Busted: 4 Myths of Colour Printing

TORONTO, Oct 7 /CNW/ - Imagine there was a cost-effective way to print high-quality collateral in any quantity you wanted and whenever you needed it.

Whether you are a company that wants to produce more materials in-house or a graphics communications shop that needs more flexible and efficient ways to satisfy client demands, digital printing hasn't been able to offer the kind of colour consistency and workflow integration that would allow for easy customization and short runs.

But now, new technology makes it possible.

Here are four common challenges of short-run digital printing you can now file under "M" for myths.

1. You have to print large quantities to make it cost effective
Full-colour printing has typically been an expensive process that required producing large quantities to achieve a lower cost per piece. Simply put, high-quality production was inflexible. When printing in large quantities, changes and alterations were time consuming and pushed costs up. Customization was out of the question.

But new technology allows you to print on demand. What does this mean for you? Consider the possibilities:

• print short runs of only the quantity you need
• flexibility to make changes or print individual pieces
• produce mass quantities with personalized messaging
• create accurate proofs to catch flaws and reduce waste
• quickly turnaround rush jobs

2. You need a professional designer to get the right colour.
Printing colour accurately and consistently is essential for nearly everything you produce, especially branded documents. But a perception exists that only professionals can do this.

That's just not true anymore. New technology takes the worry out of colour management. Affordable digital printing solutions can now help you achieve:

• accuracy, with a flexible variety of digital front-end controllers
• consistency, with automatic adjustments for different media and applications
• repeatability, by configuring colour profiles for future print jobs

3. You will need a dedicated person to manage new colour jobs
When people think of high-quality colour printing, they associate it with standing next to a printer, making sure the feeder tray is stocked and overseeing the finishing processes of folding and stapling. But digital colour printers are becoming much less labour-intensive with advances in automation, including:

• high capacity paper trays that run for longer without having to refill
• online finishing options such as multi-position hole punching, stapling, and folding that save time and resources 

4. It's going to be a problem integrating it with the rest of my IT environment
Adding a new digital printer to the corporate network used to cause some headaches with IT and complicated workflows, all of which were a drain on resources. Not anymore. New digital printers now integrate seamlessly and securely with existing systems, and can be used by nearly anyone, without support from IT. The latest in digital printing solutions feature:

• network tools for managing and controlling device usage and an embedded controller for easy integration with enterprise workflow
• software platforms that allow for the development of personalized document management solutions accessible right from the device and leverage existing infrastructure and databases that are critical in your organization, such as accounting, security, or archiving systems
• feature-rich production drivers and workflows

Experience it for yourself
Still not convinced? Check out the new Xerox Color 550 / 560 Printer and get a free personalized calendar to see first-hand what it can do.

For further information:

Laura Mergelas, Xerox Canada, 416-733-6216 [email protected]