mixed media/tab speed - xerox primelink

[bcr]

So I'm on the hunt for machines which can print onto tab sheets in between runs of documents and as many of you here have noted, the delay in switching media types can be a real killer for printing speed.

I saw this youtube video for the new Xerox Primelink which seems to have very minimal delay switching between plain paper and tabs. from what i've seen it switches faster than a KM 3070 or Ricoh C5200s, which I would have considered to be higher-end machines.

Curious if it maintains that performance when printing the plain pages in duplex.

I'm not sure if it's enough machine for our needs (perhaps two might do it), but thought i'd share the video anyway. Can any users confirm if the Versant 180 has similar mixed media performance?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3x0vM_hIzQ

 

[SoggyWinter]

Light Production presses such as the Xerox V3100 and Canon C8000/10000 advertise fast media switching between light and heavy media. I don't see an indication that the Primelink printers advertise that functionality. For low coverage printing on tab media you might be able lie about the tab media weight to get the printer switch media without slowing down to change the fuser temperature. Besides media flexibility, a big difference to consider between a high end office copier like a Primlink and a light production press is your expected monthly volume. Bigger badder presses should have a significantly lower impression cost and if you are doing enough impressions (50k to 200k impressions), leasing a light production press may actually save money. You'll have to get quotes and do your own arithmetic.

 

[bcr]

Light Production presses such as the Xerox V3100 and Canon C8000/10000 advertise fast media switching between light and heavy media. I don't see an indication that the Primelink printers advertise that functionality. For low coverage printing on tab media you might be able lie about the tab media weight to get the printer switch media without slowing down to change the fuser temperature. Besides media flexibility, a big difference to consider between a high end office copier like a Primlink and a light production press is your expected monthly volume. Bigger badder presses should have a significantly lower impression cost and if you are doing enough impressions (50k to 200k impressions), leasing a light production press may actually save money. You'll have to get quotes and do your own arithmetic.

thanks for this. i've asked the respective manufacturers to send me some videos of the machines under consideration printing out mixed media with tabs, so that we can see the switchover time for ourselves. we can then rule in/out certain machines and then have more focused demonstrations when visiting showrooms in due course.

 

[Sam H]

Hi, at the place I work, we have known that issue with Xerox 700 and now Ricoh C9100.
Unlike on the Xerox, on the Ricoh (both connected to Fiery Rips) you can't tell the machine to put an insert in from a tray (that option is greyed out), what you can do though, is to insert a blank page in the imposition after the required pages. Having set up two boxes with identical settings re paper etc, you use one for e.g. text the other for insert. In the imposition set the blank page for the tray with the insert (which makes it separate from the default setting). You can feed dissimilar thickness stock (within reason) in the insert sections as long as it's the same details (the machine isn't THAT intelligent to notice the difference.
So, something applicable to any configuration of machines: preprint the tabs, then when printing the job, use the tabs as insert, and because the tab page isn't printed on any more, it won't slow anything down.

(this method is also workable where you have a print enhanced sheet (e.g. creased sheet) to be incorporated into a job

 

[bcr]

Hi, at the place I work, we have known that issue with Xerox 700 and now Ricoh C9100.
Unlike on the Xerox, on the Ricoh (both connected to Fiery Rips) you can't tell the machine to put an insert in from a tray (that option is greyed out), what you can do though, is to insert a blank page in the imposition after the required pages. Having set up two boxes with identical settings re paper etc, you use one for e.g. text the other for insert. In the imposition set the blank page for the tray with the insert (which makes it separate from the default setting). You can feed dissimilar thickness stock (within reason) in the insert sections as long as it's the same details (the machine isn't THAT intelligent to notice the difference.
So, something applicable to any configuration of machines: preprint the tabs, then when printing the job, use the tabs as insert, and because the tab page isn't printed on any more, it won't slow anything down.

(this method is also workable where you have a print enhanced sheet (e.g. creased sheet) to be incorporated into a job

Thanks for this, Sam.

We have a post inserter which allows us to insert pre-printed tabs as front covers.

It's much faster than printing and inserting in sequence, but it's less than ideal.

It's requires a lot of active user supervision.. imagine you are printing 500 unique documents, each with a corresponding tab. You have to keep checking the output to be sure it hasn't misfed a tab or had a jam and screwed the sequence.

Otherwise you can very easily end up with hundreds of documents in the wrong tab order. It's no fun at all having to rearrange hundreds of tabs!