UXBRIDGE – Xerox has announced the development of a digital newspaper printing solution for VASP in Portugal that will give the publications distributor the capability of printing a set of international newspapers not currently available in Portugal. Titles include The Washington Post, Folha de So Paulo, The London Evening Standard, Tribune de Genve, Ekstra Bladet, 24 heurs, Expressen, Le Matin and Actualitatea Romaneasca.

VASP chose Xerox as its technology partner for this solution because of the reliability of its machines and the skills of its technical staff. The solution, the result of a €1 million investment, enables an immediate response to requests for unlimited production runs and will improve the time to market of 4,000 international copies of the various titles per day.

The newspapers are printed digitally using a range of Xerox DocuPrint 1050 continuous feed presses and Hunkeler finishing equipment. Editorial content is received in PDF, via the Internet, and is then printed digitally onto newsprint, reaching Portuguese readers at the same time as readers in the newspaper’s country of origin, thus providing an up-to-date product that the traditional solution – where the newspaper arrived much later on the newsstands – could not provide.

According to VASP Managing Director, Jos Carlos Loureno, “The success behind any business is reinventing it in order to meet customers’ needs. In fact, we embraced this project with great enthusiasm, not only to become a pioneer in our country, but also because VASP is now an international reference in using this kind of technology. Selecting Xerox Portugal as our technology partner was critical to the success of this project.”

“Xerox provided VASP with a newspaper publishing solution using the Xerox DocuPrint continuous feed presses which was the perfect answer for VASP’s needs. The power of this printing technology and the flexibility of printing on demand were key to meeting our customer’s requirements,” said Paulo Gomes, Production Systems Group Director, Xerox Portugal.

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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.

About VASP

Vasp, established in 1975, is a leader in the distribution of publications in Portugal. VASP stockholders are three of the main Portuguese media groups – Impresa, Cofina Media and Controlinveste Media – being responsible for the distribution of the publications of these groups as well as of many other independent editors, using its network of over 10,000 points of sale in Portugal.

Media Contacts:

Robert Corbishley, Xerox Europe, tel: +44 (0) 1895 843 239, email: robert.corbishley@xerox.com