Océ, an international leader in digital document management and delivery, and German print service provider Digital Print Group jointly present themselves at this year's Frankfurt Book Fair under the slogan “A new way of thinking – new possibilities – a new kind of production”.

Océ at the Frankfurt Book Fair

The Frankfurt Book Fair begins on 12 and ends on 16 October. Océ and Digital Print Group will present new concepts for publishers on their joint stand B1360 in Hall 4.0, where visitors will be able to gain insights into tomorrow's business models in the form of practical calculation model examples. As the centerpiece, the Océ ColorStream® 3500, the new Océ flagship and latest generation of high-performance inkjet color printing system, will operate live in a twin configuration. There will be display of specimen copies of real book titles from renowned publishing houses.

Print services providers such as the Digital Print Group of Nuremberg can now offer publishers innovative concepts that minimize the business risks of book production. These include, for example, sales-oriented run planning as well as the possibility to split high-volume runs into partial lots.

Dynamic run volume production of books

Digital Print Group is the first German company in the graphics industry to decide in favor of an Océ ColorStream 3500. The twin configuration of the continuous feed printing system allows this digital print full-service provider to now address the market for the dynamic run volume production of books, since medical textbooks, children's books, schoolbooks and educational documentation are now being produced by Digital Print group in as-needed quantities on the Océ ColorStream 3500.

“The technological competence as well as the innovative power of Océ in digital book printing, the strategic alliance between manroland and Océ was one of the main reasons for deciding in favor of the Océ ColorStream 3500,” explains Oliver Schimek, CEO of Digital Print Group. “The proven commitment of Océ with regards to the graphics industry gives us the confidence that with Océ we have found a partner who has a long-term orientation towards the needs of our market. The close cooperation with manroland, the No. 1 in continuous feed offset printing, is for us an important factor.”

Océ ColorStream 3500 with inline finishing

The new full-color inkjet printing system, fitted with a roll feeder and a cutting module from Hunkeler, permits Digital Print Group to maximize digital book production possibilities for its customers. Due to the comparatively low printing costs, use of the Océ ColorStream 3500 and inline finishing lets this provider of print services achieve a very favorable break-even compared to offset printing. A decisive argument in favor of the investment was the process-optimized post-processing, very easily achieved with this inkjet printing system. Above all, new investments in the areas of hardcover thread stitching and bookbinding were important in achieving a break-even compared to conventional production processes.

The proven piezo-electric Océ DigiDot® multilevel technology with variable droplet size results in 1200 dpi image perception with soft gradients and excellent details, and it also permits the use of a broad range of media.

Perfectly suited for digital book production with high-volume runs

Due to its modular construction, the Océ ColorStream 3500 offers the possibility of upgrading print speeds according to needs and is thus perfectly suited for entry into digital book production with high-volume runs.

Digital book production in conventional offset run volumes – including full-color printing – becomes economically viable and offers publishers a high degree of flexibility. The Océ ColorStream 3500 is supported by the powerful Océ SRA MP Controller that permits it to grow dynamically in step with changing customer requirements.

Dynamic print runs with low investment risk

The Océ ColorStream 3500 is, with its numerous configuration possibilities, designed to be extremely modular and allows a quick change from single color to multicolor print products with up to six colors. In addition, with print speeds from 75 m/min (1,010 A4 pages) upwards and a web width of 540 mm, it is tailor-made for the graphics industry. With a robust construction that utilizes proven components and paper wastage reduced to a minimum, it is optimal for production printing.

“Inkjet-based digital printing shows great potential for the graphics market. The Océ ColorStream 3500 meets all full-color and monochrome printing requirements needing both flexible run lengths and cost-effectiveness. Publishing houses and suppliers can therefore extend their services to include customer-specific added value and also create new attractive business models,” notes Sebastian Landesberger, Executive Vice President, Océ Production Printing.

Océ at Education Hot Spot and at Interquest Digital Book Printing Forum

Océ will be giving more information on minimum-risk book production in a presentation at the Frankfurt Book Fair on Friday, 14 October, between 9:45 and 10:15 in Hall 4.2 at the Education Hot Spot in the Educational section that deals with the cost-effectiveness and flexibility of digital printing. The company will also present this topic jointly with manroland at the Interquest Digital Book Printing Forum (14 October, Kontrast Raum).