1984 Printing
Computer Output
In the first decades after the Second World War, digital computers were developed. These delivered their output in the form of digital data. The output was made readable on paper using electric typewriters and line printers.
The fast photocopiers seemed an attractive alternative, for which they had to be equipped with a digital imaging process.
Océ took up this challenge and converted its Océ 1900 photocopier into a digital printer. The result, the Océ 6750, came onto the market in 1986.
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Office Automation
The computer subsequently made its entry into the office, where employees were given their own workstation for word processing, instead of their typewriter. This applied not only to typists but also to professional copywriters.
Their workstation was initially connected to a small, personal printer.
When the LAN (local area network) was introduced, workstations and printers could be linked together, and printing was increasingly handled by a large group printer. The Océ 6750 printer was highly suitable for this purpose after modification. Over the years, other printers followed that could also be used as a copier and scanner, such as the Océ 3165.
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Wide format and image processing
Naturally, the breakthrough to digital documents was not limited to the office. Document production was also digitized in the drafting room.
Océ developed new devices suitable for connection to workstations such as CAD equipment.
Image processing
Extensive image processing was developed for the scanner images, which are often not optimal in themselves, to support the scan function.
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1995 High-speed printers
In practice, the print speed of the Océ printers was limited to approximately 100 per minute. However, there was a need for higher speeds, particularly for computer output.
When the Siemens High-Performance Printer division became available for acquisition in 1996, Océ seized its opportunity. The company was incorporated into the organization, allowing Océ to significantly expand its product range. The new devices were capable of producing anywhere from a few hundred to as many as 1,000 images per minute on roll paper (continuous feed).
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2001 Color Printers
For a long time, office documents were exclusively black and white, but in the final decades of the 20th century, the demand for, and supply of, color in documents increased. Initially, Océ met this demand with devices acquired from other manufacturers.
Meanwhile, hard work was being done on its own digital full-color device, the Océ CPS 700. This printer/copier featured a unique printing technique, ‘Direct Imaging’. The CPS 700 was introduced in 2001, followed by the CPS 800 and the CPS 900. In 2013, the CPS line was withdrawn from the market and replaced by acquisition devices featuring a color controller developed by Océ.
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2002 Inkjet color printers
Wide format
In wide format, color printing became the domain of inkjet.
In 2002, Océ entered the wide format inkjet market with acquired products, while working hard on its own technology in Venlo.
The first printer developed within the Océ group came, also in 2002, from Raster Graphics, later Océ Display Graphics Systems, a company in Canada acquired by Océ in 2001. This is a large flat-bed printer with UV-curable ink, the Arizona series, of which new versions are still being released. In 2008, the Océ Colorwave, the first wide-format color printer developed by Océ in Europe, entered the market. It used the newly developed ‘Océ CrystalPoint’ ink, a wax-based ink that can be stored in solid form, adheres to virtually all surfaces, and could be used for prints that had to withstand the elements.
In 2017, Océ released the Colorado high-volume wide-format printer, which uses a new UV-curable gel ink.
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Inkjet in the office
In office applications, the first inkjet news came from Océ’s high-speed printer division, where the ColorStream line was introduced to the world in 2010.
In 2015, the i300 series, developed at the research center in the Netherlands, saw the commercial light. This printer with water-based ink (iQuarius technology) processes individual sheets of paper at high speed. Click here for more information
2018 Packaging products
Nowadays, inkjet printers developed by Océ can print on practically all materials, including packaging materials.
This, in turn, has led to a new market: printed packaging and labels.