Harland Clarke Can Serve Financial Services and Small Business Clients with Expanded Payment Solutions and Marketing Services Options

TRUMBULL, CONN. – Océ, a Canon Group company and an international leader in digital document management, today announced that Harland Clarke has installed two Océ JetStream 2200 continuous feed inkjet printing solutions and Océ PRISMA workflow software to further automate print production in their payment solutions and marketing services business units.

Harland Clarke has long been recognized as an industry leader in providing a broad range of products and services to its nearly 11,000 financial institution clients. Business checks remain an important business offering in the payment solutions portion of this industry.

Full color, digital solution for single-pass check printing
Always seeking ways to better serve its clients and their account holders, Harland Clarke now offers full-color variable digital printing of customized checks from plain white stock. The technology of Océ's end-to-end inkjet printing solution makes this possible. This technological advancement replaces monochrome printing on pre-printed security check stock.

With the Océ JetStream 2200 production printing system, checks and other applications are printed in full color at high speed in a single-pass operation. This simplified process starts with white paper; adds full-color variable data with embedded security features, including digital pantographs and MICR lines – and ends with in-line finishing. The security features of the business checks meet or exceed U.S. banking requirements.

Océ JetStream and Océ PRISMA help position Harland Clarke for continued growth
While Harland Clarke's initial focus for the Océ solution was a greater level of automation in providing advanced printed check products to its customers, Harland Clarke intends to leverage the customization features of digital color printing to expand its product offerings in other areas of its business.

Brand image is top of mind with Harland Clarke's small business customers, and now it can add color logos and brand images to a broader range of marketing services printed products. "Going from a multi-pass to a single-pass printing environment helps us deliver a better solution to the market," said Brad Wheeless, Executive Vice President of Operations, Harland Clarke. "The increased automation equates to a higher level of service for our small business customers."

Integration initiative also part of strategy
Expansion into full color and new applications led to a related initiative to integrate and automate workflow processes across the company's business units and locations. "We were anxious into put in place a best-in-class, highly scalable platform that would keep pace with our growth expectations. Enterprise reach was one of the key features that led us to select the Océ PRISMA workflow software solution," said Wheeless.

Océ PRISMA software is an architected suite of tools that ensures effective, reliable workflow management from pre-press to finishing. It handles the rigorous demands and data rates of high-speed full-color printing and makes it easier to embed new applications with complex variable data into existing workflows.

Two industry leaders deliver better solutions – together
To help it continue delivering quality solutions to its valued customers, Harland Clarke sought an industry leader that would collaborate on leading-edge technology. In Océ, it found a partner with a similar culture and a shared commitment to listen to its customers and deliver ever-increasing value to help them succeed.

"We are excited about the collaborative way both companies operate," said Wheeless. "Océ's attributes are reflective of our own high standards, industry position, financial stability, subject matter expertise, and experience with MICR. It's been a very positive experience."

Comprehensive capabilities for customers' markets
"We believe in customizing solutions to meet the unique requirements of our customers. The development process between Océ and Harland Clarke is a perfect example of two industry leaders applying their technical expertise and pioneering spirit to deliver measurable results," said Guy Broadhurst, Vice President of Technology and Client Solutions, Océ North America, Production Printing Systems. The Océ JetStream printer series, combined with Océ PRISMA software, delivers a comprehensive set of capabilities to serve highly competitive markets; these include:

•     High-speed inkjet technology performs at up to 492 feet per minute
•     Océ DigiDot high-speed, piezo-electric inkjet print heads are engineered for maximum up-time and reliability
•     Fully integrated MICR option for printing documents such as business checks
•     New product flexibility developed in support of security features warranted for pre-printed secure applications
•     Finishing commands to support variable perforating and finishing
•     Pre-printed form replacement to minimize cost and warehousing
•     Industry standard processes and controls for job pre-flighting and color management
•     Full-color customization capability across a broad range of applications
•     Media support from light-weight newspaper to glossy heavy-weight
•     Automated workflow integrates with existing print environment and meets the rigorous demands of high-speed full-color printing