any xerox 700 users?

[agent_orange]

xerox rep is trying every move she has to get us to take a 700 [we currently have a 252]. it has the high cap feeder and a finisher, but i'm not sure which finisher [i think it's the standard finisher] i'm gathering a list of questions/concerns for her. anybody have a question they wish they had asked before you got your 700, or impressions now that you have it in production?  i have concerns with registration from front to back on the 252, it's terrible at running coated sheets and you can only feed 12x18" in the bypass tray. how does the 700 compare?  here are some questions i'm going to ask the rep. let me know if there's anything i'm missing:

what is the max cover weight for booklets? on our current machine, 65# uncoated cover is the max. will the 700 stitch/fold 12x18? coated text/covers? max number of sheets/weight for booklets?

will the 700 auto duplex coated sheets? what is the max weight it will auto duplex [coated/uncoated]?

can i change tray attributes from my workstation? currently if paper is loaded the paper type has to be set at the machine. can i load paper, walk back to my workstation and set it from there?

our current machine struggles with screens/gradients/certain spots. any info on how the 700 handles them?

[DigiCorn]

Not familiar with the 700, but I can tell you that the 2060, and the 5000 (we're looking at) and the 7000 (that I asked questions about when helping out another local print shop) will duplex up to 10pt. (100#). The 2060 uses an older Fiery, but the 5000/7000 uses a newer Fiery. One thing I can tell you is that CWS on the newer Fiery gives you ability to move a sheet, and has far less skewing when duplexing/backing up. That's an ability I wish I had on my current unit, and the main reason we'll be upgrading soon. We have a dedicated tray (3) that can run up to 19.2 x 12.6, but can't duplex over 18 x 12. We do not have the stitcher/folder option. We can run up to 12 pt (120#) single sided (not duplex) without issue. I've been told that the 5000/7000 can duplex 12 pt. (120#) but can't confirm. We don't really have trouble with screening, but color got A LOT better when we turn off "spot color matching" in CWS. With the proper driver, and CWS on your Fiery, you can send a job with all the programming it needs (except quantity for some reason); duplex, gsm, coated/uncoated, stitch (if equipped), fold (if equipped), etc. Since I have an older Fiery, technically it's driver isn't supported on Mac OS X 10.6 +, so I have to "trick" it using an older driver. I have also "tricked" the machine into duplexing 12 pt. (120#) by changing the gsm in CWS, but usually in the end it damaging parts of the machine and you end up calling service. Then service will tell you, "Don't do that!" and you'll get a lecture.

[t-pat]

We have 2 700's. My advice:

Get 2.
Get a service contract that covers your entire proposed daily schedule.

This applies to any digital press though really.

[Lammy]

We have two 700s both run by Fierys. Alignment from to back is more a suggestion than anything precise. Cover stock skews far more than text. All the paper feeders and the bypass tray will feed 13x19. We don't make many books on the machine so I can't speak for that. We do them all flat then let bindery put them together. I have run 120# cover duplexed on them, though the highest stock it will allow you to duplex is 220 gsm.

Above all, these are still a copier class machine and they act as such. I think you have to go to the 8080 series and above before you get into the digital press realm.

[gnubler]

We have one. 2-sided registration is a constant issue. Cover stock skews terribly and Xerox always blames the paper. Sometimes I run one side from Tray 6 (high capacity) and then back it up from Tray 5 (bypass).

Yesterday I tried duplexing 70# uncoated text and the engine was crawling...like 4 sheets a minute even on the lowest weight setting. So I ended up doing 2 passes.

All these comments pretty much apply to any copier, I mean digital press. Have fun.

[agent_orange]

the "it's the paper" routine has GOT to be part of their training. our tech pulled that on us a while back. it was a stock that we had been running from day one on our machine. we've run miles of it, but all of a sudden, the paper was the problem.

same problems with skewing and registration on the 252 but they claim it's "much closer" on the 700. these machines are the fast food of our industry...

[Sabrina The Turd Polisher]

I concur with T-pat's, Lammy's and Gnubler's comments.

As a former user of a KM6500, I hate, hate, hate the Xerox. It's a huge piece of plastic crap. but it does make copies that are sellable.  :laugh:
I found it easier to manipulate the copier settings on the KM, from roller temp, alignment adjustment, color control, etc.

Hey Xerox users: do your machines smell like an old lady? Because the 4110 (BW) I used had that smell, then at this place they have a 700 and it smells the same?

[David]

we have one X 700 with the firey...

nice.....    and what they said

[gnubler]

As a former user of a KM6500, I hate, hate, hate the Xerox.

Ditto. I've gone from Xerox to KM back to Xerox.

I hate KM slightly less than I hate the big X.

[Lammy]

You may already know this too, and I can only really compare it to a NexPress 2500 (41ppm 14x20 1 sided), but the 700 feels on the slow side IMO. It's rated at 70ppm, but I'm sure that's for a letter size sheet printed one sided, delivered face up. I can tell you we run a TON of 80# dull text, 2 sides and 1200 sheets takes a several of hours. The rough math works out to like 12ppm (prolly less) for 12 x 18 2 sided.

I was also told the stacker makes the machine run slower than the top delivery. I haven't "timed" it to see if it's true but the people here that have used it longer than I have insist on it.

[gnubler]

I'm battling 2-sided registration right now and I'm feelin' fine. Just put in service call #87 for the same ongoing problem that they never fix.

Bosslady is requesting a new engine.

[Sabrina The Turd Polisher]

I'm battling 2-sided registration right now and I'm feelin' fine. Just put in service call #87 for the same ongoing problem that they never fix.

Bosslady is requesting a new engine.

Good luck! Let us know how that turns out. All digi-press manufacturers are good about giving the ole runaround.
Just be the sqeekiest wheel there is and you might get it replaced.

[gnubler]

Good luck! Let us know how that turns out. All digi-press manufacturers are good about giving the ole runaround.
Just be the sqeekiest wheel there is and you might get it replaced.
[/quote]

the "it's the paper" routine has GOT to be part of their training

Tech showed up and whipped out a ruler and decided our stock is cut bad. It's ream-wrapped house stock that we use all the time. :laugh: I told him he must have a special ruler.

At my last shop Bossman bitched and bitched until Xerox replaced the engine but it was going from like bad to a different bad.

[David]

is different bad so different it's good?

[t-pat]

since we're talking 700s here, I've got a nagging intermittent problem. Ours will randomly back up things upside down. Resubmitting from the Spire will result in it being backed up correctly. It doesn't seem to be isolated to any particular type of job.