First individualised newspaper produced in Australia

“Newspaper of the Future” to be demonstrated on Océ JetStream inkjet system at annual newspaper forum

Venlo, The Netherlands, 24 August 2010 - Océ, an international leader in digital document management and delivery, today announces that it will partner with the Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers’ Association (PANPA) to produce the first individualised newspaper in Australia. The achievement will be demonstrated at the annual PANPA Future Forum in Sydney, 26–27 August. Major newspaper organisations will be represented as the Association recognises innovative newspapers and trends in the industry.

Trend of personalisation in newspapers and magazines

The Daily Digital newspaper, according to PANPA the first publication of its kind in Australia, is being printed in concert with Océ Australia Limited on an Océ JetStream® continuous feed, full-colour inkjet press. The Océ JetStream system prints up to 3,000 36-page tabloid newspapers per hour or 23,000 copies per eight hour shift. Each copy is potentially an individual product, printed digitally with no loss of speed or quality compared to more traditional printing methods.

CEO of the Newspaper Publishers’ Association, Mark Hollands, explained that the Digital Daily was conceived to demonstrate what is possible with a digital press. “This technology presents an opportunity to create new products and revenue streams,” he said. “I'm attracted by its capacity to allow personalisation of newspapers, sections and magazines.”

Reader-driven personalisation

The 16-page PANPA Digital Daily newspaper will include stories and advertisements personalised for each reader. Headlines and advertisements will address each reader by name, underscoring the flexibility of variable data printing in the digital age. Readers can also select different stories and advertisements according to their interests. By inviting subscribers to submit their preferences in news and products via a web portal, each newspaper can be tailored to more directly address those preferences with both editorial content and advertising.

Personalisation with Océ PRISMAdesigner 

Creating new opportunities for publishers

“The PANPA Future Forum is the ideal venue to show those most closely associated with the newspaper industry this way of the future,” stated Hollands. “Digital technology reduces waste for short-run products, and allows a publisher to create an on-demand model for printing publications, as well as expand into other commercial areas. This is something all newspaper publishers should consider.”

The production of digital newspapers is a target market for specialised newspaper printers. Additionally, digital newspapers provide an opportunity to general commercial printers and mailers to profitably extend their production night shifts.

Océ pioneered digital newspaper market

Océ pioneered the digital newspaper market with the Océ Digital Newspaper Network®. More than 25 million newspaper copies have been produced globally through this network since 2001, making Océ the world market leader in digital newspaper production.

The introduction of the Océ JetStream series of digital full-colour inkjet presses extended Océ production capabilities into higher run lengths, unprecedented productivity and full-colour quality on par with traditional newspapers produced on offset presses. Now digital production speeds are within the scope of those required for smaller metropolitan, suburban and country newspapers.

Océ software enables personalisation and processing

With the Océ PRISMA® software suite for Graphic Arts workflow, Océ also offers solutions for generating highly personalised newspaper content. These variable applications can be processed in real time to match the speeds of the digital presses, which can be up to 150 metres per minute.

“Personalisation is now a solid publishing concept to help reinvigorate newspaper circulation. We are fully committed to the digital newspaper market, and with the PANPA Digital Daily, we provide a market-driven proof of concept for individualised digital newspapers providing a real business added-value that cannot be produced on traditional offset presses,” said Peter Wolff, Océ Vice President Graphic Arts.

For further information, please contact:
Nick Gale
Manager Media Relations
Tel. T +31 77 359 56 28
e-mail nick.gale@oce.com

“Océ”, “Océ JetStream”, “Océ PRISMA”, “Océ Digital Newspaper Network” and the Océ logo are registered trademarks of Océ-Technologies B.V. All product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks, are the property of their owners, and are respectfully acknowledged.

About Océ

Océ is one of the world’s leading providers of document management and printing for professionals. The broad Océ offering includes office printing and copying systems, high speed digital production printers and wide format printing systems for both technical documentation and colour display graphics. Océ is also a foremost supplier of document management outsourcing. Many of the world’s Fortune 500 companies and leading commercial printers are Océ customers. The company was founded in 1877. With headquarters in Venlo, The Netherlands, Océ is active in approximately 100 countries and employs some 22,000 people worldwide. Total revenues in 2009 amounted to € 2.6 billion. Océ is listed on Euronext in Amsterdam. For more information on Océ, visit www.oce.com.

Creating the global leader in printing

Canon and Océ have joined forces to create the global leader in the printing industry. For our customers this combines Canon and Océ technology with the support of the Océ direct sales and service organisations. Look to the new Canon-Océ combination for:

  • Enterprise printing in the office and corporate printroom

  • Large format printing of technical documentation, signage and display graphics

  • Production printing for marketing service bureaus and graphic arts

  • Business Services for document process outsourcing

In 2010 Océ became a Canon Group company.