Océ Future Authors Project receives Hermes Platinum Award

Venlo, The Netherlands, 20 May 2011 - The Océ Future Authors Project, a public/private partnership between Océ North America and the School District of Palm Beach County, has received the Platinum Award, the highest honor presented by the Hermes Creative Awards. Only 15 percent of the hundreds of entries from around the world earn this designation. The international competition recognizes creative professionals and is administered by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP). Founded in 1995, AMCP fosters and supports the efforts of marketing and communication professionals who contribute their talents to public service and charitable organizations. The organization also organizes the MarCom Awards and Ava Awards.

Entering its sixth year, the Océ Future Authors Project is designed to help students experience the process of becoming published authors. Participating middle and high school students are able to improve their writing and critical thinking skills, develop an understanding of how authors are published, and learn about today's digital print and publishing opportunities. Since the program's inception, more than 250 students have participated in free eight-day summer writing workshops. Writings from each student's work during the workshops are compiled, professionally published and digitally printed in final book form by the Boca Raton-based Océ North America Production Printing Systems division.

The writing workshops are taught by licensed language arts teachers and such headliner professional authors as Jonathan King, Carolina Garcia-Aguilera, James O. Born and Frank Cerabino. Local companies and foundations, such as the Lawrence Sanders Foundation, AutoNation and Xplor International, help support the program through grants and donations.

"We are honored to be counted among so many prestigious firms with this award," said Francis McMahon, Vice President of Marketing, Océ North America Production Print Systems. "This award is a further endorsement of a program that has already inspired so many students to love writing and pursue careers as authors."

The Océ Future Authors Project bolsters Océ's strong presence in the digital book printing and publishing market by showcasing end-to-end digital book solutions. Each year, Océ prints the compiled student works into a finished book at the Graph Expo in Chicago. This past year, the book featured not only the black and white content, but also a full color cover and color inserts printed on a color cutsheet production printer. Students were delighted to see their finished works printed and bound in final book form and officially registered with the Library of Congress.

For more information on how to donate to the program, contact the Executive Director, Mary Kay Murray, at murraymk@palmbeach.k12.fl.us.

For more information about the Océ Future Authors Project, visit www.oceusa.com/futureauthors

Over Océ

Océ is een van ‘s werelds grootste leveranciers op het gebied van document management en printen voor professionals. Het brede aanbod van Océ omvat snelle digitale productieprinters en grootformaat printsystemen voor zowel technische documentatie als display graphics in kleur, naast kantoorsystemen voor printen en kopiëren. Bovendien is Océ een toonaangevende speler op het gebied van outsourcing van document management. Wereldwijd zijn veel van de Fortune 500-bedrijven en grootste commerciële drukkers klant van Océ. Het bedrijf werd opgericht in 1877. Het hoofdkantoor bevindt zich in Venlo. Océ is actief in meer dan 100 landen en heeft wereldwijd ruim 20.000 mensen in dienst. De totale omzet in boekjaar 2010 bedroeg circa €2,7 miljard. Océ is genoteerd aan Euronext in Amsterdam. Meer informatie over Océ kunt u vinden op www.oce.com.

Océ en Canon: Samen sterker

In 2010 sloot Océ zich aan bij de Canon groep met de hoofdvestiging in Tokio, Japan, waardoor ’s werelds grootste leverancier in de printsector ontstond. Canon ontwikkelt, produceert en verkoopt een groeiend aanbod aan kopieermachines, printers, camera’s, optische en andere producten die tegemoet komen aan de vele verschillende behoeften van de klant. Bij de Canon groep werken wereldwijd ruim 197.000 mensen. De totale omzet in 2010 bedroeg ruim $45 miljard. Meer informatie kunt u vinden op www.canon.com.