.

According to Lou Slawetsky, president of Rochester, N.Y.-based Industry Analysts, an office systems research firm, the new DocuTech copier/printers provide better image quality, better paper handling, ability to handle more stocks and better storage capability than Xeroxs previous units in this category at half the price.

Pricing for the DocuTech 100 starts at $77,000, while the higher-speed DocuTech 120 has a list price of $99,000, said Xerox.

For smaller agencies and other smaller offices, Xerox introduced the Phaser 8400, which it said is the first office color printer derived from a new solid ink technology platform. The machine runs at a brisk 24 pages per minute in color or black-and-white, and retails for less than $1,000, the company stated.

Like other solid ink products, the Phaser 8400 uses a considerably lower volume of materials to produce color prints, the company noted. Thus, it produces 97 percent less waste than a comparable color laser printer over the life of the product. The unit is priced at $999.

Im a big fan of solid ink, said Mr. Slawetsky. The advantages of the technology, he noted, are that its fast and its cheap, from the point of view of both acquisition and operating costs. He added that solid ink units deliver extremely vivid color.

One possible drawback of the technology, he said, is that because the ink is made of wax, it may be smeared if put through the document feeder of a copier to make additional copies. Solid-in-based images are also somewhat sensitive to light over time, said Mr. Slawetsky.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, March 5, 2004. Copyright 2004 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved. Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.