Océ Technology Propels Growth of World’s First Individualized Newspaper
TRUMBULL, CT—May 17, 2010—Océ, an international leader in digital document management and delivery, announced today that the Océ JetStream 2200 system and patented Océ PRISMA workflow technology have helped “niiu”, the world’s first individualized newspaper, achieve steady growth through new subscribers and advertisers. The list of content sources has also continued to grow. Readers can now choose from 18 sources, ranging from other prominent daily newspapers to blogs and RSS feeds.
Prospect of 5,000 subscribers by end of May 2010
As traditional newspapers struggle with declining circulations and falling advertising revenues, the innovative “niiu” initiative thrives. Launched to keen interest in November 2009, “niiu” is optimistic to reach nearly 5,000 subscribers by end of May 2010. Two pages of each 24-page edition are dedicated to advertisers, which currently include a leading German automotive manufacturer and the leading European electronic retail company. Each individualized newspaper is printed in color on the Océ JetStream 2200 inkjet system using the Océ PRISMA workflow solution—full color and top productivity with completely variable content in the highest quality. Readers can even compose their own headlines. “niiu” is produced in Germany and published by InterTi GmbH, Berlin.
Future-oriented publishing
“The newspaper industry is searching for new business possibilities. ‘niiu’ is a new distribution channel for them. The World Association of Newspaper Publishers (WAN) speaks of “smart publishing” concepts that combine web-based content and digital newspaper printing. The success of ‘niiu’ proves this is possible with Océ solutions for digital newspaper publishing and profitability,” said co-founder Wanja S. Oberhof.
Patented personalization from Océ
Océ founded the Digital Newspaper Network (DNN). More than 20 million copies have been produced globally through the DNN since 2001, establishing Océ as the market leader in digital newspaper production, with end-to-end solutions that include presses, workflow and business models. As a partner of the “niiu” project, Océ is again a pioneer in the digital newspaper market. The underlying principle of the “niiu” project is based on the patented Océ process for printing individually assembled newspapers or other publications by utilizing the World Wide Web and other data networks.
Océ digital color and personalization workflow: right time, right place
With the Océ JetStream family, full-color digital printing has equaled the offset standard, contributing to the growth of the digital newspaper market. The ability to handle decreasing run lengths and greater customization also makes digital production more attractive. The quality and performance of the full-color Océ JetStream inkjet printing system especially suits the need for fast and reliable production of individualized newspapers.
With its high quality, productivity and reliability, the award-winning Océ JetStream full-color inkjet family is the ideal platform for these personalized, short-run newspapers. A line speed of 150 m/min provides the capacity to produce more than 2,000 36-page tabloid newspapers per hour.
The Océ JetStream 2200 system combined with Océ PRISMA software allows processing and printing of the huge amounts of variable data needed for individualized newspaper runs. The Océ PRISMA for Graphic Arts Software Suite can process up to 1,000 megabytes of variable data per minute, matching the speed and productivity of the Océ JetStream 2200 system.
About “niiu” innovation
Each daily “niiu” draws content from national and international newspapers and the Internet. Readers arrange their daily paper and select contents from 18 different regional, national and international daily papers. Each reader’s digitally printed issue is supplied daily, except Sundays. The innovative “niiu” concept is based on an Internet platform from InterTi GmbH.
To ensure interesting content for young readers, InterTi cooperates with leading German newspapers such as Bild, Handelsblatt and Tagesspiegel, and with international publishers like the New York Times, Washington Times and Komsomolskaja Pravda (Russia). In total, the content of 18 publications is available, including additional web-specific content from 500 blogs and RSS feeds. This variable content is combined into a fully individualized personal daily newspaper (http://www.niiu.de). Swiss technology provider, Previon, developed the web-based personalization technology behind “niiu”.
The “niiu” initiative has proven to be an attractive combination of reader-selected content, speedy service and environmentally sound business practices. Readers only get what interests them, so there is less chance of whole sections getting tossed unread into the garbage. In addition, the paper is printed on recycled paper.
