UXBRIDGE – Keiger Printing created a sample book showing off its printing capabilities that not only led to new business, but also the top award in an international competition held by Xerox. Keiger beat more than 500 entries to take the “Best of Show” honours at the 2007 Printing Innovation with Xerox Imaging (PIXI) awards.

The PIXI competition recognises innovation and excellence in digital printing applications. This year marked the first time Xerox held one worldwide contest instead of separate regional contests. Keiger Printing, a commercial printing company in Winston-Salem, N.C., USA, won for its “Digital Imaging Sample Book” submission, created to increase awareness of Keiger’s capability to run a variety of paper stocks, finishes and colours on the Xerox iGen3 Digital Production Press.

This year’s PIXI Awards competition received entries from around the world including entries from the United States, Canada, Brazil, India, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Norway.

Keiger Printing’s winning sample book did more than just demonstrate the capabilities of the iGen3 press. It also generated ideas for the company’s clients, increasing the number of requests for innovative digital print jobs. Using different paper stocks and finishes, the book demonstrated the breadth of options beyond smooth white paper.

“With this marketing piece, the paper became an element of design, dispelling doubts about any perceived limitations of what can be done on a digital press, “ said Louis Crockett, president, Keiger Printing. “The iGen3 press has truly broadened our digital capabilities. Our self-promotional collateral has proven to be a great marketing tool not only for us, but also for our business partners.”

First, second and third place awards were presented in four categories: collateral, digital books and manuals, direct mail and promotional/transactional. Awards were presented to the print provider, creative agency and client to reinforce the importance of partnerships in the creation of digitally printed materials. PIXI Awards were also presented for best of region, most innovative use of Xerox technology and the best use of Xerox supplies.

“These aren’t just aesthetically pleasing documents; these innovative applications are generating new business and revenue for our customers and their clients,” said Valerie Blauvelt, vice president of marketing, Xerox Production Systems Group. “The creativity in the PIXI entries always reminds us of the abundant opportunity in digital printing through book production, direct mail, transactional documents such as financial statements and more. None of this is possible using offset printing technology. Xerox’s continuing advancement of digital printing is helping our customers differentiate themselves in the marketplace and add greater value for their customers.”

Best of region
Milenyum Printing House in Turkey was recognised with the best of region award for developing markets for its “Milenyum Digital Catalogue” submission. Printed on the iGen3 press, the catalogue compared digital and offset printing. It was created to increase sales for the printing house and demonstrate the capabilities of digital printing and its productivity.

Georg Kohl GmBH – Datamanagement.Print in Germany was recognised with best of region in Europe for its “Projekt KUBI” submission, a direct-mail piece for mobile phone service provider debitel AG. Printed on the iGen3 press, the multi-page direct mail pieces were fully customised with images and text according to customers’ preferences.

Collateral
First place went to dsiCMM in the U.K., for its “University of Surrey Variable Prospectus” submission, a fully-variable university prospectus sent to prospective students inquiring about university offerings. The piece, printed on the iGen3 press, took into account the profile of each person, customising course content, accommodation details and native language for international students.

Digital books and manuals
MyPhotoFun in the Netherlands was awarded first place for its full-size “iGen3 Photo Book” submission, a sample book printed by Ted Gigaprint BV and created for Photokina in Germany, to demonstrate the unique paper size and photo quality of the iGen3 press. Printed with a Xerox FreeFlow DocuSP Print Server, the book was composed entirely of variable text and images.

Direct mail
Toyota SAV in France was honoured with first place for its “Toyota: An Extraordinary One-to-One Printing Campaign” submission, a campaign that included 450,000 personalised mailings printed by Dupli-Print on the iGen3 press for more than 250 car dealerships, each of which contained 80 multi-level variable fields of text and images in one document. The campaign was so successful that more than 90 percent of the dealerships continued to use it.

Promotional / transactional
CTT - Cesa in Portugal was awarded first place for its “Banco Cetelem Statement” submission, a monthly customer statement with personalised information about the Banco Cetelem’s products and services, partner offerings and promotional sales messages based on each customer’s account activities. The full-colour statement was printed on the iGen3 press with a FreeFlow DocuSP Print Server and the Xerox DocuColor 12 Copier/Printer.

Best use of Xerox supplies
Imprimerie L’Empreinte, Canada, was recognised for the best use of supplies for its “Red Bull FlugTag” submission, an authentic looking flight logbook to promote a contest. Printed on the DocuColor 8000 Digital Press, the document was created using matte-finished Xerox Colour Xpressions+ 32/80 Ib Bond/Text paper.

Most innovative use of Xerox technology
American Greetings Corporation, Cleveland, USA was honoured with the most innovative use of Xerox technology for its “Party Goods Ensemble” submission, which included party hats, cups, plates, streamers and more. Each piece in the ensemble was printed on a Xerox DocuColor 12 and then sent to the prototype artists for creation of the actual product.

A complete listing of all the winners, honourable mention awards, production notes, recognised teams and judges can be found at www.xerox.com/pixi.

About Xerox Europe
Xerox Europe, the European operations of Xerox Corporation, markets a comprehensive range of Xerox products, solutions and services, as well as associated supplies and software. Its offerings are focused on three main areas: offices from small to large, production print and graphic arts environments, and services that include consulting, systems design and management, and document outsourcing.

Xerox Europe also has manufacturing and logistics operations in Ireland, the UK and the Netherlands, and a research and development facility (Xerox Research Centre Europe) in Grenoble, France. For more information visit, www.xerox.com

Xerox supports The New Business Of Printing strategy by providing the largest portfolio of state-of-the-art digital products, solutions and services in the industry, integrated streamlined and efficient workflow solutions and a suite of business development tools that help customers to achieve sustained long-term growth. In the changing world of print, these three elements enable customers to improve business performance and productivity to ensure they uncover more ways to profit. Xerox Graphic Arts Premier Partners is an exclusive global community of innovative digital printing, graphic arts and communication companies that is defining the future of the print industry. Together they are shaping The New Business of Printing to give their clients a competitive edge. For more information on the Xerox Premier Partner network, please visit www.xerox.com/xpp

Xerox is a trademark of Xerox Corporation. All non-Xerox brands and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Prices, features, specifications, capabilities, appearance and availability of Xerox products and services are subject to change without notice.

Media Contacts:
Robert Corbishley, Xerox Europe, tel: +44 (0) 1895 843 239, email: robert.corbishley@xerox.com
Laura Lynne, Trimedia Harrison Cowley, tel: +44 (0) 207 400 5584, email: laura.lynne@trimediahc.com