[The theme] Farm to Table [was selected] because it is a growing trend and provided an opportunity to appeal to the artisan and creative minded. The food images provided a great opportunity to showcase the shape, dimension and detail that the Xerox iGen 5 is capable of producing.
– Paul Miller, Xerox
Perhaps one of the biggest obstacles preventing digital printing from catching on more than it already has is, of course, the name. In the Internet age the word “digital” implies something inexpensive and ephemeral. Which is why this 36-page showstopper, “Farm to Table,” digitally printed CMYK on the Xerox iGen 5 Press, is so doggone effective. Even the most casual perusal of these rich and gritty photographs of farm-fresh food and its preparation proves that life is in the details, and that those details can be reproduced digitally with all of their character intact.
Before we go any further, we really have to commend the Xerox Production Systems Integration (PSI) team for their choice of photographs, which make this tome the masterpiece that it is.
There is a propensity in food photography today to go with the slickest, most colorful shots possible, and that may be fine for culinary magazines and websites. But when you’re trying to sell traditional designers on a digital press’ ability to produce work that emphasizes craft and fine details over polish, you need to show them images such as those contained in “Food to Table.” The dappled surface of an iron skillet brings you up in goose bumps, every scratched surface a revelation. Even the extended food quote inside was printed on a piece of paper, then severely stained and distressed before being photographed.
Of course all of this doesn’t amount to a hill of beans if you can’t reproduce every last gritty detail on press, and the iGen 5 has done so beautifully. Says Xerox’s Paul Miller, “People viewing the pieces are typically amazed at the color accuracy…the crisp details and vibrant colors displayed.” 
