Document Management: Oce Transforms Wide Format Printing Industry With Introduction Of New Oce CrystalPoint Color Technology

Oce, an international leader in digital document management, recently announced the launch of a fundamentally new printing technology called Oce CrystalPoint. The first product based on this new technology is the Oce ColorWave 600, also unveiled recently in The Netherlands and being debuted in the US at the IRgA 2008 Annual Convention and Trade Show in Las Vegas, NV, May 13-15.

Best of both toner and inkjet printing
Oce CrystalPoint technology changes the way wide format prints are made by combining the best of both toner and inkjet printing. The Oce CrystalPoint process converts color Oce TonerPearls toner into a gel. This tonergel is then jetted and crystallized onto any type of paper, producing crisp, water fast high quality images with extremely accurate dot placement.

Color and black & white on inexpensive plain paper
The first printing system to utilize Oce CrystalPoint technology is the Oce ColorWave 600. With the Oce ColorWave 600, customers can print both color and black & white on lower cost untreated and recycled paper. Most existing color wide format products require specially coated inkjet paper. The Oce ColorWave 600 also prints an E-size sheet (12 square feet) in half a minute, which enables wide format customers to print at least twice as fast as conventional inkjet systems used by competitors. Prints dry instantly so they can be handled immediately. Furthermore, there is no longer a significant difference between color and black & white output with regard to productivity and print quality. Color output enables construction and engineering projects to move more quickly through regulatory and approval processes, cutting costs and saving time.

"Unleashing a wave of innovation," says Oce CEO
"With the introduction of Oce CrystalPoint technology, we are unleashing an important wave of innovation that's changing the face of the wide format printing industry," says Rokus van Iperen, CEO of Oce N.V. "We will deliver high quality color on plain paper and recycled paper. Since the mid-90s, we have been developing this groundbreaking technology. Oce has invested approximately Euro 150 million in developing this technology and anticipates for the coming 15 to 20 years it will be fundamental for developing new generations of Oce color printing systems. Oce CrystalPoint technology represents a major milestone for our company in a market segment we have led since the 1920s. Customer trials with the Oce ColorWave 600 began in March of 2008. Based on these trials, market demand for the product is already very high."

"Provocative impact on the industry," says Industry Analyst
"Oce CrystalPoint technology creates an impressive new category that appears uniquely and competitively to address the dynamic digital printing markets in both the Wide Format Technical and Wide Format Graphics segments," said Tim Greene, Director Wide Format & Jetting Technologies at InfoTrends. "Because this new Oce platform is designed to significantly address overall running costs, reduce environmental impact and improve both productivity and workflow, we think it will have a serious and provocative impact on the wide format printing industry."

Industry impact, growth opportunities
As a leader in wide format systems for the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) market, Oce CrystalPoint products and solutions will provide more options for this growing digital print segment. Oce CrystalPoint technology will also attract interest in the reprographics and business graphics markets. This will bring Oce new growth potential and another opportunity to expand its share of the wide format color market. In Q1 2008, Oce worldwide generated 31% of its wide format sales from the color market (Q1 2007: 25%). The market value for these printing systems within wide format printing is estimated at more than $4.5B (based on wide format market data sourced from InfoTrends).

Moving beyond initial applications
As well as the technical document market, Oce expects to take Oce CrystalPoint technology beyond its initial applications. To achieve this, it has set up an applications center at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Oce is working with High Tech Campus companies to explore, using Oce CrystalPoint technology, a range of high tech manufacturing processes.

Durable in any setting
Oce ColorWave output is durable in the office and on construction sites. In addition, users in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) environments will find the instantly dry and water fast Oce ColorWave prints beneficial in developing city planning or coordinating emergency services. Mass market retailers can rapidly produce high quality color signage with adjusted prices or localized promotions that optimize sales opportunities.

No ozone, odor or fine powder
Oce CrystalPoint technology offers significant environmental benefits. The solid Oce TonerPearls used in tonergel jetting release no ozone, odor or fine powder. This makes Oce CrystalPoint technology ultra-low when it comes to emissions. Furthermore, because it prints an even semi-gloss finish on uncoated paper, the technology reduces the use of paper coatings that impact the environment.

About Oce
Oce N.V. is a leading international provider of digital document management technology and services. The company's solutions are based on Oce's advanced software applications that deliver documents and data over internal networks and the Internet to printing devices and archives -- locally and around the world. Supporting the workflow solutions are Oce digital printers and scanners, considered the most reliable and productive in the world. Oce also offers a wide range of display graphics, consulting and outsourcing solutions.

Oce employs around 24,000 people, with 2007 revenues of approximately $4.6B, operates in more than 90 countries and maintains research and manufacturing centers in the Netherlands, the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Romania and Singapore. Oce North America is headquartered in Trumbull, CT, with additional business units in Chicago, IL; New York City; Boca Raton, FL; Salt Lake City, UT; Coventry, RI; and Vancouver, BC. North American revenues represented approximately half of Oce's worldwide business in 2007, and employment is currently 11,000. For more information about Oce, visit www.oceusa.com. Outside the U.S., consult www.oce.com.

SOURCE: Oce