New High-Performance MICR Toner for Océ VarioStream 8000 Product Line Increases High-Speed MICR Printing Productivity

TRUMBULL, CT—May 7, 2009—Océ, a global leader in digital document management and delivery, today announced a new high performance Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) toner that enhances MICR printing productivity by nearly 18 percent. The new MICR toner offers significant improvements in image quality and toner adhesion. It is now available for the Océ VarioStream® 8000 continuous feed product family, with future availability for other Océ continuous feed systems. Using the new MICR toner formulation, the Océ VarioStream 8750 simplex system will deliver printed MICR output at the rate of 750 ipm, and the Océ VarioStream 8750 twin system will deliver MICR printing at 1,500 ipm for letter-size pages, a new speed benchmark. Océ VarioStream Triplex MICR productivity has also increased nearly 43 percent to 1060 ipm as a result of the new High Performance toner. No other industry player offers MICR and over 400 highlight color choices possible with the Océ CustomTone® program for 2/0 twin MICR, or 2/1 MICR triplex printing.

Print service providers gain a competitive advantage when they can deliver high volume, readable MICR output within required production windows. Their customers must get to market quickly with promotional checks, hybrid promotional transactional ("TransPromo") statements, interest checks, coupon books, insurance Explanation of Benefits (EOBs), Image Replacement Documents (IRDs) and other applications requiring MICR. Print providers who can deliver on the promise of fast MICR printing increase their value to their clients. As a further benefit, when MICR jobs can be completed quickly, print providers have the extra capacity to take on more work.

With a MICR-capable Océ VarioStream system, print operations can produce a wider variety of documents and satisfy more client requirements on just one device. This helps reduce unnecessary burdens of additional equipment, resource planning, output management, data conversion and other issues that come up when multiple systems are required. Using exclusive Océ Quick Change Developer Stations, the high-performance MICR toner can be combined with Océ CustomTone spot printing, further extending the printer’s capabilities.

The MICR output is backed by the Océ MICR Guarantee, which represents the industry's most comprehensive MICR experience and support. The Océ MICR Guarantee assures customers of reliable performance and quality that meet or exceed established industry standards.

"Océ offers the widest MICR portfolio, ranging from cutsheet to continuous feed toner and continuous feed ink-jet systems, and the new toner formulation further extends our leadership in MICR printing. We understand how important flawless MICR printing is for so many applications, from transactional to promotional documents, and we know that speed and productivity are important parts of the equation. The new MICR toner will help print operations establish a solid competitive position on both counts and bring more value to their customers, and of course, the Océ MICR Guarantee is available with this new high-performance toner," said Jim Hughes, Director of Continuous Feed Product Management, Production Printing Systems, Océ North America.

The new formulation replaces the existing MICR toner used with the Océ VarioStream 8000 family and is available immediately.

About the Océ VarioStream 8000 family
The Océ VarioStream 8000 family comes in a number of variations, providing customers with the capabilities they need now and an upgrade path for future requirements. Duty cycles range from 32 million to over 45 million 2-up letter impressions per month. The series consists of three base models: the Océ VarioStream 8550 at 530 two-up letter size simplex images/minute, the Océ VarioStream 8650 at 636 simplex ipm, and the Océ VarioStream 8750 at 750 simplex ipm. The printers operate in simplex, twin and triplex configurations. Among the variations are Twin systems with speeds from 1,060 to 1,500 duplex ipm. The triplex version prints two colors on one side, one the other at 1060 ipm. The Océ VarioStream 8000 family is equipped with the most powerful SRA controller ever offered on Océ systems. The SRA4 controller delivers sharp halftone images and ensures a clean upgrade path. The Océ VarioStream 8000 family features a 19.5" paper width and 19" print width, giving customers more options for output and services, such as printing three-up 6"x9" books with bleed and trim margins.

About Océ
Océ is a leading international provider of digital document management technology and services. The company's solutions are based on Océ’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 Océ digital printers and scanners, considered the most reliable and productive in the world. Océ also offers a wide range of display graphics, consulting and outsourcing solutions.

Océ employs around 23,000 people, with 2008 revenues of approximately $4.3 billion, operates in around 100 countries and maintains research and manufacturing centers in the Netherlands, the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Romania and Singapore. Océ North America is headquartered in Trumbull, CT, with additional business units in Chicago, IL; New York City; Boca Raton, FL; Salt Lake City, UT and Vancouver, BC. North American revenues represented approximately half of Océ’s worldwide business in 2008, and employment is approximately 10,000. For more information about Océ, visit www.oceusa.com. Outside the U.S., consult http://global.oce.com.