The Versant 2100 replaces the last DocuColor press still in new production, the DocuColor 8080, which will now be discontinued, thereby retiring the highly successful DocuColor platform.
Xerox Graphic Communications Business Group worldwide product marketing manager for High Entry Production Color, Chris Irick stressed that the new Versant platform was a "brand new, ground-up design".
"This is not a dust-off of DocuColor technology. This is not a dust-off of Color Press technology. It is a brand new platform with an exciting set of features," he said.
This includes a new compact belt fuser capable of printing 100 A4 ppm on stocks from 52-300gsm and 80ppm on stocks from 301-350gsm, the ability to handle the same array of media as the Color Press (including linen, poly and vinyl), a new Auto Sheet Clearing system and improved 4/1 printing.
"If you're printing CMYK on one side and black on the other, in competitor presses the press can slow down to 15%-20% of rated speed," said Irick. "With the Versant 2100 you will be able to print up to 90% of rated speed; this is important for our customers."
The average monthly print volume for the press is 75,000 to 250,000 while the duty cycle is 660,000 impresssions.
Xerox has yet to confirm pricing for the Versant 2100, but said that it would sit between the C75/J75, which costs up to around £60,000, and the Color Press range, which starts from around £210,000.
Another new feature ported from the Color Press is Xerox's Full Width Array, an automated tool for optimising Tonal Reproduction Curve (TCR) and density uniformity (SMILE correction), registration (including skew, magnification and perpendicularity correction), and colour management (including automated colour calibration and profiling).
Xerox has also added a new paper registration technology (Production Accurate Registration), comprising hardware, software control and sensors, that both registers each sheet and monitors it through the system for accuracy.
"Everyone is saying 0.5mm front-to-back all sides registration," said Irick. "What Xerox has done that is different is that we're able to deliver it from page-to-page, run-to-run. We don't drift."
The press also features Xerox's new Ultra HD Resolution, which renders at 1,200dpi rather than the standard 600dpi and then images at 2,400dpi.
"What is really groundbreaking here is we're going from 8 bit to 10 bit and that's 300% more colour precision when you're rendering things like gradients. This will give our customers a huge edge in the market in delivering even more sophisticated applications," said Irick.
On the front-end the Versant 2100 Press will be available with a choice of Xerox's FreeFlow Print Server or two Fiery-powered DFEs, the EX2100 Print Server or the EX-P2100 Print Server (which has 40% more ripping horsepower than the EX2100).
Finishing options at launch will include existing Digital Finishing Alliance partner devices, such as the Plockmatic Pro50/35 and Horizon ColorWorks Pro booklet makers, while post-launch Xerox is lining up a two-knife trimmer.
Xerox will begin taking worldwide orders for the press on 1 July for Q3 installs.
