Brentwood, Essex – July 7, 2006 – Mail-order manufacturer Damart has today (Friday) officially unveiled a £750,000 investment with Océ to upgrade its digital printing facilities in Earby, Lancashire, to cope with a 67% increase in printed products over the last year. Directors and customers were told at a special open day that productivity will be improved for the company that has bought three Océ VarioPrint 7650 machines, one a twin line and the other a single line – together capable of printing more than 400million A4 pages a year. Océ, a world leader in document the transactional mailing digital print supply market, has supplied the high-definition ready machines and new software products for the new production area created by Damart at Earby. With a customer base of more than two million, Yorkshire-based Damart sells women’s and men’s clothing through its mail-order and online sites. The mail-order section accounts for just over 90% of Damart’s product sales; from thermal products to coats and jackets, nightwear and general day wear. The mailing site at Earby produces about around 50 million customer catalogues every year and approximately 280 million inserts, as well as cheques and other marketing literature. The investment means that Damart will safeguard jobs in the area as well as lead the business into the next generation of printing technology. Karl Davies, Operation Manager at Damart said: “The demand for print has risen by 67% over the past 12 months, and following discussions we felt the new machines would reduce running costs whilst at the same time increase our print capabilities greatly. The new machines are much faster and reflect Damart’s ongoing commitment to customers and suppliers.” “The ability to digitally print up to 150 million feet per annum across a two shift system, together with comprehensive print finishing service, gives Damart maximum efficiency for marketing and promotional literature, such as brochures, newsletters, cheques and inserts.” Simon Wheeler, head of Océ UK Ltd’s Commercial Division, said: “We are delighted to be the new preferred digital print supplier for Damart, which needed to increase its capacity in a short space of time. Damart has seen the benefits of these high-speed printing systems that offer new opportunities to help build its business by increasing the capacity - producing more in less time and offering a higher level of service to its customers.” Damart has three operational sites in the UK; two in Yorkshire (Bingley and Steeton) and one in Lancashire.