Oc’s assault on the digital mid-production printing market has been bolstered with immediate success, as its new Océ VarioPrint 2110 digital printing system makes multiple sales before the launch process has even finalised. Snap Printing in Ultimo, Sydney, has installed the first four Océ VP2110 printing systems in Australia while three more machines have been ordered by customers in Sydney, two in Melbourne and two in Adelaide. The University of Adelaide will install two Océ VP2110s and the two Melbourne machines have been ordered by Box Hill TAFE.
The new machine was launched at presentations for customers in Melbourne and Sydney in mid-September alongside the company’s new digital colour system, the Océ CPS900.
Tim Saleeba, Océ Digital Document Systems marketing manager, says the company has been delighted with the response the launch has created.
"It confirms our strong expectations for this digital printing system in the all-important mid-production range market," Saleeba says.
"We have arranged numerous demonstrations of the Océ VP2110 and the reaction each time has been highly positive. Australians seem to be taking to the equipment with the same enthusiasm that was experienced in Europe and the USA."
Océ says its VP2110 printer represents a determined market thrust into the mid-production range, which the company identifies as customers requiring between 250,000 and one million page impressions per month. The company has rarely strayed below the million impression mark until now.
Océ describes this market as a mix of corporate enterprises, made up of print rooms, document production centres and standard walk-up printing facilities, as well as academic institutions and commercial printers offering full or partial digital services. It is a market segment that has been dominated by a few manufacturers, notably Xerox, over the past few years.
Saleeba says Océ resisted the temptation to seek a significant market share until it was confident it had equipment that would be true cutting edge.
"These customers are very demanding and market savvy. If you are going to compete you have to offer them technology that truly stands apart. With the Océ VP2110, we believe we have this."
Saleeba says world demand for machines to the mid-production market is expected to hit nearly 40,000 units in 2004, with steady growth predicted for the coming years.
"It involves shorter runs of more complex jobs, such as manuals with tabs, books with covers and mailing inserts. It also includes long runs of simpler jobs and familiar tasks such as straightforward copying, collating and stapling.
"Océ believes the key to the mid-production market lies in a number of important deliverables.
"First and foremost, Océ considers high productivity, not just of print engines, but the entire production process at full engine speed to be of utmost importance. There is no point in fast engine speed if you are unable to RIP information and perform collating tasks at the same speed.
"The market also has other demands that accompany this, combining to make up a powerful and productive workflow. We are looking here at increased flexibility of media, ease of operation, unattended printing without paper jams and high quality print production.
"The VP2110 has been engineered to provide these key benefits to customers," he says.
"What makes the Océ VP2110 such an impressive machine is its delivery of outstanding productivity to the print floor through its ability to perform all functions at full engine speed," says Saleeba.
"It can rip information and perform collating and finishing tasks at a constant print speed of 105 impressions per minute. It even has a ‘Print While RIP’ feature so that printing is not delayed until a multi-page document has been completely ripped.
"With the Océ VP2110 we have combined ease of use, reliability, throughput, applications and workflow to produce a system that ensures the best possible total performance on virtually any media.
"Advanced features include tab printing, interposing of post-process colour pages and inline finishing - booklet making, binding, etc, as well as a customer programmable interface that’s unique and best in class. It actually prevents users from making costly programming mistakes."
