Prontaprint! technical development director Nick Chalk said franchisees across the UK had added new Xerox mono and mid-range digital colour machines to their existing equipment stables in a growing trend to digital presses.

The Xerox equipment installations have seen two Xerox 2101s installed at Prontaprint! Worcester the first of the high-speed machines in the UK along with eight Xerox DocuColor 12s and seven Document Centre 490 STs to various UK sites in the past few weeks. Further purchases include five 1010s and two DocuColor 3535s.

The Xerox installations had not been confined specifically to any one region or area across the UK, but Chalk said the kit seemed to fit both business and market demands for quick turnaround low-volume direct mail and mail merge documents.

Prontaprint! was constantly looking at technologies from its key suppliers, and the future market implications these may have. Xeroxs technologies seem to fit what our franchisee businesses are looking for at the moment, he said.

Chalk said the flexibility of Xerox digital printing technology was able to meet clients needs and turnaround times better than other equipment in the market.

Xerox UKs director of Graphic Arts, Peter Taylor, said customers were demanding an ever more advanced variety in printing applications, such as personalisation.

To remain competitive print shops must invest in digital, he said.

Prontaprint! operates around 200 franchisee-operated sites in the UK and Ireland, and also deals with suppliers such as Oc and Canon.

Story by Andy Scott