Océ helps book manufacturer reel in faster business with Ultra investment
Green credentials of the Océ VarioPrint 6320 Ultra bring expansion opportunities for Printondemand-worldwide
Venlo, The Netherlands, 3 May 2010 - Océ, an international leader in digital document management and delivery, today announces that fast-expanding Printondemand-worldwide has moved up a gear by becoming one of Europe’s first companies to get a reel-fed input device as part of its investment in the Océ VarioPrint® 6320 Ultra, the world’s fastest mono cutsheet production digital printing press.
Investment brings new growth opportunities
The book manufacturer, which produces both paperback and hardback books for some of the world’s biggest publishers, is celebrating further growth by investing in Océ’s state-of-the-art technology that is already paying dividends for the firm based at Peterborough in the UK. The ecological benefits of the Océ VarioPrint Ultra are also helping win new orders for Printondemand-worldwide, which is recognised for its environmental print services and book production techniques.
UKfirst for Printondemand-worldwide celebrating “best six months”
Printondemand-worldwide started as a buyout of a small inplant operation 15 years ago. Today Printondemand-worldwide is among the leading digital book printers in the country, with plans to cement this position through substantial investment. It is the UK’s first company to have a Lasermax roll-feed device plus a Friedheim International MBO H&H finishing equipment on an Océ VarioPrint Ultra line, giving Printondemand-worldwide the ability to produce printed eight-page signatures with less operator intervention, in less time and with less wastage. It’s all come at a time when the company has had its “best six months” in those 15 years.
Increasing return on investment and growing business
Andy Cork, Managing Director of Printondemand-worldwide, said: “We have had our best-ever profit margin and our turnover has grown dramatically. And now our growing numbers of customers will notice the benefits from this significant investment in Océ technology. The lay flat on sheet is better than other equipment we’ve used, which means the binding and cutting is far easier. And the quality of the print is way beyond what we’ve experienced with digital before – it’s incredible.”
Until now, the company has built most of its success on being able to deliver the print run of one by using a business model that appeals to publishers of long standing and self-publishers. “The fact that the Océ VarioPrint 6320 Ultra is so versatile means that we will be printing books from run-lengths one with ease,” said Cork. “Our customers are highly impressed that we are helping them reduce the costs incurred in warehousing, shipping, handling, distribution and waste.”
Meeting the highest standards for ecological performance
Critical to its business success growth has been a strong commitment to environmental performance, starting with a building designed to BREEAM certification to meet the highest standards for ecological performance. This is also in line with Peterborough’s desire to become the UK’s greenest city.
Better service to customers with environmentally-friendly system that doubles capacity
“We were the first company to measure the carbon footprint of what we produce,” said Cork. “We're investing in some of the best digital printing equipment in the world to enable us to give a better service to local business. The new inline, automated system with an Océ VarioPrint 6320 Ultra at its heart will double production capacity again. We have been quite simply amazed by its productivity, the quality of books produced and its environmental benefits. This is taking ‘printing on demand’ to a new dimension, which can be seen by the fact we are producing a quote for a book every four minutes.”
More staff taken on with latest expansion
Printondemand-worldwide’s latest expansion follows the amalgamation of Milton Keynes-based Digital book Print in November, which coincided with the best quarter in the company's 15-year history. This has helped push up turnover 25% higher than the previous year. Staff numbers at Printondemand-worldwide are up to 28, a third more than a year ago.
Océ makes less become more for publishers
Peter Wolff, Océ’s Vice President Graphic Arts, Production Printing, said: “This is another case of where less is definitely more for book printers and publishers who are recognising the fact that digital is coming into its own as a future technology. Importantly for Océ, this also ties up the UK print on demand book market for all the leading players. We see demand for our award-winning, environmentally friendly print production systems and software continuing to go up.”
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.
“Océ”, “VarioPrint” 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.