mobile Igen curiosity.

Discussion in 'Xerox iGen3, iGen4, & iGen5 Digital Presses' started by peels, Jan 5, 2015.

  1. peels

    peels tree killer :)

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    Once upon a time, a Xerox field technician, now retired. and the guy who taught me most of what I know of the docutech/sorrento line, told me of a magical Igen. -It was on a cruise ship, and lived on a Gimballed floor.

    Ive been nerding out occasionally over this for probably 7 years. Since before I even saw an Igen. LOL Then I google, but only find where they are looking for press operators, but they don't say "igen"

    IS this a tall tale? or, is there something to this story? I know they HAVE to print onboard, personalized itineraries and such...but an Igen...on a gimballed floor!? I have to see it to believe it. He swore it was real. And briefly, I daydreamed of having this job. minus the "6 weeks on, 2 weeks off" or months on/off hell no. schedules.

    I ask, because i'm taking my whole family on a cruise in 3 weeks(first time), and it just popped into my head. :)

    cheers gents! its cold as all h*ll here this week, and I hate it. :)
     
  2. Eric.Albion

    Eric.Albion Member

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    I used to print aboard the Queen Elizabeth II, and we used a Heidelberg QM-46. The Queen Mary and Queen Victoria were also using offset presses, mainly because the print shops on board a lot of cruise ships don't have the space for an iGen.

    It was a really hard job when it came time for me to run 4 color work on a two-color press on a ship that was listing from side to side destroying my water balance.

    I would actually do the ******** contracts and rejoin a ship if it had an iGen, but maintenance and materials would be very hard to get aboard. We would need a Xerox tech at every port just to prevent anything that might happen in the next leg. Most of the printing I did was black only, so I am pretty sure an iGen would never have been an option.
     
  3. peels

    peels tree killer :)

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    AH, see that's what I thought. But he was quite adamant that there was one...somewhere.

    I found an article where I read about offsets on board those ships. (the thought of an offset printer listing makes me wanna run and scream)

    http://whattheythink.com/articles/51754-printing-high-seas/

    interesting. The stuff you have to do to get a printer to work on dry land is crazy enough sometimes. :) 2000 miles of open water can only make that more fun.

    thanks "eric" thats a great name. I should know.
     
  4. Eric.Albion

    Eric.Albion Member

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    Funny that you link to that article, RIT is where I went to school, and I was on the ship for the very same Cunard co-op. The guy who wrote that article was in my class as well, and is a good dude, not sure where he is in the industry now though.

    And yeah, offset printer listing was the hardest part, mainly on the Atlantic. The rest of the job was pretty standard and I did get to see a lot of the world :)
     
  5. peels

    peels tree killer :)

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    cool, small world....I wondered....


    but really. The gamut of "articles about printing on cruise ships" yeah its not really a wide one.. :/

    I really do bet that was an interesting experience though! Obviously quite a bit different than being in Minnesota. Brr.
     
  6. Eric.Albion

    Eric.Albion Member

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    Yeah, you think Iowa is cold! Humidity problems all over the place up here, had to bring in a couple of extra humidifiers to keep the shop and press in spec. Anything to keep the iGen happy :)
     
  7. kingpd@businessprints.net

    kingpd@businessprints.net Senior Member

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    When I was a kid I got the chance to go on board a US Navy ship and get a private tour. I remember one open room with a Xerox copier. They said that they bolt it to the floor so it doesn't move and that one of the seamen is a technician because of being at sea and the classified stuff being the navy and all.

    I thought that was interesting.
     

  8. peels

    peels tree killer :)

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    thats very interesting indeed.
     
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