Glazier Design worked with printer IPW1 to create the printed materials for Prof Stephen Hawking’s memorial at Westminster Abbey – the first digital printed material used in an internment service at the abbey.

By using the Xerox Iridesse Production Press, they were able to print on multiple media types within a 48-hour turnaround without sacrificing quality.

“For us, the Iridesse has meant exceptionally high-quality printed collateral for a VIP event akin to a state funeral. Our timescales were very short, sometimes only having a day or two to design, print and deliver,” said Ben Glazier, director of Glazier Design.

“All the items were turned around [by the printer] in the fastest timescales to meet the deadlines of the Westminster Abbey service. The quality was so high that we didn’t need to use any litho processes in any of the collateral, saving us days.”

Find out how Glazier Design is using Iridesse to take their operation to new heights and deliver value that opens new doors to growth:

About Altron Document Solutions
Altron Document Solutions (ADS) is Africa’s leading document management technology and services company, and the largest Xerox distributor in the world. It is the authorised Xerox distributor in 26 sub-Saharan countries, offering the complete range of Xerox document equipment, software solutions and services. Altron Document Solutions forms part of JSE-listed Altron Limited.

About Xerox
Xerox Holdings (NYSE: XRX) makes every day work better. We are a workplace technology company building and integrating software and hardware for enterprises large and small. As customers seek to manage information across digital and physical platforms, Xerox delivers a seamless, secure and sustainable experience. Whether inventing the copier, Ethernet, the laser printer and more, Xerox has long defined the modern work experience. Learn how that innovation continues at xerox.com.

It’s either a pipe dream or the holy grail of printing. Some say it’s impossible. Others, that it’s just elusive. Whatever the reality, zero downtime would be a dream come true for just about any printer. No one wants to see idle machines haunting their plant floor. Especially today.

With cost pressures squeezing cents and dollars from margins, the print technology you invest in needs to work harder than ever to pull its weight. The price of an hour’s downtime is greater than ever.

So how do you push productivity to the extreme? Here are some tips for those trying to achieve the dream of zero downtime.

Apply your tech to the right jobs

Maximising uptime is all about automating the friction out of workflows. But boosting productivity comes with its caveats. Bill Gates famously mapped out the two ways automation can go for your business: “The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.”

So what does that mean for you? You need to evaluate your equipment and play to its strengths. Scale up your most efficient, lucrative activities and try to wean yourself off the rest. If you spot gaps in your infrastructure that are holding you back, invest in the technology that will open up that opportunity – if the returns will justify the investment. Innovation is no good if the result is clunky processes and half-speed workflows.

Work the flow

When printing doesn’t flow, it fails. And as you push towards capacity, the process pitfalls that lie just beneath the surface get bigger and bigger. To stop cracks from appearing in your workflows, you need to do two things well: automate and simplify.

Use web-to-print portals so customers can easily order prints to their preferred specifications again and again. Remove touches from your pre-press processes wherever you can. Automate decision-making using smart workflows and conditional logic. And look at processes end-to-end instead of in a series of segments. Super-slick silos are still silos, and stitching processes together leaves gaps at the seams.

Since reliability is paramount, you’ll also want to work redundancy into your flow so important jobs can be moved to a backup printer if needed. This may seem like a downtime catch-22 – where working to capacity requires spare capacity – but no one said dreams were easy to nail down.

Keep your eyes peeled

You can’t fill the gaps in your workflows if you don’t know they exist. Visibility is everything. So make sure you keep your team in the loop and that everyone who needs it has access to reporting dashboards and other relevant metrics. Set up automatic alerts that immediately notify the right people when something goes wrong, not further down the line when it causes a bottleneck.

Customers need clear visibility of their order too. So keep them up to date with e-mail notifications as part of your web-to-print service. They’ll be happier and your staff won’t be bogged down on the phones answering customer queries.

Don’t just focus on filling your order book

Before you try to supercharge your operation, take the time to see where the efficiencies and inefficiencies lie. Find your sweet spot – whether it’s a job type such as custom variable or wide format, or a customer type such as small companies in specific verticals.

If you’re on the journey from print service provider to marketing services provider, then look for opportunities to process more value-add jobs and cross-media services. This will help to solidify your status as a strategic partner for the long term.

Holy grail or pipe dream, zero downtime represents a very real ambition to get the most out of your production printing equipment.

Could you take a slice off your downtime by tightening up your workflow automation? Learn more here.

New technology solutions have opened the doors that allow work to get done from anywhere and on virtually any device, providing the resources needed to keep businesses moving ahead. As enterprises continue to define what the future of work looks like, leaders are realising the importance of flexibility in supporting a decentralised workforce to keep their employees connected, collaborative and their businesses moving ahead. Employers who are hesitant to adopt digital tools will only fall behind. The most successful organisations are, and will continue to be, the ones that recognise that work is happening everywhere and teams need tools to support that. We no longer “go” to work – our work comes to us, no matter where we are.

One of Xerox’s most recent product launches, Xerox Workflow Central, a secure, cloud-based software platform providing access to workflow automation and digitisation tools, is helping today’s teams overcome everyday workflow challenges for unstoppable productivity, from any location, at any time. Whether turning handwriting into legible, editable and shareable text, converting documents into audio files for accessibility and easy listening, translating documents to and from 40+ languages or converting PDFs into Microsoft formats, the need for this has never been greater and its value can be seen play out in real-time.

Working in a collaborative world

An often cited concern about a decentralised workforce is the fear that collaboration among peers and teams will subside. In reality, the technology that exists today has never been more well-equipped to foster collaboration and seamless information sharing. While Xerox Workflow Central provides a variety of solutions, one tangible example of its benefits can be seen with Aspen Pharmacare. The company is leveraging the platform to send and share documents that need to be translated and shared in multiple languages across their global teams and customers. Now, translations for Aspen Pharmacare are more accurate and reliable than ever, helping employees process documents faster from any location, enabling them to provide quicker, more precise, service to their customers.

Working in an on-the-go world

Far before the pandemic, there was already a trending shift in how and where work gets done. Some data suggests that remote work has seen a 400% increase since 2010. Technology advancements over the last decade have also accelerated at breakneck speeds, making it easier to stay connected while travelling, commuting, at home or in the office. Whether it’s video conferencing, collaborative messaging apps or shared cloud-based workspaces, a growing number of tools and resources to get work done are at workers’ disposal, wherever they might be.

In response to this broader market trend towards a decentralised workforce (a trend that’s been unfolding for more than a decade), Xerox Workflow Central’s core capabilities were thoughtfully developed to enable tedious previously manual and repetitive tasks to be automated using a suite of seamlessly integrated tech, to ensure the end-user’s experience was the same screen they are familiar with; there is nothing like having to do a lot more work just to figure out a new system. Xerox Workflow Central works across a variety of devices and document types, taking the guesswork out of converting physical and digital files into usable formats.

Working in a secure world

One of the chief characteristics of decentralised work is operating within cloud environments. While the cloud offers innumerable benefits, like improved collaboration and seemingly endless storage, the rise of cyber attacks is leaving cloud environments vulnerable to breaches and businesses are suffering due to unsecured networks and digitally unsafe operating practices. Seventy-one percent of security professionals have seen an increase in security threats or cyber attacks since the coronavirus outbreak began, according to an IT and security professionals survey from Check Point and Dimensional Research.

While productivity is critical for business success, enterprises should be hyper-focused on ensuring their workflows are secure all the while. Xerox Workflow Central is compatible with Microsoft Azure security at every level for this very reason. This means that even when documents are transformed within Workflow Central, they’re protected by encryption and password protection services, allowing teams to confidently access and share knowledge without worry.

Change is the only way to move forward

Organisations – both enterprises and SMEs – that fail to recognise the way the workforce has changed are only increasing the risk of self-harm. An SME survey from Xerox found that 75% of respondents are more reliant on workflow technologies, compared with their pre-pandemic set-ups; 82% say digitising paperwork is important to their survival; and 88% view security software and hardware that protects business information as core to their longevity.

Embracing digital tools and automated workflow options to support cultural shifts is the only way to ensure employee retention and keep businesses from falling behind. Investing in digital transformation solutions will only improve team productivity, wherever that team might be.

Technology can be a thing of beauty when all systems are go. But when hardware or software do not perform, delays are costly and frustrating. Xerox’s Managed Print Services are designed to help organisations of all sizes avoid that hassle and expense, partly by helping you to print less. But you still need to print sometimes, so here are the top five printing snags and Xerox’s quick-fix remedies to solve them.

1. The endless paper chase

Problem: Printing takes too long

Nothing is worse than making great time with a project only to hit a wall when it comes time to print. Slow print time can be caused by a high-resolution setting, a memory issue and/or choice of drivers.

Solutions:

• High-resolution images have more data for your PC and printer to process, which can cause slow print times. If you’re not looking for gallery quality, select draft, standard or normal mode for office documents. For presentations or formal pieces, switch your setting back to high-quality. If processing large files with complex images is part of your regular workflow, consider adding memory to keep your printer humming along.
• Switch from two-sided to simplex mode. You’ll use more paper, but one-sided printing takes considerably less time.
• Your driver can determine speed outcome, too. High-end lasers and even some inkjets are available with a choice of drivers, including PostScript, PCL and/or the manufacturer’s host-based driver. In general, PCL is best for faster office printing and PostScript is better for graphics intensive applications and industries.

2. The workflow logjam

Problem: Paper jams

So you’ve remedied the cause for slow printing only to end up with the ‘king of all printer nightmares’ – the paper jam.

Solutions:

• Your user guide or control panel instructions should walk you through this easily enough. In fact, some Xerox printers provide video assistance and lighted interiors to make jam clearance a snap. Start by inspecting the paper path and remove any jammed material, being careful to take out any stuck paper straight – and above all – not tearing it. If it’s caught between rollers, follow the guide on how to release the pressure.
• If it’s a misaligned paper that caused the jam, remove the tray to make sure the paper is positioned correctly and reseat the tray. Sometimes you may find no mis-fed sheet at all, in which case you’ll need to remove the paper stack, check to see if it’s squared properly and reposition it back in the tray.
• As a rule, you should always make sure the type of paper being printed is supported by your printer. And also remember to store your paper where it’s dry to avoid moisture that can make printing difficult.

3. A picture’s worth 1 000 words

Problem: Really bad looking prints

Your printer is operating perfectly – but your final product looks terrible. Smudges, poor image quality or faded type make even the best documents look sloppy and unprofessional.

Solutions:

• Try these easy fixes for better quality laser printing. If your issues persist, the problem is more likely to be due to supplies or hardware.
• Check your print driver to make sure you have the correct paper or media selected.
• Double check that the paper loaded in the tray matches the type selected in the printer driver.
• In some laser printers, the fuser has an adjustment for paper type. If your printer’s fuser can be adjusted manually, check to see that it’s set properly, but be aware: fusers get very hot so exercise caution.
• Check out your toner cartridges, imaging unit(s) and the fuser for damage. These components vary by model and manufacturer so it’s best to refer to the user guide.
• If you’ve got smudge marks, print several blank sheets of paper and they will eventually fade away.

4. Nothing’s happening

Problem: My printer isn’t printing

Next to the almighty paper jam, nothing happening also ranks high on the printing problem list.

Solutions:

• First, check that you sent the print job to the right printer; you may very well be printing dozens of documents in the next department. To make your main printer your default, click navigate to printers and faxes in Windows. Right-click on your printer icon and select ‘set’ as default printer.
• Did you check that there’s enough – and the correct kind of – paper in the tray? While you’re at it, make sure your printer is on and that all cables are secure. Both USB- and network-connected computers require that the print driver be installed on the computer you’re printing from. Print drivers with a two-way communication feature can tell you what might be causing your issue via desktop or driver notifications, without making a trip to the printer.
• And, finally, if your printer just won’t print or your print job seems stuck in the queue, the easiest solution is to restart. Begin by restarting your software application. If that doesn’t work, reboot your computer. Lastly, turn off your printer for a few minutes before switching it back on.

5. Time to pull the plug

Problem: Old age and/or outdated technology

This is seen a lot: your printer has been good to you, and you’ve grown rather attached to it. It fits just right and has all the configurations exactly as you want them. And yet, you’re starting to notice little hiccups now and then – a grating noise here, a collating problem there…

Solution:

• Accept the fact that it may be time to let it go, bearing in mind the steep cost of holding onto outdated legacy technology, not only in terms of business drag but the price of a hamstrung IT department. When you’re ready for a replacement, consider a new printer with a service contract.

You had a plan – but like many others inside and outside the print industry, recent events have forced you to re-evaluate, re-strategise and, in many cases, reconfigure for a future that looks very different than it did only a year or two ago.

Although the print industry reported a 13% decline in revenue in 2020, the pandemic drove an 8% increase in the share of digital pages versus offset.

For many operations, the long-run, bread-and-butter offset jobs of the past are waning, to be replaced by a more diverse mix of shorter jobs requiring multiple print technologies and finishing, along with a higher demand for specialty applications.

Remaining profitable requires serving traditional markets more efficiently and cost-effectively while acquiring new, growth driving capabilities that can manage the flood of smaller, fast-turn jobs.

 

 

Say hello to bigger – and better – opportunities to unlock value, earn more revenue and keep jobs in-house.

Demand is growing for oversized print jobs like book covers, dust jackets, posters, landscape booklets and multi-panel brochures. However, feeding the extra-long sheets (XLS) these jobs require has traditionally taken a big bite out of productivity – and profit.

The new Xerox High Capacity XLS Vacuum Feeder is purpose-built to put that profit back in your pocket by accelerating turnaround for jobs up to 1.2 metres long. Pair it up with a powerful press and say goodbye to time-consuming manual feeding and equipment swaps so you can make fast work of oversized, high-margin applications.

Say hello to more choice.

Building your customer base by offering a wider variety of applications means building a press that’s up to the challenge.

The Xerox High Capacity XLS Vacuum Feeder is an over-achiever when it comes to advancing the core capabilities of the Xerox Iridesse Production Press and Xerox Versant Presses.

It accelerates the delivery of Iridesse’s signature sparkle and shine.

And it takes Versant Press automation, image quality and application flexibility to another level.

Both platforms are at the head of their class on their own, but adding advanced XLS feeding capabilities gives you the freedom to accept virtually any job – and better yet – to profit from it.

Say hello to big feeding volume plus reliability.

Where’s the profit in XLS printing? It’s all about reducing time and eliminating touches.

The Xerox High Capacity XLS Vacuum Feeder makes fast work of feeding big stacks of XLS sheets using innovative vacuum-feed technology. Quick set-up means that feeding longer stocks is now drop-and-go simple.

And with greater reliability and fewer jams due to misfeeds that can happen with other technologies, you’ll unlock more profit on every page, regardless of job type.

Configure the press that meets your application mix and growth strategy