Editor’s note: This article is taken in part from a post originally written and posted by Joe on the Xerox Customer Support Forum.
There are usually two versions of software available for any Xerox printer or multifunction device, one is the General Release and one is a Software Problem Action Request or SPAR software.
General releases are new builds thoroughly tested and usually is the version that will be preloaded on your machine when you first get the machine.
SPAR releases are the General release with patches applied for issues, problems and/or security issues. SPARs are not Beta software, and they are the same General Release tested version with fixes, patches and/or features added. The key difference is that while the General Release was tested for everything, the SPAR is tested for things that have been changed. For instance say they fix a login issue with Office365, then they test that Office 365 works again, and maybe that it did not stop Gmail from working at the same time, they do not necessarily check that copying a booklet still works because the code was never touched that controls the copy booklet function.
SPAR links tend to not change, so the link today is the same as next year, they just change the file to which it is linked. You can get the latest SPAR for just about every machine except those in production class from Xerox.com/Security.
Click here for the Quick release lookup table which is a direct link to an Excel spreadsheet that has the latest general and the latest SPAR for most every device
Then, open in Excel (Or Google docs, or Open office, etc. ) and then press CTRL+F on your keyboard and enter the model number of your machine in the Find What field to find the printer, and click or tap the SPAR link, as seen here:
I agree, not necessarily convenient, and certainly not well advertised, but now you know how to find the SPAR links. Please make sure to read the information and notes on the Purpose tab on the SPAR spreadsheet.
Please contact the Xerox Support Center for your country or region if you have further questions.
