BOCA RATON, Fla., May 13 -- Oce, a global leader in digital document management and delivery solutions, announces significant expansion of its industry-leading line of MICR solutions to further meet market needs for a wide range of speeds and capabilities. Oce now delivers the industry's fastest MICR printing with new speed capabilities of up to 1273 images per minute. Document security and storage efficiency are priorities for many industries, and Oce production-class printing of high- quality MICR output eliminates the risk and effort of storing blank pre- printed checks and other negotiable documents. Magnetic Image Character Recognition (MICR) characters, the magnetized numbers printed across the bottom of checks and other instruments, are essential to the success of banks, financial services, insurers, and many other organizations. MICR output must be read reliably at very high speeds, and companies depend on Oce MICR solutions for fast, accurate results. As organizations incorporate new MICR applications into their business strategies, Oce continues to respond with the speeds and capabilities that make it easier for customers to achieve their goals. "Oce is a leading provider of MICR solutions, with a track record of giving customers a wide choice of capabilities to meet their needs at any speed or price point," said Carl Joachim, Vice President, Marketing for Oce Digital Document Systems, a division of Oce North America. "With the newest offerings, Oce pushes the boundaries of production-speed MICR printing to new levels by offering the fastest speeds on the market." Oce offers the broadest line of MICR solutions available in the industry today, from the Oce 750 MICR cut sheet printer to the flagship Oce VarioStream family of devices. The Oce VarioStream(TM) 7000 production-class printing family provides the greatest production capacity, application versatility, flexibility and lowest cost of ownership in the industry. The new industry benchmark of 1273 ipm high-speed MICR output is achieved utilizing the modular Quick Change Developer Station (QCDS) on the Oce VarioStream 7650 printing system. The innovative design gives customers total flexibility to quickly and easily leverage all the capabilities of their high- speed Oce digital print solution for MICR, highlight color, custom toner or other desired output. All Oce MICR output is fully backed by the Oce MICR Guarantee, which represents the industry's best experience and support. This gives customers complete assurance of reliable performance and quality that set an industry standard. "The Oce QCDS technology makes it incredibly easy and economical to add high-quality MICR capabilities at the mid- and high-end, where speed is such a critical requirement," Joachim continued. "From production-level output to distributed printing environments, our comprehensive range of advanced, reliable MICR solutions clearly demonstrates Oce leadership in providing the right tools for all the jobs facing our customers. What's more, Oce offers a seamless upgrade path for existing MICR print users who require faster speeds, illustrating Oce's commitment to future proof technological offerings and continued investment protection for all Oce customers." Supporting both pinless and pinfed paper, Oce VarioStream 7000 printers offer a wider 19" paper path for the versatility, productivity and efficiency to enable increased output from a single print run. Now with full-speed MICR support via the Oce VarioStream 7650 QCDS, Oce solidifies its leadership in all facets of production-class output. Customers can count on having the industry's fastest MICR output when they need it, while being able to quickly change out capabilities for other types of work on their high speed Oce systems. The new full speed MICR capability will be generally available by Q2 2004.