What's All The Hype With Solid Ink?

What is the deal with SOLID INK?

The first solid ink printer was created by Tektronix in 1991 and printed at 1 page per minute.  The printers were a big hit in the graphic community because of the bright and high graphic output.  In 2000, Xerox bought this technology and continued to develop it with the primary research and development occurring in at the Wilsonville, Oregon location.  In 2009, Xerox released the first multifunctional product utilizing the Solid Ink Technology named the ColorQube 9200 series. There were some very unique and beneficial elements to this new product that made it a huge success to Xerox and its subsidiaries.

1.) Environmental Benefits: Because these devices use solid ink instead of the normal toner that laser devices use, all the parts that go into a toner device don't exist. Therefore, the waste from toner, waste toner, drums, fuser units and the packaging associated with these items is reduced by 90%.  Not only this, but the space necessary to store these items, the trucks used to ship these items all gets reduced! 

2.) Cost Benefits: These devices also utilize a 3-tier pricing strategy. What is that? Normal laser devices have two meters, a color meter and a black & white meter.  There is no gray area.  On the ColorQube systems with solid ink, there is a 3-tier system that doesn't look at whether the system is color or black & white but actually how much color is being used. For documents that have a color logo in the corner and usually count as full color on laser devices, now can fall into the 1st tier with the rest of your black & white documents.  With a percentage of fill between 3% and 7% in color, ColorQube systems will count that page in the 2nd tier and finally the remaining fill falls in the full color click rate. Since the introduction of the ColorQube series, we have seen a huge amount of documents fall into the 2nd tier, roughly 70%, which dramatically reduces the overall expense of printing color.

3.) Technological Benefits: Xerox introduced these devices with the same multifunctional capabilities as a normal laser device.  You are able to scan to various platforms, print both PS and PCL from Windows or Mac as well as fax and copy.  They also included the important security features that come standard on Xerox devices including data encryption, automatic disk overwrite and an optional removal hard drive.  The system was built for the heavy flow of an office workflow and over the last few years has stood the test of time.  Xerox recently introduced the ColorQube 8700 & 8900 to the product lineup that included this very same technology and advantages but fits a smaller environment both in footprint and volume.

For more information on the ColorQube series and Solid Ink technology, let us know, The Northwest Group - CTX, QBSI, Pinnell!

The Good Old Days

Many people my age are nostalgic for "The Good Old Days". For office equipment, however, the good old days are now. 

As a service technician, I have seen tremendous change both in processes and in the equipment over the last 25 years.

When I started in 1984, a typical service call took twice as long as it does today, while generating much more waste per click.

It was common for large production machines to have maintenance intervals of 20-30k. This would be like having your car serviced (for 4-6 hours at a time) every week or every 1000 miles.

Back in the day, many copiers used liquid toner. This is as bad as it sounds. The liquids were flammable and VERY toxic. Many unscrupulous individuals simply poured this hydrocarbon cocktail into the sewer to dispose of it. In today's society that would never be allowed.

Office equipment today is cleaner, easier to repair, and runs more reliably. For the end user, the future is even brighter. The machines themselves have more productivity increasing features than ever before.

They have incorporated the technology that previously was only available in commercial printing equipment into every day document production, allowing end users to often times fix an issue without waiting for technical assistance.

Xerox has also made a real commitment to the future. From the reduction of hazardous materials in manufacturing (RoHS) to the implementation of the ColorQube family and it's Solid Ink Technology, Xerox has shown an impressive and innovative environmental focus.

And to the future that my 5 year old granddaughter will one day inherit, with companies like the Northwest Group (CTX, QBSI and Pinnell) and Xerox working hand-in-hand, it can only get better.

- Mark: Senior Service Technician