Xerox Expands Color Frontier with Its New
Solid-Ink MFP
LYRA RESEARCH
“We are here to talk about color,” proclaimed Anne Mulcahy,
chairman and chief executive officer of Xerox, in her opening remarks to an
audience that included customers, partners, and media in San Francisco on March
30. And talk Xerox did. First, the firm discussed its color strategy—past,
present, and future—and then it focused on the science of color, the value of
color, and lastly Xerox’s new solid-ink color MFP, the WorkCentre C2424, which
encapsulates all of Xerox’s beliefs about color.
Mulcahy discussed the
current state of color printing at Xerox in terms of technology, market share,
and product introductions. After she concluded her remarks, Bill Nye, better
known as “Bill Nye, the Science Guy,” host of a long-running TV series of the
same name, talked about his love of the “art and science of color.” Nye also
moderated several panels comprised of Xerox customers who talked about their
experiences using Xerox color products in their businesses. After an hour of
talking about how businesses put Xerox color products to work, customer
testimonials gave way to the main attraction—the WorkCentre C2424.
Jim
Rise, vice president and general manager of the Printer Business Unit in Xerox’s
Office Group, talked briefly about the groundbreaking role of this product and
then, assisted by Nye, conducted a demonstration of the C2424. To emphasize the
environmental friendliness of the firm’s solid-ink technology, Rise played a
video of its launch of the Phaser 8400 in New York City last year. At that
event, Xerox vividly compared the small amount of waste generated by the Phaser
8400 over its life with the large amount of waste generated by the HP Color
LaserJet 4600. A young girl could tote a lifetime of supplies for the Phaser
8400 in a little red wagon, but a whole crew was needed to haul in supplies for
the HP product. Finally, building on one of last year’s themes—ease of use—Rise
invited the same girl to help demonstrate how easy it is to simultaneously
print, copy, and scan using the WorkCentre C2424.