The new machine, the DocuColor 7000, is a 70ppm version of the DocuColor 8000 launched last autumn, which will be officially launched at the beginning of June in the UK.

Pricing for the 7000 has yet to be set, but will be "sub 200,000", compared to the 245,000 for the 8000.

"It fills the gap between the 6060 and the 8000," said UK DocuColor product marketing manager Kevin O'Donnell. "A lot of our customers would like the 8000 but can't stretch to it and it allows us to compete even more effectively with other 70ppm machines."

It also launched an inline UV coater for the iGen3; an inline booklet maker for the DocuColor 7000 and 8000, the Horizon ColorWorks 8000, and showed JDF integration with Duplo.

The Epic Cti-635 inline UV coater gives users the option of a gloss or matt finish and was developed with a lot of input from Field Packaging as part of "an initiative that came from the UK" according to O'Donnell.

"It's going to be a real fillip, not only in packaging but also in commercial," he said. "It's a real industrial strength unit."

Story by Barney Cox