Xerox has unveiled its DocuPrint 500 CF, the first in a family of continuous-feed high-speed black-and-white digital printers that the company plans to introduce to the UK this year.


"By the end of this year we should see four basic flavours of continuous-feed machines, offering different options," said Xerox UK continuous-feed business manager Jo Oliphant.


The DocuPrint 500 CF prints simplex at speeds of up to 502 A4 impressions per minute at 300 or 240dpi. It is designed for applications such as financial statements and invoices. Xerox sees it as competing with machines like IBMs InfoPrint 4000.


Two of the machines have already been installed in the UK, at Metro Mail in Gateshead and Cotswold Marketing in Cirencester.


Metro Mail has also taken the DocuPrint 350, a 350ppm machine, which will be the next member of the CF family to be introduced.


"The DocuPrint 350 will offer the same flexibility as the 500, but will be on a different speed band," said Oliphant.


A higher resolution version of the printer, designed for publishing applications, will also be added to the family, but Oliphant said the machine is in development, and it was too early to comment further.


"This represents a new commitment for Xerox to address the market for the highest digital speed printing," Oliphant said.


The DocuPrint 500 CF is available in the UK at a list price of 231,000 for the printer and controller.


Story by Andy Scott