Accelerating the transition: Oce extends inkjet ColorStream 3000 series

TRUMBULL, Conn., May 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Oce, a Canon Group company and an international leader in digital document management, today announced the new Oce ColorStream® 3200 and Oce ColorStream 3900 digital full-color inkjet printing systems. These new additions will help print providers make their transition to digital full color easily and at their own pace.

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Transition to high-speed digital printing
The new systems of the popular Oce ColorStream 3000 series join the Oce inkjet family and once more extend the company's leadership in digital full-color inkjet. Through a full-line assortment, print providers now have more choices to easily migrate from toner systems, other inkjet platforms or offset printing to high-speed digital printing based on their productivity requirements.

The Oce ColorStream 3000 series inkjet printing systems provide a modular offering in various single and twin configurations with four different printing speeds ranging from 157 to 417 feet per minute. A full-color Oce ColorStream 3000 series system can be set up as a monochrome-only system when needed. They offer productivity and flexibility for high-speed color and monochrome production of transaction, TransPromo, direct mail, book and manual applications. The production and media flexibility contribute to a future-proof solution that simplifies the evolution of applications and business models to more sophisticated documents for smarter communication in color.

Oce expands inkjet portfolio
The new Oce ColorStream 3200, Oce ColorStream 3700 and Oce ColorStream 3900 models join the market-leading Oce inkjet portfolio as basic and top-of-the-line models in the Oce ColorStream 3000 series. Only one year after the global launch of this visionary yet low risk innovation, the Oce ColorStream 3000 series obtained a market-leading position, particularly in datacenter and print service provider environments. The new models further extend the reach of the Oce ColorStream 3000 series as solutions for monochrome and full-color print service provider environments, print centers with datacenter background and offset print providers seeking a flexible and efficient high-volume digital printing solution.

This is what some customers are saying about the Oce ColorStream 3000 series[1]:

"I can't believe this in inkjet printing.  I could not have been more impressed"—Debora Haskel, Vice President-Marketing, IWCO

"It will provide fast, versatile high-quality color to drive return on marketing investment for our clients."—Pat O'Brien, Chief Marketing Officer, SourceLink

"As one of the first ColorStream 3700 customers, I recognized not only that inkjet is the future, but that Oce is a leader in inkjet technology. Inkjet offers more capacity, more variety of what you can do for your clients, and more to your bottom line." -Mike McCombs, Dantom Systems

The combination of high inkjet productivity built on the Oce DigiDot®  technology with proven Oce flexibility and efficiency that is now available in four field-upgradable speeds is a total solution for all environments and requirements.

Lower investment level enables more users to jump on inkjet
With the new basic  Oce ColorStream 3200 model, Oce lowers the entry-barrier into cost-efficient inkjet printing, especially for transactional print providers. Customers that only require a print width of 17" and do not have print volumes to justify the investment in current inkjet offerings now have a lower investment level solution. They can start with a slower speed of 157 feet per minute (688 letter-size images) and upgrade to the faster Oce ColorStream 3000 series speeds when required. Print providers looking for an efficient way to add full-color inkjet printing can now replace toner-based continuous feed systems with a comparable speed inkjet solution. A significant portion of the installed toner-based systems only require the 2-up  letter print width of 17" and are in a productivity segment of up to approximately 20 million images a month, which the Oce ColorStream 3200 model is able to deliver.

Higher productivity allows more jobs in tighter production windows
The Oce ColorStream 3900 is the new top-speed model in the Oce ColorStream 3000 series and offers a process speed of 417 feet per minute. That translates to 909 letter-size images per minute for a single unit or 1,818 letter-size impressions per minute in a twin configuration. Monthly volumes of up to 59 million letter-size images images can be achieved.

The Oce ColorStream 3900 model features two production modes. For print jobs with short production windows and tight cost constraints, the performance mode of the Oce ColorStream 3900 model operates at 417 feet per minute at 600 x 480 dpi resolution with multilevel dot modulation, producing excellent quality at top speed. For even higher quality requirements, the premium mode enables printing at 1200 dpi perceived image quality with 326 feet per minute or 1,428 letter- size images per minute.

Transactional applications, direct mail documents or short-run newspapers are often characterized by tight production windows and very high peak loads. This is where the Oce ColorStream 3900 model reveals its strengths and economic advantages. For cost-effective production, the performance mode facilitates ink savings.

Right-sizing of the Oce ColorStream 3000 series in speed and print width
In addition to different speed options, Oce also introduces the option to right-size the system for customers that do not require the extended print width of the Oce ColorStream 3000 series. Next to the 21.25" print width Oce ColorStream 3000 range, all Oce ColorStream 3000 series systems are now also available with a lower cost 17" print-width version. This represents exactly the printable width needed to produce 2-up letter images and is often found in transactional environments. A large share of current continuous feed toner users print with approximately 17" print width on 18" wide pinfed continuous feed papers in this environment.

The Oce ColorStream 3200 and Oce ColorStream 3900 models also incorporate the efficiency and flexibility features of the well-established Oce ColorStream 3500 system, allowing for a direct entry as well as a smooth and slow transition to full-color inkjet. Many smart features, such as Oce HeadSafe, page one quality printing or the paper-waste free print pause, increase the sustainability and productivity of the Oce ColorStream 3000 series. In addition to saving resources, a significant boost of the total production workflow and value chain is achieved as no wasted, white pages have to be handled in post processing.

Universal solution for high-speed digital inkjet printing
"With these additions to the Oce ColorStream 3000 series, we emphasize our commitment to develop solutions that meet the diverse needs of print providers," said Kris Albee, Director, Product Marketing, Production Printing Systems division of Oce North America. "The Oce ColorStream 3900 model takes the speed of the Oce ColorStream series to a whole new level for high-volume print providers."

According to Michael Poulin, Oce product marketing manager, Oce also understands the need for a more basic model for inkjet printing at lower speeds. "There are a large number of print providers that have lower print volume and print width requirements, and the new Oce ColorStream 3200 system with its reduced print width is an ideal entry-level inkjet solution," he said.

Based on field-proven Oce technologies
All members of the Oce inkjet family, from the basic Oce ColorStream 3200 model to the high-speed Oce ColorStream 3900 model are based on core technologies such as the field-proven Oce DigiDot technology and the Oce SRA® MP controller architecture. The Oce ColorStream 3000 series use piezo-electric drop-on-demand inkjet printheads that allow very high speeds with a consistent perceived print quality of up to 1200 dpi using multilevel droplet modulation. Users benefit from the reliability, print quality and media range associated with the Oce inkjet portfolio.

About Oce
Oce is one of the leading providers of document management and printing for professionals. The Oce offering includes office printing and copying systems, high speed digital production printers and wide format printing systems for both technical documentation and color display graphics. Oce is also a foremost supplier of document management outsourcing. Many of the Fortune Global 500 companies and leading commercial printers are Oce customers. The company was founded in 1877. With headquarters in Venlo, The Netherlands, Oce is active in over 100 countries and employs more than 20,000 people worldwide.  Oce North America is headquartered in Trumbull, CT, with additional business units in Chicago, IL and Boca Raton, FL.  For more information visitwww.oce.com.

Oce and Canon: Stronger together
In 2010 Oce joined the Canon Group of companies with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, to create the global leader in the printing industry. Canon develops, manufactures and markets a growing line-up of copying machines, printers, cameras, optical and other products that meet a diverse range of customer needs. The Canon Group comprises over 198,000 employees worldwide. Global net sales in 2011 totaled USD 45.6 billion. Visit the Canon Inc. website at www.canon.com.

About Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Canon U.S.A., Inc., is a leading provider of consumer, business-to-business, and industrial digital imaging solutions. With more than $45 billion in global revenue, its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ), ranks fourth overall in patent holdings in the U.S. in 2010* and is one of Fortune Magazine's World's Most Admired Companies in 2011. Canon U.S.A. is committed to the highest levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty, providing 100 percent U.S.-based consumer service and support for all of the products it distributes. Canon U.S.A. is dedicated to its Kyosei philosophy of social and environmental responsibility. To keep apprised of the latest news from Canon U.S.A., sign up for the Company's RSS news feed by visiting www.usa.canon.com/rss.

*Based on weekly patent counts issued by United States Patent and Trademark Office.

All referenced product names, and other marks, are trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE Oce North America