To ensure optimum safety for customers using its equipment, Océ applies its own set of technical regulations (Océ Technical Standards) during the design processes. These are generally much stricter than official regulations. These standards include the latest information on health, safety and environmental impacts of materials and substances used by Océ, as well as ergonomics. Updates of legislation, regulations and global industry standards are taken into account. Before being released for sale, Océ products are assessed and approved by independent experts and testing institutes such as TÜV and Cetecom in Germany, UL in the United States and CSA in Canada.
Océ products are accompanied by adequate health, safety and environmental information for customers and authorities. In addition to user manuals, Océ also supplies product safety data sheets on equipment and material safety data sheets on consumables and supplies that offer a condensed overview of its safety and environmental performance.
Océ’s targets:
Short term
100% of newly introduced office products will comply with the ‘Blue Angel’ eco-labeling program¹
100% of newly introduced eligible product platforms developed by Océ will have a toner/ink packaging for dust free filling and environmentally friendly disposal at customer sites
¹In the case of OEM products the policy of the manufacturer will be respected. Excluded are remanufactured models or Factory Produced New Models (FPNMs).
Emissions
Océ systems always share their work space with people. This poses challenges, especially in heavily populated office environments. For decades Océ has been aware of the physical and psychological impact of copying and printing systems in multifunctional work environments. As a result, Océ designs are focused on convenient and safe use and avoiding hindrances and discomfort. This is demonstrated by the quiet operation and low emissions of ozone, odor, dust and toner particles of its printers. Océ’s self-developed electrophotographic printers use Océ Copy Press technology with a low-temperature fusing process and without electrostatic transfer, therefore producing far less ozone than comparable printers. To prevent any ozone from entering the workspace, most Océ printers are additionally equipped with highly effective filters. The Océ Copy Press technology also effectively prevents emissions of dust particles.
Océ is well-aware of public concern and media attention on the emission of ultra-fine dust from printing equipment within the office environment. Therefore, together with other printer manufacturers, Océ actively participates in the German BITKOM-Fraunhofer WKI project to analyze and define the emissions of ultrafine particles from office printers.
Eco-design
Océ Eco-Design technology allows systems to be placed in any area without adverse effects on working conditions for staff because of their low emissions of heat, noise, chemical substances and ozone. This technology started with a joint development between Océ R&D and TNO (Netherlands organisation for applied scientific research) in the 1990s, supported by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs. This program allowed Océ to learn from TNO how to embed environment-friendly product development in the organization, while TNO learned about business-driven product development from Océ. The development of Eco-Design focused on the following areas:
“Instant” behavior, no warming-up time
Virtually dust-free toner refilling
Reducing packaging materials to 30%
Design for Disassembly and Design for Recycling
Excellent energy-efficiency; low heat emissions
All Océ products and systems comply with or exceed the applicable regulations, directives and (inter-)national standards in relation to design, procurement, manufacturing, distribution, marketing and maintenance. Relevant environmental certifications and qualifications include Energy Star, “Der Blaue Engel”, FSC, ISO 14001 and ISO 9002 (environmentally qualified production process), and where appropriate the “Recycling” symbol.
Noise reduction
Océ systems are designed to reduce noise in the working environment, thereby making an important contribution to staff well-being. The aim is to eliminate noise at the source. This is a continuous effort, in which Océ has built its own soundproof and semi-anechoic research room to make exact measurements of the noise produced by every part of a machine. Completely silent operation may be an illusion, but non-intrusive sound levels are fully within reach, as the Océ systems demonstrate.
