Xerox 700 Digital Press, What do I need to know?

[Abew]

Hi, I would like to have some input from folks who have expeirence Xerox salesman.
I am about to talk with my Xerox represtitive on leasing the Xerox 700 DP for our small marketing firm, we plan to do VDP and Mutli channel Marketing, we already decided to go with xerox because we have a good year end deal, and for the reason explained further.

We chose the Creo CXP 700 Color Controller because Creo has an end of year promotion, which includes Advanced Color Tools Package, Advanced Productivity Package, Xrite, spectrophotometer, and Darwin VDP free.

On VDP we still debate between Darwin and XMPie since we want to do cross media marketing campaigns, and Darwin is mainly a print VDP [maybe I am not correct, correct me].

We know already the pros and cons of the 700 and we know not to expect from it as the Magic Bullet in Digital printing, every machine has its own problems and benefits. However, with the Xerox and Creo, we have the tech team within a 15 min drive of my place, so if any problem should arouse we will have them come over, so it will not be that much downtime.

So what do I need to ask him, I know I need to ask for the CED what else? They are salesman they want to sell this machine to me, but I need to know every minute detail from them before I sign anything.

Your input will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Brett S]

We just signed for the Xerox 700 with the Creo but did not get that advanced tools package. The machine is not here yet so I cannot speak to the quality day-to-day. Just curious, what did they quote you on the machine? The only thing in the contract that bugged me was the maintenance increase of up to 10% (though my rep said it is "generally much lower") per year. I am told this increase is based on the economy, the number of 700s in the market/country and the cost of service on that machine. You can ask to fix your maintenance cost for the life of the contract, but it will cost you more per click today. You should be in the .049 range on color and their fix offer is probably .0529-.0539. We decided not to fix the rate and roll the dice, ran the numbers based on a 5% per year increase and it was pretty close in total cost. Your call which way to go I just wanted you to be aware so it was not a surprise for your budget in years 2-5.

 

[Mark H]

Beyond the engine and whatever bolt-ons you get you need to ask (and get in writing) the following:

1. Installation - who is responsible for what, when will it happen, where will it go, do you have enough power and the right plug(s) and line conditioner, enough space (see OSHA regs for operator space and walking path clearance).

2. Training - when will it be held, how many people can be trained, what will be covered, who will provide the training (and what are their credentials). Also list what it is you intend to use the engine for and get that to the training so they can customize the training for you. Make sure you separate operator from maintenance training and ensure that operator training includes the RIP you select.

3. Support/Service - Who is your primary contact for support, when is support available, what is the service level guarantee, what is and is NOT covered by the support contract, minimum levels of on-hand consumables (toner, fuser, etc).

4. Click charge - current as well as future increases. Get everything locked-in now.

This is what came off the top of my head. There are probably many more items that could, or should be included, but these should give you enough to chew on for now.

Best of luck,

Mark H

 

[smatros]

X700 (at least ours) has severe problem with coated paper - one third of color print with high coverage has noticeably different color than the remaining sheet.
With our unit there are also some problems with developer housings which caused the machine to stop several times, paper jams etc.
In general, the machine is a good one if your planned target of a3 sheets is below 20.000 clicks, you plan to run lighter sheets only (120-200g run best) and you will run mainly uncoated paper.

 

[Abew]

We just signed for the Xerox 700 with the Creo but did not get that advanced tools package. The machine is not here yet so I cannot speak to the quality day-to-day. Just curious, what did they quote you on the machine? The only thing in the contract that bugged me was the maintenance increase of up to 10% (though my rep said it is "generally much lower") per year. I am told this increase is based on the economy, the number of 700s in the market/country and the cost of service on that machine. You can ask to fix your maintenance cost for the life of the contract, but it will cost you more per click today. You should be in the .049 range on color and their fix offer is probably .0529-.0539. We decided not to fix the rate and roll the dice, ran the numbers based on a 5% per year increase and it was pretty close in total cost. Your call which way to go I just wanted you to be aware so it was not a surprise for your budget in years 2-5.

HI, thank you for your input.
I already signed on the 31st of 09, I locked in .539 because it depends much on the economy, and now a days we can't predict.

This is what I got for almost 2k per month:

• 700 Digital Press
• Double Oversized Hicap feeder
• Lite Production C Finisher (Booklet maker up to 100 pages based on 20lb media) handles coated and uncoated media
• Square Block & Face trimmer
• Professional Analyst services for network Connection
• Creo Cx70 Color Controller/ with Advanced Color Tools Package (Promotion includes Advanced Productivity Package & Darwin SE Desktop) Promotional software is delivered after install.
• Creo includes Monitor, Mouse and Keyboard ad XRITE Spectrophotometer.
• Color pages are locked in at $0.0539 and b&w are locked in at $0.0142
• Also includes Udirect XMPIE Studio with XMPIE training.

 

[benny123]

excuse the ignorance as im in australia. are these prices per click toner inclusive?