August 10, 2004, BOCA RATON, FL and RUTLAND, VT- - Oce, a global leader in digital document management and delivery solutions, today announced that MetroGroup has selected high-speed Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) digital production printing solutions from Océ to expand its ability to produce outstanding communications for its customers. MetroGroup, a leading provider of direct mail production, printing, statement processing, packaging and fulfillment solutions, will rely on two Océ VarioStream? 7650 Twin MICR high-speed digital printing systems for consistent, efficient, highly secure output with superior printing quality that will help ensure the company’s leadership in its market. “The Océ VarioStream 7650 MICR solution delivers security and high quality output with economical equipment costs,” said Dale Rector, MetroGroup Vice President/Plant Manager. “We evaluated competing products and other MICR solutions, but chose the Océ solution because of the consistent reliability of their equipment and service support.” MICR characters, the magnetized numbers printed across the bottom of checks and other instruments, must be reliably read at very high speeds. Banks, financial services, insurers and other companies that use MICR documents count on Océ solutions for fast, accurate output. The new MICR printing solution installed at MetroGroup is the fastest available on the market, providing output speeds of up to 1273 images per minute. As a result, MetroGroup will achieve greater productivity and faster turnaround. “We are pleased to be able to provide the best solution to support MetroGroup’s business goals,” said Carl Joachim, Vice President, Marketing at Océ Digital Document Systems, a division of Océ North America. “As a leading provider of MICR solutions, we are well prepared to deliver the right tools for all the jobs facing our customers, now and in the future." With Océ production-class digital printing of high-quality MICR output, customers save time and eliminate the risk from storing blank pre-printed checks and other negotiable documents. The Océ Quick Change Developer Station (QCDS) technology makes it extremely easy and economical to add high-quality MICR capabilities at the mid- and high-end, where speed is such a critical requirement. QCDS-based MICR output is fully backed by the Océ MICR Guarantee, which represents the industry’s best performance, quality and support. The new Océ VarioStream MICR systems at MetroGroup are part of the Océ family of high-performance digital printers, which include more than 15 different continuous feed and cut sheet MICR offerings--the broadest range in the industry for every application type. The Océ VarioStream 7000 production-class printing family provides MetroGroup with the greatest production capacity, application versatility, and lowest cost of ownership in the industry.