Océ Driving Productivity White Paper

Transcription

1 Océ Driving Productivity White Paper The Océ VarioPrint 6250 The Keys to Breakthrough Print Performance

2 Driving Productivity Contents: Executive Summary Beyond the Triple Threat: Challenges Facing Print Shops Strategy: Drive Productivity Duplexing: the Fast Track to Exceptional Productivity Scenario 1: the need for speed Scenario 2: three hours uninterrupted Scenario 3: a complex application Powering Productivity with the Océ VarioPrint 6250 Software Enables Smooth Integration and Interoperability Scenario 4: breakthrough performance Becoming More Productive a Roadmap Summary Executive Summary Intense competition. Demand for immediate results. The steady growth of digital media. The print industry is in a state of flux and has been for some time. But even as market consolidation continues and customers use ink on paper in concert with alternate channels like and the Internet, print is an important medium that is here to stay. With increasing competition for printed pages, how do commercial print shops and in-plants compete, survive, or even thrive in the new world of print? Clearly, print providers can no longer rely on the same old solutions to handle the rising tide of new expectations and requests for increasingly complex jobs. Personalization is becoming a requirement in more documents as business shifts from a market-centric to a customer-centric model. Integrated marketing components are finding their way into traditionally transactional documents. And customers are looking for instant turnaround on everything from quotes and proofs to production, reprints, and delivery. Efficiency and productivity have taken center stage as critical requirements for success, and modern print providers must look beyond traditional tools, services, and cost-cutting measures to ensure their place in the future. 2

3 Beyond the Triple Threat: Challenges Facing Modern Print Operations In an increasingly multi-channel world, the pressure is on to transition from existing practices and perspectives to newer ones that make it easy to get, track, manage, produce, and deliver work with greater productivity. Most print providers do a good job of taking care of business on a dayto-day basis. However, the difficulties of managing customer requirements, meeting shrinking print windows, and adapting to change leave little time to transform processes or capture new opportunities. Yet, this is exactly what print providers must do to ensure long-term success. The costs of inefficiencies in high operating expenses, lost opportunities, customer defection, and diminishing returns are real. At the same time, the rewards of replacing inefficient processes and equipment with productive ones can be exponential. This white paper explores the challenges print providers face and the critical role that productivity plays in sustaining growth and generating a competitive edge. It covers the elements of a productive print operation, keys to productivity, strategies for improvement and advances in digital printing technology that can position your print operation to run at peak performance. Staking a claim in an intensely competitive market is rife with challenges. Beyond the print professional s triple threat keeping the competition at bay, growing volumes, and delivering more value commercial printers, quick print/copy shops, and in-plants share a common list of challenges: Competition for printed pages as alternative media supplement and in some cases capture traditional ink-and-paper based applications Demand for faster turnaround time Requests for more jobs with shorter run lengths driving the transition from offset to digital Job and application convergence A requirement for more complex documents with more tabs and inserts Increasing emphasis on Variable Digital Printing (VDP), Print On Demand (POD) quality, and sophisticated finishing Pressure on margins and budgets as costs rise and competition intensifies The need to hire, train, and retain a skilled workforce Need to grow volumes by providing a rich portfolio of valueadded services Productivity and efficiency deficits printers must accelerate productivity to survive Constant pressure to generate new business and improve customer service 3

4 Strategy: Drive Productivity Keeping in-plant print room business an inside job We ve talked about the universal challenges that affect commercial print shops and in-plants. But what about the unique issues that in-plants face serving internal corporate customers? The typical in-plant operates on a limited budget as a cost center on the enterprise balance sheet. With aging equipment and limited resources, many find it difficult to satisfy internal customers who require more sophisticated capabilities and faster turnaround. A large percentage of jobs are still submitted using the sneaker network, on CD, or as paper hard copy. Meanwhile, many in-plants struggle with requests for jobs they do not have the technology to deliver, problems meeting aggressive deadlines, and customer dissatisfaction. These issues together lead to declining print volumes and difficulty breaking even. Overcoming these challenges requires print operations to expand service offerings, accelerate turnaround, and increase service levels while keeping a tight rein on the bottom line. While many cannot afford complete overhauls, incremental improvements like fast digital printers with expanded workflow capabilities can provide the boost in-plants need to prevent internal customers from defecting to outside competitors. For both commercial print shops and in-plants, achieving sustainable growth demands business process optimization, an expanded service portfolio, and the ability to accept and turn around more work faster. In other words, shifting the balance means becoming a trusted service provider that can offer customers more business value and real solutions to real problems. It means being willing to rethink the way you do business. Offering more print-on-demand capabilities. And being able to handle complex jobs with color inserts, tabs, covers, scanning, archiving and professional finishing. For some operations, it may mean streamlining and even re-engineering processes and workflow. In many cases, the best way to achieve these objectives is high-roi digital print and workflow solutions that enable you to capture more printed pages with fewer resources. In a word, the key to surviving and thriving is productivity. And those print operations that commit the time, effort, and resources to maximize productivity will be rewarded with outstanding business performance and positive financial results. Productivity Defined So what is productivity? What impact does it have on your business? And how does your print operation measure up? More importantly, how can you become more productive and leverage productivity to enhance your business? Random House defines productivity as a generative source of continuing activity. Wall Street, the ultimate arbiter of economic performance, sees it as the efficiency with which output is produced using a given set of inputs, generally measured by the ratio of output to input. An increase in the ratio indicates an increase in productivity. A decrease in the ratio indicates a decline in productivity. In the print arena, productivity can be defined as producing more output using the same amount of resources a.k.a. doing more with less. 4

5 Leapfrogging the commercial print catch-22 Commercial print shops face their own set of issues. Certainly there are exciting opportunities like variable data printing, which drives higher margins or web-to-print, which makes it easier for customers to order printing. But capitalizing on these opportunities means winning the constant battle for market share in a mature and increasingly consolidated industry. The byproducts of consolidation are relentless competitive pressures, downward price trends, and declining operating income. To win, print shops must change the conversation from one of print as a commodity to offering added value. To differentiate their businesses they need to help customers improve their communications effectiveness and attract and retain more of their customers. Here s the catch-22. To grow revenues, print shops must offer value-added services. To offer value-added services, they need advanced digital technologies. And to fund infrastructure investments, they need service revenues. Chicken or egg, one fact is clear. The end game is to entice customers to buy more products and services and the only sure way to get there is with advanced imaging technologies. A productive print operation is one that can accept and handle a variety of jobs and turn them around quickly, efficiently, and with professional quality. A productive print operation is equipped with print engines, software, and finishing systems powerful enough to handle a variety of files and jobs. It is staffed with people who know how to get the job done. It can produce a wide range of jobs quickly at the lowest possible cost. And it is agile enough to shift gears in an instant, leveraging intelligent workflow to automate processes, ensure accuracy, improve customer service and monitor and report on various aspects of production. On Becoming More Productive Here s the good news. Improved productivity is well within reach and the right print infrastructure can help you achieve it with a minimum of effort. The productivity puzzle comprises two interrelated pieces print engines and software that enable a print operation to deliver more value. While some print engine vendors lock customers into proprietary hardware and software configurations, others offer workflow software from dozens of independent companies. However, neither approach delivers the productivity that print professionals need to improve performance. Instead, productivity requires open integration between hardware and software to deliver immediate and long-term benefits. To become more productive, you need to: Optimize production processes and equipment to get more out of the resources you have Transition to flexible digital equipment that supports the services your customers want Implement workflow solutions that streamline processes and integrate with your infrastructure Maximize speed and productivity to achieve peak performance using powerful digital devices Implement systems that enable you to create more work faster, accelerate turnaround, accommodate a wider range of jobs and media, and offer more finishing solutions 5

6 Duplexing: the Fast Track to Exceptional Productivity When it comes to duplex production, the numbers tell an interesting story. A large proportion of the jobs produced in commercial and inplant operations involve duplex applications. Océ user research indicates that in production environments, some 80 percent of traditional publishing jobs printed on highvolume cut sheet devices are printed on both sides of the page. These jobs include books, booklets, manuals, reports, letters, course packs, and catalogs. All are duplex applications that have traditionally been printed on simplex devices, by passing each page through the device twice to print on both sides of the page. The result? Inconsistent quality, more frequent misfeeds and jams during duplex runs, and difficulty meeting deadlines. Compounding the problem, slower, single-pass cut sheet devices are more costly to own and operate. Océ Gemini Instant Duplex technology. A breakthrough in high-speed, duplex digital printing Clearly, duplexing is a critical component of any print provider s productivity equation. But not all duplexing technologies are created equal. Given the problems associated with printing duplex jobs on simplex machines and the fact that most high-volume output is duplex, wouldn t it make sense to build a single duplex engine? In fact, duplexing comes in two flavors dual-pass duplexing on simplex machines (the de facto standard until recently) and revolutionary Océ Gemini Instant single-pass duplexing, an advance that represents a watershed moment in professional printing. What s the difference between the two and does it matter? In answer to the first question the difference is a quantum leap in quality, productivity, and reliability. As for the second question, it matters a lot if you care about reliability, throughput, or time to market. Despite the fact that most jobs are produced in duplex on high-volume systems, all other cut sheet digital systems have been designed for less efficient single-sided printing. In these systems, paper must pass twice through the print engine and fuse the image at least twice to produce duplex sheets, creating reliability, speed, and productivity issues. Not so with Océ single-pass duplexing, which enables print providers to increase speed and productivity while eliminating overtime, freeing employees to focus on other work. Consider the Océ VarioPrint 6250 the world s most productive digital duplex cut sheet printing system with the Océ Gemini print engine. This innovative new technology comprises two imaging modules encased in a single engine that simultaneously prints both sides of a sheet of paper to achieve near-perfect registration. The technology also enables a 70 percent plus increase in output. Because the images on both sides of the page are transferred and fused at the same time, less stress is exerted on the substrate and reliability is exceptional. The combination of single-pass duplex printing and a fusing temperature well below that of competitive electro-photographic methods further reduces paper stress and eliminates paper curl. The low fusing temperature also helps with finishing, by maintaining adequate levels of humidity within the paper to reduce the risk of jams. Bottom line with Océ single-pass duplexing, pneumatic paper feed technology, a short, straight paper path and lower fusing temperatures, the Océ VarioPrint 6250 can handle an impressive range of media. Print providers benefit from high productivity, greater operational efficiency and lower printing costs, for more efficient short-run production of training manuals, technical documentation and other essential business applications. Duplexed tabs, cost-effective color inserts, and professional finishing capabilities, like fusion punch and square fold booklet making, open up an even wider range of work. 6

7 Simultaneous duplexing is a revolutionary advance that completely changes the existing duplex print paradigm. It not only accelerates speed and turnaround, but also improves reliability and delivers numerous business benefits. More powerful print engines reduce the total number of devices required as well as the time required to get jobs out on schedule. At the same time, robust engineering ensures system durability, which makes for a better long-term investment. And the good news is that for Océ this is proven technology Océ first introduced simultaneous duplexing with its continuous feed Océ VarioStream 9000 series. This innovative technology launched the next generation of breakthrough performance, teaming single-pass duplex technology with the addition of incremental color. Harnessing faster speed, more reliable performance, and offset-class quality, corporate and commercial users can reduce costs, increase profitability, improve productivity, and enhance efficiency, while improving volume-building opportunities and competitive strength. Simultaneous duplexing can have a positive impact on business performance, enabling every print provider to deliver breakthrough results. Calculate the Productivity Difference Productivity is more than a concept. It is a business differentiator that can pay important dividends over the short run and the long run. Productivity can mean the difference between turning a job around on time and missing a critical deadline. It can mean the difference between operating in the black and floundering in the red. It can mean the difference between advancing customer relationships and losing print volumes. Productivity at its best combines people, processes, and expertise to deliver more customer value. And the right technology can make or break your business goals. Scenario 1 - the need for speed Consider this scenario. PrintMaster is a commercial print shop that has served a loyal roster of customers for 20 years. However, the PrintMaster team began to notice that customers were bringing in more complex jobs and wanting them faster. They also discovered that with their existing Xerox DocuTech 6180, they couldn t always get the job done on time. PrintMaster looked to Océ and its VarioPrint 6250 to meet its business needs. PrintMaster and the Océ VarioPrint 6250 Given a standard 10-hour day, and printing 132 duplex ledger-size prints per minute (7,920 duplex prints per hour), PrintMaster can now output 79,200 prints per day generating more than a 70 percent productivity increase over the older equipment running at 77 prints per minute. As a result, PrintMaster can produce its current volume of work in just 7.1 hours and expand its output capacity with just one Océ VarioPrint Customers jobs are always completed on schedule with offset-like quality and PrintMaster still has production capacity to accept more work and drive top- and bottom-line growth. Device Ledger size duplex prints per minute Ledger size prints per hour Prints produced in a 10-hour day Production capacity Xerox DocuTech prints per minute 4,620 prints per hour 46,200 prints per day Cannot meet print window requirements without additional equipment Océ VarioPrint prints per minute 7,920 prints per hour 79,200 prints per day Is more than 70 percent more productive 7

8 Scenario 2 - three hours uninterrupted All Uninterrupted Printing is Not Created Equal Run two digital cut sheet printers uninterrupted for three hours and you d expect the output to be about equal, right? Not so. Factor in speed and input and output capacity and the numbers tell a dramatically different story. SITUATION: You have a recurring job that comes in once a month to produce book blocks for pharmaceutical catalogs. THE JOB: The book blocks must be printed with a finished size of 8.5 x 11 ON A XEROX DOCUTECH 6180: In its maximum configuration, the DocuTech 6180 can hold 5,200 sheets of ledger-size paper. Given the fact that you purchased more drawers wouldn t it be nice if you could use them all for this print job? What s more, printing at a snail s pace of 2,310 sheets per hour, limited drawer capacity and speed on ledger-size paper, the DocuTech 6180 will run out of paper in two and a quarter hours. ON THE OCÉ VARIOPRINT 6250: In its maximum configuration of 12 drawers, the Océ VarioPrint 6250 can run 13,800 sheets of any size paper up to 12.6 x 19.2 inches in each drawer whether they are interposed or not, providing additional built-in flexibility. Adding high capacity stackers that can hold up to 12,000 sheets automatically delivers finished stacks for every 3,000 sheets output, the Océ VarioPrint 6250 delivers productivity above and beyond the requirements of the job. THE RESULT: Running uninterrupted for the same three hours as the Xerox DocuTech 6180 (if it were possible), the Océ VarioPrint 6250 delivers twice as much output 11,730 vs. 6,930 sheets. Your accelerated print window just gave you more time. Coffee anyone? 8

9 How does the Océ VarioPrint 6250 compare to the Xerox DocuTech 6180? Consider this quick view of the merits of revolutionary Océ simultaneous duplexing vs. dual-pass duplexing Performance Océ Simultaneous Duplexing Traditional Dual-Pass Duplexing Speed High-speed performance at 250 letter-size prints per minute; 160 legal prints per minute and 132 duplex ledger-size prints per minute Up to 70 percent faster than other devices Requires media to be turned in the printer paper path and fused twice to print the second side of a duplex document In most cases, completed sheets per minute when duplexing decrease by percent Quality Gemini Instant Duplex technology delivers the best paper registration in the industry at.5mm and front to-back image registration of.1mm Offset-like quality Quality consistency over long print runs with Océ Copy Press No developer, no fuser oil or toner waste bottle Standard resolution of 1,200 dpi, and 141 lpi halftone screen for crisp lines and sharp graphics More susceptible to inexact registration due to excessive paper movement that occurs when imaging the front image separately from the back More prone to paper shrinkage with two passes Inconsistent quality because of electrostatic imaging process and degradation of quality-critical components like corona wires and developer Performance Uninterrupted printing for four hours No engine slowdown when running heavy media types (tabs, card stock) Leading capacity for ledger and oversize media Up to 12 input drawers, each supporting all paper sizes Load-while-print, unload-while-print, rip-while-print, so there's no need to interrupt print runs Interposing from all drawers with no slowdown in speed Complex paper paths limit the variety of media that can be run without frequent paper jams. Engine speed slows down for multiple tray pulls and workflows that require duplexing with simplex tabs and different paper sizes, substantially reducing overall performance and throughput Not every drawer supports every form size Efficiency Built for high reliability and low maintenance Heavy-duty design minimizes stress on parts Eliminates paper stress, curl, and jams Supports heavy duty cycles (7.5 million) No paper turnover when duplexing No need for high fuser temperature or multiple fuser passing Xerographic-based imaging systems require scheduled maintenance cycles and yield lower recommended monthly volumes Constant preventive maintenance cycles require that backup systems be available during servicing or productivity will be negatively impacted High fusing temperatures causes stress on the paper, paper curl and difficulties in finishing, negatively impacting printer performance Integration Open performance and smooth interoperability Integrates with Océ PRISMA and Xerox workflows Simple preparation with Océ PRISMAprepare Support for Xerox DigiPath and Freeflow with DPlink, an integrated software module for the Océ VarioPrint 6250 controller or Océ DPconnect a software module for Océ PRISMAproduction servers Support for Xerox Digipath RDO file format Océ DPconvert Can replace or work alongside Xerox devices without changing workflows Many legacy and even some new systems rely on proprietary file formats for image and/or job ticket files Difficulty in fully integrating with other internal or external software and/or hardware solutions 9

10 Scenario 3 - a complex application Here is another typical scenario. You have a growing commercial printshop that serves some of the area's premier technology companies producing training and installation manuals. One of your biggest customers needs a manual produced in record time a complex application with post-process color interposing, covers, tabs and inserts. Compare the difference when the manual is printed on a simplex machine and a simultaneous duplex machine. SITUATION: A customer comes into your shop at 4:00 PM with a request for 1,000 copies of a technical manual with multiple tabs and inserts, including front and back covers due before 9:00 AM the next day. THE JOB: The manual which must go out with a new software release is a 220-page booklet that has nine inserts including front and back covers, tabs, and other inserts. The customer wants 1,000 copies of the manual for a total of 220,000 pages. Completing the job productively requires a printer with a minimum of 10 input drawers or the operator must pre-collate the media to work with fewer drawer pull options. ON THE XEROX DOCUTECH 6180: The customer would completely miss the print window, because at 180 images per minute (or 90 sheets) the job would take 20.4 hours to complete. What s more, the Xerox DocuTech 6180 isn t designed for this level of complexity, because it is limited to six drawers, even with an interposer. From a productivity standpoint, some of the inserts would have to be presorted to work with only six drawers. ON THE OCÉ VARIOPRINT 6250: Designed-in flexibility enables the Océ VarioPrint 6250 to easily handle an application of this complexity. Any of its drawers can function as interposers, so the operator can load each application element in its own input drawer. In addition, there are still two drawers to spare that s two drawers you could load with additional base stock to further increase productivity. At a speed of 250 duplex prints per minute, the Océ VarioPrint 6250 can complete the job in 14.7 hours in the first pass without any additional equipment or intervention The customer is at the front door bright and early the next morning, delighted with the quality and turnaround. THE RESULT: Given the requirements of the job, in a direct face-off with the Xerox DocuTech 6180, the Océ VarioPrint 6250 is 30 percent more productive. Only the Océ VarioPrint 6250 can meet the customer s requirements and deliver the application with hours to spare! Device Letter size duplex chapter pages and 9" tabs Letter size duplex chapter pages and 9" tabs Total hours to complete the job Xerox DocuTech duplex prints or 90 sheets per minute, best case (doesn't take into account the fact that duplex chapter pages, simplex printing of tabs and multiple tray pulls could slow print speed by up to 15 percent) 10,800 prints per hour or 5,400 sheets per hour 20.4 hours Océ VarioPrint duplex prints or 125 sheets per minute. No loss of speed due to input paper pulls or duplex tab printing 15,000 prints per hour or 7,500 sheets per hour 14.7 hours 10

11 Powering Productivity with the Océ VarioPrint 6250 The design of the Océ VarioPrint 6250 represents a major market development. It combines Océ expertise in feeding and finishing with an innovative use of print engine technology. The duplex approach to the print engine reduces the overall cost of the device. It lowers not only the capital cost, but also lessens service requirements since the paper does not need to recirculate for duplexing. Jim Hamilton, Director, InfoTrends Research Fast, versatile, cut sheet devices provide capabilities ideal for in-plants and commercial print shops, including the ability to run multiple substrates and insert pages in a job during production. But many of these jobs have been too costly to produce on older cut-sheet devices because of speed or substrate limitations. Today, a faster, more versatile digital press with state-of-the-art paper handling options and simultaneous duplexing can deliver an affordable, comprehensive cut-sheet solution for a wide range of documents. Incorporating advanced technology like Océ Gemini Instant Duplex puts the Océ VarioPrint 6250 in a class by itself when it comes to productivity. Unlike other devices, it is designed from the ground up as a duplex printer capable of printing up to 250 letter-, 160 legal-, and 132 ledger-size duplex prints per minute, making it up to 70 percent more productive than any other device in its class. Certainly, duplexing is an essential capability for jobs like short-run books, booklets, manuals, reports, and technical documentation. But there are other applications that can help drive growth if print providers can support them specifically duplex tabs, inserts, and professional finishing capabilities all of which are readily supported by the Océ VarioPrint 6250 system. The Océ VarioPrint 6250 is designed for non-stop throughput and superior paper handling too. This means that it supports custom paper sizes, coated media, duplex tabs, inserts, and preprinted paper stock opening up a world of application and revenue-generating opportunities. As for throughput, it comes standard with four drawers, each with a capacity of 4,600 sheets. With a maximum configuration of three paper input modules (12 paper drawers total), operators can load up to 13,800 sheets of any size at once to print unattended and uninterrupted for up to four hours. All input drawers can serve as interposers, inserting media via a separate cold paper path, eliminating the added expense and need for dedicated inserter/interposer modules. And because operators can load paper while the machine is running, it can print up to 15,840 letter-size (7,920 ledger size) prints per hour with minimal intervention. Adding an optional output module of 6,000 sheets for a total of 12,000 sheets further increases throughput. Indeed, the Océ VarioPrint 6250 has the largest paper input/output capacity for larger media sizes and supports letter, ledger, oversized and custom size media. All of this capacity generates productivity increases that enable operators and print professionals to turn their attention to more pressing business issues. What s more, no adjustments are needed because the stacker can stack any sheet size, in any order. As for finishing, an integrated finishing interface smoothly connects to third-party products for more application variety and enhanced backend productivity. Users can choose options for stacking, set finishing, professional square-bound booklet making, perfect/cover binding, folding, and punching. 11

12 Software Enables Smooth Integration and Interoperability By enhancing the economics, speed and productivity of duplex printing, Océ is changing the balance of power in production class monochrome printing. Andy Plata, Publisher OutputLinks Of course, robust print engines are just half the productivity equation. The other is workflow software. Rather than being limited by dated proprietary software that only runs a certain brand of printers, scalable print management software delivers a range of benefits while protecting investments in equipment and software. It supports print engines from multiple vendors, with job splitting among different machines to balance loads and capitalize on existing assets. It employs tools architected to work together from the ground up to support the entire document lifecycle from creation through production and distribution. And it simplifies training, eases installation, streamlines day-to-day operations, and enhances accuracy and reliability. As a result, it s easy to expand operations to accommodate both planned and unanticipated changes. Océ PRISMA, the industry-leading workflow solution is an integrated family of adaptive workflow management software that makes work flow faster and more efficiently in concert with the systems and processes already in place. Océ PRISMA combines with Océ printers to drive greater efficiency, automation, and control into the production workflow. Océ PRISMA job submission and pre-press solutions simplify job acceptance and ticketing and automate time-consuming make-ready tasks. Océ PRISMA integration tools drive interoperability between Océ and Xerox workflows, allowing Xerox DigiPath or FreeFlow applications to be sent to Océ printers without modification, enabling operations to use existing applications without disruption. Duplex Print Engines Plus Flexible Software Equal Productivity The Océ VarioPrint 6250 does more than help print providers accept and turn around more print jobs with increasingly complex requirements. It s also engineered to make the best use of people and resources while minimizing the time and expense of maintenance. Using this highly productive system, corporate and commercial print professionals can produce more double-sided output in less time, offer higher levels of service, and decrease their equipment investments, saving costs and maintenance time by replacing multiple slower units with one Océ VarioPrint When a powerful duplex print engine is supported by scalable servers and workflow/print management software that can accept and run a broad range of applications, and PDLs, performance makes a giant digital leap. This combined approach delivers higher levels of productivity for all types of print providers. 12

13 Scenario 4 - breakthrough performance How Breakthrough Performance Plays Out on the Print Room Floor Running multi-page books and booklets is bread-and-butter work for many print-for-pay and in-plant operations. Consider the difference the Océ VarioPrint 6250 system s simultaneous duplexing capability makes in this typical application. SITUATION: It s Monday morning at 9:00 AM and one of your best customers comes in with a high-priority job that must be finished and delivered at 4:00 PM. Your mission? To print, finish, and deliver 500 copies of a 200-page booklet 100,000 pages this afternoon. THE JOB: The PPO Physician s Guide booklet must be printed and saddle-stitched to a finished size of 8.5 x 11, using 16 lb. bond, ledger sized paper stock and a 28 lb. bond pre-printed color cover. Lighter paper stocks were chosen to reduce mailing weight and associated costs. ON A XEROX DOCUTECH 6180: Printing 77 ledger-size images per minute or 154 duplex letter-size pages two-across, the DocuTech 6180 would complete the job in 10.8 hours completely missing the deadline. Furthermore, the system can t satisfy the finishing requirement, leaving only one alternative perfect binding, which would save time, but add unnecessary cost. ON THE OCÉ VARIOPRINT 6250: Printing 264 letter-size duplex prints per minute two-across on ledgersize paper, the Océ VarioPrint 6250 would complete the job in 6.3 hours, in a single shift, well within the print window. With an inline Watkiss square-fold solution, the system can square-fold and face-trim the booklet at rated speed, producing a professionally finished book more than 70 percent faster. Need it today? Consider it done. THE RESULT: Given the requirements of the job, the Océ VarioPrint 6250 is at minimum 30 percent more productive than the Xerox DocuTech Device Prints per minute Prints per hour Total hours to print job Xerox DocuTech two across, letter duplex on ledger-size paper 9, hours Océ VarioPrint two across, letter duplex on ledger-size paper 15, hours 13

14 Five productivity elements set the Océ VarioPrint 6250 apart from other devices: This capability Delivers these benefits Speed Print providers can do more in less time, use less equipment, fewer employees Higher level of service and a shorter time to market Throughput Non-stop productivity for up to four hours Operators can change paper, toner while printing or between jobs Generous input/output capacity Largest paper capacity for larger media Monthly duty cycles up to 6,000,000 prints per month Ease of use Extremely easy to learn and use Reduces training requirements Requires fewer people to support the system Intuitive operator panel indicates when to reload toner, media, etc. Intuitive job scheduler and planner Easy paper loading with Océ Paper Logic Reliability Integration Low-maintenance design creates less wear and tear on machine parts Designed for jam-proof, long-term durability Backed by best-in-class service Direct duplex press, double-sheet detection, no static and corona-units No developer = no print quality changes Self-cleaning cycles = no wasted toner Stacker needs no operator size changes Don t have to open the machine to replace tonerintegration Support for PostScript, PDF and PCL page description languages Connectivity with Xerox DigiPath via Océ PRISMA software suite 14

15 Becoming More Productive a Roadmap Add powerful duplexing digital technology to your print operation and you re well on your way to breakthrough performance. The question is how does your print operation measure up? How do you leverage breakthrough performance to kick your operation into high gear? Start by identifying your goals and the technology available to meet them. Determine your strengths and weakness and understand the gaps between the two. Devise a simple plan of attack to analyze existing assets and processes, introduce new technologies, and position your shop to capitalize on the resulting benefits. Ready to get started? Here s a short list of what to consider and do. Analyze the number and types of jobs you produce, costs and production requirements, turnaround requirements, overtime hours, downtime of existing equipment Assess your existing processes and practices and identify areas of inefficiency Understand the types of requirements, services, and capabilities your customers are looking for today or will want tomorrow. Think variable data printing, tabs, inserts, and finishing. Determine what you need to change or add to improve productivity Look at the equipment you have. If it s analog, consider transitioning to digital equipment. If it s an aging digital print engine, figure out how to lower TCO and raise ROI by replacing it with one or two high-powered duplexing machines that can deliver more productivity for less Implement them with document management/workflow software that automates manual processes and makes it easier for customers to do business with you Train employees to use the systems and processes to their potential Summary In summary, as long as market pressures like consolidation, demands for immediate response and the erosion of print pages to alternate media continue, accelerated speed and productivity are essential to every operation s success. Applying old solutions and outdated technology to solve new problems and meet new requirements simply won t work. Securing sustainable growth means adopting innovative technologies like simultaneous duplexing, implementing digital tools like Océ PRISMA workflow software, and leveraging a technological advantage to offer customers more services with the responsiveness they expect. Driving success means driving productivity, which improves customer satisfaction and loyalty. For commercial print shops this means being able to achieve breakthrough business performance to open up new opportunities to grow volumes and expand services. They can produce more work in less time, expand their service portfolios with highdemand capabilities that were not practical before, and increase profit margins by decreasing costs and lowering overhead. For in-plant print rooms, driving success means having the resources and horsepower to prevent internal customers from diverting volumes to departmental MFPs or external providers. It means being able to accelerate turnaround, support increasingly complex jobs, and demonstrate greater value by changing perceptions and transitioning from internal cost centers to value-added service providers. In both environments, it s all about productivity. And the Océ trifecta revolutionary Océ Gemini Instant Duplex technology, the breakthrough Océ VarioPrint 6250 digital duplex printer, and scalable Océ PRISMA workflow software are built to empower print providers to think and perform with breakthrough results. Print On! To learn more, visit or call today. 15

16 Printing for Professionals Océ is a leading provider of digital document management technology and services. The company s solutions are based on advanced Océ software applications that deliver documents and data over internal networks and the Internet to printing devices and archives locally and around the world. Supporting the workflow solutions are Océ digital printers and scanners, considered the most reliable and productive in the world. Océ also offers a wide range of display graphics, consulting and outsourcing solutions. Netherlands-based Océ N.V. (NASDAQ: OCENY), with a workforce of around 24,500 people and pro forma annualized revenues of nearly $3.7 billion, active in approximately eighty countries, maintains research and manufacturing centers in the Netherlands, the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Belgium, the Czech Republic, and Romania. Océ s North American headquarters is located in Chicago with major business units in Trumbull, CT; Chicago; New York City; Boca Raton, FL; Salt Lake City; Coventry, RI; and Vancouver, BC. North American revenues were $1.7 billion for fiscal 2005, and employment is currently 11,000. For more information about Océ, visit Outside the U.S., consult Océ North America, Inc. Digital Document Systems Commercial Printing Division 5600 Broken Sound Boulevard Boca Raton, FL Corporate Printing Division 100 Oakview Drive Trumbull, CT All rights, including rights created by patent grant or registration of a utility model or design are reserved. Delivery subject to availability, subject to change for technical reasons. All hardware and software names are trade names or trademarks of their respective manufacturers. Specifications subject to change without notice. Copyright 2006, Océ North America Digital Document Systems. Printed on an Océ CPS Color System /07