Written by Nancy Chetron, Worldwide Marketing Manager
Production Customization/Workflow & Solutions, Xerox Corporation
Ever wish you could have a solution custom-designed to meet your specific requirements? In the Production Customization group here at Xerox, I hear a lot of interesting customer requests. This is especially true any time you’re showcasing a new stock type, stock size or new way of finishing a printed piece. A common joke goes something to the effect of “Looks nice, but can you print that on plywood?”
Well, we can’t quite do the plywood yet, but I’m excited to share that we have greatly expanded our stock capability on the iGen Presses! With the recently announced Thick Stock Capability on the Xerox iGen4 Diamond Edition, you can now print on stocks up to 24 point (610 microns, a maximum of 530gsm) with a maximum sheet size of 14.3” x 24”.
So what’s so great about Thick Stocks? Good question. The main attraction of thicker stocks is their appearance and stiffness, one or both of which may be required for specific applications.
Several industries require thick stocks to meet their application requirements, such as:
- Packaging companies for folding cartons and tags
- Commercial and trade printers for advertising collaterals, brochures, promotional materials, post cards, business cards and presentation folders.
- Converters for retail signage, POP displays, greeting cards, gift cards, etc.
- Specialty printers for unframed stand-up photos or gaming pieces
Stocks used by these industries include high caliper cover (C2S, C1S and uncoated) and paperboard. A little background:
- Stocks for folding cartons are called “paperboard. ” Paperboard (aka “board”) types include blanks (equivalent to C1S Cover), SBS (Solid Bleached Sulfate), CUK (Coated Unbleached Kraft) and recycled paperboard (clay coated or uncoated).
The Thick Stock solution is targeted at cover, blanks and SBS. SBS is best suited for high value or premium goods which could include cosmetics, medical items, confectionery, perfume, luxury packaging, etc. Digital printing makes sense for this type of packaging if you need short run and/or personalized cartons. Short run or versioned pieces could be produced for a specific market, for a promotion or for seasonal items.
Many of the most popular brands in these categories stocks have already been tested by Xerox. Additional xerographically-compatible stocks can be tested based on customer requirements. When configured with the Thick Stock Capability, the iGen4 Press stock range is shifted to heavier weights.
And as for the plywood…we’re not there yet but we’re always working on new solutions based on requests from our customers.
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For more information, please visit Thick Stock Capability for the iGen4 Press online.
