And Australia is the first country to receive the new Fuji Xerox Colour Continuous Feed, with a Melbourne bureau becoming the first customer in the world. A second Fuji Xerox Colour Continuous Feed is being installed in the Sydney epicenter for demonstration and training purposes.

Capable of printing 980 duplex (double sided) A4 images a minute, at a speed of 223 linear feet a minute, and resolution at 600dpi the FX980 is aimed at the transactional, direct mail and new applications markets.

Colour quality is not at the offset or DocuColor / iGen3 level, although Fuji Xerox believes that will come in time. Toner is fused using a flashing neon light rather than heat and pressure, enabling the printing on a range of substrates from 40-160gsm.

Speaking exclusively to Australian Printer Fuji Xerox's Chris Aiken said the new printer is being targeted at the top half dozen bureau and the top half dozen commercial digital printers in the country.

With a high rip speed and capable of accepting multiple PDLs, the Fuji Xerox Colour Continuous Feed will eliminate the need for preprint and overprint, with one pass able to print both fixed and variable data. To print double sided two engines are required with a turner bar linking the two.

The flash fuse toner technology is already in use on the monochrome coninuous feed printer, which was launched last year.

The  Fuji Xerox Colour Continuous Feed was initially developed for the Japanese newspaper market, with its long runs and regionalised adverts, but input from Fuji Xerox Australia, which is the largest business unit in the region outside Japan, helped steer development to broader applications, including direct mail, transactional and transpromo printing and new applications yet to be developed.

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