Oce Accepting Applications for its Fourth Annual 'Green Reprographer of the Year' Award

TRUMBULL, Conn., Feb. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Oce, a global leader in digital document management and delivery solutions, today announced its Wide Format Printing Systems division will begin accepting applications for its fourth annual "Green Reprographer of the Year" award. Applicants will be asked to submit, in writing, their achievements in the area of green business practices and explain how these efforts have assisted their customers to meet their own sustainability goals. The winning reprographic firm will be announced on April 28, 2011.

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Creation of this award has been driven by Oce's longstanding commitment to help reprographers reach their sustainability goals, and those of their customers, through large format printing solutions that are environmentally conscious without sacrificing print quality.

"Developing environmentally sound business practices continues to be a priority for many reprographers. These forward-thinking companies realize that doing more with less not only applies to their business operations but to their impact on the environment," said Patrick Chapuis, President, Wide Format Printing Systems division of Oce North America. "Oce remains committed to recognizing the reprographers that stand out from their peers in their ability to incorporate sustainability into their own operations and those of their customers."

In an effort to highlight those reprographic firms that have embraced a forward-looking approach to incorporating sustainability into their business model, all applicants will be considered by Oce for future publicity opportunities regarding their sustainability efforts, including interviews and contributed articles with leading reprographic industry publications.  

Award Submission Details

WHAT: The Oce "Green Reprographer of the Year" award will recognize the reprographic firm that has made the most compelling strides to incorporate environmentally conscious practices into its business operations.

WHEN: Reprographers can view criteria and submit applications through March 18, 2011 via an online application form, which can be downloaded by visiting www.oceusa.com/greenreproaward.

HOW: Applications will be judged based on the following factors:

• Products used in the reprographer's business that reduce the impact on the environment
• Services provided to the reprographer's customers to benefit the environment
• Changes or improvements to facilities that reduce the impact on the environment
• Employee programs supporting environmental conservation

Applications will be evaluated by a panel of judges, including Denise Gustavson, Editor of Wide Format Imaging magazine, Robert Cassidy, Editor-in-Chief of Building Design & Construction magazine, and Ed Avis, principal of Ed Avis Associates, a communications firm specializing in the imaging industry, and author of the 2008 Green Reprographics Handbook.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: For more information on this award or the submission process, please visit www.oceusa.com/greenreproaward.

About Oce's Dedication to Sustainability

Sustainability has been part of Oce's DNA for the past 130+ years. This includes their innovative three-tiered approach to supporting sustainability: 1) Create and design sustainable products; 2) Utilize environmentally conscious manufacturing; 3) Enable customers to operate in a sustainable way (i.e. print at lower heat, produce the least amount of detectable ozone, be compatible with 30% post-consumer waste recycled media).

To help its customers minimize their environmental impact, Oce focuses on four key areas in product design.  They are:

• Minimize incorrect and unnecessary prints
• Minimize energy consumption per print
• Maximize reuse of materials and minimize non-reusable waste
• Minimize emissions of ozone, toner, dust and noise.

This eco-friendly approach to product development is evident in many of Oce's printing solutions, including the popular Oce Eco Design family of printers. These printers distinguish themselves from conventional technologies by their extremely low energy consumption, quiet operation and low ozone and heat emissions.

An example is the Oce PlotWave® 300 all-in-one large format monochrome print/copy/scan system, which utilizes patented Oce Radiant Fusing technology – the most efficient way to fuse toner onto paper. This compact system starts up instantly, uses half the energy of comparable systems, makes no noise when idling and produces virtually no ozone emissions.

For more information about how Oce can help you meet your sustainability goals visit, www.oce.com/sustainability.

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 fiscal 2010 amounted to approximately euro 2.7 billion. Oce is listed on Euronext in Amsterdam. For more information, visit www.oce.com.

Oce North America is headquartered in Trumbull, CT, with additional business units in Chicago, IL and Boca Raton, FL.  North America represents over 37% of Oce's worldwide revenues, and employment is over 9,000.  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. Canon employs more than 170,000 people worldwide. Global revenues in 2010 were more than $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 six in the computer industry on Fortune Magazine's World's Most Admired Companies 2010 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