Xerox 8254E, Xerox 8264E eco-solvent printers
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Xerox, Agfa, and Oce have, over the years, OEMed various solvent printers from Mutoh. Often these OEMed printers come from Mutoh Europe factory rather than from the Mutoh Japan factory.
GraphicsOne, Eastech, Kodak have OEMed Mutoh printers in earlier years. Roland also allows its printers for rebranding, such as by Splash of Color.
Mimaki does not tend to offer their printers for direct rebranding but there are several dye-sublimation printers that rebuild Mimaki printers into something special for textiles: US Sublimation Velotex is an example.
Xerox began to OEM printers from Mutoh Europe about 2007 and started with the mid-range Mutoh printers. These were essentially the same as solvent printers rebranded by Oce.
Xerox lists clearly what they view this printer as suitable for.
Please make this in two columns, but not in a table cell format; all bulleted
- Back-lit displays
- Banners
- Conference and event posters and exhibits
- Flags
- Floor graphics
- Point of purchase displays
- Pop-ups
- Posters
- Presentation graphics
- Signs
- stickers
- Theatre and stage graphics
- Trade show exhibits
- Vehicle graphics
- Wall murals
What is interesting, is that only a few of these are “office signage.” In other words, Xerox, which is a company dedicated to office printers and copiers, is OEMing a printer for signage rather than a printer for an office workgroup (Canon or HP would seem the most appropriate in this office context). Xerox previously OEMed printers from Encad, but Encad, after being bought by Kodak, went belly up because it had outdated technology, especially the Lexmark printheads.
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Xerox 8254E wide format printer at PMA trade show 2009. |
I know Oce a little better since I see an Oce booth at more trade shows. Plus Oce designs and manufactures their own UV-curable flatbed printers. For the mid-range Mutoh printers Oce and Xerox are effectively identical: they both OEM the identical Mutoh printer. What may be different is the RIP software and local service & support. The latter is entirely coincidental as to whose office in your city or country happens to be the largest. Obviously you can obtain the same printer from Mutoh directly. Again, the only difference is the people you have to deal with: so to some degree the personalities of the local sales rep or sales manager may be a deciding factor.
FLAAR is neutral; I have visited Oce printer world headquarters in Canada, Xerox world headquarters in Rochester, and have spent a week in the Mutoh Europe headquarters in Belgium. So I know each company. I have also been at Oce Germany office in Germany several times during DRUPA 2008. Mandy Daniel, who was a free-lance color management specialist with FLAAR, now works at Oce Germany for several years.
First posted March 23, 2009.

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