Product of the month: Xerox Versant 180 with Adaptive CMYK+ kit

What does the machine do?
The Xerox Versant 180 is a mid-production colour press. It gives printers greater capacity, output and inline automation tools such as a spectrophotometer, full-bleed booklet maker, punch, square-fold trimmer and other advanced finishing tools for most applications. The press handles everything from trimmed and finished marketing collaterals, direct mail, signage, reports or full-bleed magazines on a range of media types and sizes from envelopes to 26-inch/660mm banner prints.

The Xerox Adaptive CMYK+ kit transforms the four-colour Xerox Versant 180 press into an 11-colour ‘beyond CMYK’ press capable of creating a million hues and shades. It enables print providers to swap out toners to print colours and enhancements. This, in turn, increases profitability and delivers higher margins without needing a new press.

Which are the different models?
The Xerox Adaptive CMYK+ kit for Xerox Versant is the print market’s first adaptive technology kit that adds seven specialty colours — gold, silver, white, clear and fluorescent colours of yellow, magenta and cyan — to an existing production press, enabling instant digital print enhancements. There are three different options of the Adaptive CMYK+ kit to choose from — Xerox Vivid kit (gold, silver, white and clear), Xerox Fluorescent kit (cyan, magenta and yellow) and the Combination Xerox Vivid + Fluorescent kit for all 11 colours. The kit works with EFI DFE versions of the Versant 180, and Versant 180 with Performance Package.

How do these models differ from each other?
The Xerox Adaptive CMYK+ kit is available in either Xerox Vivid kit (gold, silver, white and clear) or Xerox Fluorescent kit (cyan, magenta and yellow).

Is there anything in the machine, which is available as a standalone if the machine is modular?
The Versant 180 is also available without the Adaptive CMYK+ kit and offers Ultra HD 10-bit resolution with four times more pixels than standard. The digital press offers a speed of up to 100-ppm and is capable of print volumes to the tune of 2,50,000-pages/ month. The press also comes with an optional performance package that delivers full-rated 80-ppm on all stocks up to 350 g/m² and adds automated colour calibration with X-Rite inline spectrophotometer.

When was the machine launched?
The Versant 180 was launched in India in April 2017 while the Adaptive CMYK+ kit was launched in July 2020.

What was the thought process when the machine was conceived?
At the time of the launch of the Versant 180, the Xerox Versant family had already established a merit in productivity, automation and media flexibility. The earlier models had seen a positive response from the market creating greater opportunities for the machine owners. The Versant 180 carried on the legacy with enhanced automation features and set out to achieve a new standard of image quality by delivering four times more pixels than other presses while still printing at fast speeds, thereby fueling new levels of business growth for Xerox customers.

What is the target market(s)?
The target segment for the offering is the specialty printing market. The specialty printing space is one of the fastest-growing digital print segments. The new Adaptive CMYK+ kits mean that existing Xerox Versant 180 owners are almost ready to move into embellishment and CMYK+ market. Versant 180 owners can add one or more Adaptive CMYK+ toner kits and start offering more metallic and fluorescent embellishments to their prints across the vast media options available to the Versant 180 press. According to our estimates, the profit margin on digital print enhancement can help printers achieve 50-400% more than on regular CMYK, with buyers prepared to spend up to 89% more on special effect printing.

What kind of substrates can it handle?
The machine and the kit can handle a wide variety of media, including luxury silks, polyesters, and coloured substrates, helping create distinctive, artful, and functional print pieces.

How fast is it?
The Versant 180 offers a speed of 80ppm. Even with the Performance Package or the Adaptive CMYK+ kit, the machine offers the same print throughput.

How easy is it to use?
The Adaptive kit is easy to use, with just a few simple steps. And, in about 10 minutes, one can remove the CMYK toner set and replace it with specialty toners able to print unique and stunning applications in a single pass, or add exciting embellishments to standard CMYK jobs.

What training and support are on offer?
Xerox offers a plethora of resources customers can use to maximise the capabilities of their new Adaptive CMYK+ kit. Marketing resources and tools illustrate how to design for the Vivid and Fluorescent toner sets as well as how to pitch new business to prospective clients.

How much does it cost?
Sold separately, the Xerox Vivid kit (gold, silver, white and clear) and Xerox Fluorescent kit (cyan, magenta and yellow) are each USD 14,700. Combined, the two sets are sold together for USD 25,000.