Oc'e, the world leader in digital short-run specialist newspaper printing, has announced today that it has launched a partnership with Ince for its South African printing operations as part of worldwide roll-out of newspaper digital production sites.
Ince has made a R16.5million investment in an Oc'e Digital Newspress 8000 machine, a key revenue source for the global digital printing company Oc'e that operates in 80 countries throughout the world.
Ince, a national company with branches in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, employing 600 people, has a wide-ranging portfolio of clients and produces more than 90% of all documentation for the corporate actions of those companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
The printing site in Johannesburg specialises in the short-run online production site for newspapers that look and feel the same as those printed on traditional litho machines and represents a significant investment in the South African economy.
It will form part of the Oc'e Digital Newspaper Network, which opened its first unique production site in London in May last year.
Oc'e has confirmed that it is in discussion with a number of international publishers for the SA site. This method of digital production means that the newspapers will be available early the morning of publication, both to subscribers and at newsstands.
Alban Atkinson, joint managing director of Ince in Johannesburg, said: "We are delighted to have been chosen as the partner to install the equipment, but in the long-term there are many other opportunities to use our technological capabilities to develop this pioneering way of producing newspapers that has far-reaching benefits.
"This equipment fits in with Ince`s strategy of offering innovative technological communication solutions to our clients."
He added: "As a major supplier of print services to the business and financial markets in SA, we see this as logical extension to our business."
Paul Krisson, business development manager for Oc'e Digital Newspaper Network, said: "This is a logical step in the development of our international data network, which we know will have far-reaching benefits for publishers."
Peter Feldweg, chief executive officer for Oc'e Printing Systems, said: "We are delighted to announce our partnership with Ince, which is part of our continuing aim to provide a global network of printing sites that involves up to 500 installations worldwide.
"The importance of this new way of producing newspapers is that readers and subscribers will be getting a copy of the newspaper on the actual morning of publication, as opposed to a day later, which will be a major boost to the business community, while they look and feel the same as those printed under traditional methods."
Oc'e`s aims to have 30 to 50 print sites throughout the world digitally printing short overseas runs of business and specialist newspapers.
Publishers benefit through lower distribution costs and faster delivery, which means they can make a profit from a print-run as low as 100 copies, compared with the 5 000 minimum required for traditional methods to be cost-effective.
The system was launched in May with a partnership between Hunkeler, a Swiss-based manufacturer of paper-handling equipment for the printing industry, and Stroma, part of the Creative Print Group, that owns the printing plant in Wembley, north-west London. Hunkeler is also represented in SA.
Franz Hunkeler, CEO of Hunkeler, said: "This technology has already been proven at the London site, and we are confident that more success will follow in SA. We know that there are other huge opportunities for what is the future for specialist short-run digital newspaper production."
The system cuts distribution costs, because the data is transferred digitally to a print site closer to the newspaper`s final destination.
This revolutionary way of printing newspapers to an international audience at remote locations - via a high-speed digital data distribution network - has received widespread worldwide support, particularly from senior figures in the printing and publishing industry.
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