Deliver Your News to the World

Western Graphics Installs Two Xerox iGen3 Digital Color Presses In Less Than A Year


WEBWIRE

Commercial printer registers record revenue growth since installing first iGen3 press.

ST. PAUL, Minn., and ROCHESTER, N.Y., Feb. 28, 2006 -- Less than one year after installing its first Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) iGen3™ 110 Digital Production Press, Western Graphics Inc. recently installed a second digital color press to meet growing customer requirements for short-run, quick-turnaround, high-quality, full-color print jobs.

Since the first Xerox iGen3 press installation in April 2005, the full-service commercial printer has experienced record revenue growth and has expanded into new markets such as financial services, manufacturing and retail.

“When deciding where to make our next investment - offset or another digital press - there was no question another iGen3 press was the best bet. That’s where we see the business growing the fastest,” said Tim Keran, president, Western Graphics Inc. “The Xerox iGen3 press expands our digital business and drives sales for all our services, including offset.”

The company currently prints more than 500,000 pages a month on its initial iGen3 press, and, in the next 90 days, it expects to print an additional 500,000 pages a month on the second digital press. Digital print jobs currently account for more than 30 percent of overall printed volume, and Keran expects those numbers to increase.

Western Graphics was impressed by the advanced technology in the iGen3 press as well as its history and success with Xerox black-and-white digital production printers. Keran said the company purchased the iGen3 presses for their superior image quality and ability to print on a variety of sheet sizes and weights.

Among the innovative applications the company is printing on its Xerox iGen3 presses are highly targeted, personalized direct mail pieces. One multimedia application for a nationwide electronics retailer and Fortune 100 company reached more than 2,500 invitees in 17 cities. Personalized invitations were created using different celebrity images and variable messages. A corresponding handkerchief and personalized ticket were inserted with the invitation into a see-through envelope, creating a personalized, three-dimensional direct mail piece.

Western Graphics uses Xerox’s FreeFlow™ Variable Information Suite - part of the Xerox FreeFlow™ Digital Workflow Collection - for merging data into its personalized digital jobs at high speeds. The company also uses Xerox FreeFlow Print Manager so it can easily integrate the digital workflow between its monochrome and color digital equipment, supported by the Xerox FreeFlow™ DocuSP™ print controller on all of its digital presses.

Many of the company’s corporate customers use WestNet, Western Graphics’ online ordering system. One manufacturing customer links its internal dealership collateral Web site to WestNet to produce personalized postcards, posters and sell sheets. This system is designed to work seamlessly with the Xerox iGen3 press.

According to Keran, Xerox’s partnership is invaluable not only to Western Graphics but also for the competitive advantage it brings when dealing with its customers.

Western Graphics also chose Xerox for its customer business development tools, part of the ProfitAccelerator™ Digital Resources Collection. Among the tools used are the uPublisher Digital Learning Simulator, giving companies the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in the digital book publishing market. Another marketing tool, the Vertical Market Kit, helps printers demonstrate the impact of full-color digital technology.

The company is using another Xerox resource to help it reach new markets and get an edge on the competition; it is a member of the Xerox Graphic Arts Premier Partners Program, a global network of leading digital print service providers. The program provides an online forum where graphic communication professionals can network, share information and gain access to industry experts to help them introduce new applications and services.

The commercial printer also has five Xerox digital black-and-white systems - two DocuTech™ 135 Production Publishers, two DocuTech™ 6180 Production Publishers and a Xerox 4110 Copier/Printer - together producing more than 4.3 million pages a month.

About Western Graphics
A Xerox customer since 1993, Western Graphics is a 75-employee sole-proprietorship offering prepress, digital and offset printing, fulfillment, warehousing and distribution services. The company was designated a “Best Workplace in the Americas 2005” by the graphic arts trade association PIA/GATF for exemplary human resources practices and was most recently named a winner of the Management Plus Award by the National Association for Printing Leadership.



WebWireID10192





This news content was configured by WebWire editorial staff. Linking is permitted.

News Release Distribution and Press Release Distribution Services Provided by WebWire.