In fact, ‘design for reuse’ is one of our primary development criteria. Right from the start, we seek to make maximum use of materials and components.
Océ ecological improvements include:
- Drastically extended lifetime of photoconductors to reduce waste
- Use of polypropylene toner bottles instead of high-grade plastic toner cartridges because disposal by clean burning is better for the environment than a cartridge take-back and reuse scheme
- The Océ ‘upgrade before replacement’ principle extends the lifetime of products, avoids waste and saves resources
- Océ has extended the lifetime of consumables
- Since many years, Océ has eliminated the use of specific hazardous materials such as benzene, cadmium, PBB and PBDE, PCBs and PCTs, and ozone depleting substances
- Océ continually works on eliminating the use of hexavalent chromium, mercury and lead in equipment.
Products that are clean and quiet
Since our products are an essential component in virtually every working environment, it is important that they operate as cleanly and quietly as possible. At Océ, we set strict requirements regarding substance emissions and noise levels. The discharge of vapours, gases and dust is strictly managed. When our equipment is installed in an office room with the volume and ventilation rate as defined in our requirements, concentrations of ozone, styrene and dust are very low. We use internal tooling and working methods to predict and reduce noise production. This ensures that our equipment operates as quietly as possible.
Products that are easy to use
Our products are used day in and day out by a variety of users. To reduce strain on users, we consider ergonomics and ease of use during the development of hardware and software. We have introduced many ergonomic improvements in our products, such as:
- Output trays for prints and copies are positioned at an ergonomically convenient height to reduce unnecessary bending
- Grips, handles and buttons are designed to be robust and recognisable for easy handling
- Built-in lifting aids in our wide-format and continuous feed printers make it easier to replace heavy rolls of paper
- Production printers have a sophisticated mechanism for exchanging highlight colour units
- The Océ CPS900 full-colour system won an award for its inventive and dust-free toner refill mechanism
Business operations that prevent waste
Océ seeks to reduce the quantity of waste produced by business and manufacturing facilities by optimising waste collection, separation, reuse and recycling, and by minimising the amount of waste generated by production processes. All waste is disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner. We have taken steps to reduce emissions of organic solvent vapours—which contribute to the formation of photochemical smog and constitute a public health hazard—by optimising our manufacturing processes. For example:
- Océ does not produce any toxic waste
- Océ does not use CFCs, halons and substances that deplete the ozone layer in manufacturing
- Océ has reduced paper consumption during testing by 90% since 1995
- In 1990, Océ set up a dedicated asset recovery department that organises the flow of returned goods and maximises their reuse value
Information that promotes awareness
Our approach is based on openness and objectivity. We keep our staff, customers and other stakeholders informed about environmental matters. Information is published on our corporate website and can be found in the annual Océ Sustainability Report. We advise our customers how to manage their document flows in an environmentally considerate way. | 
