The announcements build on the Profit Accelerator initiative Xerox introduced in the United States in March. Profit Accelerator resources, designed from customer input and Xerox's digital printing expertise, provide the knowledge and tools to speed up a customer's return on investment in digital technology.

New Profit Accelerator resources
New to Profit Accelerator's creative and design resources package is a first-of-its-kind color reference book for a digital press developed by Xerox and Pantone, Inc. The book, PANTONE^® digital chips, will be used by graphic designers and printers for more consistent, accurate visualization and selection of PANTONE Colors before going to press on digital print jobs. Until now, Pantone has only produced such books for offset printing presses. The book includes 1,089 solid PANTONE Colors, the four-color process offset simulations and the digital press representations of each color, presented as tear-out chips for easy color comparison. It is for users who will be designing for and printing on a Xerox DocuColor 6060 Digital Color Press with a Xerox DocuSP front end, one of the industry's first digital production systems approved and licensed by Pantone. Both a European and U.S. version of the book will be available in limited quantities in the Xerox booth at drupa 2004.

A PANTONE digital chips book will also be produced and available in the near future for the Pantone licensed Xerox DocuColor iGen3^® Digital Production Press with a Xerox DocuSP front end.

A new component to Xerox's financial modeling tool - ProfitQuickä - is a workflow cost comparison module, allowing print providers to easily determine digital vs. offset printing cost and profit comparisons for any job run length. The module enables printers to forecast cost savings over months and years by integrating digital capabilities into their business and analyzing the entire workflow from database management through mailing and distribution.

ProfitQuick, translated in multiple languages, allows printers to develop a five-year customized profit and cash flow analysis for Xerox production equipment; identify which applications are most profitable; determine the page volumes needed to become cash flow positive; and show the impact of quick-turnaround and variable pricing premiums.

Also available from Xerox's Profit Accelerator program for the first time is The Art and Science of Digital Printing - a Parsons Designers Guide to Getting it Right. The book is written and designed by students and faculty at the Parsons School of Design in New York City and produced on a Xerox DocuColor iGen3 press. According to Michael Josefowicz, special projects manager, Parsons Communication Design Publishing Center, "the book addresses the next-generation of designers - where business happens in real time and designers have a completely new relationship with their printers." The book features objects and art inspired by this new process of digital printing, and it proposes a standard PDF-based workflow for the design community.

"Xerox's goal is to have print providers assess digital printing opportunities before the sale while increasing volume and profits after the sale," said Tom Wetjen, vice president, worldwide graphic communications industry business, Xerox Production Systems Group. "Profit Accelerator goes beyond Xerox just selling a product; it gives our customers the necessary tools and support to succeed with digital printing."

Other Profit Accelerator resources
Additional resources available from the Profit Accelerator portfolio target three main departments of a commercial print shop: executives, sales and marketing, and operations. The following is a list of these resources and tools:

• Sales and Marketing Resources
  
  • The Getting Started Kit, an in-depth introductory set of tools and samples to help production customers drive volume to their equipment. Part of the kit includes Profiting Through Personalization, materials to help print providers understand the technologies surrounding full-color variable-information printing.
    
  • Xerox DocuColor iGen3 Digital Production Press sample portfolio, a set of applications for print providers that are designed to highlight the capabilities of the DocuColor iGen3.
    
  • Marketing Accelerator Kit, a comprehensive marketing and volume-building plan, in both hardcopy and CD, for customers to be successful in their digital printing business. The objective is for customers to have a clear plan before they even get in the digital business. For those who are already using digital, it maps out a two- to five-year strategy to grow their page volume.
    
  • Resource Guide, a comprehensive list of thought-provoking resources to help printers learn, generate ideas and stay current with the latest industry information.
  
  
  • Application Development Resources, includes uPublisher™, a marketing and digital learning simulation program that introduces printers to the marketing opportunities in book publishing. The program targets both sales and marketing and operations personnel by allowing printers to understand the market opportunity and to practice programming a book job on a "virtual" DocuColor iGen3 Digital Production Press without tying up actual equipment.
    
  • Business Development Support, includes sales and applications analysts, a 24/7 customer support hotline and DocuColor iGen3 SmartPress Consultants. This team of specialists support business integration in customer environments and provides sophisticated marketing assistance and industry-level training services to key business personnel. Together, the team rapidly ensures equipment is working to its fullest potential and provides continuous ongoing support.
    
  • Creative and Design Resources, a set of tools to help providers increase digital print sales to advertising agencies and graphic design firms, among the heaviest and most influential buyers of printing according to TrendWatch and the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, N.Y. The suite includes creative industry applications, case studies, how-to articles and business-building presentations aimed at helping print providers develop their digital printing market.
    
  • Paper and Media Resources, a program that contains many tools and programs to educate customers on the use of Xerox paper and specialty media. In Europe, each DocuColor iGen3 customer is invited to choose from a selection of paper and specialty media products valued up to 300 Euros to use on the digital press. In the U.S., the SmartPress media package allows each DocuColor iGen3 customer to receive a free pallet of Xerox media.
    
  • Marketing Partnership Program, a series of training and education courses designed to give print providers the knowledge needed to be successful in selling and marketing digital and variable information printing.

  Profit Accelerator is delivered worldwide through a network of several hundred customer business development professionals, including Xerox sales and marketing managers, analysts, SmartPress Consultants and solutions development managers. The programs are designed for easy implementation by customers, and customers can receive them through multiple channels including on-site consulting and webinars.

  -XXX-