Shanghai, China; Venlo, The Netherlands, ? Canon China, a leading technology print provider, and Océ, an international leader in digital document management and delivery, today announced at Canon Expo Shanghai that they are on track to become the No. 1 player in the professional digital printing industry in China. Canon and Océ have a joint market approach and are selectively selling, distributing and servicing each others' products in the production printing, wide format printing and display graphics printing segments.

Canon currently holds an approximately 90% stake in Océ. Going forward Canon and Océ will work closely together to leverage their complementary strengths in technology and distribution in the Chinese market place.

"Canon China continues to grow beyond expectations in 2011 and the presence of Canon Expo Shanghai demonstrates the importance to us of the Chinese market," said Hideki Ozawa, President, Canon Asia Marketing Group and CEO, Canon China. "Our strategy together with Océ is to become the No. 1 vendor in China and Asia in the professional digital printing arena." Canon China registered a nearly 40% growth in the year 2010 and, despite the impact of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, is targeting significant sales growth this year.

"Océ leads the Chinese market in high-speed transaction and direct mail printing and we hold leading positions in wide format and display graphics printing," said Anton Schaaf, Chief Technology & Operating Officer, Océ N.V. "Going forward, Océ will maintain its customer focus in these segments. Océ's experience in these areas combined with Canon's sales and marketing power is expected to accelerate our growth in China and Asia."

Océ ColorStream 3500 high-speed inkjet press now available
"The high-speed digital printing market is key for us and in this respect I am proud to announce the launch of the Océ ColorStream 3500 high-speed inkjet press in the Chinese market, today for the first time on display in the country at the Canon Expo Shanghai," said Wilbert Verheyen, Managing Director, Océ China. "The Chinese printing market is one of the largest in the world. We look forward to working with innovative printing companies in China wanting to unlock the potential of high-speed digital printing in transaction, TransPromo, direct mail, publishing and newspaper printing and complement their offset printing operations."

The Océ ColorStream 3500 is a high-speed, high quality full color inkjet press running at 75 meters per minute at a print width of 540 mm (21.25"). This translates to 505 A4-size ppm (537 letter) for a single or 1010 A4-size ppm (1070 letter) for a twin configuration with maximum volumes up to 12 million A4 pages per month on a single system or up to 24 million A4 images per month on a twin system. DigiDot multilevel dot modulation produces crisp detail and smooth halftones with 1200x1200 dpi quality at full rated speed. The Océ ColorStream 3500 can be configured anywhere between a simplex mono version and a 6-color duplex solution with a full upgrade concept.

Several smart features that increase the productivity of the Océ ColorStream 3500 enable a fast switch between long monochrome runs and full color prints. The twin concept and color configuration flexibility allow an easy entry into the world of inkjet printing depending on the user's needs. The data centre infrastructure fit regarding size, weight and power supply, as well as a seamless integration into existing environments with regards to workflow and finishing, makes it easy to replace older toner-based continuous feed systems with the new Océ ColorStream 3500, thus accelerating the transition to color.