Dusseldorf, Germany, 11 May 2004— TJI Digital has today signed a deal with Oce that will keep the company at the forefront of short-run book printing as part of expansion plans that will double the company's digital printing turnover within five years. The book manufacturer has reaffirmed its long-term strategic partnership with global digital printing company Océ by agreement to invest in state-of-the-art technology that will also have major benefits for publishers. TJI Digital is the UK's first book manufacturer to purchase Océ's new generation of high-speed web fed printers—the Océ VarioStream 9000 series—that will, through specific applications demanded by the market, increase capacity and save costs. Angus Clark, chief executive of TJI Digital, and Bron Curley, director of Océ UK Ltd's Digital Document Systems, signed the ground-breaking deal at Océ's stand in Hall 6 at drupa. The new digital press will be installed into TJI Digital's headquarters in Padstow, Cornwall, in July and will be used for short-run book production. TJI Digital launched into digital short-run book printing five years ago by purchasing an Océ DemandStream 8090. Its turnover was £1million in 2003, which is expected to double within five years. Mr Clark said: "Digital printing has been extremely successful for us—it's business that we would not have done at all without Océ, which has been a very understanding partner. We have been working closely together to expand our range of offerings to publishers, such as two-colour printing and pushing the quality boundaries even further forward to embrace quality halftones content." The Océ solution means that TJI Digital can economically produce books in run lengths as low as 10. Future development plans will include upgrading to full colour technology through Océ. Mr Clark added: "To succeed, we must be a complete service provider, in terms of quality, price and deliverables. More and more of our customers are taking the digital route—our confidence in Océ and the technology partnership is an important statement." TJI Digital's renowned ability to produce high quality short-run books, using Océ technology, that look virtually identical to traditional litho-produced titles was key to the agreement. The new printing press, which will be configured with an inline cutter and inline folder to produce folded signatures, will increase productivity by 17%. Books will be printed with integrated paper handling equipment. Mr Curley said: "TJI Digital has been at the forefront of printing technology and this new investment will ensure that the company maintains that position as well as providing the infrastructure to grow its business significantly. Its decision will set the agenda for a number of other organisations to follow suit."