xerox X700 or wait?

[alev]

Hi all,
we currently have a 4 years old xerox 250, and are considering an upgrade to the x700.
We print an average of 10.000 color pages/month, and the main reason for us to upgrade our box would be the better registration of the 700.
Do you know any major benefits of the 700 over the 250?
And, most of all.. do you think that in 1 year from now (when our lease for the 250 will be over) there will be better options for us than the 700(new xerox or KM machines)?

thanks for any comment...

P.S. Is there really a big difference between the integrated rip and the external ones?

 

[mikeatlbc]

alev... I say go for it! The 700 has not been out long, so I don't see Xerox bringining out another device that soon. You can duplex heavier stocks on the 700 than on the 250. Ad if you can, go with the Light Production Finisher. It has a nice decurler onit.

 

[smatros]

1 decurler unit is already incorporated into machine. Light production finisher leaves marks in gloss output of heavier stocks with dense coverage, so I recommend high capacity stacker which shouldn't have such problems. In general the 700 still has some problems (we have probably experienced each and every possible one of them since the very start, so trust me I know what I am talking about), but in general it is a fair machine to consider, still though - depending on jobs you intend to run. It is pretty picky on materials (far more then 250) so if you want to have good prints (output) prepare yourself to start using Xerox Papers only. In my opinion it is better to wait or consider some options, still - this is my personal opinion only. I recommend to test the machine with different jobs, on various stocks - things you print most. Better safe then sorry,

 

[Zubaz]

The KM C6501 is a great option to look at, there is a lot of great info on the benefits over the Xerox. I have a customer who runs a C6500 and Xerox 260 and she tells me the C6500 is a better device. The internal controller's tend to be limited in their ability to sync with color profiler tools and graphics arts packages so if you don't do a lot of pre flight and color matching the internal controller should be fine, but definitely go for the external RIP if you plan on doing any spot color matching or profiling, you will kick yourself if you lose high dollar work because you can't match Target red. Hope this helps.

 

[X33]

some differences between DC250 and X700 :

- DC250 can duplex up to 65lb cover, X700 up to 80lb cover
- DC250 can duplex only uncoated media, X700 can duplex coated and uncoated
- DC250 registration +/- 3mm front to back, X700 is +/- 1mm
- X700 has a decurler right after the fuser, DC250 does not
- X700 has the ability to create paper profiles for alignment, decurling, skewing, etc, DC250 does not
- X700 has more options for paper feeding and finishing
- Speed in 12x18 110lb cover paper, DC250 is 8ppm, X700 is 15ppm
- Maximum paper size from front trays : DC250 is 11x17, X700 is 13x19

between a Fiery Bustled and Fiery External Controller :
- speed, processing power (CPU, HDD, RAM, etc)
- External comes standard with Imposition, Hot Folders tools
- Bustled only understand PS, External understands PS, VIPP, PPML, VPS for VDP

 

[jrawls]

I would suggest waiting. We went from a 260 to the 700 and I haven't been real happy with it.

The registration doesn't hold. I end up doing a tray alignment before each job. I still have parallelism problems that I am trying to get rid of. My Xerox service reps tell me it is within spec, but I am not so sure. Two corners will line up very well, the other two can be off by as much as a few millimeters.

Also, the color does not stay consistent. I am told there will be a firmware update that will correct this but the speed will drop as a result.

Keep in mind my Xerox sales and service reps have told me I am a much more picky than others, so that may account for something.

What we print are 4,000+ full coverage self folded direct mailers on 12x18 80# cover gloss (usually Nekoosa or uDigital) per week as well as brochures and other color material. We average 12,000 or more clicks per week on this printer.

Feel free to contact me at jrawls at hunter dot com if you haven't made a decision yet.