But it has been suggested that Basingstoke Press chose Heidelberg after Xeroxs FM division, XBS, took its share of a British Airways contract for black-and-white printing.
Sales director Tony Gardiner said: "It was a factor in our decision as Xerox was acting as a competitor rather than a supplier. But it has it totally wrong if this is believed to be the only reason."
Xerox was unable to reveal any further details regarding the BA contract or Basingstoke Press.
The printer said it had decided on a shake-up last September and invited Xerox, IBM, Danka and Heidelberg to make offers.
"Wed worked with Xerox for 10 years, but we had nagging doubts and, in the end, just didnt feel comfortable," said Gardiner.
Although Heidelbergs offer was not the cheapest, it was able to demonstrate savings in improvements to workflow efficiency, specifically via its open architecture compared to the proprietary software of Xerox.
Heidelberg believes that its 9150 is now a viable competitor to the 180ppm DocuTech 6180. Divisional sales manager for digital products Chris Matthews said: "When we had our 110 versus Xeroxs 180, it was more than just a perception of difference it was a reality.
But now the 9150 is comparable to the DocuTech 6180, leaving the 9110 to compete with the 6135."
Basingstoke Press also hopes to take advantage of its "negotiating power" as a Heidelberg house and is considering replacing its IBM Infocolor with a NexPress next year.
The phased introduction will be complete by December. Heidelberg will officially launch the 9150 at its Open House in Brentford from 22-24 October.
Story by Rachel Barnes
