Direct Marketing Leader IWCO Direct Is First U.S. Install of Oce ColorStream 3500 Inkjet Printer

TRUMBULL, Conn., Aug. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Oce, a Canon Group company and an international leader in digital document management, today announced that IWCO Direct will be the first U.S. installation of the newly released Oce ColorStream® 3500 inkjet printing system. IWCO Direct will deploy the system at their Chanhassen, Minnesota facility in early August 2011. The high-speed, production printer makes it possible for customers to move more easily from monochrome to full color output.

"We are committed to digital continuous color printing, and we expect to lead the way in integrating it appropriately into our customers' direct mail streams. With the addition of the Oce ColorStream 3500 color inkjet system, we will accelerate opportunities and options for our customers to develop more personalized and relevant marketing messages," said Jim Andersen, IWCO Direct President and CEO.

In addition to Oce printing technology, IWCO Direct uses Oce PRISMA® workflow software to drive production for all their high-volume systems, including non-Oce devices.

"We are pleased to extend our long relationship with IWCO Direct by providing them with the first Oce ColorStream 3500 inkjet printing system installed in the U.S. This commitment shows that IWCO Direct is serious about growing their business and serving customers with the most advanced, affordable and appropriate technology," said Francis McMahon, Oce Vice President, Marketing, Oce North America, Production Printing Systems.

"IWCO Direct has a track record as an early adopter of the latest production printing technology. They were the first U.S. install for both the Oce VarioStream® 7650 Twin and Oce VarioStream 8750 Twin systems. Now with their new Oce ColorStream 3500 inkjet printing system, IWCO Direct is again at the forefront in providing customers with personalized color output enabled by the latest in flexible, efficient production color printing and workflow," said McMahon.

Oce ColorStream 3500 printing system expands customers' opportunities

"We can support customers who want to do more with digital four-color output. For example, we have a growing audience that wants to mix multiple versions in one longer run. The Oce system is more cost-effective for this than our cutsheet systems. This gives us an entry into an expanded range of volume for our digital color production offering," said Dave Johannes, IWCO Direct Vice President of Digital Print.

Examples of how IWCO Direct can use the Oce ColorStream 3500 inkjet printing system include:

• Documentation for wellness and disease management programs, where each co-care provider wants its own logo and graphics embedded in the final letter.
• Adding graphics with color for high-end financial services loyalty programs.
• Forms replacement to reduce the need for the two-step process of printing monochrome variable data on preprinted offset color forms. This also reduces inventory, time to market and waste.

According to Johannes, several factors contributed to the selection of the Oce ColorStream 3500 inkjet printing system:

• The platform of the Oce ColorStream 3500 inkjet printing system is similar to that of the Oce VarioStream 8750 system currently used by IWCO Direct , resulting in a shorter learning curve for operators.
• Uptime on all Oce products is outstanding, and Oce service plays a major role in helping maintain uptime.
• IWCO Direct hopes to incorporate their existing tools with Oce PRISMA architecture for more seamless workflow and to further automate the front-end process of creating final print-ready files.

About the Oce ColorStream 3500 Inkjet Printing System

The Oce ColorStream 3500 inkjet printing system was unveiled at Canon Expo in Tokyo in November 2010. The high-speed, high-quality full color inkjet printer runs at 1,073 letter-size impressions per minute and simplifies the transition from monochrome to full-color or even five or six colors. It offers productivity and flexibility for high-speed color and monochrome production of transaction, transpromo, direct mail, book and manual applications. Industry-leading reliability, print quality and media range are testaments to Oce DigiDot® multilevel dot modulation technology.

Enhanced usability and productivity is made possible by a combination of unique features:

• HeadSafe technology helps prevent nozzle clogging and minimizes lengthy purging processes. The ability to transition between monochrome-only and full-color printing promotes higher uptime and productivity levels.
• Using passive RFID technology, the Oce InkSafe feature monitors both the proper placement of the ink containers in the press and the ink's shelf-life.
• The Oce ColorStream 3500 inkjet printing system provides consistent high-quality printing during the ramp-up acceleration, full-production speed, and the ramp-down deceleration phases. Utilizing the entire production time decreases turn-around time and minimizes waste.

The Oce ColorStream 3500 inkjet printing system provides a modular offering in various single and twin configurations. A full-color Oce ColorStream 3500 system can be set up as a monochrome-only system when needed. The production and media flexibility contributes to a future-proof solution that simplifies the transition of applications and business models to more sophisticated documents with variable personalization and smarter communication in color.

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. Total revenues in financial 2010 amounted to approximately euro 2.7 billion. Oce is listed on Euronext in Amsterdam. For more information visit oceproductionprinting.com.

Oce North America is headquartered in Trumbull, CT, with additional business units in Chicago, IL and Boca Raton, FL.  North America represents 34% of Oce's worldwide revenues, and employment is over 8,000.  For more information about Oce North America, visit www.oceusa.com.  Outside the U.S., consult http://global.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 197,000 people worldwide. Global net sales in 2010 were more than US $45 billion. For more information visit 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. Its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ), a top patent holder of technology, ranked fourth overall in the U.S. in 2010*, with global revenues of more than US $45 billion and is listed as number five in the computer industry on Fortune Magazine's World's Most Admired Companies 2011 list.  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. At Canon, we care because caring is essential to living together in harmony. Founded upon a corporate philosophy of Kyosei – "all people, regardless of race, religion or culture, harmoniously living and working together into the future" – Canon U.S.A. supports a number of social, youth, educational and other programs, including environmental and recycling initiatives. Additional information about these programs can be found at www.usa.canon.com/kyosei. 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