Oce Announces Winner of its Third Annual "Green Reprographer of the Year" Award

Océ has announced the winner of its third annual, "Green Reprographer of the Year" award during the IRgA 2010 Annual Convention and Trade Show held May 19-21 in Palm Springs, CA. ProRepro, Orange County's fastest growing reprographics company, was selected as the winner from a pool of qualified entrants who submitted applications via Océ's website. Applicants outlined their achievements in the area of green business practices and highlighted how these efforts have assisted their customers to meet their own sustainability goals.

"In recognition of their continued efforts to promote sustainability throughout their business operations, we are proud to congratulate ProRepro as the winner of Océ's third annual 'Green Reprographer of the Year' award," said Patrick Chapuis, president, Wide Format Printing Systems division of Océ North America. "The numerous entries for this award demonstrate the commitment by these forward-thinking reprographers to establish and promote environmentally conscious business practices. Océ is proud to support reprographers that are continually striving to reduce their impact on the environment by providing eco-friendly, sustainable equipment capable of producing the highest quality prints."

An independent panel of judges, including Denise Gustavson, editor of Wide-Format Imaging magazine, Robert Cassidy, editor-in-chief of Building Design+Construction magazine, and Ed Avis, principal of Ed Avis Associates, a communications firm specializing in the imaging industry, and author of The Green Reprographics Handbook, selected ProRepro as the winner based on its enterprise-wide dedication to sustainability.

Since its founding in 2006, ProRepro has strived to incorporate sustainability throughout its business operations. This is evident in their use of products that reduce the negative impact on the environment. ProRepro's entire fleet of reprographic equipment is Energy Star rated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants caused by the inefficient use of energy. Ninety percent of its equipment has been converted to solid toner or cartridge free technology, dramatically reducing landfill and energy costs related to storage. And, unless otherwise specified, all jobs are run on FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified as well as 30 percent post consumer waste recycled paper.

The company also developed an alternative sustainable product to replace Gatorboard or foam core. Previously, Eco-board was the most widely used sustainable indoor signage product, but it presented inherent problems, such as honey-combing, dog-earing, lack of rigidity, and it was highly expensive to add a rigid support sheet. ProRepro's Pro Board is a 100 percent recycled and biodegradable alternative that is highly durable, attractive, and is priced the same as Gatorboard; thereby encouraging customers to choose the environmentally sound solution.

"I was impressed by ProRepro's efforts to find their own green solutions. When they determined the eco-friendly mounting board they were using had performance problems, they developed their own 100 percent recycled alternative," said Avis.