Xerox Unveils High-Volume Office Copier
Xerox Corp. on Tuesday added a new top model to its 10 Series of copiers, a product aimed at securing Xerox’s dominant position in the high-volume copier market.
The new 1090 Marathon copier operates at speeds of up to 92 copies per minute, and produces either enlarged or reduced copies of the original document, Xerox said.
Xerox has copiers that are faster than the 1090, notably its 9900 duplicator, which can produce up to 120 copies per minute and are primarily aimed at experienced users.
But Xerox said at a news conference that the 1090 is meant to provide the “casual, walk-up” user in the office with a simple method of producing copies in a variety of formats and at high speeds.
“It sets a new standard for copiers designed for general office use,” said Dwight F. Ryan, president of Xerox’s business systems group.
The 1090 uses nine microprocessors, such as those employed in computers, which allow a host of instructions to be programmed into the copier and permanently stored for later use.
Graphic Aids User
The microprocessors also are at the heart of the copier’s control panel, which includes a color graphic of the copier. Various sections of the graphic light up to signal the user if one of the copying steps has been missed.
The machine also can take several independent documents, duplicate them either on one or both sides of a copy page, and staple them together in one process.
The 1090 costs $85,000. Xerox said it will begin taking orders in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States on March 1, with installation in those areas beginning April 1. Nationwide availability is scheduled by May 1.
“We have never had--never--nationwide availability of a product this soon after introduction,” Ryan said.
Xerox’s 10 Series of mid- and high-volume copiers, the first models of which were introduced in September, 1982, have sold well and helped Xerox regain its momentum following an erosion of its market share in the 1970s.
A Best-Seller
The company, based in Stamford, Conn., says the 10 Series copiers now account for 25% of the 2 million Xerox copiers installed worldwide.
In 1984, Xerox’s reprographics and information systems unit posted an 8% gain in operating earnings to $354 million, while revenue climbed 6.3% to $8.79 billion.
Xerox also recorded in 1984 the first acceleration in unit growth of copiers in four years, to 11% growth from 7%, estimated Sanford J. Garrett of Garrett Research.
However, Xerox still faces severe pricing pressure from rival producers, especially in the markets for low- and mid-volume copiers, where Japanese companies have become fierce competitors.
