Xerox Corp. unveils its new logo

Xerox is trying to push aside its reputation as a copier maker.

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HARTFORD, Conn. — Xerox Corp. unveiled a new logo Monday intended to scuttle its old image as a photocopier manufacturer and highlight its software, color printers and other technologically updated products.

“There has been a perception gap in the marketplace,” said Richard Wergan, vice president of worldwide brand marketing and advertising at the Norwalk-based office equipment manufacturer. “Xerox is still perceived incorrectly as a copier company. We do not make copiers.”

The all-capitalized corporate name in red, which has been in service in different versions for 14 years, has been replaced with a lowercase version. It also sports a red sphere marked by a white “X” laced with silver stripes.

In addition to the new logo, Xerox will use a variety of colors in marketing across numerous media, from print and Web to broadcast and interactive presentations.

Wergan would not say how much the research for the new logo cost, but said it was a “significant multimillion-dollar marketing investment.”

Angéle Boyd, a Xerox analyst and group vice president and general manager of Document Solutions at IDC in Framingham, Mass., said a brand change is “only a big deal if it’s matched with some other core change the company is making.”

“They have made significant changes in the last several years. Packaging and branding have not kept pace,” she said.

Xerox has improved its balance sheet and its debt has returned to investment grade status since 2001, when it was pulled down by billions in debt and an accounting scandal. It has introduced 100 new products in the past three years, made key acquisitions, paid down debt and repurchased stock.

Xerox has elbowed its way into document management services and IT consulting, expanded its presence in the small and medium-sized business markets, and invested heavily in digital imaging and new ink technologies, including color and solid inks.

In fact, solid ink technology could be a key ingredient in the company’s future. In September, Xerox launched the Phaser 8860, a printer that uses solid blocks of colored ink with a consistency similar to crayons that is heated before going on to the page. It costs about the same as printers from rivals such as Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo, but Xerox says its printer can print color pages as cheaply as black-and-white, making the Phaser a more attractive option for businesses.

Xerox’s services business is growing, the company is enjoying double-digit earnings growth and made a series of acquisitions that have helped it move into new markets and target small and medium-sized businesses, mostly notably the $1.5 billion deal for Global Imaging Systems.

Shares of Xerox were unchanged at $15.11 in afternoon trading Monday, near the low end of a 52-week range of $15.08 to $20.18.