Xerox pushes high-speed, low maintenance printers

The Xerox ColorQube printer line uses a 'solid ink' system

Xerox has rolled out a new line of colour laser printers designed to be faster and more efficient.

The company said that the new ColorQube printers will operate at speeds of up to 85 pages per minute, while cutting costs by some 62 per cent.

At the heart of the new printer line is a 'solid ink' system which uses a substance similar to a crayon which is then melted inside the printer and sprayed onto the page at a speed of some 150 million drops per second.

In recent years, hardware vendors have looked to cut the costs and waste associated with conventional cartridge printing systems. Dell recently rolled out an inkless printing system of its own. Xerox said that it has been working on its solid ink system for the past 10 years.

In addition to faster printing speeds, the solid ink system improves efficiency and reduces maintenance time and cost. The new printers will not require users to replace components such as drums and ink cartridges. This, claims Xerox, will cut spending and reduce waste.

"Our customers are looking for ways to achieve more with less," said Xerox president Ursula Burns. "With ColorQube we are unlocking the benefits of colour by taking the cost barrier out of the equation."

The company said that it plans to release the first ColorQube models in the US at a starting price of $23,500 (£15,600). The printers are set to arrive in Europe by September.