What does it do?
The Rialto 900 is a very compact but fast roll-to-sheet duplex colour inkjet press, producing A4 documents on plain paper. It is built by Impika in France and is the first press to be jointly developed since Xerox acquired the company in 2013.
It runs at 320 A4 ppm, which puts it well ahead of all but the most exotic twin engine toner press configurations. The narrow web (up to 220mm) and looping paper path makes it more compact than a toner press and the price of just over £600,000 undercuts all other (but wider) roll-fed duplex inkjet presses.
Jo Oliphant, European high-speed inkjet manager for Xerox, says it provides customers with “a lower entry point into high-speed inkjet printing, acting as a bridge between the world of continuous-feed inkjet and cut-sheet digital printing.”
When was it launched and what market is it aimed at?
The announcement and first public showing was at the Hunkeler Innovationdays on 23 February. Xerox is now taking orders.
The primary market is for A4 printed output, though it can print longer or shorter sheets. Applications include transactional, relational marketing materials, direct mail and some books and catalogues.
How does it work?
Rialto 900 is a tight-web CMYK inkjet printer. It uses Kyocera KJ4B greyscale piezo drop-on-demand inkjet heads in a 220mm wide single-pass configuration with missing jet detectors after each engine. Native resolution is 600dpi but is claimed to resemble 1,000dpi. Head cleaning is automatic, so is duplex registration.
It uses Xerox High Definition water-based ink, which is said to give a “strong gamut” with reduced show-through.
Inside the print tower there is a separate print engine for each side of the paper, with no turn bars: the paper web loops up and back over the first engine to present the reverse side to the second engine. Infra red driers and cooling units are placed after each engine, and the web then passes into the cutter-sheeter and delivery unit.
How does it differ from previous models?
Although sharing some technology with the larger Impika inkjet web presses, the Rialto 900 is unique thanks to its incorporation of Xerox systems and control philosophies. The Rialto 900 uses the same proprietary Xerox High Density Ink available in all Xerox Impika inkjet presses.
Impika showed a prototype roll-to-A4 printer at Drupa in 2012, called Genesis. Rialto 900 is loosely based on this but the configuration changed after Xerox got involved.
What is the USP?
It’s small, fast, self-contained and, for an inkjet, almost reasonably priced. There’s no other plain paper inkjet with this configuration on the market. Canon’s duplex Dreamlabo 5000 is a slowish A4 narrow-web inkjet dedicated to high-quality photobooks, but it’s not actively sold in Europe.
Other than configuration, the Rialto 900 is about as fast as two cut-sheet toner printers while taking up less space than one of them when you count feed and delivery.
How easy is it to use?
According to Oliphant it “is very easy to use in all aspects, from the integrated splicing table through to the GUI, which is extremely intuitive.”
What support is on offer?
Xerox offers “comprehensive” service support and full operator training.
How much does it cost?
Around £614,000, but it depends on configuration. Running costs will be basically a click-plus-ink model, says Oliphant. “The question around costs per page are asked many times, but since every printer will RIP a document differently it’s not an easy comparison and the fairest way of describing it is that Xerox is competitive.”
What is the sales target and how many installations have there been?
Xerox won’t reveal targets. It’s not admitting to any installations either, so far, but the order book is open.
SPECIFICATIONS
Max speed 320 A4 ppm (160 duplex ppm)
Monthly volumes 1.5m-5m A4 impressions
Max paper width 250mm
Paper roll diameter 1m
Stock weight range 60-160gsm
Drop sizes 4pl, 7pl, 11pl
Ink Water-based pigment (HD)
Stack height 420mm
Footprint 3,580x1,550mm
Price Around £614,000
Contact Xerox UK 0330 123 3245 www.xerox.com
ALTERNATIVES
Canon Océ Varioprint i300
Canon’s first cut-sheet inkjet press was announced earlier this year. It handles true B3, where dry toner machines are usually SRA3+. Canon has so far only released the most basic specs, but we know it’s a little slower than the Rialto and costs a lot more. However, it also has a greater format flexibility and its VarioPrint architecture is compatible with existing finishing systems for VarioPrint 6000 series presses and Prisma front ends.
Max speed 3,800 duplex B3 sph (142 duplex A4 ppm)
Price About £800,000 depending on configuration
Contact Canon 01737 2200 www.canon-europe.com
Delphax elan 500
This fast sheetfed SRA2 inkjet press is about half the price of its nearest (slower) B2 inkjet rival. Its use of Memjet printheads explains the high resolution, high speed and keen price, but also the strange format and limitation of dye-based inks.
Max speed 250 duplex A4 ppm
Resolution 1,600dpi or 1,600x800dpi
Colours CMYK plus two optional spot colours
Inks Aqueous dye
Max print width 441mm
Stock weight range 60-350gsm
Price £420,000
Contact Delphax UK 01293 551051 www.delphax.com
Xeikon 9800
Latest and fastest of the Xeikon 500mm-plus roll-fed dry toner presses. It’s a bit slower than the Rialto, with a larger footprint, but there are five duplex colours and a lot more format and media flexibility.
Max speed 21.5m/min
Resolution 1,200x3,600dpi
Colours CMYK +white, clear or spot
Toner Xeikon QA-CD
Max print width 504mm
Stock weight range 40 to 300gsm
Price £490,000 (with roll feed and rewinder)
Contact Xeikon UK 01904 520555 www.xeikon.com
Xerox Colour 8250
This sheetfed SRA3 toner press is Xerox’s ‘official’ nearest alternative, when fitted with a roll unwinder, sheeter, modified feed and stacker. It’s bigger and costlier than the Rialto, but only about half as quick. On the other hand, some jobs may need the two-up sheet format.
Max speed 68 duplex A4 ppm
Resolution 2,400dpi
Colours CMYK
Max sheet size 364x572mm
Min sheet size 178x178mm
Stock weight range 60 to 220gsm
Price Around £500,000
Contact Xerox UK 0870 873 4519 www.xerox.com
