Océ prime-time television magic in the UK

01 March 2010, 8:57pm

London, UK, 1 March 2010— Océ magic hit prime-time television on Channel Five’s Gadget Show in the UK last night (1 March 2010) with the help of its pioneering Océ CrystalPoint™ technology. A stunt, which was filmed in London’s Covent Garden, showed how a card randomly chosen mysteriously turned up giant-sized and with the person’s name on it less than a minute later… being pulled along the road by a cyclist!

Little did the ‘punters’ know that Océ’s ColorWave™ 600 super-fast wide format printing system, the first product based on Océ CrystalPoint technology launched globally in May 2008, had produced the card in just over 30 seconds in an Océ van parked nearby. The mobile billboard was then towed past the stunned-looking crowd.

A long-range lens and thermal imaging equipment was also used for the trick shown to millions of viewers on the Gadget Show produced by NorthOne TV. The card had been pulled from a pack, ‘warmed up’ and then identified through the lens and thermal imaging equipment positioned secretly in a nearby building. Presenter Jason Bradbury even fooled magician Paul Zenon, who was invited along to guess how it was achieved. Before the trick, he told Bradbury: “I’d like to think that I’ve seen it all magic-wise but you never know. If you think it will fool me, all well and good but it’s a tough challenge.”

Afterwards Zenon conceded: “I don’t know how you pulled it off – full marks to you for this one!”

The stunt was sheer magic. Bradbury, long-time presenter on the Gadget Show, told viewers: “The final piece of the magic jigsaw falling into place was the super-fast printer. The Océ ColorWave 600 uses resin balls rather than ink, converted into a gel which is then jetted and crystallised on to the paper.”

The full story, which shows the Océ ColorWave 600 in action as well as providing details of the machine’s pricing and footage of the Océ logo, can be viewed on the following link: http://fwd.five.tv/gadget-show/blog/episode-5-magic-challenge.

Océ’s ColorWave 600 produces an A0 full colour sheet (one-square metre) in 34 seconds. It prints on to a wide range of medias, ranging from uncoated and recycled papers all the way through to specialties like Tyvek for maximum durability with its water resistant CrystalPoint finish. The Océ CrystalPoint process converts solid Océ TonerPearls™ into a gel that is then jetted and crystallised on to surfaces. The technology is environmentally friendly with no emissions of ozone, odour or fine powder and does not use liquids or solvents.

Ian Guiver, Océ UK’s ColorWave 600 Product Specialist, said: “Despite the fact that we had to get up at 3.30am to do the filming on a bitterly cold morning in February, it was fantastic fun and gave Océ the chance to demonstrate its world-beating capabilities with a product that is quite literally taking the market by storm. Millions of viewers were shown how this amazing trick was done with the help of Océ.”

Océ

Geo: International