Atlanta, GA—October 27, 2003—Oce, a leading provider of production-class digital printing solutions, today announced an important new option for the Océ VarioStream 7000 family of continuous form solutions to further enhance the quality of high-visibility, graphics-intensive documents. The new Enhanced Print Quality (EPQ) functionality raises the benchmark for speed and quality in continuous forms digital printing environments. An innovative toner transfer technique is used to deliver superior graphics quality, crisp half tones, solid blacks, and reliable consistency at unmatched speeds on a wide range of substrates. Delivering the best possible quality for demanding graphics applications like manuals and newsletters is key to remaining competitive in traditional print-on-demand environments. EPQ provides significant benefits for applications where superb digital quality is required. Better halftone reproduction is achieved through more precise dot placement and shape. Even the most challenging graphics applications print 40 percent faster with EPQ. As convergence continues to be a major force, typical data center applications like bills, statements, and EOBs are requiring more complex graphics to increase their value and impact. EPQ is the latest example of the Océ commitment to helping customers support their convergence requirements while doing more work with a single solution. As the need grows for higher quality documents, customers in all markets can print completely unique documents for each recipient with rich graphical quality and full variable information. “Along with the improvement in print speed, we've also raised the bar for quality. Now customers can significantly boost the value of their documents without hurting productivity,” said Carl Joachim, vice president of marketing for Océ Printing Systems USA. “It's a ‘no compromise’ situation for delivering the best productivity with the best quality.” EPQ is available for all existing and new Océ VarioStream 7000 pinless printing systems, continuing Océ's commitment to future-proof adaptability. EPQ can be installed at the factory or added later as the customer's applications change. EPQ offers significant advantages over other vendors’ offerings, which typically provide no upgrade path, nor the level of investment protection Océ delivers. EPQ complements other Océ VarioStream innovations such as the 19" paper path, which enhances productivity and efficiency by enabling increased output from a single print run. As a result, no other product on the market offers the breadth, flexibility, and adaptability of the Océ VarioStream 7000 family. Enhanced Print Quality enhances the appearance of documents printed on the Océ VarioStream 7000 printer at any resolution and data stream, using both premium and standard black toners. It improves the speed at which documents that use premium black toner can be printed, from 742 images/minute (170 feet/minute) to 1,061 images/minute (291 feet/minute). In addition, EPQ delivers better print quality on a wider range of substrates. Better print quality, better productivity, and a wider application range enable a wider variety of jobs to be printed at lower costs on the Océ VarioStream 7000, so that customers can do more with less while maintaining some of the industry's lowest total costs of ownership. The Enhanced Print Quality feature will be available on new Océ VarioStream 7000 systems beginning in January 2004. The feature will carry a US list price of $10,000 per print engine when ordered from the factory. Upgrades will be available for $15,000 per engine, and existing customers can pre-order the upgrade before November 30, 2003 for $5,000 per engine.