Giving readers their own personalised issue

The editorial theme of the issue was the growing personalisation of print. The project depended on customisation software PersonalEffect from Xerox's newly acquired company, XMPie, and the company's iGen3 110 digital production press.

Xerox's skills in personalised printing had previously been tested when it completed 70 000 personalised covers for the December 2006 issue of Graphic Arts Monthly, in which it printed subscribers' first names as stars against a night sky and their companies' names on a rocket ship.

Aimed at subscriber base

Wired aimed the promotion at its subscriber base. “This project enabled Xerox to showcase its print-on-demand and personalised printing technologies and capabilities,” says Paul Haglich, PSG marketing manager at Bytes Document Solutions, sole authorised distributor of Xerox products and solutions to 25 sub-Saharan countries.

It also assisted Xerox to bury a stereotype of its offering simple standalone copier machines. Today, Xerox sells all types of copiers and printers, as well as software and services, that allow publishers to print books on demand, banks to personalise bill inserts and magazines with personalised covers.

Xerox is currently working with Time magazine's Canadian edition to offer its subscribers a chance to get their September issue with a personalised cover.