DIGITAL digest
Océ Speaks Volumes, Adds Ink-Jet Line
BOCA RATON, FL—Gone, its seems, are the days when equipment vendors waited for a major trade show to launch new products. Océ staged its own event just before the holidays to debut two additions to its line of continuous-feed, high-volume printing systems, including an ink-jet system.
The company already has more than a 50 percent market share in that printer segment, noted Joseph Skrzypczak, president and CEO of Océ North America. “We expect that to grow…as we expand our market and geographic coverage and drive brand awareness.”
The new Océ JetStream platform is based on piezo-electric ink-jet (drop-on-demand) technology, which the company has branded DigiDot, that prints CMYK color with water-based inks. Currently being offered are the model 1100 single-engine (1,074 ipm, two-up letter) and model 2200 twin-engine (2,148 ppm) systems. Both offer a 600x600 dpi resolution with variable dot sizes for multi-level printing that is said to produce smooth gradients and finer detail appearance. The machines handle a maximum 201⁄2 ˝ roll width and a substrate range from 16-lb. to 40-lb. bond.
Filling a performance gap in the company’s electrophotographic line, the Océ VarioStream 8000 product family supports black-and-white and CustomTone custom color printing. Three base simplex models have been introduced, including the 8550 (530 ipm for two-up, letter size printing), 8650 (636 ipm) and 8750 (750 ipm). Faster twin and triplex (two-over-one color) configurations are also available. The print engines feature new LED imaging and Super Cell technology to output up to 256 gray levels for enhanced halftone and custom color printing.
The first U.S. product install, a VarioStream 8750 Twin configuration, is already running at IWCO Direct, reported Mal Baboyian, president of Océ North America, Production Printing Systems. It is printing variable data direct mail pieces, achieving a production rate of more than two million feet of output per engine in just the first week of operation. According to Baboyian, the product line can also serve as an “on ramp” to the transpromo market.
Both product lines are a continuation of Océ’s Job Appropriate Color strategy, he added, which proposes that customers should only pay for the amount of color that makes a job effective. This can range from black-and-white up to full process color printing, depending on the job.
To support the capabilities of the JetStream and previously introduced Océ ColorStream 10000 color systems, PRISMAproduction software has been enhanced to handle process color jobs. In addition, Océ TrueProof software will provide color proofing to support the print engines.
Marveling at how it has now become such a hot topic, Skrzypczak asserted that “sustainability has been an organizing principle at Océ for more than 50 years. We continue to step up our sustainability efforts as we grow our business and make earth-friendly development a part of our DNA.” He said customers will see continuing advances on this front in the company’s products and processes going forward.
Take Five at On Demand
NEWTON, MA—A lineup of daily keynote addresses and panels (free to all attendees), along with more than 50 breakout sessions, has been announced for the On Demand Exposition & Conference. The digital printing event will take place at the Boston Convention & Exposition Center from March 3-6.
InfoTrend’s Charles Pesko will kick things off on Tuesday, March 4, with a state-of-the-industry address, titled “From Print to Marketing Service Provider.” He will be followed by author David Pogue, who will detail the problems with the software design in a presentation on “The Power of Simplicity.”
Patrick J. Buchanan, political analyst, and Howard Fineman, Newsweek senior Washington correspondent, will be paired up Wednesday morning, March 5, in a keynote panel offering “Reflections on Super Tuesday: What’s at Stake & What’s to Come.” Then there will be a vendor panel that looks at “Emerging Technologies and What to Expect in 2008” and the free program will conclude with a panel of marketing executives examining “The Changing Media Mix: A Marketing Perspective.”
For additional information, visit www.ondemandexpo.com .
EskoArtwork Stays on Track
GHENT, BELGIUM—Looking ahead to the new year as a merged company, EskoArtwork recently held an international briefing at its headquarters to share a status report with the printing industry media. Company executives outlined their strategy for continuing to serve all segments of the graphic arts market, including commercial printing, and further development of the combined workflow product portfolio from Esko, Artwork Systems and Enfocus.
digital bytes
SOMERVILLE, MA—Ames On- Demand, a division of Ames Safety Envelope, recently printed 3.3 million pages in one month on a single Xerox iGen3 110 digital color press. The company produces customized books, in a Web-to-print digital production environment. Over a four-month period, the shop printed more than 22 million pages on its four iGen3 presses, three of which were installed in 2007.
ROCHESTER, NY—PODi, the Digital Printing Initiative, is employing interactive audience response (ARS) technology for the first time at this month’s PODi AppForum digital printing conference in Las Vegas. Attendees will be able to answer questions in real-time, with responses instantly tallied and displayed for all to see. The PODi AppForum runs from January 28-30 at the Rio Hotel & Casino. For more information, visit www.podiforum.org .
IVRY/SEINE, FRANCE—MGI Digital Graphic Technology’s UVarnish infrared and UV coater will now be part of Xerox Europe’s finishing product portfolio under a marketing agreement between the companies. The off-line unit is designed as a complement to digital and offset printing capabilities on paper or plastic substrates.
SOLANA BEACH, CA—Membership in the FusionPro Users Forum has topped 1,400 community members, reports Printable Technologies. Topics of discussion addressed online range from basic product questions to advanced workflow issues.
