Océ helps CPS focus on white ink capability and expansion

Manchester, England, 18 March 2011 — Contact Photographic Services Ltd (CPS), which specialises in high quality digital display printing, has become the 2000th company throughout the world to invest in Océ’s multi award-winning Arizona print production system.

Exceptional print quality and speed, plus the ability to print white ink for the first time digitally, is already opening new expansion opportunities for CPS, which was founded more than 20 years ago and employs 15 people from its Manchester-based headquarters. This is the third Océ Arizona for the large format specialist, which first purchased an Océ Arizona 250 GT in 2007 before taking an Océ Arizona 350 GT two years later and now upgrading to the super-fast Océ Arizona 550GT.

Océ’s Arizona is the world’s biggest-selling flatbed print production system and outsells all its competitors put together.  Central to the global success has been exceptional print quality, which now means it can be used for silk-screen printing preparatory work.

“People know our reputation for fine art finished products, said Andrew Bruce, head of printing at CPS Ltd. “We do a lot of museum work, which stipulates extremely high quality printing, and now more and more of our work is being printed on the Océ Arizona, which has a fantastic print quality and is super-fast. Really fine detail is achieved and 6pt text can be read easily. One of the additional benefits is that we now can do white ink on the machine. The registration between the colour and the white is exceptional, which was the case when we did full-size colour proofs for Dulux on the Arizona.”

CPS, which has been an Océ customer for 15 years, was using the latest Arizona within 24 hours of it arriving in Manchester. “We needed to print 42 8ft by 4ft panels, which was done on the same day,” said Andrew Bruce. “The same job on the Arizona 250 would have taken four days and about two and a half days on the Arizona 350. Production speed has rocketed and the quality is just as good.”

Steve Phythian, Managing Director of CPS, said: “Business has been steadily increasing and things are looking extremely positive for 2011, which is why we took the positive decision to invest in another Océ Arizona production system. The digital side, in particular, is progressing really well. This is an extremely important future for the industry.”

Dominic Fahy, Océ UK’s Imaging Supplies and Display Graphics Business Group Director, said: “CPS has been a loyal Océ customer, realising the outstanding quality and productivity of the Océ Arizona that is adding real value to their business as they continue to expand. The Arizona range is excellent and provides near-photographic quality output. This in combination with the best direct service support organisation in the industry helps enable our valued customers like CPS to invest again and again in confidence because they know Océ is a professional and capable solution provider.”

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Further details from Colin Harding, of Shaw Communications, tel 01344 761208, 07730 435400.

About Océ

Océ is one of the leading providers of document management and printing for professionals. The Océ offering includes office printing and copying systems, high speed digital production printers and wide format printing systems for both technical documentation and color display graphics. Océ is also a foremost supplier of document management outsourcing. Many of the Fortune Global 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 over 100 countries and employs more than 20,000 people worldwide. Total revenues in fiscal 2010 amounted to approximately €2.7 billion. Océ is listed on Euronext in Amsterdam. For more information visit www.oce.com.

Océ and Canon: Stronger together

In 2010 Océ joined the Canon Group of companies with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, to create the global leader in the printing industry. Canon develops, manufactures and markets a growing line-up of copying machines, printers, cameras, optical and other products that meet a diverse range of customer needs. Canon employs more than 170,000 people worldwide. Global net sales in 2010 were approximately $46 billion. For more information visit www.canon.com.