OKI Europe Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Oki Data Corporation, unveiled its new global identity, OKI Printing Solutions, and announced it was broadening its portfolio by entering into the colour Multifunction Product (MFP) market with  A4 & A3 colour MFPs.

These products, which are being launched in the Middle East, are based on the award-winning technology of the C5000 & C9000 Series of printers.
The company said its new identity was part of its continuing drive to be recognised as a major challenger brand in the global colour non-impact printer market. 
  “The new name reflects OKI Printing Solutions’ focus on empowering businesses and their staff to maximise the effectiveness and efficiency of their printed communications, by providing flexible, easy to use printing solutions,” the company said in a statement. 
“Its definition of a printing solution is simply the answer to a customers printing need; from a basic printing requirement through to a tailored, customer specific solution.
“The repositioning presents OKI Printing Solutions with the opportunity to create a consistent global brand identity across the 120 countries in which it is represented. It also encapsulates its market representation, expertise and breadth of printing solutions giving the company the flexibility and adaptability to effectively compete at a global level.” 
Mikihiko Maeno, president and CEO, remarked: “We turn the page on a brand new image and identity that will propel our vision for the future of the printer industry. Over the past five years, OKI Data Corporation has evolved into one of the key challengers in the printer market place across the world; constantly bringing award-winning printing solutions to market that have set new standards.  This experience has provided us with a clear direction for advancing our business, allowing us to build equity as a leader, innovator and trusted partner.”
When devising the new brand identity, OKI Printing Solutions adopted a collaborative approach and consulted a cross-section of its wholly owned and representative offices around the world.  This ensured that the new identity reflected the ongoing evolutionary direction and cultural development of the business to a more market and customer orientated approach, said Maeno.
“By leveraging the full capability of our network, it gives us the opportunity to support and deliver a more global approach and as an organisation to take a more prominent position and challenging role in the Middle East’s competitive marketplace,” said John Ross, general manager, Southeast Europe & Middle East, Oki Europe Ltd.
 “This has already been demonstrated over the past five years, where we have broken several barriers in the professional printer market making colour printing affordable to many businesses in this region without the need to compromise on quality, speed or cost.” 
OKI Printing Solutions is a trading name of OKI Data Corporation, whose annual turnover in 2004 was $1.3 billion.
OKI Printing Solutions’ sales are divided between Europe 51 per cent, the US 26 per cent, Asia 16 per cent and other regions 7 per cent.