Xerox developing chip to speedup variable print

The future success of commercial printing, beyond specialized craft-based projects, will likely have much to do with the ability to compete against quicker forms of communication like the internet and PDF files. In other words, as communications move forward, turnaround times on commercial products will need to increase. This represents a challenge, as customers turn toward more complicated jobs based on variable imaging.

Xerox scientists are currently working on a solution to help part this future roadblock. It is based on a new compression technology, called Xerox MultiMode (XM2) Compression, which is combined with programmable high-performance video chips, to ensure that these larger files deliver the same high-quality images but use just one-third the computing bandwidth. The intended result is to speed up, and add power to, its latest digital production printers.

According to the company, as more printers look into variable data and digital colour, they are realizing there is a big challenge in assembling and printing image-rich personalized colour documents at a high speed. Each page of such a print piece requires handling tens of millions of pixels, and more importantly, selecting, processing and positioning each pixel with precision.

XM2 runs the imaging and compression algorithms on a high-performance video chip. It compresses both the personalized images and assembled page to a manageable size without loss of clarity or sharpness, according to the company. Peter Crean, a Xerox researcher, says Xerox is the first company to use these chips in a variable-printing application.

The light-bulb came on for the team of researchers when one of them asked, "How do the digital signals from my cable service get converted into high-quality video images on my TV screen so quickly?" After that, Xerox says a team was put together to experiment with chips developed for the digital television and cable industry. XM2 was the direct result of this effort.

"The combination of XM2 and the video chip delivers the same high-quality images using one-third the bandwidth that industry-standard compression algorithms use," said Crean, when news broke about the technology. "That means we can move files that contain more data in a smaller format, ultimately boosting print speeds."