One of the big stories of 2005 was the way that universal copier/printers (UCPs) hit the mainstream. A fundamental point about these light production devices was the way that they facilitated the ability to economically print black & white and color on the same device. Now "universal" concept is moving to production printing.

At IPEX you will see vendors beginning to focus on making universal production an economic reality through service/supplies incentives and/or new product designs. A significant amount of monochrome volume is already being run on iGen3s because Xerox is making it economically feasible to do so. HP's recent announcement of improved monochrome speed and running cost for the Indigo 5000 make it the first true universal production device. Another interesting development has come from Océ with its VarioStream 9000 series, which was first introduced as a 1/1 device and whose capabilities have grown to support spot color and will ultimately support process color. Other vendors may pursue such scaleable product offerings to address users' needs for mixed color and black & white documents.

My question is this: What do you as print service providers think of this development? Is this an attractive concept and will it make a difference in your business?

Jim Hamilton
Director, On Demand Printing & Publishing Consulting Service
InfoTrends