Xerox intros 'Color-In-Office' series

MUMBAI, INDIA: Xerox India, a part of Xerox Corporation, today unveiled five top of the line office products in the Printer and MFD category under the concept 'Color-In-Office' series. With this launch, Xerox has set a new benchmark by offering color printouts at the most economical industry price of Rs.2/- per print with the Xerox Solid Ink 8860, besides offering a comprehensive range of color product portfolio.

The new products are targeted at corporates, large enterprises, SMEs, advertising and design houses where color has a growing usage. The launch of a wide range of affordable color products are aimed to help increase color penetration in the office segment in the A3 and A4 category.

The newly launched products include: Xerox WorkCentre 7232 (A3 MFD, 10 ppm Color & 30 ppm B&W), Xerox WorkCentre 7328 (A3 multifunctional device, 26 ppm for color and 28 ppm for B&W), Xerox WorkCentre 7655 (A3 color MFP, 40 ppm color 55 B&W), Xerox Phaser 6180 MFP (20 ppm color printing) and Xerox Phaser 8860 (30 ppm color printer) based on environment friendly Solid Ink technology). The price of the new launched products ranges between Rs.1,80,000 and Rs. 10,00,000.

Under the 'Color-In-Office' series, Xerox will offer more value proposition to its customers through buy back offers, finance schemes, ugradation and exchange offers. Xerox will also roll out an educational series on how color can increase productivity and enhance efficiency in the office.

One of the newly unveiled printers, the Xerox Phaser 8860 is in line with Xerox's promise of delivering environmentally sustainable products and is based on wax based Solid Ink printing technology. Solid Ink produces 90 percent less waste than laser printing and is Xerox's patented technology to offer superior quality prints. It does not require synchronization and comes with lifetime components and a high duty cycle, giving it longer maintenance and an operating advantage over other printers.

Speaking at the launch, Andrew Horne, managing director, Xerox India Ltd, said, "Xerox has always stood for innovation and color is one of our four growth engines, where we will continue to innovate and set new industry benchmarks. The environment friendly Xerox patented Solid Ink technology is a part of our Green IT initiative and is one of the reasons for reintroducing this technology in the market place. We are confident that our wide range of color products will provide an excellent opportunity for color customization and offer a competitive edge."

Added Horne, "Globally, Color is already making its presence felt. As per Q2, 2008, color revenues were up by 11 percent and accounted for 40 percent of Xerox Corporation's total revenue and 16 percent of total pages printed."

Princy Bhatnagar, director, office business group, Xerox India Ltd, said, "Color is still at an adoption stage in the Indian market. However, in today's competitive scenario enterprises are fast realizing the importance of color in office as it helps to make an immediate impression and breaks through the clutter. With color becoming more affordable with our Solid Ink technology, we are confident to grow the color usage in the office segment and open up new opportunities in segments like R&D, advertising agencies and fashion houses. With this launch, Xerox will be a formidable player in the A4 color segment while continuing to lead the A3 category."

Added Bhatnagar, "The key roadblocks to the adoption of color are high running cost and total cost of ownership (TCO) of the product. Over the next 3 months, we will be rolling out 6 city road shows on educating enterprises and SMBs on the TCO of our offering and help them migrate to color."

Commenting on the growth potential of the India color laser printer market, Shiladitya Sarkar, senior manager, peripherals and channels research practice, IDC India said, "The color laser printer (single-function and multi-function) segment saw a flat growth of 5 percent year-on-year (2007 over 2006) in unit shipment terms. However, IDC expects the Indian market to witness a faster adoption of color laser printers over the next two-three years with the market expected to grow at a 23 percent CAGR in unit shipment terms for the period 2007-2012."