Consolidated Graphics Buys Three Xeikon 6000s

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Consolidated Graphics Inc., one of the largest North American general commercialprinting companies, has purchased three Xeikon 6000 1200 dpi digital color presses. With annual revenues of $1.2billion, Consolidated Graphics has 70 printing businesses in theUnited States and Canada, as well as a facility in Europe, and is arenowned leader in the use of digital printing technology. Theunique combination of uncompromising quality (1200 dpi at 4bits/spot), size capabilities, speed, and productivity offered bythe Xeikon 6000 made it the obvious choice.

The company took its first Xeikon 6000 press into production inJune of last year. The plan is to upgrade this press to 1200 dpi aswell, to bring it to the same level. The three additional presseswill be used to print high-quality dust jackets for photo books andwill provide the high-quality capacity required to meet the sharpincrease in demand for the company's already significant photo bookprinting application.

"The unique capabilities of the Xeikon presses in general, andthe Xeikon 6000 in particular, are key enablers for the developmentof even better and more sophisticated applications and profitablebusiness opportunities," says Joe R. Davis, Chairman and ChiefExecutive Officer at Consolidated Graphics.

"This deal is another important step in our strategicrelationship," says Bram Bourgeois, President and CEO of PunchGraphix Americas, "We are delighted that a company of thiscaliber has chosen to continue using our technology. Business isclearly booming for them and we in turn can provide new, advancedtechnologies to support their growth. Their choice is an excellentendorsement of our benchmark print capabilities. I look forward toa long and fruitful relationship as both our companies continue toflourish."

Consolidated Graphics' sophisticated application requires asophisticated solution. Being web-fed and with an imaging width ofup to 19.7 inches and virtually unlimited image lengths, the Xeikon6000 offers exactly the size and format capabilities ConsolidatedGraphics is looking for. The Xeikon 6000 is not only fast (39 feetper minute/170 letter-size pages per minute), with an uptime of80%, it is extremely robust and reliable, and therefore ideallysuited to support Consolidated Graphics' growth.

As important as format flexibility and productivity, is theconsistently superior print quality achieved by the Xeikon 6000.The engine is now equipped with a 1200 dpi imaging head, which wasinitially developed for the Xeikon 8000. This revolutionary,high-precision LED-based imaging head combines true 1200 dpiresolution and 1200 x 3600 dpi addressability with variable dotdensity. The unique combination of high resolution, highaddressability, and multi-bit depth results in the finestcommercial print quality with exceptionally sharp and crispdetails, superior definition, and smooth tone transitions. Giventhe application, it is obvious why image quality is paramount.

The photo book application also imposes stringent requirements oncolor management; the inside pages being printed on differentpresses. The Xeikon 6000 comes with the latest generation ofXeikon's unique X-800 digital front-end, and has exactly what ittakes to meet these requirements. Based on open standards, theX-800 enables the implementation of flexible and fully automatedworkflows in any production environment while its scalability makesit the benchmark for high-end variable data production and allowsit to grow with a company's future needs. More important still, theX-800 offers ICC color management, supporting CMYK as well as RGBworkflows, and allows post-RIP color adjustment, minimizingdowntime while offering great flexibility, ensuring a perfect matchbetween the images on the dust jacket and the ones inside the photobook.

Finally, another essential requirement imposed by ConsolidatedGraphics' specific application, is being able to guarantee qualityand color consistency regardless of where a dust jacket is printed,as the new Xeikon 6000 presses will be installed at differentproduction plants. With two in-line densitometers andhigh-performance process algorithms, providing uniform and accuratecolors and perfect color registration, the Xeikon 6000 guaranteesabsolute color consistency, not only from job to job, but also frompress to press.