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Author: Andy Slawetsky – I had the privilege of visiting Xerox’s Gil Hatch Customer Innovation Center in Webster, New York more than two years ago, and I’m glad to be back to learn what happened to Big X.

After seeing their speech at the recent BTA conference in Coronado, California and accepting an interview with Mike Pietrunti, Senior Vice President of Dealers, I had the opportunity to visit this historic factory and actually saw some new technologies And visited their manufacturing plant.

You say manufacturing? But did Xerox not get rid of all their manufacturing? Incorrect! Xerox Manufacturing is still active on their Webster campus! Fred Ramsey and Brian Segnit took me to tour the toner packaging facility and the iGen remanufacturing line-these two lines are on my way. who knows?

After passing the original photocopier Xerox 914 through the building, we walked into the factory to see what was behind the Xerox curtain.

The endless large boxes of toner lined up in a row, waiting to be shipped to partners, customers and even competitors.

Some of this toner is sent to these huge containers, while the rest is sent to another building, where it is loaded into printer cartridges.

During the visit, we encountered the iGen remanufacturing line, where they stripped these huge digital printing presses to the frame, and then manually reassembled them into a new iGen.

After the facility rehearsal, we sat down to discuss some of the newer technologies Xerox introduced last year.

If you missed it, in November last year Xerox launched the VersaLink C8000W very low-key, which is one of the most innovative A3 all-in-ones I have seen in years. In the past, Xerox would let people from all over the world see this product. But in the era of the big virus, it just caught my attention.

This all-in-one machine is essentially a combination of an ordinary color office printer and a commercial printer. As the COVID pandemic accelerates the shift from A3 console printers to smaller, cheaper (and less profitable) A4 desktop devices, Xerox provides customers with good reasons to reconsider A3.

VersaLink C8000W is a 45-page-per-minute color all-in-one printer that can print on paper up to 12" x 18". With optional WIFI, potentially huge paper capacity, and a large number of standard and optional mobile printing solutions, it looks like a typical color office copier/printer, right? Incorrect.

The printer also provides features that ordinary laser printers don't usually have. Commercial printers can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, or even more, to purchase equipment that can print prints similar to some of them. However, this machine is currently sold at a discount of $4,549 on the Xerox website.

Think of labels, signs, COVID floor decals, menus, wedding invitations, and anything else; it can now be brought to the office for small batch production, with a fast turnaround, and it looks like a large sum of money has been spent from a professional printer. Moreover, it can be done on a device that others use as a daily copier/printer.

The key is Xerox's white toner, the "W" in C8000W. By printing white underneath, the device can put incredible, jaw-dropping images on any colored paper. It comes from a printer and can be sold by production experts and geographic representatives.

Xerox’s products actually provide customers with new products that are different from their last copy machine, and there are reasons to buy another A3 size printing device.

I am grateful to Brian and Fred for taking the time to show me the facilities and guide me through the demonstration. It is always great to get face-to-face updates.

Although they may remain silent on the release of new products, this does not mean that Xerox is not busy. VersaLink C8000W is the first all-in-one machine I have seen that excites me very much. It is more than just printing white toner; a wide variety of substrates makes it so flexible.

Custom wine bottles for vineyards, COVID signs and floor decals for offices, professional-looking disposable menus, etc.? Customers should like this device. When was the last time they got a new MFP with much more features than the previous one?

This innovative product will attract the attention of distributors, partners, customers and competitors. Check it out if you have the chance.

Xerox is the main sponsor of the BTA National Conference

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